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Retro Building
2007-10-26 17:09:00
One of the keys to green building is seeking out alternative construction materials in order to overcome the shortcomings of existing insulation and building practices. The trend, of course, is to look for the latest technological advance, to come up with the replacement for fiberglass that will revolutionize home construction. Going backward would of course seem counterintuitive, but there are plenty of rather retro materials and techniques that could provide a lot of the savings and low carbon impact that those who care about green building are looking for today. One of the prominent examples I've seen has been the green roof, which is a brilliant throw back to the days of sod houses on the American prairie, but look to be significant energy savers, especially for ubran, flat-roof structures. Requiring much less maintenance than traditional tar roofing, and providing massive benefits in terms of reduced cooling costs and improved drainage, urban cityscapes could soon become...
More About: Building , Retro

Retro Building
2007-10-26 17:09:00
One of the keys to green building is seeking out alternative construction materials in order to overcome the shortcomings of existing insulation and building practices. The trend, of course, is to look for the latest technological advance, to come up with the replacement for fiberglass that will revolutionize home construction. Going backward would of course seem counterintuitive, but there are plenty of rather retro materials and techniques that could provide a lot of the savings and low carbon impact that those who care about green building are looking for today. One of the prominent examples I've seen has been the green roof, which is a brilliant throw back to the days of sod houses on the American prairie, but look to be significant energy savers, especially for ubran, flat-roof structures. Requiring much less maintenance than traditional tar roofing, and providing massive benefits in terms of reduced cooling costs and improved drainage, urban cityscapes could soon become...
More About: Building , Retro

Schwarzenegger Drops The Ball--Sort Of
2007-10-18 17:11:00
A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that the Governator had a unique opportunity to push California even further into the forefront on green building and cleantech. The bills up for consideration would have made the USGBC's LEED-Gold standard a requirement for all new government buildings and boosted the minimum energy efficiency for residential construction. Unfortunately, he elected not to sign those bills. He did sign a number of green bills, including a couple that take half-steps toward the goal of pervasive green building in California. Most of the rest of his green legislation slate, however, dealt with other important topics, like water conservation and monitoring of toxic chemicals. So it was far from a defeat for those who want to see California continue to advance in green-ness. Some of the green building-related bills, now law: AB 1109 will boost energy efficiency in indoor lighting; a more sane proposal than outright banning of incandescents, it provides a more open ...
More About: Schwarzenegger , Sort , Ball

Schwarzenegger Drops The Ball--Sort Of
2007-10-18 17:11:00
A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that the Governator had a unique opportunity to push California even further into the forefront on green building and cleantech. The bills up for consideration would have made the USGBC's LEED-Gold standard a requirement for all new government buildings and boosted the minimum energy efficiency for residential construction. Unfortunately, he elected not to sign those bills. He did sign a number of green bills, including a couple that take half-steps toward the goal of pervasive green building in California. Most of the rest of his green legislation slate, however, dealt with other important topics, like water conservation and monitoring of toxic chemicals. So it was far from a defeat for those who want to see California continue to advance in green-ness. Some of the green building-related bills, now law: AB 1109 will boost energy efficiency in indoor lighting; a more sane proposal than outright banning of incandescents, it provides a more open ...
More About: Schwarzenegger , Sort , Ball , Drop

Recycled Housing Gets Noticed
2007-10-14 23:15:00
Back in June, I talked briefly about the use of disused shipping containers as green housing solutions, comparing it to the use of aluminum cans and glass bottles to build geodesic dome houses. Looks like some others have caught wind of the idea. According to the links in the Making Light blog post, there's actually a number of ongoing projects that are turning our excess into a viable housing alternative. As mentioned before, one of the phenomenal upsides to the whole thing is that this is recycling at its very best. For now, the US seems to be a net importer of these things as part of the trade imbalance with China--since not as many goods go out as come in, there isn't as much demand for empty containers once they've reached their initial destination. Firsthand, I experienced recycling of these guys while deployed to Iraq in 2004 with the US Marines. Our facility had a number of these left lying around, and it was relatively simple to fit them with air conditioners and...
More About: Housing

