SANTA MONICA CREATES COMMUNITY WITH THEIR GARDEN SHARING REGISTRY

November 20, 2009 on 12:07 am | In Uncategorized | 5 Comments

SANTA MONICA CREATES COMMUNITY WITH THEIR GARDEN SHARING REGISTRY

edited by Jodi Summers

Santa Monica has got a wise idea to further green. They are asking property owners with a small area in their yard that they’d like to transform into a productive and beautiful garden, without offering time and expertise? The City has asked local property owners to consider sharing their soil with an experienced gardener by listing their space on the city of Santa Monica’s new Garden Sharing Registry.

Once registered, participants will be able to choose from a list of avid gardeners. Together, you structure a sustainable partnership that makes sense to both of you, including type of gardening project, how the cost of seeds and supplies will be handled, supply storage, length of commitment and availability. Property owners provide land and water, while gardeners do the work. Together, you share the crop!

Bountiful benefits include home-grown produce, fresh herbs, fragrant flowers and a deeper connection with the community around you. Signing up is simple – just complete an application online at
http://communitygardens.smgov.net or call (310) 458-8573.

Sustainable Industries’ Top 10 Green Building Products of 2009

November 13, 2009 on 12:02 am | In Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Sustainable Industries’ Top 10 Green Building Products of 2009

Edited by Jodi Summers

Not to be outdone by other trends, Sustainable Industries magazine has made their choices
for the 2009 Top 10 Green Building Products. These industry-leading green building products
winners were selected by a panel of expert judges and the Sustainable Industries editorial team 
based on their environmental performance, scalability/market impact, innovation,design
aesthetic, value and compatibility with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.

The 2009 Top 10 Green Building Product winners are:

Acadia Combined Heating and Cooling System

Made by Hallowell International

(www.gotohallowell.com)

The Acadia is not just another heating and cooling system. It maintains 200 percent efficiency even when outdoor temperatures drop well below zero..should global climate change ever affect us that severely. Acadia users can save up to 70 percent of their home heating energy costs.

ec-H20

Made by Tennant Co.

(www.tennantco.com)

Requiring no chemicals, ec-H2O uses tap water to clean most any surface of most any substance. Each machine reduces water usage by 70 to 80 percent, and the potential of 245 million gallons of water each year if it were installed in all new floor-cleaning machines.

InSpire Wall

Made by ATAS International

(www.atas.com)

This simple technology uses the power of the sun to heat outdoor air before sending it indoors, thereby slashing energy use while boosting indoor air quality. Depending on what kind of heating fuel is being replaced, this product can reduce heating costs by up to $5 for each square foot of InSpire Wall installed.

kama EEBS Structural Systems

Made by kama Energy Efficient Building Systems Inc.

(www.kama-eebs.com)

kama EEBS Structural Systems integrate light gauge metal stud framing system with expanded polystyrene insulation in a proprietary design that eliminates thermal bridging and helps to create a tight, energy-efficient building envelope.

PlybooPure Bamboo Plywood

Made by Smith & Fong Co.

(www.plyboo.com)

Because it’s technically a grass, bamboo had not previously been eligible for FSC certification. But in January 2008, after two years of lobbying, Smith & Fong achieved this first that propelled it to recognition on this year’s Top 10 list.

RainTube

Made by GLI Systems Inc.

(www.raintube.com)

This product received more Top 10 nominations than any other product this year. RainTube is a rain gutter filter made of 100 percent post-consumer high-density polyethylene – old milk jugs, in other words. This product is also Cradle to Cradle-certified, meaning that GLI Systems Inc had to develop a Post-Use Recovery Plan that goes out with every product.

Separett Villa

Made by Separett

(www.ecovita.net/villa)

This urine-diverting composting toilet – which is 100 percent PVC fee –uses no water and keeps solids separate from liquids, reducing odor and making it possible to reuse waste and urine for composting and fertilizing. The Separett Villa can be deployed where no plumbing exists, allowing for a greater reach of the technology.

Serious Windows

Made by Serious Materials

(www.seriouswindows.com)

Serious Windows are so efficient they have the potential to allow for the elimination of a building’s heating system, allowing waste heat from building appliances to serve as the main heat source in some applications. The windows have a full-frame R value of at least five and up to 11, which can cut a building’s energy bills by up to 50 percent per month.

Solatube Daylighting Systems

Made by Solatube International

(www.solatube.com)

This patented technology catches direct sunlight and redirects it down an adjustable-length tube, bringing daylight to parts of buildings that would not otherwise have access to natural light. The Vista, Calif.-based company recently launched a product specifically designed for commercial applications, making it ideal for large-roofed warehouses and manufacturing facilities, as well as retail stores and schools – allplaces that have been shown to benefit from increased daylight, as daylight is linked to higher worker productivity, decreased absenteeism and better retail sales.

Your Old Light Fixture

Made by Eleek

(www.eleekinc.com)

Eleek is the only business to make the Top 10 Green Building Products list all four years. Though not a product, Eleek’s lighting restoration service speaks to the important concept of the re-use of existing goods. When Eleek restores a light fixture, every piece of a fixture is taken apart, repaired and restored to its original splendor. Its wiring is updated to comply with modern codes and standards and a new lamp base is installed so it works with energy-efficient lamps such as CFLs and LEDs.

