Balboa Park Sustainability Workshop Draws 200 Participants (San Diego: Examiner.com)
An estimated two hundred business owners, contractors, engineers, and Balboa Park staff and volunteers gathered for 2010's kick-off event to the Sustainability Workshop Series.
The free event (open to the public via prior registration) was presented by the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership and took place in several Balboa Park locations. Featured speakers included City Councilman Todd Gloria, energy engineer and consultant David Wylie, and Erik Caldwell, policy adviser to Mayor Jerry Sanders. Those who attended were able to learn able to learn not only about some basic principles and practices of sustainability, but also about new financial incentives and programs being developed by SDG&E and the City of San Diego (the two primary sponsors of this event) to promote and subsidize ways to make buildings more energy efficient and less polluting.
The kickoff began at 8 am at the San Diego Natural History Museum, where City Councilman Todd Gloria made a brief report on progress being by Balboa Park's own institutions on sustainability and energy efficiency. He noted that the City Council had worked to secure and dedicate $2 million in federal stimulus funding for Balboa Park projects. "These funds will help complete projects that will bring us closer to reaching our goal of achieving a balance between the resources the park consumes and those it generates, and to make Balboa Park a national model for sustainability by 2015. Gloria lauded the San Diego Natural History Museum for receiving LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification for existing buildings, operating, and maintenence -- a special recognition given by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Other Balboa Park institutions have also made significant progress. The Reuben H. Fleet Science Museum is applying for its own LEED certificate from the U.S. Green Building Council after installing photovoltaic cells, overhauling its HVAC (heating, ventilation, and airconditioning), and making other improvements in cooperation with SDG&E's Sustainable Communities Program. The San Diego Museum of Art implemented several energy-saving improvements in consultation with A.O.Reed & Co., and has realized annual energy savings of more than $100,000. Upgraded lighting and air conditioning at the Casa del Prado has produced savings of $42,000 per year. Such projects, noted Gloria, "do more than help the environment. They help preserve the Park’s historical structures and landscapes, and result in significant cost savings to the non-profits in the Park....These savings allow institutions to direct more funds toward serving visitors and creating educational programs that benefit our communities."
Overall, Balboa Park institutions since 2007 have saved more than a half million dollars from energy efficiency projects. One goal of Thursday's forum was to "present the significant progress achieved in energy and water saving programs, as well as other environmental sustainability programs underway for Balboa Park,” according to Rory Ruppert, environmental sustainability director for the Partnership and lead organizer of the event. “We are pleased to work with SDG&E and the City of San Diego to build upon the progress made and continue to educate the public on the latest in environmental sustainability measures for the region.”
David Wylie presented a morning and an afternoon seminar on the two main consumers of energy in buildings -- lighting and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems. He examined some of the basic science and technologies that create artificial lights and temperature controls, some recent improvements in energy efficient designs, and discussed how to conduct energy-use surveys audits and implement energy management systems (EMS).
During the catered lunch at the House of Hospitality, city engineer Tom Cartier discussed the city's experiment with energy-efficient lighting on 6th Avenue at Balboa Park's western edge. Calder informed the audience about Mayor Jerry Sander's Clean Energy Program. Based on California state law AB 811, the program would create an alternative financing mechanism to deal with the upfront costs of installing solar rooftop systems and put in energy efficiency upgrades. If approved by the City Council over the next several months, the program could become available for city residents sometime this summer.
SDG&E had information booths in the "smart meters" being installed in San Diego and the company's Sustainable Communities Program, which seeks to advnace the use of clean energy generation in San Diego. There were also information booths from other organizations, including Office Depot, the California Center for Sustainable Energy, Cleantech San Diego, the San Diego County Water Authority, and the UC San Diego Extension program.
The Balboa Park Cultural Partnership is a nonprofit organization through which 24 organizations work to collaborate to achieve collective goals, to speak with one voice on issues, and to explore areas of colloboration. It plans to hold other Sustainability Workshops later this year.
Source: Examiner.com, January 16, 2010
Author: William Dudley