Southern California Green Real Estate Blog

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1. We had kind of a system where we carried the water from 200 yards away from the well, to our house upstairs to the second floor where we lived, and then my father would wash himself first, and then my mother would wash herself, and then my brother would wash himself in the same water, and then I would wash myself, and it was all dirty, because I was the youngest. So that’s how I grew up because conservation was big in Europe. Especially since I grew up after the Second World War. There was no food, there was little electricity, there were blackouts left and right, there was nothing. After the war was worse than during the war. So we had absolutely nothing.

   Comment by Peter Henderson — October 25, 2009 #

2. The Raser H3 range-extended electric vehicle was among the vehicles Schwarzenegger checked out during the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress, where he called for a national energy policy that promotes efficient vehicles. The governor, a self-professed car lover who owns 12 vehicles, seemed impressed by what he saw.

   “There is nothing wrong with the Hummer; it’s great vehicle,” he said, according to The Detroit News. “We should change the technology within those vehicles.”

   Comment by Wired.com / Autopia — October 25, 2009 #

3. California delays building energy disclosure law

   Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 531 which delays the January 1, 2010 implementation of AB 1103 until a date is determined by the California Energy Resources Conservation Commission. AB 1103 requires the disclosure of energy costs as part of any sale, lease or financing of an entire California nonresidential building. AB 1103 allows the comparison of energy costs between buildings during transactions in hopes of motivating landlords to implement building energy efficiencies.

   Comment by Allen Matkins — October 25, 2009 #

4. China resembles nothing so much as Japan shortly before its stock and property markets melted down two decades ago. A speculative frenzy of borrowing and bidding up is at work. If and when prices crash, there will be hell to pay.Signs of the times: government bureaucracies funding themselves by foisting debt on state-owned business enterprises; local governments raising capital by selling land at sky-high prices to corporations they own; and a People’s Bank of China lavishing liquidity on the entire system in a way that makes Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke look downright stingy.

   Comment by Forbes — December 10, 2009 #

5. The code will slash water use, mandate the recycling of construction waste, cut back on polluting materials and step up enforcement of energy efficiency in new homes, schools, hospitals and commercial buildings statewide.

   Critics say the rules fall short of rigorous standards adopted by Los Angeles, San Francisco and more than 50 California jurisdictions in league with the U.S. Green Building Council, a national nonprofit group of architects, engineers and construction companies.

   Comment by Jodi Summers — January 21, 2010 #

6. The code will slash water use, mandate the recycling of construction waste, cut back on polluting materials and step up enforcement of energy efficiency in new homes, schools, hospitals and commercial buildings statewide.

   Critics say the rules fall short of rigorous standards adopted by Los Angeles, San Francisco and more than 50 California jurisdictions in league with the U.S. Green Building Council, a national nonprofit group of architects, engineers and construction companies.

   Comment by Margot Roosevelt — January 21, 2010 #

7. The Earth Advantage Institute reported that design professionals should watch for the following green trends in 2010: (1) homes connected to the smart grid, (2) energy labeling for homes and buildings; (3) BIM software advances, (4) financial community buy-in to green building; (5) “rightsizing” of homes; (6) eco-districts; (7) water conservation; (8) carbon calculations; (9) net zero buildings; and (10) sustainable building education.

   Comment by Earth Advantage Institute — February 5, 2010 #

8. AB 32 AUTHOR DEFENDS CLIMATE CHANGE LAW

   Senator Fran Pavley (D-Santa Monica) one of the original and strongest proponents of California Climate Change laws has penned an article responding to recent criticisms of the law. In an effort to make sure our members understand both side of the argument, here is a piece by the author.

   “When AB 32, California’s landmark global warming law, was being debated in the legislature, a coalition of polluters and their misguided allies opposed the bill. This week these same opponents, who have also fought against clean air and water quality laws, are unveiling an initiative to suspend AB 32, predicting the sky will fall if the law is implemented. They predict that thousands of Californians would lose their jobs, and it will crush small businesses. There are even blaming the current loss of jobs on AB 32, but new emission reductions don’t even begin until 2012, and then are gradually phased in by 2020.”

   Comment by Senator Fran Pavley (D-Santa Monica) — February 5, 2010 #

9. Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D-14), Chair, Committee on Natural Resources, working in partnership with California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., has introduced AB 2514 (available here) – new legislation that will create a smarter, cleaner electric grid, increase the use of renewable energy, provide Californians with significant savings by avoiding costly new power plants and transmission lines, and reduce air pollution. This transformative legislation will also create thousands of permanent new green-collar jobs.

   AB 2514 will achieve these benefits by closing the gap between the United States and other nations in investments and deployments of energy storage, a booming “green” industry that represents a significant economic development opportunity for California.

   By mandating that utilities incorporate energy storage capacity – 2.25% of daytime peak demand for power by 2014 and 5% of peak demand by 2020 – the bill will provide much-needed lower electricity costs to consumers. Greater use of energy storage will provide the State with a cleaner and less costly alternative to the high costs of generating and supplying primarily fossil fuel-based power for only part-time daytime peak demand for power.

   “Energy storage is the future — it’s a fast-growing clean technology industry that will save the state money and reduce pollution,” said Attorney General Jerry Brown, the bill’s sponsor. “What’s even better is that this new technology could create 8,500 new jobs in California during the next decade.”

   Comment by PR Newswire — March 1, 2010 #

10. The legal analysis, “Using Executive Authority to Achieve Greener Buildings: A Guide for Policymakers to Enhance Sustainability and Efficiency in Multifamily Housing and Commercial Buildings,” recommends a number of ways the Obama administration can use existing programs to enhance building efficiency including:

    * Reforming appraisal and underwriting practices at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Greening federal banking regulations
    * Promoting flexible FHA insurance products
    * Integrating energy efficiency and sustainability criteria into competitive grants and funding formulas
    * Strengthening minimum property standards for federal housing and economic development programs to reflect energy efficiency and sustainability standards
    * Improving performance standards applicable to federal buildings and leases
    * Refining guidance applicable to the energy efficient commercial buildings tax deduction and the national historic preservation tax credit
    * Using SBA funding mechanisms to support small business energy efficiency investments
    * Streamlining Title 17 loan guarantees to make them suitable for buildings

    Read more: http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/04/30/obama-already-has-72b-tap-green-buildings-study-says#ixzz0odbLbtaA

    Comment by Greenbiz.com — May 21, 2010 #

11. According to the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), the country is all set to become the global leader by 2015 with over 1 billion sq ft of green building footprint.

    “Until 2007 January, there were only 40 green buildings registered by the IGBC, of which only four were certified. We now have 532 green buildings registered, of which 77 have been certified (Of these 532, around 350 are commercial buildings and the rest are residential). Mumbai is the forerunner, followed by Chennai and then Bengaluru” aver-red Dr Prem C. Jain, chairman, IGBC.

    Comment by Deccan Chronicle — May 21, 2010 #

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