WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership will offer a workshop on Nov. 20 in Indianapolis that will focus on leadership.
The workshop, “Leadership Is an Attitude,” is free and open to the public. It will especially benefit business owners, management teams and executives, and CEOs.
The two-hour event will address the importance of management’s attitude and how it relates to the overall performance and effectiveness of an organization. Attendees will learn the communication and management skills needed to direct the performance of individuals and teams. The workshop also will show managers how to transmit a positive attitude to their teams.
Rodney Vandeveer, a professor in Purdue’s organizational leadership and supervision department, will lead the workshop. Vandeveer has more than 30 years of industrial and business management experience and has worked in human resources, training and development, and manufacturing departments.
The workshop will be 9-11 a.m. in the first-floor conference room of Building Ten in Intech Park, located at 6640 Intech Blvd.
The Manufacturing Extension Partnership provides technical skills development and implementation services to manufacturers that want to increase productivity and profitability, enhance customer satisfaction, and advance work force skills. Areas of expertise include advanced manufacturing processes, lean implementation, quality management systems, Six Sigma, green enterprise development and energy efficiency.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP) and Purdue Sustainability Council officials are encouraging the campus community to make “powering down” personal computers as common a practice as turning off a car and shutting refrigerator doors.
Purdue faculty, staff and students are asked to visit www.powerdownfortheplanet.org/purdue and pledge to set their computers to “sleep” mode when not actively in use during the national, monthlong Power Down for the Planet pledge challenge, which runs from March 23 through April 17.
Purdue faculty, staff and students are asked to pledge to set their computers to sleep mode when not actively in use during national Power Down for the Planet month.
The initiative challenges university communities to promote reduction of computer energy consumption and CO2 emissions. It is conducted in collaboration with the Climate Savers Computing Initiative – a nonprofit group dedicated to reducing computer-energy consumption – and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program.
The pledge challenge includes Purdue, Ohio State and Pennsylvania State universities, and the universities of California at Los Angeles and San Diego, Iowa, and Michigan, among others. The winner – to be announced April 22, which is Earth Day – will be the university with the highest percentage of its campus population taking the pledge.
From March 23 to April 17, members of the Purdue community can visit the Power Down web site, enter their purdue.edu e-mail address, and submit their pledge to use power management on personal computers and to ensure their future computer purchases bear the Energy Star logo.
“We’re hoping that the Power Down for the Planet pledge challenge will remind individuals to enable the settings as a way to decrease power consumption,” said Gerry McCartney, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Purdue. “I’ll be pledging, and I encourage everyone to pledge as well.”
When enabled, power-management features place the monitor, hard drive and computer into a low-power “sleep” mode after a designated period of inactivity. A touch of the mouse or keyboard “wakes” the computer in seconds. A 2008 Harris Interactive study, however, estimated that 90 percent of computers run with such settings turned off. According to Energy Star, enabling those settings on just 100 Indiana desktop computers would annually save more than $60 per user in energy costs and prevent more than 60 tons of CO2 emissions.
“One of the biggest challenges to a successful energy conservation program is finding a way to influence people’s individual choices about how they consume energy,” said Robin Mills Ridgway, director of sustainability and environmental stewardship for Purdue. “I applaud ITaP’s initiative and encourage everyone with a personal computer to take the pledge.”
ITaP and Purdue Convocations are offering incentives for pledging. Participants can use their e-mailed pledge confirmation receipt to receive ticket discounts from Purdue Convocations, as well as to enter drawings for a Pantech Duo C810 Smartphone from AT&T, an iPod Shuffle from ITaP Shopping, or a Targus backpack from ITaP Shopping.
To enter the drawings, a printed confirmation e-mail can be submitted at ITaP Shopping Offline in Stewart Center, Room G-65. Proof of pledging also can be submitted to lab assistants in the following ITaP computer labs: Beering B281, Mathematical Sciences Building B010, Matthews 116, McCutcheon C216, Meredith 146S, Stanley Coulter G073, Stewart 102 and Wetherill 114.
Prize winners will be announced April 27.
Those presenting the printed proof of pledge and their Purdue identification at any campus box office can receive $5 off a single ticket to STOMP (March 31 and April 1) and Ain’t Misbehavin’ (April 23), both presented by Purdue Convocations in Elliott Hall of Music.
All e-mails printed for all incentives and prizes will be recycled.
In addition to the pledge challenge, Power Down for the Planet is hosting a national video contest open both to all Purdue students and the general public. By April 17, participants can submit an original YouTube video of three minutes or less that educates, entertains and informs about the importance of energy-efficient computing. Winning videos will be judged on content and relevance in a competition to win $5,000 in cash and additional prizes. Contest winners will be announced May 4. For more information on the video contest, visit www.powerdownfortheplanet.org/video
GREENWOOD, Ind. — Because minor water leaks account for more than one trillion gallons of water wasted each year in U.S. homes, EPA’s WaterSense program has declared March 16 to 20, 2009 the program’s first “Fix a Leak Week” to remind Americans to check household plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems for leaks.
“Leaks can account for 11,000 gallons of water wasted in the home every year, or enough to fill a backyard swimming pool,” said Indiana American Water President David Baker. “Fixing easily corrected household water leaks can save homeowners more than 10 percent on their water bills. By partnering with the WaterSense program to raise awareness, we can help our customers save money and preserve the environment and meet future water needs.”
Leaks can account for 11,000 gallons of water wasted in the home every year, or enough to fill a backyard swimming pool, according to Indiana American Water President David Baker.
