Note: On the Horizon will be closed for the month of May while we revise the website. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you will rejoin us in June for our updated website.
On the Horizon news links are provided on the main Green Making website and echoed in the Green Making twine on the Twine website.
Leaded Atmosphere May Have Delayed Global Warming
The lead in gasoline used until the 1980s may have been responsible for keeping the earth cooler than it would have been otherwise.
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, WA, say that lead "supercharges" ice-nucleating dust particles in the atmosphere.
This may have delayed global warming during the middle of the twentieth century and offset it until about 1980, when global temperatures began rising steeply.
AIA Announces Awards for Green Projects
The Portola Valley Town Center and other Peninsula buildings were among the awardees of the recent American Institute of Architects Committee
on the Environment "Top Ten Green Projects for 2009." Recipients included The Chartwell School, overlooking Monterey Bay, which uses natural
ventilation, daylighting, radiant heating, and photovoltaics; and, the affordable housing complex Gish Family Apartments in San Jose, which features
high-density development, passive heating and cooling strategies, and a photovoltaic system. The Portola Valley Town Center is a group of
civic buildings that boast a small construction footprint, restoration of site environment, and passive design features.
Projects Show Affordable Homes Can Be Green
Builders in Harrisonburg, VA, are using EarthCraft-certified homes to show that a small initial cost can yield a lifetime of green savings,
even in pricier markets. The secret "is getting everybody to do the little things right," according to Aaron Yoder, owner of AM Yoder & Company,
who built homes there. That includes good insulation and properly-sealed ductwork. Central Valley Habitat for Humanity has also been building
in the area. Their EarthCraft homes cut utility bills. "I was shocked," said one of their residents, who saw her utility bill drop by more
than half after moving in. Energy efficient homes in western Massachusetts
are also affordable. Homes in Wisdom Way Solar Village have double-wall construction, dense-pack cellulose insulation, rooftop photovoltaics
and solar-thermal arrays. While these homes cost about $38,000 above code (mostly for solar), they generate about 80% of their needed power
and require heating units about half the size they otherwise would.
Feature Stories
Thin Film Solar Tiles Blend In: Solé Power Tile from SRS Energy is practically indistinguishable from plain tile at a distance. The company claims their tiles perform as well as others on the market and are easy to install.
Plastic Cups Boost Biodiesel Performance: Polystyrene, the common material in plastic cups and other foam containers, can be used as an additive to biodiesel fuel. A study by mechanical engineers at Iowa State University shows that the plastic can be dissolved in biodiesel and then used to run a diesel engine. Concentrations up to about 5% by weight increase performance. In biodiesel, the plastic simply disolved, but doesn't break down as readily in petroleum-based diesel.
Gail Koffman contributed to today's stories.News stories you have to get back to.
Heart of Green Awards Honor Green Progress
The Heart of Green Awards honor individuals and organizations for their work helping green go mainstream. Winners included
Alicia Silverstone, Deidre Imus, and Summer Rayne Oakes. Awards included local winners, such as Greg Perry, who brought environmentalism
to Beachwood High School in Ohio by developing the Ultimate Green Classroom.
Affordable Housing Developers Congregate
Members of the Council for Energy Friendly Affordable Housing (part of NHRA) will meet next week in Los Angeles for a
Green Housing Symposium.
About 6% of homes are federally assisted, and developers are looking for ways to leverage money from the recent stimulus package, which
should result in the development of green affordable homes. The synmposium will be followed by the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association's
2009 Spring Developers Forum.
Carbon Nanotube Lamp Begins to Glow
A 1.4 micrometre nanotube has become the smallest incandescent lamp in an experiment to study quantum effects. The filament will be used
to test Planck's black-body-radiation law (which predicts how light will be emitted by matter under the assumption it is made up of discrete
packets of energy).
Feature Stories
UK Moves to Collecting Food Waste: Homes in South Oxfordshire will get new recycling bins that include a small bin for food waste with a lockable lid and a smaller caddy to keep in the kitchen. Almost any kind of food will be accepted and will then be diverted to be composted.
Lights Out in Harmony: The town of Harmony, FL, is the recipient of the Dark Sky Development of Distinction Award of the International Dark-Sky Association. The award honors communities that actively promote a more natural night sky. The community tries to incorporate and protect nature using elements of the urban design, and is among the first master planned communities to consider the night sky in this equation. Naturally dark night skies are disappearing as urbanization spreads around the world, and the IDA seeks to preserve some of this historical environment.
Original Green Roof Builder Enjoying Big Sur: Architect Mickey Muennig moved to Big Sur, CA, in the early 1970s, while developing eco-minded architecture, including green roof construction. His new home blends into the countryside, and required both environmental and earthquake reviews before it could be built in an area with some of the most stringent building requirements. An exquisite blend of native plants (coastal grasses, chaparral, bush lupine and ceanothus) set off spectacular views.
Editorializing
Consistency Is All I Ask: Noted green building consultant Jerry Yudelson says that we need support for green building that does not falter. When government subsidies and guidance went away in 1985, he said, "the industry collapsed overnight." To avoid a repeat, we need building codes that accurately reflect realities of global warming, governmental incentives that will not go away after a few years, and a lasting infrastructure connecting owners, managers, and agencies over green practices.
Gail Koffman contributed to today's stories.Scientists Establish a Carbon Budget for Humanity
To avoid serious environmental damage, scientists say that humanity cannot afford to add more than one trillion tons of carbon to the atmosphere.
This sets a limit of about one-quarter of the remaining known fossil fuel reserves available to use. More than that risks pushing average temperature up
by more than two degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels.
Robert Redford Resists New Green Development
Despite a history of supporting environmental causes, Redford is against a proposed development of 275 green housing units near his home in the Napa Valley village of
Angwin, CA. Some there say they are preserving the "beautiful agricultural and rural heritage" and complain that the development will
increase traffic. However, the houses would be built on property now owned by a local college, and likely some of the homes would be sold to people
that work their.
California Cities Look at Public Funding of Solar Panels
Cities are looking at how they can use California law (known as AB 811) to help their citizens finance solar panels. The law allows borrowers
to pay back investments in solar panels through property tax payments over a 20 year period.
Feature Stories
NY Naval Yard Captures Green Firms: The remade Naval Yard in New York has been repurposed as an incubator, a facility specializing in supporting startup companies. One of them, IceStone, took advantage of the benign environment to overcome early difficulties manufacturing their green product, as shown in this video.
Twitter Quitters: While Twitter is going through an expansion as celebrities join up, its retention rate is less than stellar. Twitter tends to keep only about 40% of new users after they've tried it for a month. This compares with 70% or more for Facebook and MySpace.
Palo Alto Bans Foam Containers: The Palo Alto, CA, city council has banned expanded-polystyrene containers from local food establishments. The new ban will not immediately take effect to allow establishments to work off their existing stocks. Foam containers break down very slowly, and discarded containers can end up in streams and the bay, where they pose a risk to wildlife.
Understanding Complexities of Solar Panels Necessary to Proper Purchase: Solar panels have become complex machines for generating electricity. Minimum warranted power, STC/PTC ratings, efficiency ratings, and other independent information is necessary to understanding what you may be purchasing.
CO2 Soaring in Arctic
A study of CO2 levels at Zeppelin research station on Svalbard, Norway, suggests levels have reached a record high. Pre-industrial-revolution levels
were around 280 ppm, but the station measured levels at 397 ppm. The new data suggests levels are changing 2-3 ppm per year, a rapid rate. Scientists believe that
levels above 450 ppm would result in temperature increases of two degrees Celsius on preindustrial global average temperature.
NAFTA Challenge for New California Low-Carbon Fuel Rules
California's recently adopted rules requiring energy producers to take 10% out of the carbon intensity of their products by 2020 may be in for
challenges from producers that claim NAFTA and WTO rules would prohibit the requirements. Canadian officials think the rules discriminate
against dirty sources of fuels like tar pits. The rules force refiners to consider the carbon footprint of the fuels they produce.
Since oil refined from oil sands requires large expenditures of natural gas, this puts a strain on synthetic fuel producers. But, nothing in the
regulations appears to be different based on where the fuel is produced.
Electric Car Resurging
The all-electric car is about to make a comeback, based on lighter, more sophisticated and efficient batteries. Billed as second cars with
a range of about a hundred miles, they will be used for running errands, taking kids to school, and similar tasks. Nissan expects to have
a model out by the end of next year. This will be a full car that seats five and can charge to 80% capacity in less than a half-hour. One lesson
automakers learned from the last cycle was to field test their cars. So, they have them out in government fleets before putting
them on the market for consumers.
Feature Stories
Green Necessity Forces Real Estate Industry to Learn: The sudden change of sustainability from a fringe interest to a mainstream trend has forced many in the real estate industry to go looking for information on green homes and construction. This is creating a demand for green building education for a wide segment of the industry. A number of institutions are developing to fill the gap. But, the best place to learn may be on the job, as property teams put their employees through LEED-EB certification and similar training.
20 MW Solar Thermal Plant Comes Online in Spain: A new solar farm that can generate enough power for 10,000 households is going online near Seville, Spain. The Abengoa Solar facility boasts a 531-foot tower, the world's largest, and captures energy from 1,255 mirrored heliostats.
New Material Maximizes Gas Absorption: A new material of zinc oxide made with nanocluster crystals maximizes the surface area of the substance, allowing it to capture gases (such as hydrogen) in tiny pockets. An once of the material has the same surface area as a football field and may help researchers overcome storage problems that currently make hydrogen power storage impractical for most applications. The substance makes use of tiny variations in the electrical charge of hydrogen molecules that cause them to stick briefly. Large surface areas magnify this effect.
Builder Knowledge
Home Ventilation Required in Tighter Houses: According to the EPA, houses can have air pollution levels two to five times that of outside air (at the same location). Many homes are gaining energy-efficiency through tightening up the envelope to stop air leaks. But this can lead to increased indoor air quality problems unless the home is properly ventilated. Controlling air flow is the key to saving heating and cooling costs, but requires positive measures, such as ventilation fans and heat exchange ventilators. Fortunately, newer equipment is Energy-Star-rated and can be whisper quiet.
Economics of Net-Zero Homes Shifting: After last year's price increases in energy costs, architects and homebuilders have re-evaluated the economics of energy efficiency. While ecologically-friendly housing for many years has been sold on its environmental merit, future energy pricing is being factored into current building equations. "Actually saving money has been considered the last hurdle for the green movement, which got sideswiped by the economic crisis." But, the pace of technological change is making buying decisions tough, not unlike the situation in the home computer market during the 1990s.
Questions Prepare for Solar Panels: Twelve questions from the American Solar Energy Society help home owners get the right solar panels. Click through to take a look.
Solar Compared to Wind Power: If you match up solar vs wind power right now, who wins? Solar power, according to this analysis by Solar Feeds. Just on costs: "You would need six wind turbines to equal the performance of one 600 watt solar panel, on a daily basis, plus tower costs and all the other costs."
Producing Biofuel Can Be Dangerous to Your House
Producing your own biodiesel in your garage can burn your house down. Fire officials are warning of the dangers and considering new restrictions.
"Ferocious" fires and explosions blamed on backyard refining operations have been reported in many states, as the ingredients
are highly flamable. Even those who advocate the practice warn of the dangers, asking people to take precautions such as storing chemicals
in metal cabinets and keeping fire extinguishers on hand.
