Month: May 2023

Energized by Edison 
by David Song, ENERGIZED by Edison Writer

B-Roll: Wildfire Mitigation Program Interview Package 
B-Roll: Wildfire Mitigation Program Footage 

At about noon on Aug. 26, 1996, the Marple Fire started between Interstate 5 and Castaic Lake in northwestern Los Angeles County. By midnight, it had spread to 10,000 acres, and by the time it was contained, nearly 20,000 acres had burned 

Almost exactly 26 years later, the Route Fire started in the same area but with a far different outcome: burning just 5,000 acres. 

While the improvement can be attributed partly to the evolution of wildland firefighting and technological advances made by federal, state and regional fire agencies, the deployment of the Quick Reaction Force fire suppression helitanker fleet was a significant factor.

“The Route Fire could have turned out a lot differently,” said Colin Morgan, who flew that night as lead pilot for one of the helitankers. “The day crews had made really good progress by sunset but having the ability to support the ground crews through the night made a real difference.” 

During peak wildfire season, the “QRF package” will feature three Boeing CH-47 Chinook helitankers that can each drop 3,000-gallon payloads of water or fire retardant. They can operate day or night and can fill their tanks with a retractable snorkel while hovering, allowing for a faster return to the fire line. 

“When most of the fire people left that first day of the Route Fire, they probably thought, ‘tomorrow is going be a big day,’” said Scott Jones, a 32-year retired veteran of the Los Angeles County Fire Department who is now the QRF program lead coordinator. “They had a lot of resources ordered for the following day, but the QRF came in there and knocked down the flaming front with fire retardant on the first night.” 

The fleet also includes an S-76 intelligence and reconnaissance helicopter, which does not drop payload but is equally important. Crew members wear night vision goggles and operate as the quarterbacks of the QRF team. 

“If you listen to the S-76 crew organize aircraft, talk to the ground, the multitasking and the abilities that they have, it’s mind-blowing,” said Ryan O’Herron, another CH-47 lead pilot. “Their sense of calm in a high-intensity environment like the Route Fire. With dozens of other agency aircraft, maintaining effective communication is quite a task that requires a special personality.”

Fred Burris, an air tactical supervisor, is one of those special personalities. He has been flying the S-76 helicopter since 2009.& 

“We make sure the airspace is organized in what we call the fire traffic area,” Burris said. “We organize that to ensure the aircraft are oriented to one another, to their drop and the target area, and then simultaneously or in sequence, we’re talking to the ground incident commander.” 

His years of experience in the S-76 combined with 40 years fighting fires — much of it as a wildland firefighter — are instrumental for the nocturnal orchestration of air drops. 

“We’re looking down at the ground and seeing a hand crew, and I see what they’re trying to do, even in the absence of a lot of direction,” Burris said. “It’s an attribute we bring as the aerial supervision for the QRF.” 

This experience provides the helitanker pilots with confidence in the firefighting airspace. 

“Fred and his team provide the pilots with the comfort and security that they know where they’re going and that someone is looking out for them,” Jones said. “The S-76 team warns the pilots of a multitude of hazards, so it’s an important aspect of the teamwork.”

The four aircraft, with Burris’ team in the lead, will patrol the Southern California skies again this year. 

Southern California Edison’s 2023 Wildfire Mitigation Plan calls for the continued support and expansion of regional fire agencies. This year, SCE is nearly doubling its contribution and will provide almost $35 million to its local fire agency partners to fund the standby costs for the QRF program. In previous years, the partnership with the Orange County Fire Authority, Los Angeles County Fire Department and Ventura County Fire Department was active for only the second half of the calendar year during peak fire season. 

While the threat of wildfires in Southern California may have eased temporarily because of an unusually wet winter, there’s little doubt the threat will return as the weather warms. 

“I have worked across the country and overseas for many years, and one thing I’ve noticed about Southern California is the sheer volume of land adjacent to millions of people,” said O’Herron. “You don’t see this to the same degree in Santiago, Chile, or Sydney, Australia. At the end of the day, the QRF is not just trying to put out fires; we are trying to protect people.” 
For more information about SCE’s wildfire mitigation efforts, visit edison.com/wildfire-safety.

Originally published on GoDaddy Life

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career at GoDaddy.

