BuildingGreen Report

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September 23, 2009

Architectural testing concern HTL will be at GlassBuild America shooting missiles at windows again. The demonstration/demolition follows the Miami-Dade large missile protocol by shooting 2x4s at impact-resistant and non-impact-resistant windows. A press release from HTL quotes NGA Industry Events Director Susan Jacob: "There is nothing quite... Read more

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September 22, 2009
Strong influence by the unvented appliance industry has made it more difficult for states and provinces to prohibit these products. Today, only California has a ban on unvented appliances.

Let me get right to the point: unvented gas (and kerosene) space heaters and fireplaces are a bad idea. Don't install one.

Euphemistically called "... Read more

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September 17, 2009
Twice each month, BuildingGreen publishes an email news bulletin with current news and product information briefs. Sign up here — it's free. We will never share or sell your email address, and you may unsubscribe at any time. Here's an unformatted, text-only version of the current bulletin: Free BuildingGreen Email News Bulletin - Become a... Read more

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September 16, 2009
Lars Ehrlén, manager of heat and power for Växjö Energi AB, standing in front of the 38 MW steam turbine at the Sandvik CHP plant

Last week I described some observations about transportation from a trip I took to Sweden two years ago. While there, I toured two state-of-the-art, wood-chip-fired, combined heat and power (CHP) plants, one in... Read more

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September 9, 2009
The living space in this new home built by Global Green in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans is elevated four feet (1.2 m) to keep it above expected flood level. Numerous other "passive survivability" features are included.

A lot of people have been working for a long time to try to head off global warming — and some progress... Read more

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September 7, 2009
A nearly empty parking lot in Lund, Sweden during the middle of the workday. Residents of Lund, and many European cities, spend less time in automobiles than their counterparts in the U.S.

I had the great fortune two years ago to spend a couple weeks in Sweden. In late December 2007 I was visiting my daughter, who was studying at Lund... Read more

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September 4, 2009
LEEDuser, still in its free beta release, is already proving to be a tremendous resource. The Credit Browser, with its increasingly deep pool of information, is much more than just handy — and Strategies section is starting to reveal its potential value as well. A new article titled Upgrade to LEED 2009? How to Choose for Your Project just went... Read more

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September 3, 2009
Twice each month, BuildingGreen publishes an email news bulletin with current news and product information briefs. Sign up here — it's free. We will never share or sell your email address, and you may unsubscribe at any time. Here's an unformatted, text-only version of the current bulletin: Free BuildingGreen Email News Bulletin - An overview... Read more

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September 1, 2009

Regular readers might remember the toilet-flushing video from March that showed ridiculous quantities of carrots, chess pieces, Gummi bears, hot dogs, plastic letters and numbers, grapes, golf balls, and dog food getting flushed. Fun, but it didn't qualify for GreenSpec because it only met the federal minimum standard for water use. Well, here... Read more

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September 1, 2009
A female bicyclist makes her way around Copenhagen, Denmark. Bicycle commuting is more popular in Europe than the U.S.

For energy conservation, 'where' you build could matter more than 'what' you build.

One of the things I like most about my seven-mile bicycle commute into work is the chance it affords me to just think about stuff in... Read more

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August 31, 2009
I tend to spend a lot of time in the Expo Hall at Greenbuild. On the Greenbuild 2009 website, the Greenbuild International Expo page says: This year's expo hall in Phoenix boasts over 1,800 exhibit booths showcasing the latest in innovative products and services. Were you there last year? That was 800 booths. Double that, and add some. At this... Read more

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August 31, 2009
If you haven't already heard, the opening keynote at Greenbuild 2009 will be former U.S. Vice President, environmental advocate, and Oscar-, Grammy-, and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Al Gore. Gore's address will take place at Chase Field stadium; afterward, a little music from nine-time Grammy winner Sheryl Crow. The annual Greenbuild International... Read more

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Thermal batteries can be as effective in load shifting as electrical batteries, without the supply chain issues.

August 24, 2009
Calmac IceBank tanks at One Bryant Park in New York City, one of the nation's greenest high-rise buildings.

Last week, we took a look at practical, easy-to-implement strategies for keeping our buildings cool during hot weather. This week, I'll describe a fascinating way to cool buildings using electricity at night to make ice. This isn't... Read more

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August 21, 2009
As a follow-on to the previous post (Natural Building in the Shadow of the U.S. Capitol), the strawbale journal The Last Straw — which started publishing right around the same time as Environmental Building News — has expanded its web presence in a donation- and ad-supported bloggish setting at http://tls.buildearth.org. A number of articles have... Read more

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August 21, 2009
Bill Steen In 2008, the USBG (that's the US Botanic Garden — not the USGBC) organized "One Planet — Ours!" to showcase sustainable techniques and technologies including things like edible school yards, urban orchards, a solar greenhouse, photovoltaic panels, residential wind turbines, green roofs, and rainwater harvesting. Part of the exhibition... Read more

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August 21, 2009
Steven Chu, Ph.D, the U.S. Energy Secretary, has a Facebook page. I have no idea if it's actually him posting, but I'm still a fan, meaning I get regular updates. Yesterday, he posted this chart that shows exactly where the 40% of energy used in the U.S. by buildings goes. This is not new information to me--I've heard it several times before... Read more

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August 20, 2009
Twice each month, BuildingGreen publishes an email news bulletin with current news and product information briefs. Sign up here — it's free. We will never share or sell your email address, and you may unsubscribe at any time. Here's an unformatted, text-only version of the current bulletin: Free BuildingGreen Email News Bulletin - Become a... Read more

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August 18, 2009
What are the latest updates and changes to the LEED AP program? What's the latest with CIRs (credit interpretation rulings)? How are professionals currently tackling key LEED credits? The LEEDuser Twitter feed has only been operating for a few weeks, but it's already proven to be a great venue for green building professionals to stay up-to-date... Read more

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An ecological argument for why men should follow the female example and sit down.

August 18, 2009

Men should pee sitting down. Now before you call me a strident feminist, let me say that I'm backed up on this one by male colleagues and the reasons aren't what you think.

I'm not arguing for toilet equality here. I'm talking about urine-separating toilets, which are much easier to use for men and women when sitting down. The bowl of... Read more

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August 17, 2009
Exterior shades is one way to keep out direct sunlight during hot summer days.

If yesterday's forecast was correct, today may be the hottest day of the year for much of New England--with temperatures rising into the mid-90s. This may not draw much sympathy from friends in Austin, Texas where today's temperature may rise to 100 in this... Read more