Obama Calls for More Science Spending
President Obama wants more than three percent of the nation's GDP to go to research and development. In remarks at the annual meeting
of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, the President also called for a renewed commitment to math and science education.
Is the Cost of Environmental Repair Being Understated?
Robert Samuelson of Newsweek report that claims being made about the relatively low cost of addressing global warming are understating
the actual costs. He cites a claim from the Environmental Defense Fund that it would only cost ten cents a day per person to solve climate
change, which would be true only under the most optimistic economic conditions. While this may be true, motivating the public to take action is
not an easy task, and possibly overstating the costs risks demotivating the exact people that need to make changes.
Feature Stories
Want Green? Start Small: The Wall Street Journal asked leading architects what makes a green house. Their replies, while not intended to stretch the limits, still include some interesting innovations. The common theme, however, is that small is the basis of green. "The smaller thing you can create, the more sustainable it is," according to architect Steve Mouzon, of Mouzon Design in Miami Beach, FL.
European Parliament Sets 2019 Target for Zero-Net Energy Homes: Late last week the European Parliament set 2019 as the target for all new homes in Europe to be built to zero-net energy standards. The definition of a zero-net energy home according to the decision is a building where "as a result of the very high level of energy efficiency of the building, the overall annual primary energy consumption is equal to or less than the energy production from renewable energy sources on site."
Solar Panels Evaluated: Here are three top-quality PV solar modules that provide top value for those looking for a great buy.
Technology
Eestor Demonstrates Their Supercapacitor: Eestor, a company designing a supercapacitor to be used by Zenn Motor Company, has announced that they have achieved a relative permittivity of 22,500, demonstrating that they are on target to produce specialized energy storage units (EESU) that can be used instead of batteries to power cars. The company issued a slight correction today.
Current Events
Berkeley Brower Center to Open: A new environmentally-friendly office center will officially open next week in Berkeley, CA, and will house at least 10 environmental nonprofit groups. The center, named for the first executive director of the Sierra Club, was made of 53% recycled material and carries the highest rating for green construction. It was designed by San Francisco architect Dan Solomon and is attached to an affordable housing complex. The Brower Center will have open house 11:00 AM to 7:30 PM on 10 May 2009.
AIA Show Starts Wednesday: The AIA 2009 National Convention and Design Expo starts Wednesday 29 April 2009 and runs through Saturday at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA. The Chronicle (see main link) thinks that convention visitors might want to check out the affordable housing in the city. It's certainly more expensive to live in than most places visitors might come from.
Construction Industry Already Making Progress
Builders already recycle 97.5% of structural steel, 65% of reinforcement steel and 80% of asphalt, according to Stephen Sandherr, CEO of the
Associated General Contractors of America, more than any other industry. Builders are taking steps to further reduce their emissions, including
maintaining their equipment in better condition and using it more efficiently. The effort saves tons of materials and prevents over 75 million tons
of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
Chicago to Get Largest Urban Solar Power Plant
Exelon and SunPower are teaming up to build 10 MW of PV into a Chicago brown field on Chicago's south side. The $60 million project would
lease 39 acres of the West Pullman Industrial Redevelopment Area to set up 32,800 solar panels.
Wind Power Comes to Great Lakes
The New York Power Authority is looking for companies interested in developing offshore wind projects in the Great Lakes. The agency wants
to get at least a 120 MW of energy from Lake Erie or Lake Ontario. The Great Lakes Offshore Wind Project will help New York reach the governor's
"45 by 15" goal to get 45% of the state's electricity through improved energy efficiency and renewable sources by 2015.
Feature Stories
Amish Survive on Hard Work: You might think that the recession has affected everyone in the country, but one large sector of people are buffered from the downturn: the Amish. But, even their isolated economy is feeling the effects from their customers, who are not buying as much. Still, a lot of customers come from upscale households, which are still spending. "If they want to spend, they want quality," says Raymond Bontrager of Maple Lane Woodshop in Wisconsin. Since the Old Order Amish eschew most modern conveniences and thrive on self-sufficiency, they are relatively isolated from the typical ups and downs of the wider economy.
Energy Expert Teaches Hands-On Workshops on Going Green: Dan Chiras, a former full-time college professor with years of study and writing in the field of sustainable development, has opened The Evergreen Institute Center for Renewable Energy and Green Building in Gerald, CO, and is providing workshops on home energy efficiency, solar electricity, wind energy, passive solar heating and cooling, natural building, natural plasters, and more.
GeoSmart Energy Continues to Grow: Despite the downturn, GeoSmart Energy in Cambridge, Ontario, has continued to expand. Their geothermal products can save up to 80% of energy compared with ordinary furnaces and air conditioners.
Simon Roofing Ramps Up Green: An internal effort at Simon Roofing has started to result in major changes at the company, including cutting energy usage by more than a quarter. The company is recycling the PVC material in roofing membranes, diverting more than 800,000 pounds from landfill. As an indication of commitment the company installed a roof-top garden, which they called a "vegetative roof". "People worry about a leaky roof; well, the plants take care of that," said Jim Petuch, director of the county Division of Recycling and Reuse in Mahoning County Ohio, where the company is headquartered.
Cities Step in to Foreclose
The City of Riverside, CA, is using money from the federal government to help it buy and renovate foreclosed homes. The homes are then sold back,
typically to first-time buyers. Cities are stepping in to stabilize neighborhoods. Areas with multiple foreclosures create maintenance issues, and
"It's demoralizing, it threatens neighborhood stability, and it will lower property values," according to Erik Strunk, community partnerships director
from Glendale, AZ. By providing support for mortgages and money to do repairs, cities mitigate the damage and can bring families back into neighborhoods.
Insurance Industry Beginning to Adjust Policies to Address Climate Change
It appears that increasing numbers of companies are begining to address climate change with mandatory risk disclosures and more products to
help reduce energy use. Reduced driving is one criteria now being used to favor those who create less greenhouse gas by driving less.
The industry is also finding that green buildings are more resilient.
SF Contractors Complain About Excessive Fines
Contractors complained to the Police Commission that they are being hit with excessive fines for double parking under the umbrella language of "unsafe worksite."
Complaints extended to selective enforcement, vindictive prosecution, lack of due process, and harassment by SFPD officers. The commission ordered
officials to appear to discuss the issue and set guidelines for future enforcement.
Feature Stories
Massachusetts Development Attracts With Net-Zero Energy Homes: The Wisdom Way Solar Village in Greenfield, MA, is selling net-zero energy homes. PV and solar thermal provide the energy, which is conserved by good insulation and windows. The maker, Rural Development Incorporated, is building homes for multiple income levels. Heat can come from a sealed combustion Monitor room heater in the central living area.
Students Learn About LEED Platinum Home: Students of the Riverdale High School visited a LEED Platinum home in Portland, OR, for a symposium on sustainability. The home is completely self-sustaining for water, and has one of the highest ratings in the country. But it's still looking for a buyer.
Happy Earth Day to you!
Taking on the Hard Challenges
While Earth Day often emphasizes soft changes we can all make to run the earth in a better way, here are ten difficult things we need to do
to save the planet. Don't look unless you're prepared to be challenged.
Titanium Nanotubes Increase Hydrogen Production
Researchers at Northeastern University have created a process to improve performance of solar cells that produce hydrogen gas from water.
A potassium residue on titania nanotubes (previously known to produce hydrogen gas from water, electricity, and sunlight) increases the hydrogen
production. Hydrogen solar cell designers could use this discovery to optimize performance.
Just Joking About Earth Day
Video. Listen. Watch. Laugh. But remember: "Earth Day people can be very unforgiving!" [Warning: Contains items you might not want to view
while eating.]
Feature Stories
You Think That's Weird?: Try out these six new building materials, including sandstone made from sand and bacteria. Magnus Larsson, a student in London, came up with a process that uses bacteria to turn sand into artificial sandstone. [We covered Litracon, one of these six, before. See On the Horizon for 2009-04-14.]
SIPs So Impressive They Sold the Company: On doing his research to build a community, Jimmy Farlow became so impressed by structured insulated panels that he bought his own SIP company in North Carolina and moved it to Blairs, VA. Improving on his experience with SIPs to build energy-efficient houses, he is now seeking funding to use polymers and energy cells in construction, which would produce reduced energy savings of as much as 90%.
Ring City Maximizes Green: South Korea is considering building a new eco-city named Gwanggyo. As envisioned by Dutch architecture group MVRDV, the city center would be designed as rings so that the areas available for plants could be maximized.
Disappearing Waste Water: "What percentage of water that goes down the drain is actually lost forever?" This was a question World Changing took on recently; a question from a reader answered by Sarah Kuck and Julia Levitt. I quibble only with a few minor points. Mass can be destroyed. That's what makes nuclear reactions so powerful. And a certain amount of water is being lost by the earth all the time as it evaporates into space. That said, it's pretty clear that the questioner had a point. Just because water goes down the drain doesn't mean it disappears, never to be heard from again. And, Kuck and Levitt's point about the cost of making it useable and carting off the remains hits that point on the head.
EPA Releases Determination Greenhouse Gases Are Hazardous
The Environmental Protection Agency has determined six greenhouse gases are a danger to public health and welfare, a first step toward
regulating them. The report is expected Friday and will also say tailpipe emissions from motor vehicles contribute to climate change.
Virgin America Will Report Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Virgin American Airlines is the first to pledge to report its greenhouse gas emissions to the nonprofit Climate Registry each year.
Virgin operates modern Airbus aircraft estimated to be 25% more CO2 efficient than other domestic fleets.
Why Pay More?
Why pay more for your bathroom tissue if it's made from recycled materials? Paper manufacturer Marcel's new Small Steps is priced less than
equivalent tissue made from raw material (35 trees for the average consumer each year, a family of four using about two tons). [video]
Feature Stories
McDonough Delivers Talk on Cradle-to-Cradle Design: Environmental engineer William A. McDonough at Cornell University told an audience, "We need to design materials that are 'nutrients' and design systems to recover and recycle these nutrients." He also noted that we can incorporate products and materials into closed cycles for safe reuse, citing research that has eliminated most of the harmful chemicals typically used in textile seating fabric. With this, fabric for the new Airbus380 is "clean enough to eat if you ever crave fiber mid-flight."
Dark Green Not So Extreme: A surprisingly large segment of the population may be green pioneers, exhibiting at least seven identified environmental actions, such as buying products that use less packaging, consuming less energy at home, or recycling. A survey by Porter Novelli of 11,700 Americans found that 7% fit the definition. This article takes a look at a number of dark green people.
Frustration Leads to Green Hive Near LA: Frustration led green builders to plan a new green building center in downtown Los Angeles, expected to open later this year. Green Hive will provide architects, homeowners, contractors and vendors an exchange for eco-friendly information. The centerpiece of the hive is a library where the public can do research at no cost. The space is also expected to hold is a cafe, cyber lounge, exhibition area for new technologies, and a marketplace for vendors to display new products.
Bozeman Panel Discusses Green Building: Architects Dan Stevenson of CTA Architects Engineers and Don MacArthur of MMW Architects discussed green building for a panel sponsored by NewWest.Net at the Designing the New West conference in Bozeman, MT, last Friday. MacArthur said, "I don't view green building as a product. It's a process toward a product." Robert Young of the Red Feather Development Group said, "It's always about getting a roof over somebody's head."
