Unplug, or the Polar Bear Gets it
AKA, the Greenlite at Dartmouth University energy saving program. First, go to Greenlite’s home page here.
What do you see? Do you see a happy polar bear, playing with a butterfly?
Perhaps he’s taking a nap next to his “friends”, the baby seal and the baby polar bear…
Or, maybe you see a polar bear that’s running… you [...]
America’s Greenest Building Code
Last week, the California Building Standards Commission unanimously adopted the first-in-the-nation mandatory Green Building Standards Code, also known as “CALGREEN”. The new standards take effect starting January 1, 2011 and will require all new buildings in the state to be more energy efficient and environmentally responsible. The new CALGREEN code will require:
a 20 percent mandatory [...]
Green Building Policy in a Changing Economic Environment
The title of this post is taken from a report recently released by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), which I found through my daily Department of Energy update. The report can be found on this AIA’s Local Leaders in Sustainability Web page, which also has some great links to case studies done over the [...]
The AIA Awards and Carbon Neutrality
The American Institute of Architects, or the AIA, is the national association for professional architects in the United States. Each year, local chapters of the AIA give out awards to projects or firms in their jurisdiction for exemplary design. Well, MOST of the chapters give out awards for exemplary design. Yet another reason why I [...]
Weatherization: not just a long, fancy word
I love it when the topic of weatherization comes up in political debates or speeches. To me, it means that the people in charge are actually paying attention and realize that buildings need to be more energy efficient. But, what exactly IS weatherization?
First the definition: Dictionary.com says that weatherization is the process of making (a [...]
Is the Stimulus stimulating?
Today on GreenBiz.com, their contributor Sarah Terry-Cobo published a terrific piece called Mapping the Path of Stimulus Funding that takes a look at where the billions of dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are going in this country. Even better, they made a map! Who doesn’t like maps? Have a look [...]
The 29 most important pages of the Waxman-Markey climate bill
Ed Mazria is a bit of a legend in the Architecture and design community. He’s been in practice forever; he wrote a big, fat book all about energy-saving passive design in the 70’s entitled The Passive Solar Energy Book; and he’s the driving force behind the organization known as Architecture 2030. Basically, when Ed talks, [...]
Portland is awesome!
Look at what I found while perusing the city of Portland’s various pages about sustainability: it’s a handout that details things that you can do, both at home and at work, to reduce your impact on the environment. It’s great!
And this is why Portland is leading the country on sustainable design issues! Awesome.
Emily’s Ten Commandments of a Greener Office
1. Thou shalt avoid “vampire power” by unplugging appliances when not in use.
2. Thou shalt use coffee mugs instead of paper cups – and dishtowels instead of paper towels – as much as possible.
3. Thou shalt not purchase disposable plastic water bottles unless thou is dangerously parched.
4. Thou shall turn off thou’s computers at the [...]
A Green Designer’s Happy Place
I recently discovered a new retail establishment that I think we can all get excited about. It’s called Green Depot, and I bet you can imagine what it sells by its name association with the Big Orange, aka, the Home Depot. Where the Home Depot sells building supplies of all kinds*, the Green Depot supplies [...]
Blog Action Day 2009!
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