I’m Teddy Nixon and I am an Arizona native and environmentalist. I’ve been with GoDaddy as part of the Front of Site Marketing Operations team for almost seven years. As part of that organization, there’s always something to learn, which keeps my days interesting. I’ve grown so much in my time here, and continue to gain skills and knowledge that are invaluable. I think many of my colleagues would agree that the absolute best part of working at GoDaddy is the people and friends we make along the way.

GD Green was the ERG I was most excited to join. I have always been interested in environmentalism and sustainability, and am excited that there’s a group of like-minded people here at GoDaddy who I get to share with and learn from. The GD Green events are interesting and enlightening, and the conversations in Slack are engaging and educational.

What is most meaningful about Earth Day to you?

Every day is Earth Day in my world, but the designated holiday is meaningful to me for a few reasons. First, I love that it is a day when more people are focused on the Earth and taking care of it. It’s a day of action for many, and I love to see people out in my community gardening, picking up trash, and educating others on sustainability initiatives. This year, I helped prep the community garden in my neighborhood for the summer growing season. I was able to meet people in my community and get my hands in some dirt. It was a great way to celebrate the Earth!

What are ways you try to play a role in how we prioritize the health of the planet?

Prioritizing the health of the planet is vital for me, and for everyone who lives here. Sometimes, talking about the state of the planet is all doom and gloom, and people feel stuck in how to actually make a difference. Sure, none of us can save the planet alone, but every one of us can do small things, which added up, make significant progress. I have a local compost service that comes to my place every week to pick up that week’s compost because I don’t yet have a yard or garden. I take advantage of the community garden around the corner so I have a way to grow some of my own food. I plant pollinator-friendly flowers and rescue drowning bees out of my community pool. I participate in my city’s recycling program, and collect and drop off other items that can’t be recycled, traditionally, such as styrofoam and batteries, to specialty locations. I always take a bag to collect trash when I take my dog for her morning walk. On a larger scale, I research sustainability efforts in my larger community and world. When I’m able to, I donate to, and volunteer with organizations that help causes I’m passionate about — such as water conservation, soil health, solar power initiatives, and alternative energy projects.

Are you enjoying this series and want to know more about life at GoDaddy? Check out our GoDaddy Life social pages! Follow us to meet our team, learn more about our culture (Teams, ERG’s, Locations), careers, and so much more. You’re more than just your day job, so come propel your career with us.

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/GoDaddyLifeInstagram — https://www.instagram.com/godaddylife/LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/godaddylifeTwitter — https://twitter.com/GoDaddyLifeTikTok — https://www.tiktok.com/@godaddylife?Career Page — https://careers.godaddy.com

Originally published on TriplePundit.com

Meta data centers are among the most advanced, energy-efficient in the world. Despite their enormous footprint, however, these structures are designed with the respect of our land, our communities, and our people in mind by incorporating design and construction strategies that conserve energy and water, eliminate waste, and responsibly source materials. The result: Our facilities are LEED Gold certified and supported by 100 percent renewable energy.

To drive innovation and efficiency beyond these high standards, our team has multiple pilot programs in various stages of pursuit and delivery. They vary from experimenting with low-carbon concrete and tracking the circular economy of materials, to testing the feasibility of an all-electric construction vehicle fleet and sourcing alternative fuel sources. Yet they are united by one goal: to create future data centers on the cutting edge of performance and sustainability.

A successful pilot means not only securing buy-in from internal stakeholders, along with funding and manpower, but also mapping a path to applicability and scalability across the enterprise. When it comes to determining whether a pilot is viable, our team begins with a five-factor framework:

Impact: What is the impact of this strategy?Application: What is the universality of the pilot?Engagement: How will we communicate, with various stakeholders, a message that will most resonate?Prioritization: Where will this fall in the line of current and future projects/initiatives?Funding: What is the cost (money, time, effort, education/training) to implement?

These questions help us shape each pilot and support higher-level focuses, such as reducing Meta’s carbon footprint. When Meta’s Net Zero program was in its infancy, for example, we strategized pilots to test new technologies and approaches to track the impacts of material composition in our mechanical, electrical and plumbing equipment; our facilities’ operational waste; and potential of alternative fuel types.