Registration Opens for LEED Credentials
The Green Building Certification Institute has now opened registration for two new LEED credentials: LEED Green Associate and
LEED Accredited Professional Operation and Maintenance. LEED Green Associate shows understanding of basic skills and is necessary to obtain
further LEED AP credentials. LEED AP O+M is for professionals with advanced knowledge in green building practices and shows specialized
expertise in building operations and maintenance.
New Study Counts Costs of Fossil Fuel
A report by the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering says that coal-fired electricity would cost more than double
if the costs to human health and greenhouse gas emissions were counted. The author of the report said it was the first time a study of
hidden power costs had been undertaken in Australia.
Protestors Want Duke Energy to Stop Coal-fired Plant
About 300 protestors came out Sunday to urge Duke Energy to halt construction on a new coal-fired power plant near Charlotte, NC. About forty
protestors were arrested.
Feature Stories
Earth Day Celebrated Around the World: Earth Day events in San Francisco included learning how to make a "zero-waste lunch" for kids and the joys of worm composting bins. Landscaping company Cagwin & Dorward talked about their environmental strategy, and their sustainability manager said the company has reduced energy use by more than a quarter.
Household Energy Smacked Down: Martin LaMonica has spent almost a year competing in the Energy Smackdown, a combination "community-outreach program, contest, and cable TV show." Video recorded teams as they competed in various events to reduce energy usage, auto miles, and trash generated. The results aren't in, but some of the lessons are. After getting an energy audit (required of all participants), LaMonica realized that "a caulk gun will pay off quicker than solar panels." But he got the solar panels, anyway, and reduced his energy use enough to start selling power back to his utility company.
New Levels of PV Efficiency: The Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands has reached new levels of efficiency on full-sized solar modules with 16.4% aperture-area efficiency. The first commercial production will come from solar cell manufacturer Solland Solar.
Green Homes Still Hard to Find: Despite hype and quite a lot of building, finding green homes outside new-built areas can still be a challenge. Techniques for finding them include working with savvy real estate agents and looking for energy-efficiency certification. Additional resources are listed.
Home Remodeler Steps Up to the Task: Home remodeler, Shirey Contracting on Puget Sound, is building a zero-energy home for its owners. After 20 years of using SIPs in construction, Donna and Riley Shirey plan to use them for their own home, along with photovoltaic panels, a solar hot-water system, a wind turbine, and LED lighting.
Green Terminology Losing Its Edge: Mental saturation has set in as need for everything to be sustainable makes it hard to distinguish products simply by labeling them "green". When everything's green, then nothing is. Or, is it? Many products are only relatively green, better than traditional products but hardly sustainable. This article suggests you avoid buzzwords by looking for certifications.
Molecular Layer Key to Heat Transfer Between Bodies
Research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute shows that how strongly materials are bonded together correlates with the speed at which
heat moves between them. A thin atomic layer painted between them can dramatically change heat transfer. The discovery helps better understand
how water sticks to or flows past a surface, and could alter the way insulating material is made.
The Edge Picks Malibu
U2's Edge has picked Malibu to build homes in an environmentally sensitive area, causing some of the residents to sing out. The famous guitarist
is not as well known as Bono for his philanthropic causes, but when he announced he wanted to install five new homes in an unincorporated area
above the town it triggered complaints that it would ruin the area. David Evans (known as The Edge for his haunting, high-strung riffs) says,
"These homes will be some of the most environmentally sensitive ever designed in Malibu—or anywhere in the world."
AIA Housing Awards Include Sustainable Homes
The American Institute of Architects's annual housing awards include a number of sustainable homes, including the Laidley Street Residence in San Francisco, CA,
and the Madison @ 14th Apartments in Oakland, CA. The Saint John's Abbey and Monastery Guesthouse in Collegeville, MN, another winner, includes
environmental philosophies found in the Rule of Benedict to inform its design.
Feature Stories
Vatican Orders Massive Solar Plant: I jest. But, the smallest country in the world may soon have one of the largest PV installations. The new solar farm will go near the village of Santa Maria di Galeria, and is expected to produce 100 MW of solar power. The Pope is known to be an outspoken proponent of fighting global climate change.
Solar Air Heating Association Formed: The inaugural meeting of the Solar Air Heating World Industries Association will take place next month in Munich, Germany. The organization is intended to support the interests of solar air heating, worldwide.
Mixed-Use Complex Complex to Build: The East College Street Project in Oberlin, OH, is finally under construction. But Sustainable Community Associates became somewhat reluctant real estate developers in order to overcome the many obstacles to funding, planning, permitting, and building the project. "We began what was in retrospect a fantastically foolish endeavor, but over the last three years have cobbled together a mix of public, private, and philanthropic funds and are moving through predevelopment architecture and legal work," said Ben Ezinga, one of the project founders. The project is described as a "multi-party, multi-layer financed, mixed-use, mixed-income housing and retail project", but it has the capacity to change the economics of Downtown Oberlin and can act as a model for similar projects in other locales.
Buyers Rein In Luxury Items: Kitchen and bathroom remodelers want efficient and renewable fixtures, while demand for luxury items has taken a sharp downturn, according to a survey by the AIA. Accessible and easy-to-use areas are also gaining popularity, but high ceilings are meeting resistance, as people worry about heating the extra space. Buyers are aware of the value of green products, and perhaps want to impress their neigbors with sustainable homes.
Pulte and Centrex to Merge
A merger of Pulte Homes and Centex Corporation would create the largest home builder in the United States. The combination would
create a more balanced corporation from Pulte's side, reducing its dependence on active adult communities and the relative size of its land holdings.
It would also give Pulte access to North Carolina and other markets where Centrex has a presence. The merger is expected to complete before the
forth quarter of 2009, subject to regulatory approval.
San Francisco May Establish Green Home Improvement District
After rejecting a Home Depot in the Bayview and Bernal Heights neighborhoods area, San Franciscans may approve a new Lowe's as the anchor
for a proposed Green Home Improvement District. Planning will include community meetings and interviews with contractors, property owners and businesses.
The proposal is designed to revive a part of downtown that has become a "ghost town" and act as a stimulus for green jobs.
Green Real Estate Education Still a Hot Business
Despite the down economy, Green Real Estate Education has certified more than 4,000 real estate professionals in the last two years. With
green homes often selling faster and carrying a premium over traditional houses there is ample incentive for real estate agents and others
in the industry to learn about green homes.
Feature Stories
$13 Billion Plan for High Speed Rail Outlined: President Obama announced details of the administration's three-part program to revive rail transportation in the U.S. The plan includes projects to remove existing bottlenecks, build new high-speed corridors, and revise further rail plans. The President called for: "A system that reduces travel times and increases mobility. A system that reduces congestion and boosts productivity. A system that reduces destructive emissions and creates jobs."
Proposed Ontario Feed-In Tariffs Would Create PV Incentives: Ontario's Green Energy Act, if passed, would bring German-style incentives to North America. Proposed tariffs would pay about $0.64/kwh to homeowners that fed power into the grid, a rate guaranteed for 20 years.
Toronto May Require Green Roofs: Some in Toronto, Canada, want to mandate green roofs on buildings. But very few parties seem to support the legislation. Even Green roof promoter Steven Peck of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities opposes the move.
Mega Solar Power Plant Vies for Nation's Largest: A new 48-MW power plant by First Solar may become the nation's largest solar farm when it is built near Boulder City, NV. It will compete with FP&L's Babcock Ranch power plant to be built near Fort Myers. (See 2009-04-10 On the Horizon.)
Light Cores Supporting Newer Furniture: Newer cores of paper or fiberboard called X-Board add structure and rigidity to furniture products, doors and other components. Xanita makes X-board from cellulose fiber-based rigid boards and roll-goods taken from post-consumer, recycled paper waste.
Wireless Energy Dashboards Coming to More Homes: The stimulus package may be helping wireless energy monitoring dashboards come to homes. They help owners monitor and control electricity use, which is especially important with homes that have smart meters. About 6% of homes nationwide have smart meters, but the government is promoting them and has set a target of placing them in 40 million homes.
Ductless Heat Pump Systems Improve Efficiency: Eliminating ducts from your HVAC system eliminates air leaks and heat transfer leaks to produce a more efficient system. Ductless heat pumps use lines to move hot/cold fluid through lines from the outside compressor to heads mounted in outside walls.
20 Minute Neighborhoods: Getting to efficient, green houses will take more than building them in new ways. We will need to redesign our neighborhoods to support the kind of houses we want. A 20-minute neighborhood is walkable, allowing residents to live without being tied to cars.
Sears Offers Earth Day Promotion: Sears is offering home energy audits for $99 between 20-26 April 2009.
Summertime's Coming!: The best dryer for your clothes might still be the sun, but if you live in one of the many communities that have outlawed clotheslines you may want to look at these tips for getting the most from your clothes drying appliance.
Events
Fallon Sees Home Show: The ninth annual "Go Green" Home and Garden Show is coming to the Fallon Convention Center on 18-19 April 2009 in Fallon, NV. The show, sponsored by Soroptimist International of Fallon, will be Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parking and admission are free.
It Came From Outer Space
They may say that in a few years about electricity if startup Solaren is able to launch its power satellites. They got a boost from
PG&E, which has agreed to buy up to 200 MW of power from the company at a fixed price, should it be able to put its satellites in orbit.
The satellites would microwave the power to Fresno, CA,
where it would be converted to electricity.
Refurbishing Existing Buildings Important for Carbon Goals
A report from the UK Economic and Social Research Council and Technology Strategy Board says that buildings will need to be radically
refurbished to meet government goals. The study, "How people use and 'misuse' buildings", notes that domestic buildings release far more
carbon than commercial, public or industrial buildings, and will need serious changes to approach net zero carbon. Taking on this task
in Britain would keep 23,000 teams of people busy for 40 years, according to the study.
Green Volts Shifts Course
San Francisco company Green Volts announced that it has replaced the CEO and is shifting course from building its own power plants to
licensing its product. The company produces concentrated solar systems, which use mirrors to concentrate sunlight on a high-performance
PV cell. Green Volts won the 2006 Clean Tech Open. It isn't the first to shift to product development in response to economic conditions.
Feature Stories
Ready for Global Climate Change?: You might want to design your next house for extreme weather. Check out how several homes stacked up to environmental challenges. It could give you ideas for your next house. Just make sure it will float if you plan to build it near (today's) sea level.
Massachusetts Groundsource Heatpump Saves Energy: A new system for a Newburyport, MA, family is saving 30% on heating and cooling bills after installing a groundsource geothermal system. The owner recommends putting in this kind of system for new homes. The family's commitment to help control climate change influenced their decision, as well as other aspects of their lifestyle.
Old-Style Green Walls Sprout Vines: Livingroofs.org notes that vines are surprisingly effective at keeping homes cool. Daily temperature fluctuation can be reduced by as much as 50%. And, in the winter, they can reduce heating demand by 25%.
Home in Greensboro Gets Eco-Friendly Rugs: The Greenspiration home in Greensboro, NC, is getting area rugs from Karastan. The rugs are Axminster woven in Eden, NC, and are made of 100% Wools of New Zealand-branded wool.