Recycled Housing Gets Noticed
2007-10-14 23:15:00
Back in June, I talked briefly about the use of disused shipping containers as green housing solutions, comparing it to the use of aluminum cans and glass bottles to build geodesic dome houses. Looks like some others have caught wind of the idea. According to the links in the Making Light blog post, there's actually a number of ongoing projects that are turning our excess into a viable housing alternative. As mentioned before, one of the phenomenal upsides to the whole thing is that this is recycling at its very best. For now, the US seems to be a net importer of these things as part of the trade imbalance with China--since not as many goods go out as come in, there isn't as much demand for empty containers once they've reached their initial destination. Firsthand, I experienced recycling of these guys while deployed to Iraq in 2004 with the US Marines. Our facility had a number of these left lying around, and it was relatively simple to fit them with air conditioners and...
More About: Housing

Small Building, Big Impact
2007-10-08 21:42:00
Pop quiz: What is Atlanta's most efficient entry among US Green Building Council LEED-certified buildings? Did you guess a 2800 square foot pair of storefronts built in 1946? I don't think that would have been my thousandth guess, but turns out it's the answer. The unassuming building sits on Edgewood Avenue, near Martin Luther King Jr. Center, half of it home to a small vegitarian restaurant, the other half the future home of an environmentally-oriented architecture and design firm--the same firm that oversaw rennovation of the sixty year old building. The structure, once rennovated, qualified for the USGBC's LEED Platinum rating, the first in Atlanta and only fourth in the US Southeast to garner that level of efficiency. Aside from being Atlanta's first (hopefully of many) such structures, what's so important about it? Two big things stand out: It's a relatively small structure. No giant walls of indoor green, no massive solar arrays, no wind-catching turbines on it...
More About: Small

Small Building, Big Impact
2007-10-08 21:42:00
Pop quiz: What is Atlanta's most efficient entry among US Green Building Council LEED-certified buildings? Did you guess a 2800 square foot pair of storefronts built in 1946? I don't think that would have been my thousandth guess, but turns out it's the answer. The unassuming building sits on Edgewood Avenue, near Martin Luther King Jr. Center, half of it home to a small vegitarian restaurant, the other half the future home of an environmentally-oriented architecture and design firm--the same firm that oversaw rennovation of the sixty year old building. The structure, once rennovated, qualified for the USGBC's LEED Platinum rating, the first in Atlanta and only fourth in the US Southeast to garner that level of efficiency. Aside from being Atlanta's first (hopefully of many) such structures, what's so important about it? Two big things stand out: It's a relatively small structure. No giant walls of indoor green, no massive solar arrays, no wind-catching turbines on it...
More About: Small

Government's Responsibility To Cleantech
2007-10-04 23:43:00
Here's an intriguing idea: rather than letting market forces work on the question of cleantech and alternative energy, the US federal government should throw its considerable weight behind a massive cleantech and alteng effort--to the tune of $300 billion. Aimed at bringing about rapid and sweeping change to the energy economy--as well as the building, automotive, and electronics industries--such an effort could produce dramatic changes in how we live within a decade or two and perhaps both radically reduce emissions and fossil fuel reliance. Such is the dream of maverick environmentalists Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger. Wired's article in the link above does an excellent job of deconstructing the personalities of Nordhaus and Shellneberger, the perceived reaction to their dream, and the book which is based on it, Break Through. They occupy an intriguing middle ground--on the one hand, far to the left of those who suggest that any such changes can happen purely on the ...
More About: Cleantech

Government's Responsibility To Cleantech
2007-10-04 23:43:00
Here's an intriguing idea: rather than letting market forces work on the question of cleantech and alternative energy, the US federal government should throw its considerable weight behind a massive cleantech and alteng effort--to the tune of $300 billion. Aimed at bringing about rapid and sweeping change to the energy economy--as well as the building, automotive, and electronics industries--such an effort could produce dramatic changes in how we live within a decade or two and perhaps both radically reduce emissions and fossil fuel reliance. Such is the dream of maverick environmentalists Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger. Wired's article in the link above does an excellent job of deconstructing the personalities of Nordhaus and Shellneberger, the perceived reaction to their dream, and the book which is based on it, Break Through. They occupy an intriguing middle ground--on the one hand, far to the left of those who suggest that any such changes can happen purely on the ...
More About: Government , Cleantech