In 2021, we proposed HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil) as a carbon-saving alternative to diesel for construction equipment at one of our European facilities. The site had regional availability of the fuel type, plus the application and contractor partner were deemed a good fit. Ultimately, timing and cost made the pilot too challenging to pursue. Fortunately, our team’s extensive analysis on HVO provided the solid promise for a future opportunity with a greater understanding of a successful pilot proposal and further refinement of stakeholder engagement, as well as a new Risk Registry tool to identify potential risks in a project that can derail intended outcomes.

Today, those lessons have shaped an exciting pilot to test low-carbon concrete, the primary contributor to emissions from data center construction (and 8 percent of global emissions overall). Our pilot leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) to identify and test low-carbon concrete mixes and, ultimately, resulted in use at scale in our data center in DeKalb, Illinois, in 2022. In a partnership with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, we utilized AI to find a sustainable concrete mix with 40 percent lower carbon emissions. The team worked closely with our concrete trade partner, Ozinga, on test applications in non-critical areas to meet a combined goal of both low-carbon and long-term strength requirements.

It’s true that the carbon footprint during the data center construction phase can often be overlooked. To offset this, we work with our general contractors to communicate ways to reduce (and eliminate) the barriers to going green on a typical job site. Meta’s general contractors now implement technologies and processes for more efficient builds, linking to carbon reductions with partners and circularity in our materials. At our Altoona, Iowa, site, we are upscaling onsite tracking to include both construction and operational waste (as well as using hybrid-fuel construction equipment). It’s just one combination leading our builds to greater, sustainable impact.

Thanks to our robust and vetted piloting program, along with engaged stakeholders, we are able to build with successful social and environmental impacts while providing opportunities to integrate new technologies and strategies across our portfolio. We minimize risks across our facilities by testing ideas — whether a change in design or construction, or even a process — and gain wider acceptance before rolling it out for wide-scale application.

And thus, our work toward greater performance and sustainability continues to build.

This article series is sponsored by Meta. 

At Covia, Safety First is a core value that we’ve embedded into our culture and mindset throughout our organization. We take numerous steps to ensure that Safety and Health remains a daily and consistent focus for our Team Members, contractors, vendors, suppliers, and customers. This became particularly important when a Team Member at our Camden, Tennessee Plant recently experienced a health emergency.

The Camden Plant, approximately 80 miles west of Nashville, has a rich history, having been established in the late 1920s. It was originally an open pit, with sand hauled by truck to the processing plant. Years later it was retrofitted with an integrated steel pipeline and has since been converted to HDPE polyethylene pipe, allowing the plant to slurry and pump the material to the processing plant. Today, Camden’s pipeline is nearly eight miles long, creating complexities within the pipeline that cannot be seen externally.

The plant is home to a special group of Covia Team Members who work uniquely well together – they fondly refer to themselves as ‘family’. This plant supports our Industrial Sand segment, primarily the container, automotive, and pharmaceutical glass markets. They also support sodium silicates, fused silica, building materials, and sports & recreation.

While Team Members at Camden focus on their customers, communities, and environment, their primary focus is really on each other – and more specifically each other’s safety and well-being, as shown by their recent actions.

Team Members were going about their day when an emergency struck. They found one of their friends, Calvin “Lee” Bullion, slumped over a steering wheel near the southwest portion of the site. Team Members jumped into action, after checking for vitals, they quickly realized he was not responsive, and called 911. Knowing they were at the furthest corner of the plant, and more than 15 minutes away from an emergency vehicle arriving, they retrieved the first-aid kit and AED. While they waited for emergency medical help to arrive, Team Members started CPR and administered shocks to restart Lee’s heart. They monitored Lee and protected him from the sun until the First Responders finally arrived and Lee was air-lifted to a local hospital specializing in cardiac issues. Covia’s heroes were applauded by the First Responders — they had just saved their friend’s life! Today, they are happy to have their friend back at work, happy and healthy and grateful for Covia’s commitment to Life Saving Rules! Lee commented, “I am proud to share my story and grateful for the opportunity to recognize this amazing team who saved my life.”

“To say that I am proud of the Team Members involved in this life saving event is an understatement,” said Paul Alford, Camden’s Plant Manager. “I can’t overstate the importance of emergency preparedness and looking out for each other!”

For more information about Safety First at Covia, please see the 2021 ESG Report (https://www.coviacorp.com/esg/documents/).