Growing Your Own Synthetic Building Materials: Where does Trex come from? At least a part of it may come from your recycled plastic vegetable bag. This "film plastic" goes into manufacturing synthetic building materials.
Oregon May Adopt Mandatory Paint Recycling: A bill in the Oregon legislature would require manufacturers to establish a statewide paint-recycling program. Recycling by a government entity in Portland, OR, currently gathers significant quantities of unused paint. Oil-based paints go into cement production, and latex paint is combined and filtered before being resold. [The toxicity of recycled paint depends on the source paint, which can contain significant levels of VOCs.]
New Jersey Businesses Pack in the Green Products: Actually, I'm bringing you this because of the picture of the irresistable lambs. But while we're on the subject, the sheep from Valley Shepherd Creamery contribute to organic artisan sheep's milk cheese. The area includes Green Elements and Design, a showroom for eco-friendly finishes for the home. Owner Suzie Blodgett learned how toxic traditional building products can be when she was renovating her own home. She says that people don't realize until they come to the store what a difference a healthy space makes, and that even just using green cleaning products can make a difference.
Give Me Back My Water!
Southern Nevada Water Authority wants its water back. It claims that water it sells to homeowners belongs to it after they finish using it, and they
want it back to put into Lake Mead. Water returned to the lake can be taken up again, processed and resold to residents around Las Vegas, NV,
which the agency claims reduces
the need to take water from the Colorado River. So, the agency wants to prevent property owners from catching and recycling water they buy, and
has now made it official policy to oppose graywater recycling. Manuevering may have killed an assembly bill that would have permitted graywater
recycling, despite the increased efficiencies of recycling the water on site, where it doesn't have to be shipped back to the lake and then cleaned
again.
New Transmission Lines Create Potential Environmental Problems
As renewable energy facilities (solar plants, wind farms and geothermal production) start to replace older technologies, they often create the need
for new transmission lines, sometimes in environmentally sensitive areas. A recent agreement by Southern California Edison,
rerouting transmission lines from a solar plant in the Mojave desert to San Diego around a protected State Park may be an example of things to come.
The plants themselves are sometimes concerns. One proposed solar farm would cover up to 9% of New Mexico. Placing production near the consumer
reduces the need for these tradeoffs.
Pennsylvania Making Energy Efficient Buildings Easier
A new $25 million High Performance Building program will provide grants and loans to construct or renovate buildings meeting standards for
overall sustainability. Governor Edward Rendell hopes that the money will help reduce energy consumption, which he expects to again bump up against
production limitations. He says, "Despite efforts to produce more energy, at some point, demand will exceed our generation capacity."
The program funds anyone building or renovating a primary residence, as well as businesses with 100 or fewer full-time employees.
Feature Stories
Saving Winter: Many places have plenty of cold to get them through the summer; it just arrives during the winter in the form of snow. One Canadian official (Gloucester-Southgate Councillor Diane Deans) wants her city to store some of that snow to use for cooling buildings the rest of the year. This is a proven technology that has been used in Sweden, where a snow dump is used to cool a hospital. The snow is mixed with wood chips to help prevent it from melting prematurely.
Carbondale Revises Standards: The energy efficiency code in Carbondale, CO, has served as a model for other communities, but will come under revision after only two years because some think it has become too easy for builders to meet. Also, the building of a super-sized home prompted a new schedule that sets standards tailored to the size of the home.
Reduce Carbon, Get a Bigger Mortgage: HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan likes lower mortgage rates for energy-efficient homes and believes they can be very powerful tools in residential energy conservation. He also thinks consumers deserve more information on the energy efficiency of homes before they buy.
Re-Growth Pods Set to Help in Disasters: 1:1 Architects has now delivered the prototype for its pre-fab super-shelter for people in disaster zones. It's a "fireproof, bombproof, earthquake proof panic room" with a kitchen and washroom built in.
Sustain Displaying New Mini-Home: Canadian manufacturer Sustain is displaying a new mini-home model that is street legal. Smaller eco-homes are becoming more popular, and this model is apparently packing them in.
See-Through Cement: Want to see through walls? Now you can if they are made from Litracon, see-through concrete developed by architect Aron Losonczi. This concrete would be a better insulator than standard concrete mix, since it's made with optical fibers that pass through prefabricated blocks. But don't think you'll get a crystal-clear view. It's a block made out of concrete (and glass).
Summertime's Coming!: As one more way to prepare you for SUMMERTIME, we bring you five tips for having a greener summer, in this case with greener lawn care.
ACE USA Launches New Coverage: ACE USA is launching a Contractors Pollution Liability program (ACE Green CPL℠), which covers contractor and sub-contractor environmental and pollution-related exposures.
Editorializing
Huffington Post Columnist Wonders Who Reads About His Project: Columnist Tom Schey wonders if the interest in his fantastically sustainable home faded with the economy. "When the fake economy was all go go, the world was gaga over going green green.... That focus, that path, seems to have dissipated [and been] replaced by an effort and focus to just get through this mess. But the environment is suffering just as much as our economy." Is the environment on hold because we are willing to trade it off (in the short term) to get our lifestyles back?
Green Goes Beyond the Pocketbook: Peter Morris of construction consultancy Davis Langdon says that the recession has shown the fallacy that we can always predict the economic outcomes of choices. By taking the stick of economic return away, the recession may lead to a more honest dialog about the value of green changes.
Recycled and Reclaimed Building Materials May Contain Radiation
While reclaimed building materials can be an extremely green addition to projects, it pays to watch out for their contents. Some of these materials
may be radioactive. Some contain fly ash, which has varying levels of radioactivity depending on the original source (coal). This can cause
radon release. Recycled granite can also contain radon.
Arizona Funds Greener Homes
Arizona is preparing to offer over $200 million to fund home energy audits, improve green building energy envelopes, install Energy Star
appliances, and perform weatherization upgrades. Residents can learn more at the free Arizona Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Community Outreach
conference in Phoenix, AZ, on 16 April 2009 starting at 10:30 AM. The conference is sponsored by the Arizona Solar Power Society.
Non-Toxic Paint Gaining Popularity
Major companies are continuing to roll out paints with less volatile organic compounds as customers increasingly search for zero-VOC paints.
Many brands now have zero-VOC bases and are starting to use colorants that also have no VOCs. This includes AMF, which has had a low-VOC paint for
many years and is now offering Safecoat Naturals with zero-VOC colorants.
Feature Stories
Tesla Roadster Takes Monte Carlo eRally in One Charge: The Tesla Roadster finished the 241-mile Rallye Monte Carlo d'Energies Alternatives with charge to spare. Other entrants included a Ruf-modified Porsche 911 and a handful of Mitsubishi iMiEVs. After finishing, former F1 driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen took it around a Monte Carlo Rally special night stage.
North Bay Affordable Homes Get Green Components: Affordable Housing Week is coming in May, and these four projects in Napa County, CA, show that green building can be integrated into even affordable housing.
Wall Street Journal Columnist Finishing Green House Project: Columnist Nancy Keates is building a new home in Portland, OR. This is an experience with a number of lessons about the practical affects of construction constraints on finishing construction.
Myco Foam?: A new company may be providing you with fungus in the walls. But don't panic, Ecovative Design's Greensulate is a material produced from waste agricultural products, such as buckwheat and cottonseed hulls, using a specific type of fungus. The fungus breaks down lignin in these byproducts and produces a strong biological matrix that can replace foam insulation. The material is created in the dark at room temperatures in a process that is less energy-intensive and cheaper than typical foam manufacturing.
Poof Goes the Wind Turbine: Make sure your wind turbine is properly designed for lightening strikes. Special techniques are required to attract lightening and channel it to ground to prevent exploding shrapnel raining down in your yard. Lightening can heat the blades to 30,000 degrees Celsius, enough to cause them to explode.
Japanese Town Lights Up With LEDs: Take a dim view of wasted watts? You might want to move to the town of Azabu no Oka in Miyoshicho, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, which is being lit almost solely with LEDs. Street lights, exterior home lights, and pathway lighting will all use LEDs, which use about 1/4 the power that would be needed from incandescent lighting. The town was developed by Toyota Smile Life and has 204 housing plots.
Ohio Gets First LEED Platinum Home: A new affordable green home in Columbus, OH, is the first LEED Platinum home in the state, and will be the first in the state to have both solar thermal and photovoltaic solar panels on one roof.
Summertime's Coming!: Here are a few tips for making this year's grilling greener than last year's.
Radiant Rugs: If you can't install radiant heating in your floor, you can still get many of the benefits using the RugBuddy by Speedheat. I'm not sure I'd put this over a non-slip pad, which may outgas chemicals when heated, but the electric heat from this product may be more efficient than trying to heat a room with forced air.
Events
Charlotte Clean and Green: An Earth Day Celebration: An Earth Day celebration will be held Saturday 18 April 2009 from 10 AM to 3 PM at the main campus of Central Piedmont Community College and along Elizabeth Avenue in Charlotte, NC. The event is sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council Charlotte Region Chapter, Central Piedmont Community College, the Sierra Club, the City of Charlotte, and Mecklenburg County.
Energy Secretary Chu Issues Serious Warning
The earth is "like the great ship Titanic", on a collision course with disaster unless action is taken, warned Energy Secretary Steven Chu
about the threat of global warming at a recent energy conference in Washington, DC. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said that San Francisco
was one of the first large cities in the country to effectively reduce carbon emissions—to 6% below 1990 levels—using a variety
of methods, including fueling city fleets with biodiesel and improving the energy efficiency of buildings.
Florida City Planned With Complete Solar Power
In one of the world's biggest photovoltaic projects, Florida Power & Light will spend $350 million to build a 75 MW photovoltaic
plant for Babcock Ranch, a planned city
to be built near Fort Myers, FL. The developers, Kitson & Partners, intend for the new city to become
the world's first to get all its electrical power from solar energy. Babcock Ranch is an area north of the Caloosahatchee River,
mostly in Charlotte County. A large part of the area has been set aside for the Babcock Ranch Preserve, and some of the area will be
managed agricultural land, subsequent to a 2006 settlement with the Sierra Club.
Empire State Building Turns Green: The Empire State Building will undergo a $20 million renovation, with the goal of obtaining an Energy Star rating of 90 from the EPA and a LEED Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. All 6,500 windows of the landmark building will be replaced with triple-pane insulated windows to reduce energy consumption. The retrofit is supported by the Clinton Climate Initiative. It is expected to reduce energy use by 38% and pay for itself in three years, and energy savings could total $4.4 million per year.
Feature Stories
Massachusetts Shoots for Zero-Energy Buildings: Joining other state governors who have set targets to drastically reduce their state's carbon emissions, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced a plan for all new commercial, public, and residential buildings in the state to achieve zero net energy by 2030. The Massachusetts Zero Net Energy Buildings Task Force released a report, "Getting to Zero", detailing the road map for this ambitious plan.
Events
"Green Roofs" Conference in Atlanta: Green Roofs for Healthy Cities will hold its seventh annual conference awards and trade show, "Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities: Pushing the Envelope", from 3-5 June 2009 in Atlanta, GA.
