Corrections Community

www.nascio.org writes "States are proven leaders in the green movement. In the face of tightening budgets that demand a departure from business as usual, states are demonstrating leadership through an array of green initiatives. State governments, with their state CIO, can start greening IT practices...

Read the Correctional Newsfront: Pennslyvania Department of Corrections article " Composting...it's a daily grind ." The article discusses recycling efforts (which uses inmate workers) and composting initiatives in several of PA's correctional facilities.

This article , published in the June 2009 edition of Correction's Today , discusses the development of a green facility for juveniles. The facility was designed to save 7 million gallons of water annually and reduce energy consumption, in addition to other green improvements.

Read this article to learn about the energy conservation efforts taking place in Maine DOC. Suggested improvements include the use of wind energy and heating with wood pellets instead of oil.

The National Institute of Corrections' Research and Evaluation Division is soliciting applications for a project to explore more awareness and involvement in conservation and environmental efforts by the field of corrections. For more information and to apply for the solicitation, go here .

Click here to read an article from 2006 about Alameda County and the installation of a green power plant. According to the article, the power plant is essentially a giant battery which at the time was expected to save taxpayers $266,825 annually on the jails electric bill.

Take a look at this article written by Mosley Architects. It is a short article that discusses how to get start greening a correctional facility, long term costs and benefits, and a case study of design strategies.

From the Capital News Service: "They wanted to send someone over to check our meter," said Department of Corrections Director Patricia Caruso. "Our bill was three or four thousand dollars less for than it had been, and as it turned out, it was accurate." Read the full Capital News...

A NY Times blog reports on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's green retrofitting projects (estimated to save 3 million per year), an Indiana correctional facility burning scrap wood from the prison’s pallet industry to save $6,300 a day in gas bills, and other "green"...

Click here to see the KCTS9 video about Green Prison Reform in Washington State. The video focuses on Cedar Creek Corrections Center, where one inmate conducted a study on the economic effect of recycling at the facility with a professor from Evergreen State College. The name of the study is “ Sustainability...