SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/391471
24 SportsTurf | October 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com Facility & Operations critical data for the analysis. Your financial representative will use the technical aspects from you and other team members from other trade departments to see if it is first feasible and second if it will work within your organization. Once this process is complete, the decisions rest on the stakeholders to see if they wish to invest in the idea(s). So far we have three key members: a finance person that can deter- mine cost analyses and baseline for a (ROI), the turf manger, and other trade department(s). We've also have taken the time to see if our planned efforts can work efficiently and productively and is of value to the stakeholders. Once the investment is approved, the next item to consider that can be a contributor to the success of your team and program, is to promote your EMS program through your webpage, local papers and signage throughout your facility. So, assuming we have all the above criteria in place and we have the green light from our organization and stakeholders, where do we go from here? We kick off our solid EMS program. Luckily, the STMA has many hard working folks on the environmental commit- tee that have already taken care of many of the components to this phase for you. The STMA Environmental Facility Report Card in particular will be of use. This report card developed has a very detail environmental property assessment for your facility environmental deficiencies or efficiencies. Three concerns Recycling: When we recycle we're conserving our natural resources, i.e. water, energy, timber and minerals. These ingredients are items we use every day and need to recycle so as to not deplete them for the generations of tomorrow. Most of us have a recycling program within our facility these days. Storm water management: The first half inch of storm water runoff is the most crucial to slow down. Sheet water movement from impervious surfaces that carry unwanted nutrients to our local water sheds is the most concerning. The key is to slow down rapid storm water runoff with the first half inch of rain fall, some ideas you may want to incorporate for your facility is later discussed in a key chart with an EMS program. Take a look at your local rain averages so can predict when most of your rainfall occurs and which are your heaviest months in your local areas. Then install precaution measures of secondary containment to avoid spills from oils, gases, pesticides, fertilizers and detergents that can be carry off from heavy rain events. Storm water runoff are sediment oil, grease and toxic chemicals from motor vehicles, pesticides and fertil- izers, sewage runoff, road salts ,heavy metals from roof shingles, motor vehicles and other sources and thermal pollution from dark impervious surfaces such as streets and rooftops. Greenhouse gas: Do you remember back in the eighth grade when your science teacher was explaining sunlight by using the term electro- magnetic radiation? These are known as short solar radiation waves; like tossing a pebble in a body of water i.e. the waves are very close to each other. Now remember Newton's third law "for every action there is an equal or an opposite reaction." The incoming solar radiation that is heating up ground surface is called infrared radiation .i.e. the sun- light beating down on turfgrass or trees can absorbed some of the solar radiation waves and gives a cooling effect, but when you walk barefoot on asphalt or concrete it is twice as hot and you can actually feel the heat coming off of the surface. Infrared radiation is a long wave. This is like throwing a big rock in a body of water i.e. the waves will be much further apart. These are waves of electricity that are longer than visible light, but sorter then radio wave. The word infrared means below the color of red and red has the strongest wave length that the human eye can see, but infrareds cannot be seen with the human eye. Infrared heat cameras can locate warm objects at night like buildings, motors of cars, warm blooded mammals by the heat they give off. This type of radiation wave shoots back into outer space aiding in the earths cooling process much like greenhouses do with its window open allowing hot air to escape into outer space. The earth has natural insulation called the atmosphere that is made up of several gases i.e. water vapor, fluorinated gases, and carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide and aerosol gases. A good analogy to give you a visual is that it's like the dust in the air from the sunlight beam- ing its rays through your widow, now imagine all those dust particles were gases in the atmosphere, this is what keeps us warm and provides ideal temperature for all thing to live and grow on earth. The problem is when the infrared radiation is bouncing off the earth; some of it is getting trapped in our atmosphere which could result in prolonged hot weather events. Top: Storm water used for sports turf. Bottom: The grounds crew pre-treating cam- pus roads with a salt brine.