Entries Accepted for Builder's Choice Awards: Applications are now being accepted for this year's Builder's Choice Design and Planning Awards. Winners will receive coverage in the October 2009 issue of Builder magazine and will be honored at an October event in Washington, DC. Entry forms and fees are due by 8 May 2009.
Gail Koffman contributed today's stories.Los Angeles Passes Green Building Ordinance
The Los Angeles City Council recently passed the nation's first public-sector green building retrofit program, the "Green Building Retrofit Ordinance,"
that will create green jobs and reduce carbon emissions. The ordinance calls for the green retrofitting of all city-owned buildings over
7,500 square feet or built before 1978, with a target of hitting LEED Silver-level certification. Highest priority will be on retrofitting
building in low-income communities, as well as buildings that directly benefit those communities, like libraries and recreation centers.
Peninsula Buildings Going Green
Many Peninsula municipalities are establishing laws that will set minimum environmental standards for new housing. Peninsula cities that have
already adopted green building legislation include: Brisbane, Burlingame, Hillsborough, Los Altos Hills, and Palo Alto. An ordiance has been proposed
for South San Francisco, and in July, the City of San Mateo will vote on adopting mandatory green-building standards that were established last
summer on a voluntary basis.
Wind Fuels Nation's First Green Industrial Site
High-efficiency lighting, wind turbines, solar panels, and recycled-aluminum walls all make a former Brooklyn Navy Yard building site
the nation's first green industrial facility. The building site is part of New York's $250 million capital funding program to turn
the Navy Yard into a green-industry hub.
Feature Stories
AIA Partners With Green Globes Organization: Green Building Initiative, the administrator of the Green Globes building assessment tool, has signed an agreement with the American Institute of Architects to collaborate on research, education, and training on sustainable buildings, with the common goal of establishing carbon-neutral buildings by 2030. The Green Globes, an environmental assessment program for buildings, originated in Canada but has been eclipsed here by the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system.
Green Banks Sprout From Ruins of Economic Crisis: While traditional banks are falling on hard times, "green" banks are sprouting across the country. These banks are often advocates for sustainability and green building. For instance, loan officers at the e3bank in Pennsylvania are accredited by the U.S. Green Building Council to provide loans and lines of credit to commercial and residential borrowers planning green building projects and retrofits. New Resource Bank in San Francisco offers a "solar home equity financing" loan. It also offers one- to two-year fixed-term solar certificates of deposit, where the funds are designated to help fund solar power projects in California.
Events
Green Abundance at the Go Green Expo: Green building products, green appliances, furniture and cleaning products will fill the halls of the second annual Go Green Expo, taking place on 17-19 April 2009 at the New York Hilton. Stars Mariel Hemingway and Nigel Barker will be among the presenters, as well as environmental leader Josh Dorfman and bestselling authors Julie Edelman and Seth Leitman.
Chicago Chapter of U.S. Green Building Council Hosts Fourth Emerald Gala: Leaders of the green building community will be awarded at the Chicago Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council's Fourth Emerald Gala at the Swissôtel Chicago on 16 May 2009. Celebrating the sustainable building movement in Illinois, the event includes a dinner and awards presentation of the 2009 Natural Leaders Award recipients.
Gail Koffman contributed today's stories.Centex Producing Energy-Efficient Homes
Centex is building Centex Energy Advantage homes in the Minneapolis area. The homes are up to 40% more efficient than typical 10-year-old homes.
Straw Stands Up to Earthquakes
Darcey Donovan is leading the way to finding quake-resistant houses for poor rural regions that can be assembled from local materials. One
of her designs using straw was tested successfully on shaking tables. Straw, built using the right techniques, performs well in earthquakes
and is energy efficient and fire resistant. This interview describes some of the techniques.
SolarCity Helps Energize Blessing of the Sun Observance
SolarCity has joined other organizations to power traditional ner tamid lamps across Southern California that were used by synagogues in
the 7 April 2009 observance of the ancient Jewish blessing of the sun. The ceremony is traditionally only held every 28 years, when
the sun, moon, constellations and planets return to their position thought to represent those at the creation. Eternal lights
(called "ner tamid") are used in a number of religions
and are now often electrical, rather than wax or oil lamps historically used.
Feature Stories
Traditional California House Built With Bamboo: You can now find a traditional California-style house made from bamboo, but not in California. The house was a research project for a team led by Yan Xiao, a professor at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and is located in Changsha, Hunan Province, China. Approximately 2,700 square feet, it is constructed to US design codes for timber structures, but uses GluBam two-by-four studs and captures the look of a California home. It is also easier to build than the reinforced concrete structures typical in that area of China.
Packing 3 Million People Into a County Designed for 50,000: This in-depth feature looks at water usage in San Diego County, a county that only receives enough rainfall to support about 50,000 people. Some are adapting by installing xeriscaping. But a few figure that a nice grassy lawn is par for the course.
Hemp Lime Building Material May Create a Growing Industry: Researchers are studying the feasibility of using building material made from hemp and a lime adhesive, which has a "better than zero carbon" footprint. A UK consortium is pursuing the project.
Evaporating Gas: If the gasoline engine goes the way of the dodo, what are we to make of gas stations? These ten will probably find other uses.
Tate Modern Pyramid for the Ages: It might be a design that would satisfy the ancient Egyptians, but the modern angles will finally give the Tate Modern museum in London the look its relic power station exterior previously lacked. The design by Herzog & de Meuron of an 11-story, 21,500 square meter extension will feature a perforated engineering brick facade that will allow light through at night. The current plan allows three vast oil tanks under the building to be used for performances, galleries and offices. More information is available from The Guardian and Building Design. In the fog the soft outlines may match the still grandeur of the Rothkos inside.
New Solar Cell Uses Optical Fiber
A new type of solar cell formed around a glass tube promises to direct light to specific areas of sensitized pigment. While the new
device has a low efficiency (1%), this is expected to improve as the size shrinks. The new cells do not need a transparent electrode. This
may allow the cell to use near-infrared light, which has not previously been used for dye sensitized solar cells.
Wind Power Inflating Green Job Numbers
It looks like the wind industry has surpassed the coal industry in the number of workers employed, with 85,000 jobs in 2008
(compared with 81,000 in the coal industry). This comes with a 50% increase in installed wind capacity.
PowerHouse Sold
American Green Group is set to acquire PowerHouse Enterprises, a member of USGBC and a maker of modular LEED-H homes.
Feature Stories
Padding Around in Your PUMA: Nothing to do with green homes, exactly, but it's still neat to watch. GM and Segway have hooked up to design a vehicle that makes the traditional golf cart sexy. I wish the lithium ion batteries were available for the GEM. But don't expect it to go over 35 MPH. That's the federal limit for this kind of car, which lacks safety features for faster travel.
Free Solar Power: Well, if you win. TV advertising will soon be steering you to enter a sweepstakes for a free solar energy system. Of course, if you want a sure thing, you might want to just buy solar panels now.
Financial Incentives Come to North Carolina: Utilities in North Carolina are slowly responding to a 2007 law designed to encourage conservation with financial incentives. Regulators have approved financial incentives for natural gas customers and other incentives are expected to kick in this year. But incentives can require careful research because they may apply to specific systems and licensed contractors from pre-approved lists, and the tax consequences can be complex.
Blue Jean Baby: Green building doesn't need to be expensive (especially if you build in green from the beginning), but then there's the other option, as this house remodel in the Corona Heights neighborhood of San Francisco shows. Kate Stoia and Rony Maoz set out to build as green a house as they could. The result changed a "featureless box" into a three-story house with a blue jean twist (insulation made from used blue jeans). Maoz repaired the sinking foundation himself (he owns a pier-drilling business). Another thing that jacked up the price was a living roof, which required extra roof support to handle the extra weight of a roof-top garden.
Probabilities Are You'll Pay More to Remodel: More than you expected, that is. Consumer Reports figures show that half of eight common categories of home remodels have a better than 50% chance that the project will go over budget: basement finishing, bathroom remodels, kitchen remodels, and room additions.
Editorializing
The Mandatory Solar Option on New Homes: States are considering making solar a mandatory option that home builders would have to offer buyers of new homes. California, New Mexico, Colorado and other states have laws or are considering them to require some form of solar energy be an option on all new builds. Considering that much of California is awash in sunshine, law makers here should consider solar mandatory on homes where sunny days outnumber cloudy ones.
Akeena Solar To Supply Solar Panels for Low-Income Homes
A Morgan Stanley subsidiary intends to buy panels from Akeena to install them and maintain them for low-income citizens. No details of the deal
were released. They will acquire Andalay AC panels, which have inverters build in, making them easier to install.
Green Project in Birmingham Counts Quadruple
Hoping his new home will stand out in a down market, Emmit Stallworth of Alpha Home Builders is building a home expected to have four
separate green certifications from government agencies. The 20-30% energy savings should be a big draw. Stallworth insists, however, that
"you won't be able to look at it and tell it's a green-constructed home."
Next Generation of Green Includes Passive Homes
Four techniques have bubbled to the top as new cutting-edge green concepts: Passive homes, green roofs, rainwater harvesting and
radiant heat. A passive house uses about 1/20th the heating energy of a similar-sized conventional house. Radiant heat conserves energy by
generally heating the occupants rather than the air in a home. There are actually two types of electrical radiant heat, one that uses wires and another
that uses amorphous metal technology, as well as hydronic systems, which pump warm water through pipes.
Feature Stories
Keeping Green Out of Green Fields: Protestors want to keep 2,600 homes from being built in the former World War II airfield near Cranleigh, in the UK, insisting that they want homes in town, not in green fields. Opponents complain about increased traffic, but it's unlikely this many new homes would result in tens of thousands of cars, as suggested.
Santa Cruz Schools Prepare Students for Green Jobs: In famously eco-friendly Santa Cruz County, CA, schools are helping prepare their students for green jobs. Programs include study of environmental science, energy management and horticulture, and help prepare students for environmental careers ranging from organic agriculture to solar panel installation. The programs extend to Cabrillo Community College, which is preparing students to work in renewable energy fields.
Greenhouses Come Out of the Bottle: Richard Bennett of Scottish sustainable development charity REAP has developed a method of creating greenhouses out of plastic bottles. These are making great projects for school children in Britain. On hot days the greenhouse can add 10 degrees to the outside temperature.
Businesses Weigh LED Lights as Green Option: LED lights are still very expensive compared to CFLs for replacing incandescents. But businesses are weighing them as replacements for various reasons. Business that want to demonstrate their commitment to going green can use the bulbs to make a statement. Also, the quality of light is different (for better or worse, depending on your application). There is also a cost to changing each bulb, and if that cost is high the better longevity of LED bulbs may pay for itself.
The Long Summer: Planning to take advantage of the sun? Not enough money to install solar panels? How about making your own suntan lotion (the stuff that helps you get tan). You may find mixing your own cost effective.
Smaller Homes for Seniors: AARP research shows that many baby boomers are cutting back on their plans for retirement homes. Architects, such as Doug Van Lerberghe, have noticed the difference. He says the trend has been apparent for about a year, and he has seen floor plans shrink by about 250 to 300 square feet. Others are seeing similar trends. Pulte is offering less expensive kitchens and other features in their homes.
Events
SIP Global Schedules Conference: The Global Green International Trade Show and Convention will take place in southern California at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, CA, on 2-5 September 2009.