Schwarzenegger's Opportunity
2007-09-25 23:59:00
Will he or won't he? Governor Schwarzenegger of California has a unique opportunity coming up. Right now, three bills sit on his desk that could blaze a brand new trail for green building standards in the Unit ed States and help cement California's place in the lead on environmental issues. Not that they haven't been there for years and years, but green building is one of those areas that not enough people are paying attention to in terms of potential climate change impact. For example, though some have mocked the banning of incandescent lightbulbs in Australia as too draconian, a less visible regulation such as one requiring builders only install CFL lighting in new homes would itself have a tremendous impact on energy use and emissions. I count almost 40 internal light fixtures in my (rather modest) home, about half of which I've changed to CFL at this point. Starting out with CFL, which would add maybe $80 to builders' costs could save the homebuyer money and signific...
More About: Opportunity

Schwarzenegger's Opportunity
2007-09-25 23:59:00
Will he or won't he? Governor Schwarzenegger of California has a unique opportunity coming up. Right now, three bills sit on his desk that could blaze a brand new trail for green building standards in the United States and help cement California's place in the lead on environmental issues. Not that they haven't been there for years and years, but green building is one of those areas that not enough people are paying attention to in terms of potential climate change impact. For example, though some have mocked the banning of incandescent lightbulbs in Australia as too draconian, a less visible regulation such as one requiring builders only install CFL lighting in new homes would itself have a tremendous impact on energy use and emissions. I count almost 40 internal light fixtures in my (rather modest) home, about half of which I've changed to CFL at this point. Starting out with CFL, which would add maybe $80 to builders' costs could save the homebuyer money and signific...
More About: Opportunity

How To Grow Green Building Interest
2007-09-25 23:35:00
Until such time as state and local authorities really get a grip on the question of green building and start mandating EnergyStar or US Green Building Council standards in building codes, it's critical for those interested in it to grow local awareness and interest so as to increase demand. Right now, as much as it might pain some in the environmental movement, green building and emission reductions are in the hands of the open market. With the lack of stricter regulation, greener alternatives have to compete with their less-efficient counterparts for the attention--and dollars--of concerned consumers. Without ratcheting down the cries for stricter regulations and tax breaks for the green conscious, it may be worthwhile to start investing time and energy into promoting awareness. In green building, one of the easier ways to do that is to organize green building home tours. This requires, of course, that there be enough homes (and willing homeowners) in a given area, but with ...
More About: Green Building , Interest , Grow

How To Grow Green Building Interest
2007-09-25 23:35:00
Until such time as state and local authorities really get a grip on the question of green building and start mandating EnergyStar or US Green Building Council standards in building codes, it's critical for those interested in it to grow local awareness and interest so as to increase demand. Right now, as much as it might pain some in the environmental movement, green building and emission reductions are in the hands of the open market. With the lack of stricter regulation, greener alternatives have to compete with their less-efficient counterparts for the attention--and dollars--of concerned consumers. Without ratcheting down the cries for stricter regulations and tax breaks for the green conscious, it may be worthwhile to start investing time and energy into promoting awareness. In green building, one of the easier ways to do that is to organize green building home tours. This requires, of course, that there be enough homes (and willing homeowners) in a given area, but with ...
More About: Green Building , Interest , Grow

Getting Off The Grid
2007-09-18 04:51:00
Last time, I talked about an exciting development in wind power, one that could eliminate a lot of the variability from wind power itself. The theory is, as you climb up above sea level, winds are more constant--presumably since there are fewer and fewer windbreaks to disrupt and diver the wind, one fo the reasons that traditional wind turbines are placed on shorelines and windward mountain slopes. Tethered lighter-than-air turbines reduce the geographic limitations, which could be a boon to neighborhood and co-op power generation, while also providing a more steady source of energy. But the predictability of the power is the key. While the more extreme activists might be fine with rolling blackouts or nearly-zero power consumption at all, it's not realistic as a sell to the average American. Likewise, many of the services that folks have come to depend on are not going to deal well with those kinds of extremes. But providing power to them, clean power that doesn't com...
More About: Grid , The G