To help consumers across the country save water, the WaterSense program promotes ways to identify and repair dripping faucets, running toilets, and leaky showerheads. In most cases, fixture replacement parts can be installed by do-it-yourselfers and pay for themselves in no time.
Following are a few water-saving tips:
Reduce faucet leaks by checking faucet washers and gaskets for wear and, if necessary, replace the faucet with a WaterSense labeled model.
Leaky toilets are most often the result of a worn toilet flapper. Replacing the rubber flapper is a quick fix that could save a home up to 200 gallons of water per day.
For a leaky garden hose, replace the nylon or rubber hose washer and ensure a tight connection to the spigot using pipe tape and a wrench.
Landscape irrigation systems should be checked each spring before use to make sure they are not damaged by frost or freezing.
If homeowners have to replace a plumbing fixture, EPA reminds them to look for the WaterSense label. WaterSense labeled toilets and faucets have been independently tested and certified to save water and perform as well as or better than standard models. WaterSense also partners with certified landscape irrigation auditors, designers, installers, and maintenance professionals with water-efficiency knowledge; see www.epa.gov/watersense to find a WaterSense irrigation partner in your area. For more information on Fix a Leak Week, visit www.epa.gov/watersense/fixaleak.
WaterSense is a partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to protect the future of our nation’s water supply by promoting and enhancing the market for water-efficient products and services. WaterSense labeled products must achieve independent, third-party testing and certification to prove they meet EPA’s criteria for efficiency and performance.
PHILADELPHIA, Penn. — After several weeks of gas prices slowly coming down from record highs, consumers are seeing the trend reverse as pump prices begin inching back over the $4.00 per gallon mark. Because high fuel costs are likely here to stay, Pep Boys is offering “Fuel Efficiency 101” tips to help motorists conserve energy and save money. Efficient engines burn less fuel compared to engines running in less than optimal conditions.
Following these quick and easy steps will help keep vehicles in top shape and performing at peak efficiency.
1. Check tire pressure regularly. Under inflation or over inflation of tires can lead to decreased fuel mileage. Correct air pressure is also required to assure dependable handling, consistent traction and tire life.
Remember that seasonal temperatures change the air pressure in tires. Cold winter weather will cause the air pressure to drop. Warm summer temperatures will cause the air pressure to increase. Rule of thumb is a swing in temperature by 10 degrees will cause a 1 lb. change in a tires air pressure.
Keep a tire gauge in the glove compartment of the vehicle and check the tire pressure regularly. Consult the owner’s manual to determine the correct tire pressure for your vehicle.
2. Check air filters and replace when dirty. Internal combustion engines need air to run – the better the air flow, the more efficient the engine. Dirty air filters cause engines to run at less than peak efficiency which increases fuel consumption.
3. Be sure to use the correct type of motor oil: Using the correct oil weight is important. Higher viscosity oils have greater resistance to the moving parts of the engine and therefore use more gas.
Check the vehicle owner’s manual for the correct oil weight. The oil weight is the first number (with the W next to it) on the bottle of motor oil (e.g. 5W-30). The higher the number, the more viscous the oil, so 5W-30 is less thick and has less resistance to the moving parts of the engine than 10W-30.
Engines operating at peak performance have more power, burn less fuel and leave a smaller carbon footprint than improperly or poorly performing engines. For more tips to keep cars running in top shape, visit Pep Boys Car Care Corner online at http://www.pepboys.com/car_care_corner/
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Even when your computer appears to be off, it may still be wasting energy.
If a computer really is turned off, and other devices – such as printers or disk drives – are left on in standby mode, the system is still eating electricity.
Users can save energy, and money, by simply using an electrical power strip, says Gerry McCartney, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Purdue University.
“When a computer is at rest, or asleep, it actually draws as much energy as a 60-watt light bulb,” McCartney says. “Even if it is turned off, other devices connected to it, such as printers, monitors, hubs and other devices, draw four to five watts per hour as they stand by.”
An easy solution, says McCartney, is to purchase a power strip that can be switched off when the computer won’t be used for awhile, such as at night.
According to the Climate Savers Computing Web site, managing the power used by computers and connected devices can save $60 per year and prevent a ton of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.
“This may not seem like a big thing, but if you are a business with 1,000 computers, the cost savings can be noticeable,” McCartney says. “And although the green effects aren’t seen as easily, you can feel good knowing that you have done something tangible to help the environment.”
McCartney suggests these computing power management steps:
Use power strips that can be switched off at the end of the day. (If you work in an office that sends overnight updates or has a distributed computing system, use a separate power strip for the CPU so it can be left on.)
Set the monitor or display and disk drives to sleep after 15 minutes.
Set the system to hibernate after 30 minutes.
Turn your computer off before you leave for weekends, holidays or vacations.
Purdue is doing more than just turning computers off to save energy, however. When computers are on, even if the owner isn’t using them for just a few minutes, other work is sent to them. This makes more efficient use of the university’s existing computer resources and reduces the total number of computers connected to the electrical grid.
Purdue does this by using Condor, which is open-source software available from the University of Wisconsin. Purdue has 20,000 computers connected to Condor – more than any other institution in the world, McCartney says.
In the coming weeks Purdue will make software available to all of its employees using Windows PCs that will allow them to connect their computer to the Condor system.
“At Purdue, if you aren’t using your computer, it should either be running research jobs or be turned off,” McCartney says. “We have an estimated 35,000 computers on campus, and we can have a real effect on both costs and our environmental impact if users would spend a few moments thinking about how they use those machines.”