Solar Thermal Conference in Germany: The fourth annual European Solar Thermal Energy Conference is scheduled for 25-26 May 2009 in Munich, Germany.
Green Real Estate Education Booms Despite Bad Economy
Despite the slump in the real estate industry, Green Real Estate Education
reports it has certified over 4,000 "green" real estate professionals within the last two years through its certification courses. Course
topics include an overview of green building concepts; sustainable building materials and design; energy ratings; and, renewable energy basics.
National Green Building Conference Features Green Home Tours
The National Green Building Conference,
sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders, will be held 8-10 May 2009 in Dallas, TX. The conference features a green home tour,
certified green professional courses, and the National Green Building Awards dinner, where awards will be given for the best green
residential design, new home construction, remodeling projects, and outstanding green advocacy efforts.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell To Power Home
Plans are underway for a revolutionary home in Aiken, SC, powered by a combination of a hydrogen fuel cell and solar energy, making it the
second hydrogen-powered home ever built. Solar cells on the roof will generate electricity, which will be used to separate oxygen from hydrogen.
The hydrogen is captured for later use. When it is needed, the hydrogen runs a fuel cell to produce electricity to
run the home. It will be a "net zero" home and is expected
to feed power back to the electric company, earning credit toward the extra energy produced.
Bonus Stories
The California Home, Garden & Patio Show: The California Home, Garden & Patio Show is taking place this weekend at the Santa Clara Country Fairground in San Jose. The show will be open from 11 am to 7 pm Saturday 4 April and from 11 am to 6 pm Sunday 5 April 2009.
Gail Koffman contributed today's stories.Builders Offer Mortgage Unemployment Insurance
With high unemployment rates damping down home purchases, builders and real estate agents are trying to lure home buyers with a new
kind of mortgage unemployment insurance. The nonprofit organization Rainy Day Foundation administers the programs for builders, who pay
from $450 to $900 per customer for the coverage.
Green Standard Trains Builders to Purchase Green Products
The Green Standard will offer a specialized on-line training program to green builders and designers that can lead to certification as
a Green Purchasing Accredited Professional. Set to launch April 23rd, the online program will support efforts toward best practices
in green product evaluation, selection, and purchase. Course participants can also take an exam leading to designation as a
Green Purchasing Accredited Professional.
Tighter Homes Endanger Indoor Air Quality
Airtight homes lower carbon emissions and significantly save energy, but require special efforts to prevent air quality problems. The
tighter envelopes can trap pollutants, especially if the home is filled with synthetic building materials, which outgas harmful chemicals.
Reduced air flow can also allow moisture to build up, resulting in toxic molds. To ensure proper air flow, newer ventilation fans,
like those in Panasonic's WhisperGreen line, can respond to conditions and selectively expel steam and odors, while low-rate continuous
ventilation removes indoor air pollutants. In climates with wider temperature variations, a heat-recovery ventilator
can exchange air while retaining about 85% of the heat during the exchange.
Bonus Stories
AIA to Help Cities Become Eco-Friendly: The American Institute of Architects will give ten selected cities technical advice on how to make their communities more eco-friendly under its Sustainable Design Assessment Team program. The AIA will send a group of eco-design experts to each city for a scoping visit, followed by an in-depth three-day examination from a multidisciplinary team, which will create a report outlining each community's strengths and weaknesses on sustainability and its opportunities/obstacles to change. About ten cities are already on the target list, including: Port Angeles, WA, Hilo, HI, Beatrice, NE, and Eagle River Valley, CO.
Chicago's "Greenest Home" Exhibit Reopens: The Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry has reopened. A guided tour goes through a three-story modular and sustainable green home, designed by Michelle Kaufmann Designs. Participants view and hear about the latest innovations in reusable resources, smart energy consumption, healthy-living environments, and easy ways to go green.
Start Children Off in Green Playhouses: Children can be budding green home builders as qb Playhouses enables kids to design, build, and play in their unique, eco-friendly play homes. The playhouses are made with environmentally-friendly wood. Children can select any color and print for the walls, doors, windows and details.
Gail Koffman contributed to today's stories.Fire on Ice May Sequester Carbon
Clathrate hydrate, which looks like regular ice, is a lattice structure that holds methane molecules. Scientists are looking at ways to replace
methane with carbon dioxide, sequestering the carbon while releaseing methane to burn. If a way can be found to pump carbon dioxide into
clathrate hydrate containing rock, the methane can be captured while reducing the impact of the carbon released.
Afforable Housing Struggles to Pay for Green Features
The limited pricing for affordable housing makes it difficult for these projects to recoup investments in green features. Governments
are beginning to find ways to bridge the funding gap. One example is the Massachusetts Green Affordable Housing Initiative, a program to help
fund small photovoltaic systems. And the California Solar Initiative has two programs that specifically finance solar systems for existing buildings.
California also has a program for solar on multifamily housing.
Energy Efficiency Raises the Rent
A report from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors shows that green rental properties command 3% higher rents (per square foot) and sell for
16% more than similar non-green buildings in Britain.
Bonus Stories
Gorbachev Encourages Oil Companies to Turn to Renewables: At the 33rd NRPA International Petrochemical Conference, Mikhail Gorbachev, founder of Green Cross International, encouraged leaders to make their way out of the current economic woods by investing in solar power. He also graded major nations, giving China, Russia and the UK low grades (Britain got a D- for their minor support of solar). Germany and California came at the top of the list.
American Clay Provides Eco-Friendly Wall Plaster: American Clay Earth Plasters are an eco-friendly alternative for internal walls. The plasters are non-dusting, mold and fade resistant, and come in a wide variety of colors.
Island Goes It Alone: After 10 years of planning, the Spanish island of 10,000 inhabitants, El Hierro, is set to become nearly energy self-sufficient. Oil will be banned completely, and energy will be generated from solar and wind sources.
Natural Pool Designs Dispense with Chlorine: TechnoPure offers alternative pool systems that don't use chlorine to treat pool water. Their system pumps water through a chamber containing coated titanium plates and copper and zinc ions. This eliminates harmful byproducts that can potentially form from chloride in the water.
Landscape Architecture Magazine Moves Online: Starting this month (April 2009) Landscape Architecture magazine will be available in digital format. The digital format will be available from Zinio.
Editorializing
Relocalization Promotes Sustainability: Relocalization is the movement to concentrate resources more locally, which can generate greater self-sufficiency, resilience, security, and vibrancy. This is a broad movement that offers a formula that does not require high-tech to develop a more sustainable lifestyle. Relocalization solutions are simple, time-tested, and possess a number of interlinking benefits. A relocalization project can have a broad local base of support and participation.
Vinyl Floors Implicated in Autism
A recent study indicates that children who live in homes with vinyl floors are more likely to have autism. The likely factor is phthalates, emitted by the vinyl.
The study by researchers in Sweden and the U.S. is not conclusive and was not focused on autism, but it turned up the apparent link by accident.
Representatives of vinyl floor makers note that the low levels of phthalates emitted by their floors do not tend to evaporate because they have
low volatility. The study suggests that more specific research is indicated.
Detroit Housing Sees Some Revival
With housing prices in Detroit hitting extreme lows, the city may be fertile ground for the build-out of sustainable homes. Gina Reichert & Mitch Cope
started a mini-boom when they acquired a house for just under $2000. Others jumped in, with one couple buying
a home for $100. Now
Reichert and Cope have established Design 99,
an architecture firm in a store front that offers design for 99¢ a minute, hoping to create an open dialogue with the general public.
Michelle Kaufmann Addresses Water Usage
Michelle Kaufmann, award-winning green architect, has released a new white paper, "Turning the Tides of Crisis: Prioritizing Water Conservation Before It's Too Late",
addressing the looming water crisis. The U.S. faces "total water bankruptcy", according to Kaufmann. She argues for "full cost pricing" of water,
which takes into account all the societal costs. This would create incentive to use water less wastefully. [Separately, a new look at one of
Kaufmann's structures notes that it has held up well
to the intense Chicago winters where it's located.]
Bonus Stories
Cuba Provides Examples of Coping With a World Without Oil: After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba was left without ready access to oil. This "Special Period" led to a fundamental reorganization of food production, with a boom in urban organic agriculture. Prior to the Special Period, much farm land had been depleted by oil-based chemical fertilizers. It required careful application of manure to restore fertility. The experience may be a paradigm for dealing with peak oil, but if the pain of this experience is going to be replicated on a worldwide scale we might hope that other means are available.
China Rolls Out Subsidies for Their Solar Industry: While solar power is a small factor in power production in China, the government has begun subsidies to the solar industry. The move is seen as an effort to capture green jobs, which have increasingly become a strategic economic move. The subsidies cover about half the cost of installed solar power.
Parking Lots Grow Solar Forests: Envision Solar wants to turn parking lots into solar forests by filling them with solar canopies (solar panels mounted on central supports), which can be partly transparent to allow dappled sunlight through. Solar power can go straight to (any) electric cars parked below to recharge them.
Brits Begin Construction of Self-Sufficient Home: Planning permission has been granted to a green home that can operate completely off the grid in Sussex, England. Designed by David Cowan, chief executive of East Grinstead-based Cowan Architect, the house took six months of coordinating with the Town and Country Housing Group. The house is a pragmatic use of existing technology and conservative architecture. While it costs about twice the normal property in the area, prices for similar houses would be less if the homes were produced in volume.
DoE Encouraged to Advance Building Codes
A survey of energy efficiency professionals released by Opinion Dynamics Corporation suggests that educating consumers and enhancing building codes
should be a top priority for Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu. The results from the poll suggest that concentrating on building codes would be
instrumental in reducing energy demand over the next decade. Most of these professionals believe that framing energy efficiency as an
economic issue was the best way to make the case for action.
Combining Fresh River Water and Salty Sea Water Generates Electricity
Researchers have started to develop two new ways to harvest the energy potential of mixing river water with sea water. One method allows fresh water
to flow across a membrane into sea water, a process that increases pressure on the salty side. The increase pressure is used to drive turbines.
Another method allows positively charged sodium ions and negatively charged chloride ions to selectively flow into fresh water cells. The difference
in electrical charge can then be harvested, similar in concept to tapping a battery. A prototype plant, using the first scheme, is being constructed
at Södra Cell paper pulp factory in Tofte, Norway. The technology has the potential to provide a significant percentage of world power needs
with a new source of renewable energy.
30-Year Mortgages at 4.85%
The average rate on home mortgages is at a historic low after the Federal Reserve said it would purchase T-bills. The low rates should interest
potential home buyers.
Bonus Stories
Pluto Rising: Suntech Power Holdings says that it's Pluto solar photovoltaic technology has reached 18.8% efficiency on mono-crystalline and 17.2% on multi-crystalline PV cells. Pluto is based on PERL technology developed at University of New South Wales in Australia, which achieved 25% efficiency in the laboratory. Thinner metal lines and unique texturing lead to increased absorption.
OptiSolar Manufacturing Plans on Hold: OptiSolar said it is suspending manufacturing operations in Sacramento and its Hayward headquarters, after reportedly spending tens of millions of dollars setting up operations and obtaining pledges of $20 million in utility tax and property tax refunds from Sacramento County.