Getting Off The Grid
2007-09-18 04:51:00
Last time, I talked about an exciting development in wind power, one that could eliminate a lot of the variability from wind power itself. The theory is, as you climb up above sea level, winds are more constant--presumably since there are fewer and fewer windbreaks to disrupt and diver the wind, one fo the reasons that traditional wind turbines are placed on shorelines and windward mountain slopes. Tethered lighter-than-air turbines reduce the geographic limitations, which could be a boon to neighborhood and co-op power generation, while also providing a more steady source of energy. But the predictability of the power is the key. While the more extreme activists might be fine with rolling blackouts or nearly-zero power consumption at all, it's not realistic as a sell to the average American. Likewise, many of the services that folks have come to depend on are not going to deal well with those kinds of extremes. But providing power to them, clean power that doesn't com...
More About: Grid

Niftiest Clean Energy Proposal Today
2007-09-11 23:39:00
You want cool clean energy? You want something that's sexier or more exciting than slabs of silicon on your roof? How about your very own wind-turbine blimp? Magenn is a start-up founded by an airship pioneer who developed the first Magnus effect lighter-than-air vehicles. To put it simply, the Magnus effect allows for high levels of stability in spherical airships while aloft. Recently, innovator Fred Ferguson applied his rotating airship concept to the idea of electricity generation, since it made an ideal bed for turbine generators. Tethered to the ground and floated to heights of 1000 feet, MARS, Magenn's flagship product, would sit in near-constant atmospheric winds, defeating the variability of ground-level winds that plague the wind turbine industry. By providing a more constant source of electricity, MARS-type turbines might be able to take some of the load from the coal-fired workhorses of the current electrical grid. However, like many other clean energy soluti...
More About: Proposal , Energy , Today , Clean , Prop

Niftiest Clean Energy Proposal Today
2007-09-11 23:39:00
You want cool clean energy? You want something that's sexier or more exciting than slabs of silicon on your roof? How about your very own wind-turbine blimp? Magenn is a start-up founded by an airship pioneer who developed the first Magnus effect lighter-than-air vehicles. To put it simply, the Magnus effect allows for high levels of stability in spherical airships while aloft. Recently, innovator Fred Ferguson applied his rotating airship concept to the idea of electricity generation, since it made an ideal bed for turbine generators. Tethered to the ground and floated to heights of 1000 feet, MARS, Magenn's flagship product, would sit in near-constant atmospheric winds, defeating the variability of ground-level winds that plague the wind turbine industry. By providing a more constant source of electricity, MARS-type turbines might be able to take some of the load from the coal-fired workhorses of the current electrical grid. However, like many other clean energy soluti...
More About: Proposal , Energy , Today , Clean

Greening Our Heritage
2007-09-07 00:35:00
One of the crisis questions that may soon begin to crop up more and more often is what to do about a nation full of aging, historical structures that are about as energy efficient as, well, as really old and drafty buildings. Especially over the last couple centuries or so, the nation's buildings have not aged well in this respect; significant upgrades would be required to many cities' historical districts just to replace single-pane glass windows with something more efficient and modern, for instance. And there's the real chance that such upgrades would wreck many of the features that make them such attractive historical landmarks. Chuck Weikel of Annapolis, Maryland is in that sort of position, according to this article from the Baltimore Sun. His plan is to grow drought-resistant grass on the roof of his home as a way of saving energy, but living in one of the city's historic districts, his plans have to be approved by Annapolis's Historic Preservation Commission. Th...
More About: Heritage , Greening

Greening Our Heritage
2007-09-07 00:35:00
One of the crisis questions that may soon begin to crop up more and more often is what to do about a nation full of aging, historical structures that are about as energy efficient as, well, as really old and drafty buildings. Especially over the last couple centuries or so, the nation's buildings have not aged well in this respect; significant upgrades would be required to many cities' historical districts just to replace single-pane glass windows with something more efficient and modern, for instance. And there's the real chance that such upgrades would wreck many of the features that make them such attractive historical landmarks. Chuck Weikel of Annapolis, Maryland is in that sort of position, according to this article from the Baltimore Sun. His plan is to grow drought-resistant grass on the roof of his home as a way of saving energy, but living in one of the city's historic districts, his plans have to be approved by Annapolis's Historic Preservation Commission. Th...
More About: Heritage , Greening