Original article @ http://www.sustainableindustries.com/greenbuilding/49012336.html

10 GREEN BUILDING STUDIES OF INTEREST TO YOU

November 8, 2009 on 12:09 am | In Uncategorized | 9 Comments

10 GREEN BUILDING STUDIES OF INTEREST TO YOU

by Jodi Summers

We are always bringing you statics and reports – now we thought we’d bring you a succinct collection. Recently The Green Economy Post highlighted 10 noteworthy green building studies. We’d like to share highlights with you as well as the appropriate links so you can dig deeper. Enjoy and be green…

Global Green Building Trends: Market Growth and Perspectives from Around the World.

http://construction.com/SmartMarket/globalgreen/default.asp

Research conducted by McGraw-Hill Construction Analytics regarding the global green building industry details the market trends and activities driving green building growth worldwide. The new research presented in the report indicates that green building has become a global phenomenon, with 53% of respondents expecting to be dedicated to green on over 60% of their projects in the next five years.

Reshaping Municipal and County Laws to Foster Green Building, Energy Efficiency, and Renewable Energy

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1107529

credited to Edna Sussman - Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney LLP

The efficient use of energy in the built environment has been recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and many other experts to offer a potential greater than any other sector to reduce CO2 emissions using mature cost effective technologies. Many governmental units and professional organizations have committed to a goal of carbon neutrality in buildings by 2030. The paper offers an outline of how local governments can have a critical positive impact on global warming and on meeting these goals by creating a receptive legal environment and enacting mandates that foster green buildings, energy efficiency, and renewable energy both in government operations and by the general population.

Using Mandates and Incentives to Promote Sustainable Construction and

Green Building

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1066982

Presented by the Social Science Research Network, this report emphasizes that timely, meaningful movement toward sustainability in the U.S. building industry requires state-level legislation that promotes, and sometimes even mandates, green building standards at the regional and local levels.

Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Dollars & Cents of Green Retrofits

http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-UnitedStates/Local%20Assets/Documents/us_re_Dollars_Sense_Retrofits_190608_.pdf

This joint study by Deloitte and Charles Lockwood that shows there is substantial statistical evidence that green buildings are better for the environment than conventional buildings. Many forward-thinking companies are realizing that green buildings can be better for business, too. Green buildings offer their owners and tenants a number of bottom-line benefits, including reductions in water and energy use and costs; opportunities with respect to tax credits, permitting, and other regulatory incentives; and greater worker productivity and satisfaction, improved brand image, and better community relations.

Cascadia Value of Green Building Study

http://www.cascadiagbc.org/news/GBValueStudy.pdf

This report by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, the Vancouver Valuation Accord and Cushman & Wakefield is a tool to help bridge the gap in understanding between the green building and financial communities. It is a study of office buildings in Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, BC and identifies how high-performance green features and systems can increase the value of commercial buildings. The report outlines how value was achieved and how sustainable attributes impact costs, savings, investment income, and capital value.

Energy Efficiency Retrofits for Commercial and Public Buildings

http://www.pikeresearch.com/archives/energy-efficiency-retrofits-for-commercial-and-public-building

Presented by Pike Research, this paper focuses on the energy efficiency retrofit market, which recently received a major boost from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The paper observes that the largest potential for long term, sustained growth in commercial building retrofits lies in the private commercial space. Compared to conventional space, high-performance green building space is vacant less often and commands premium prices, leading commercial building owners to adopt green retrofits as a market differentiator.

The Green Building Revolution: Addressing and Managing Legal Risks and Liabilities

http://www.mgkflaw.com/Green%20Building%20Revolution.pdf

Harvard Law School Environmental Law and Policy Clinic - As green building expands from the exception to the rule, certain legal risks are inevitable. For building green to become a standard business practice, parties involved in project construction and management – owners, buyers, tenants, design professionals (architects, engineers, and consultants), contractors, and subcontractors – must become familiar with the legal risks and liabilities associated with green building, as well as strategies to minimize them. This white paper addresses the current movement toward green building, the increasing number of mandates requiring it, and the benefits and costs associated with building green; analyzes the legal risks and potential liabilities to those involved in green building; and concludes with practical recommendations for minimizing such risks and liabilities.

Green Building: Assessing the Risks–Feedback from the Construction

Industry

http://global.marsh.com/news/articles/greenbuildingsurvey/download.php

Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor, reports lays out the concerns that building owners, contractors, and design firm executives are most concerned about with regards to green buildings. They include risks that may be associated with these projects, including potential financial exposures, uncertainty about evolving regulatory standards and legal issues, validating the qualifications of

consultants and subcontractors, and assessing the long-term performance of green building materials, among other potential issues in green design and construction.

The International Facility Management Association Green Practices Study

http://www.ifma.org/tools/research/surveys/GreenSurveyResults2008.pdf

This IFMA study involves the measurement of attitudes and behavior of facility managers in relation to implementing sustainability initiatives at their organizations.

Overcoming the Social and Psychological Barriers to Green Building

http://oae.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/21/4/390

This University of Michigan article argues that environmental progress in the building design and construction industry will continue to stall if the significant social and psychological barriers that remain are not addressed. After surveying the three levels of barriers—individual, organizational, and institutional—the article concludes with seven strategies for overcoming them.

**

http://greeneconomypost.com/green-building-studies-3879.htm

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