California May Limit TV Wattage Hogs: The California Energy Commission is considering banning TVs that don't meet active use efficiency standards. The standards might accelerate the move to LCDs from plasma, as LCD sets take less energy to operate. New standards could save gigawatts of power each year.
Bringing the Office to You: Want to cut out your commute? Have your company bring your office to you with this portable office shed that they can drop in your back yard. Available in the UK, it is purportedly cheaper than standard office space.
Shell House Opens in Japan: Japanese Architect Kotaro Ide designed a novel way to deal with the damp environment of the woods of Karuizawa--a set of flattened concrete tubes that beautifully open to the surrounding forest and bring it inside with wood plank floors.
Energy-Saving "Living Walls" Planned for Downtown Office Building
You may have seen green roofs, but have you ever seen living plants growing out of
office building walls? That's the ambitious plan that a Carmel Valley architecture
firm has for a 10-story office building in downtown San Francisco, making it the
first commercial structure in the country with "living walls." Plants will sprout
out of the crevices between floors on the building's glass exterior and vines
will snake around the vertical and horizontal trellises on the building's sides.
Of course there will also be a green roof.
San Francisco Ranks High in Sustainable Cities
A large solar incentive program, urban gardens, recycling, and banning plastic bags at
major grocery stores have earned San Francisco a number two spot in the recent
SustainLane rankings of the most sustainable cities in the country. Portland took
first place, thanks to its innovative green buildings and sustainable urban policies,
while Seattle came in third place. The West Coast seems to once again be leading the new frontier.
NRDC Introduces Green Building Resource
The Natural Resources Defense Council, a long-time supporter of green business, recently introduced a
website,
which provides tools and resources supporting green business operations. This includes
a guide to planning a green building, from its inception and design through marketing.
Bonus Stories
Sierra Club Supports Green Homes With New Website: The Sierra Club launched a green home website, which includes a carbon footprint calculator, a home health quiz (to assess indoor air quality and other factors which impact homeowner health).
New Report Simplifies Purchase of Green Building Products: A report released by Atlanta-based Air Quality Sciences takes the mystery out of green building products, aiming to make it easier to select products for buildings. The report, "Primary Product Standards and Certification Programs: A Comparison," includes explanations of eight green building product certifications, including EnergyStar, GreenGuard, GeenSeal, the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. It also provides a table defining which certifications are accepted for ANSI standards, as well as LEED-CI and LEED-NC certification credits.
Autodesk Opens Green Headquarters in Boston: Autodesk, the maker of two and three-dimensional green design and engineering software, is practicing what it preaches by recently opening an environmentally-friendly East Coast headquarters in Boston. The company plans to design and build green buildings throughout Massachusetts. The 65,000-square-foot, three-story building is LEED-platinum certified. "Green" practices are applied throughout, such as the cafeteria only serving organically grown foods, using recyclables, and incentives for employee carpooling.
Gail Koffman contributed today's stories.LEED Buildings Doubled Growth in 2008
The number of LEED-registered and LEED-certified projects doubled in 2008 from 2007, as well as the size of the buildings, according to
the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED-registered projects jumped up to more than 20,000 by the end of January 2009, while the
square footage of LEED-certified construction rose 92%, from 148 million to 284 million square feet. (Can we say, "More wattage for the buck"?)
Green Preservation Benefits From Reusing Whole Buildings
Seattle is hosting a new lab to study ways to make historic buildings more energy efficient. The
Preservation Green Lab
will go in the Piston & Ring Building, one of several Capitol Hill buildings (in Seattle) renovated by the lab's director. "In most cases
the greenest building is a building that already exists", said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation,
which created the new lab.
Groundbreaking Legislation Introduced for a Green Bank
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) recently introduced a "Green Bank Act" bill, proposing a bank which would provide affordable loans for
energy-saving home improvements. The Green Bank would be an independent, tax-exempt, wholly-owned corporation of the United States government
established to fund clean energy and energy-efficiency projects.
Bonus Stories
USGBC Sets LEED Exam Schedule: The U.S. Green Building Council will launch officially the 2009 project registration and certification schedule on 27 April 2009. Projects can still register under the old guidelines until 27 June 2009.
Sunnyvale Approves Green Building Ordinance: The City of Sunnyvale, CA, approved a green building ordinance with strong targets. The new ordinance will take effect 1 January 2010. LEED Silver and BIG 70 will serve as baselines for a system.
Gail Koffman contributed today's stories.Home Sales Up 4.7% in February
New home sales made an unexpectedly strong increase in February, jumping 4.7% over January. Existing single-family homes in California also
increased 83% in February.
Fireman's Fund Launches Green Homeowners Insurance
Fireman's Fund will begin issuing green home insurance in New York. The insurance provides for rebuilding a home using green standards, should it be
destroyed. Homeowners with green houses will also get a 5% discount on their policies.
City Dwellers Create Less Greenhouse Gases Than Rural Ones
Greenhouse gas emissions of large cities are far below those of rural areas. A study by David Dodman at the International Institute for Environment and Development
indicates that, on average, city dwellers emit fewer greenhouse gases than the average for their country. But critics say that the study doesn't
adequately account for outsourced emissions.
Bonus Stories
Dreyfuss House Becomes Testing Ground for Advanced Systems: Richard Dreyfuss's renovation of his Encinitas property is designed to cut his water and power bill to near-zero. The project will be a case study on how to use innovative energy-saving technologies in an existing house.
A Little Green City in Manhattan: Designers Ten Arquitectos and Enrique Norten suggest a new mixed-use structure that provides green roofs on multiple levels and also maximizes the views. The green roof would improve storm water runoff management and reduce fine particulate matter air pollution.
UK Experts Like Zero-Carbon Homes, But Trade Groups Worry: Experts generally welcomed new guidelines on how to reach UK standards for new homes to be energy-neutral by 2016, but trade groups, including the Federation of Master Builders, worry that the government is "going full steam ahead with no acknowledgement of the worst crisis to face house building in a generation, and no understanding that they may actually make the situation worse."
New Saw Cuts Thinner Silicon Wafers: The Applied Materials new HCT MaxEdge wire saw uses new controls to produce lower wire tension and smaller diameter cutting at high speeds. This should result in lower prices for cystaline solar cells.
Editorializing
Oil Company Water Leases in Colorado May Prevent Further Growth: Oil companies hold millions of acre-feet of water rights in Colorado. Combined with other claims on the oversubscribed Colorado River, there may not be any futher assured supplies of fresh water in the state. Joan McCarter of Daily Kos says that "some very tough decisions" will need to be made.
Buildings Need to Be Data Centers: That is, we need to collect and analyze data from buildings to see how they are performing, according to Marcel J. Harmon, a built environment analyst. "We generally don't view buildings as experiments, even in the building construction industry, but that is essentially what they are," he writes.
Groundsource Geothermal Makes It to the Big Media
This clip from the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams shows how installations of this kind of geothermal heating and cooling has
been growing in the United States, and a bit of how it's done. [Note: The video only says that the crew shown is going down 200 feet, but the
graphic makes clear that you don't need to go down that far.]
Mountaintop Mining Halted
It's a headline I thought I'd only see in The Onion, but the EPA has stopped mountain top mining while it evaluates its environmental impact.
If this holds, I think we can expect to see an increase in the price of coal, making renewable energy sources that much more attractive.
Co-op Boards Fight Out the Green Details
Convincing skeptical homeowners to invest in green changes is a tough sell in troubled economic times. But doing homework pays off, and
getting actual figures from nearby co-ops can help sell the deal. Standing room only crowds at talks about greening buildings suggest that the
interest is there to move forward on projects.
Bonus Stories
Finding Deserted Desert May Be a Problem: Right when we thought LA could get all its power from wind turbines and solar farms in the nearby desert, a hitch may throw that plan off stride. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who counts the 1994 California Desert Protection Act as one of her proudest achievements, wants to set aside about 800,000 acres of southern California desert as a national monument, putting it off limits for development. The land includes desert tortoise habitat, wildlife corridors, cactus gardens, and the Amboy Crater (an inactive volcanic crater). California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier said, "If we cannot put solar power plants in the Mojave Desert, I don't know where the hell we can put it." I'm afraid to say. Update (2009-03-30): Study highlights possible damage.
Dupont In on the Solar Boom: Dupont thinks that their solar sales will triple by 2012, reaching $1 billion. The company already makes ten products critical to manufacturing PVs, and is now planning to move into manufacturing them itself. They are putting their weight behind thin-film solar cells, which they predict will grow twice as fast as crystaline PV.
Let Me Tell You What I Mean By Green: Three thousand square feet. Check. Three bedrooms. Check. Outdoor kitchen. Check. $2,370,000. Check. Any green features? Um. We have wood slats. Wood is renewable. Check!
Faster Than a Baby Bullet (Train): CalTrain has a deal with the California High Speed Rail Authority to share their right-of-way on the San Francisco peninsula with bullet trains in exchange for help in electrifying the route. Bye-bye, baby bullet trains! Well, not so fast, actually. This will create a four-track grade-separated system and eliminate diesel locomotives on the run. The original completion for grade separation was 2014, but allow generous time for completing the system.
Hey! It's Not Hay!: Pretty much everything in this article is spot on, except that home builders (I'm pretty sure) are not building homes with hay. That's why they call it "strawbale construction". And it's a good thing, too. I wouldn't want my horse nibbling on my house.
Earth Hour Upon Us
On 28 March 2009 at 8:30 PM local time, that is. Millions of people around the world will turn off their lights for one hour. With lights on dim,
this may be an ideal time for stargazing. Set your watch!
HOA Fails to Keep Out Solar Panels
A Rancho Palos Verdes California homeowner association "Art Jury" declined three homeowners' request to install solar panels, ruling their color
too "blue". California Solar Rights Act prohibits HOAs from denying solar panels for any reason other than "risk to the health or safety of nearby residents."
The city overrode the HOA decision.
Suppliers Huddle to Create LEED-H Model Home
A number of developers have teamed up to help Green Life Smart Life's "green" building home project meet LEED-H certification. The project
helps homeowners understand the requirements of LEED-H certification.
Bonus Stories
Success in Renewable Energy Must Be a National Effort: While much of the focus is on the national economic stimulus, cities and states have been the front lines of innovation. But while solar energy can produce jobs, most of those are concentrated in production, which only helps a few areas, and much of the production is already being outsourced globally. An individual area also does not have the power to bring solar conversion to scale. Thus, a national effort is required. This article discusses developments in Austin, TX, and Toledo, OH.
Buildings Must Add to Human Experience: Llewellyn van Wyk, construction sector expert for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, argues for "transformative buildings", "[Development] must improve quality of life. I do not believe that the 'do least harm' approach is good enough," Van Wyk said.
Study Helps Renewable Developers Choose Options: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have released a report that may help renewable energy developers decide between production tax credits, investment tax credits, and cash grants.
Gail Koffman contributed to these stories.Existing Buildings the Bigger Problem
As San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom notes in Huffington Post
more than half of commercial buildings in San Francisco were constructed before 1978, and those buildings use "far more energy" than those built later
(to stricter standards). The mayor is convening an Existing Buildings Efficiency Task Force to make them more energy efficient,
with a target of cutting energy consumption 20% to 50%. The task force will leverage money from federal Energy Efficiency Block Grants and
existing partnerships with PG&E and private partners.