Steve Wozniak: Green Giant?
2007-08-27 16:50:00
Woz: legendary co-founder of Apple Computers, now Apple, Inc. Woz: hacker, author, and charitable giver. Woz: herald of the green building movement? Recently, Steve Wozniak served as a judge for the History Channel Modern Marvels Invent Now competition, highlighting exciting new developments in technology and technique. The 2007 winner was Mike Sykes, a builder from North Carolina and founder of Enertia, a company specializing in the materials and techniques that won Sykes the competition. The basic crux of the gist is the use of Southern Yellow Pine, which can maintain internal temperatures within five degrees of 71F by the freezing and melting of the wood's resin over time. In an interview with ECNMag.com, the Information Center for Design Engineers, Wozniak touts this building approach as well as another, called ram earth construction. Ram earth construction involves extruding building material from the earth excavated at the building site in order to provide a bette...
More About: Green , Giant , Steve Wozniak

Steve Wozniak: Green Giant?
2007-08-27 16:50:00
Woz: legendary co-founder of Apple Computers, now Apple, Inc. Woz: hacker, author, and charitable giver. Woz: herald of the green building movement? Recently, Steve Wozniak served as a judge for the History Channel Modern Marvels Invent Now competition, highlighting exciting new developments in technology and technique. The 2007 winner was Mike Sykes, a builder from North Carolina and founder of Enertia, a company specializing in the materials and techniques that won Sykes the competition. The basic crux of the gist is the use of Southern Yellow Pine, which can maintain internal temperatures within five degrees of 71F by the freezing and melting of the wood's resin over time. In an interview with ECNMag.com, the Information Center for Design Engineers, Wozniak touts this building approach as well as another, called ram earth construction. Ram earth construction involves extruding building material from the earth excavated at the building site in order to provide a bette...
More About: Green , Giant , Steve Wozniak

How Efficient IS Your House?
2007-08-21 19:47:00
That's a question that's been posed often, recently, as many concerned with home heating and energy efficiency have begun raising the flag for increased efficiency and the problems with current standards. That current homebuilding standards lag seriously behind what is needed in the home-building market is beyond question. Right now, builders are advertising Energy Star homes as some kind of novelty, or luxury when that kind of thing ought to be a minimum standard. Steve Maxwell, writing for the Toronto Star raises the flag on home insulation, indicating that in cold Canada, the basic standard for insulation is woefully inadequate, and many Canadians are pouring heat out of their homes. In a damning bit of observation, Maxwell cites two studies, one that indicates fiberglass itself is too blame and not the insulator of the future by any stretch, stating that the colder the air gets, the worse fiberglass performs. In the other study, he points out that direct observation ...
More About: House , Efficient

How Efficient IS Your House?
2007-08-21 19:47:00
That's a question that's been posed often, recently, as many concerned with home heating and energy efficiency have begun raising the flag for increased efficiency and the problems with current standards. That current homebuilding standards lag seriously behind what is needed in the home-building market is beyond question. Right now, builders are advertising Energy Star homes as some kind of novelty, or luxury when that kind of thing ought to be a minimum standard. Steve Maxwell, writing for the Toronto Star raises the flag on home insulation, indicating that in cold Canada, the basic standard for insulation is woefully inadequate, and many Canadians are pouring heat out of their homes. In a damning bit of observation, Maxwell cites two studies, one that indicates fiberglass itself is too blame and not the insulator of the future by any stretch, stating that the colder the air gets, the worse fiberglass performs. In the other study, he points out that direct observation ...
More About: House , Ouse , Efficient

Nega-Watts & Embodied Energy
2007-08-15 02:12:00
Getting energy from the energy we don't use is cheaper than looking for new forms of energy or building new plants. Wha? It's simple. Energy efficiency measures, according to California legislators, will save them enough energy to avoid building three huge new plants. Which will essentially mean that California's capacity for energy production will go up, allowing economic expansion, without a corresponding increase in emissions, high-impact production plants, or fossil fuel consumption. Of course, the idea really isn't new to advocates of green building, but what is new is aggressive programs like this, rewarding power companies for meeting certain benchmarks in reducing consumption. That kind of emphasis is also going to help with aggressive, future replacement efforts that seek to supplant fossil fuel power production with renewable energy will have an easier time of meeting a mark that is relatively stationary, rather than always growing. In New Zealand, meanwhile, the...
More About: Watts

Nega-Watts & Embodied Energy
2007-08-15 02:12:00
Getting energy from the energy we don't use is cheaper than looking for new forms of energy or building new plants. Wha? It's simple. Energy efficiency measures, according to California legislators, will save them enough energy to avoid building three huge new plants. Which will essentially mean that California's capacity for energy production will go up, allowing economic expansion, without a corresponding increase in emissions, high-impact production plants, or fossil fuel consumption. Of course, the idea really isn't new to advocates of green building, but what is new is aggressive programs like this, rewarding power companies for meeting certain benchmarks in reducing consumption. That kind of emphasis is also going to help with aggressive, future replacement efforts that seek to supplant fossil fuel power production with renewable energy will have an easier time of meeting a mark that is relatively stationary, rather than always growing. In New Zealand, meanwhile, the...
More About: Watts , Bodie

Green Building Education
2007-08-07 23:06:00
One of the biggest roadblocks in the way of green building initiatives is lack of education--ignorance, to put it more bluntly. This past weekend, I started work on finishing a bedroom and an office in the lower level of my house, and frankly, I couldn't tell you the first thing about what I need to do to make my work more green. I know generic tips, like using better insulation, and more efficient lighting, but beyond that? Clueless. Not because I want to be, but just for a lack of information and education. That's why the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative's (ISMI) recent offering of a course with the US Green Building Council is such an important step forward. Granted, the course is limited in scope, but it's also critical based on who ISMI's component members are: IBM, Intel, AMD, Hewlett-Packard, and so on. Motivating these folks to tune their buildings and facilities into the green-and-clean way of doing things is critical for sustainable inform...
More About: Education , Green Building , Duca

Green Building Education
2007-08-07 23:06:00
One of the biggest roadblocks in the way of green building initiatives is lack of education--ignorance, to put it more bluntly. This past weekend, I started work on finishing a bedroom and an office in the lower level of my house, and frankly, I couldn't tell you the first thing about what I need to do to make my work more green. I know generic tips, like using better insulation, and more efficient lighting, but beyond that? Clueless. Not because I want to be, but just for a lack of information and education. That's why the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative's (ISMI) recent offering of a course with the US Green Building Council is such an important step forward. Granted, the course is limited in scope, but it's also critical based on who ISMI's component members are: IBM, Intel, AMD, Hewlett-Packard, and so on. Motivating these folks to tune their buildings and facilities into the green-and-clean way of doing things is critical for sustainable inform...
More About: Education , Green Building

Government As Cleantech Customer
2007-07-31 04:09:00
There are a number of ways government can get involved in green building and cleantech. One is to tax the hell out of the wasteful, unsustainable, and redundant, and thus incentivize going in the other direction. Another is offering all kinds of rebates, deductions, and grant programs to create positive incentives for using these kinds of materials, techniques, and technology--above and beyond their inherent savings. These two practices used together might be called a carrot and stick approach. Or vinegar and honey. A third way is for the government to become a leading user of cleantech itself. The city of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada has chosen this third way, building the new municipal offices with a host of clean and green innovations. In consideration for LEED accreditation, the new building makes extensive use of live vegetation to insulate the roof and, internally, filter and treat the air. Also in place is a grey water recycling system, extensive natural ligh...
More About: Government , Customer , Cleantech

Government As Cleantech Customer
2007-07-31 04:09:00
There are a number of ways government can get involved in green building and cleantech. One is to tax the hell out of the wasteful, unsustainable, and redundant, and thus incentivize going in the other direction. Another is offering all kinds of rebates, deductions, and grant programs to create positive incentives for using these kinds of materials, techniques, and technology--above and beyond their inherent savings. These two practices used together might be called a carrot and stick approach. Or vinegar and honey. A third way is for the government to become a leading user of cleantech itself. The city of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada has chosen this third way, building the new municipal offices with a host of clean and green innovations. In consideration for LEED accreditation, the new building makes extensive use of live vegetation to insulate the roof and, internally, filter and treat the air. Also in place is a grey water recycling system, extensive natural ligh...
More About: Government , Customer , Cleantech , Custom