Natural Homes Help Mitigate Global Warming
Passive solar homes lower energy use by capturing more sunlight and storing it with thermal mass. [Note the embedded links to other resources.]
Every Ion of Silicon
Researchers have developed a new method for manufacturing solar cells from recovered silicon. Swansea University's School of Engineering
helped wafer reclaim group Pure Wafer find a way to create low-cost,
high-efficiency PV modules from a waste product from their main semiconductor wafer reclaim business. The method also
reduces the amount of silicon used in the solar cells.
Bonus Stories
Tesla Out, Edison In: As the nineteenth century came to a close, Nikola Tesla helped Westinghouse devise ways to transfer power safely and efficiently using AC lines, eventually shutting Thomas Edison's company out of long-distance power transmission. Now, the pendulum may be swining the other way as high-voltage direct current (HVDC) is proposed as the most efficient way to build "super grids", continent-wide networks to distribute electrical power.
Nanotechnology Advances Battery Technology: Researchers at Maryland NanoCenter (University of Maryland) have developed new energy storage systems 10 times more efficient than commercially available ones. Nanotechnology processes create millions of identical nanostructures with shapes tailored to transport electrons rapidly to and from storage areas, resulting in high energy density and cells that can recharge rapidly.
Ashland Seeks to Create More Parks: The city of Ashland, OR, wants to preserve its Lithia Park by transferring development rights off the park to a Transferable Development Credits Bank. Oregon law allows cities to create Transferable Development Credits Programs. The city would then use some of the development rights in the bank to reward developers that built affordable housing or environmentally friendly, sustainable homes.
Palo Alto Clears Development With a Green Catch: The City of Palo Alto, CA, has given the green light to the "Tree House" project on condition that the develpers provide "Eco Passes" to every resident. The projected 35-unit complex is targeted at affordable housing, but neighbors complained that additional development in the area would increase already heavy traffic. The passes provide access to Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority buses, and the primary bus route runs past the development on El Camino Real.
Another Island Goes Green: The Greek government is moving to turn the northern Aegean island of Aghios Efstratios into a green island, with all power provided by renewable resources. The current oil-fired generator will be replaced by PV, wind and biomass units. This will be the fourth known completely green island in the world.
Gail Koffman contributed to these stories.Homes Average Going Under $300,000 in SF Bay Area
The average price for a home in the San Francisco Bay Area fell below $300,000 for the first time this century. Sales increased, driven
in part by lower interest rates and more foreclosures. Homes in inland areas tended to lose more value than those along the coast. The number of
homes sold in more expensive communities were near record lows. But the trends can be good for realtors, as the volume increased in some areas.
Some buyers were taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers, which also pushed the number of sales higher.
Build It Green Moves Into Apartments
BiG is set to expand its GreenPoint rating system to include multifamily dwellings. The rating should come within a year. Certified green buildings
tend to retain tenants longer and sell more quickly.
Geothermal Heat Pump Company Expanding
LSB Industries of Oklahoma City, OK, plans to expand its geothermal heat pump and heat transfer coil manufacturing plants. The company believes
that the current recession will be short. The company believes that government incentives will help the green building industry and its
energy-efficient ClimateMaster geothermal units should benefit.
Bonus Stories
Napa Residents Examine Plans for Site: Gathering to ponder "What makes a successful neighborhood?", residents in Napa, CA, are considering what to do with the former Napa Pipe site. The project as it stands is headed for Gold rating in the LEED for Neighborhood Development program, based on a preliminary rating by USGBC.
As Much About Quality as the Environment: Buyers from EarthCraft House appreciate the air-tight quality of the homes, which help keep energy costs down even below increased building code standards. The Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association helped create a green-building template for the homes after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Association of Home Builders creating standards for energy-efficient construction. Pam Sessions, who chaired the committee that led to EarthCraft, said that "It became apparent it was as much about quality as the environment."
Simi Valley Solar Panel Catches Fire
A fire in a solar panel in Simi Valley is being investigated by the fire department there. Fires in solar panels are rare, but not unheard of.
The panels (by Applied Solar) have Class A fire-rating by Underwriters Laboratory and were approved and inspected by the city.
Are We Sunk?
A new study by the Pacific Institute estimates that 480,000 people in California are at risk of flooding from a 1.4-meter sea-level rise. The
report helps clarify the impact that moderate global warming might have if it lead to partial melting of ice packs and glaciers.
GreenVolts Commercializes Highly-Efficient Solar Cells
GreenVolts, a San Francisco company that specializes in concentrated solar power devices, has entered into an agreement with
the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to commercialize the Inverted Metamorphic (IMM) solar cells. IMM has demonstrated some of the highest
solar cell efficiencies (40.8%).
Bonus Stories
Green CEOs Build Companies: Hot companies include Loomstate (in New York), a company that produces clothes from 100% organic materials, and six more.
Advances in Solar Technology Allow Sencera to Obtain Financing: Sencera has demonstrated 8.7% efficiency in Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition thin-film solar devices. The advance has allowed them to obtain an additional $5.2 million in financing.
New Technology May Set Batteries Spinning: Joseph Romm suggests that there is a lot of new battery technology brewing, including a discovery of how to store energy using nano-magnets in magnetic tunnel junctions. The technique uses magnetic spin in very small devices to store energy, and can be used for data storage as well as storing energy.
SBIC Grants 14 Awards: The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council recently announced winners of its 2008 Beyond Green High-Performance Building Awards. The winners include "Coming Home--The Restoration and Greening of 643 Felder Avenue", submitted by Joe Catledge Builders, Montgomery, AL.
Bonus Ideas
Solar-Powered Air Conditions Reduce Electrical Needs: Peter Le Lievre, a co-founder and former CEO of Ausra (the solar thermal power company) has formed a new company to provide solar-powered air conditioning units. The new company, Chromasun, will build a multifunctional solar device that harvests both light and heat from the sun to cool air. The device is more efficient than traditional air conditioners and can cool a building without drawing from the grid during the time when grid demands are highest. At peak times, 50% of electrical power in California goes to air conditioning.
Easy Screens Turn Garages Into Useable Workspace: Fresh Air Screen from Garage Door Screens can be set up easily to cover garage door openings, allowing the space to be used as a workshop without letting mosquitos in.
Infill Filling Up
Compared to the 1990s, more residential building permits are going to the urban core, according to the EPA. While much building still takes place on
farmland, high gas prices and longer commutes have generated more interest in smaller homes in urban settings. Some cities greatly increased
building in the core, especially those tied to the global economy and those that have taken a stand on controlling sprawl.
Homes Shrink
Not just their value, but their size. According to census data, average square footage of single-family homes under construction fell from 2,629
in the second quarter to 2,343 in the fourth quarter last year. "There's a shift in the culture," says Sarah Susanka, who has been on the forefront
of downsized abodes with her Not So Big series of books. "It's a return to common sense," says architect Marianne Cusato, designer of the Katrina Cottage,
a modular kit house.
Completely Self-Sufficient
Designer Michael Jantzen has moved on to the R-house design. Green in every possible way, the small vacation retreat will use wind and solar energy, plus
harvested water, to maintain its energy independence. The home is made from sustainably grown Accoya trees.
Bonus Stories
Measuring Helps Achieve Energy Efficiency: Sustainable Spaces gave the Griffith house a five-hour physical, and provided a number of recommendations, some of which surprised the Griffiths. A tankless water heater, a hot item to replace aging water heaters, was not on the recommendation list for their family of five. A tankless heater would be coming on all the time. "It's like a jack-rabbit start in your car. It wastes gas," said Jason Bowers. Instead, he recommended a new highly insulated 50-gallon water heater with a demand circulation pump. The pump can be used to prime spigots with hot water before they are turned on, saving both water and energy.
Demo Green Senior Home: Collaborating with sponsors, Eskaton Senior Services in Roseville, CA, has created a green senior home with advanced technology and senior-friendly design elements. Working with the architectural firm of Jeffrey DeMure & Associates, the demo home uses LED bulbs in all the recessed lighting, lighting on sensors, and on-demand water heaters. Features for seniors include medicine dispensors that monitor usage and motion sensors that can alert family members if no movement is detected for extended periods, and the GrandCare System allows family members to monitor resident's well-being from a distance as well as exchange e-mail messages and photos.
Never Stop for Gas (or Electric or Anything Else): Marcelo da Luz has driven his solar car into the record books as the longest driven car running solely on sunshine. Braving bears and state troopers (who pulled him over to make sure he wasn't driving a flying saucer), his odyssy has taken him to the arctic circle and southern California. But he is still looking for a sponsor, and had to mortgage his house to get this far.
Noise-Proofing Your Space: Green Glue provides an eco-friendly viscoelastic compound that can be applied between layers of drywall to decrease sound transmission by up to 90%. Not only could this be handy for home offices (to isolate them from noise in the rest of the home), but also for homes near loud highways and other noise sources.
Editorializing
Green Design Principles: Alicia Silva shares six (good) green design principles.
Dimming Skies May Impact Solar Power
New studies show that increased pollution is resulting in somewhat dimmer skies. New data has been collected over land to go with data already
available over oceans. Skies in Europe, however, are getting clearer as declines in pollution there take hold. Researchers warn that proposals
to use high-altitude particle release to combat global warming would also reduce the effectiveness of solar cells. This would affect crystaline
cells more than flat panels and solar thermal, which react better to diffuse light. [The effect would probably be negligible. No solar shading
proposal would likely reduce sunlight by more than 1%, the amount needed to combat global warming.]
California Testing Water Replenishment
How do you keep millions of people alive in a desert? That's the question California water officials must ask themselves every year.
To help, Orange County has developed a Groundwater Replenishment System, which treats wastewater (that stuff from the sewers) to high
quality before injecting it back into the ground. Some keeps ground water pressure high enough to prevent seawater intrusion. Other water leaks
through to aquifers where fresh water is drawn for municipal water. Treated wastewater may someday be piped directly to spigots. The water,
purified with microfiltration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet light, and hydrogen peroxide disinfection, is at least as pure as water sourced from steams
and wells. But so far, officials have not put it directly into the drinking supply (as in other countries). [Note: The definition of gray water
in the article is wrong. Gray water is leftover wash water where the only significant contaminant is soap.]
Sarasota Rethinks Its Growth Patterns
Sarasota County, FL, is changing its development rules, hoping to create better patterns of growth when the economy rebounds.
The drought-striken area is mandating soil-moisture sensors in lawns and better control of storm-water runoff using cisterns, green roofs,
and water reuse systems. Tougher standards for eastern (inland) areas will encourage more attention in the built areas along the coast.
New Urbanism is gaining appeal, and areas divided into divergent use zones may be integrated back into walkable areas where shops are
near residences. New codes will also require properties to work together on parking and drainage systems. The new rules are expected
to spread to other areas of southwest Florida.
Bonus Stories
Saving Energy Shopping Online: Which saves energy: Shopping online or shopping locally? A study by Carnegie Mellon's Green Design Institute shows that shopping online can save as much as 35% on energy consumption. Some companies, such as Buy.com, have goods shipped directly from manufacturers, reducing the energy needed to get them to consumers.
Wisconsin Lumber Stays Around: Laws in Wisconsin are changing to allow lumber to be used locally. State building standards have prevented small sawmills from cutting locally-harvested lumber. But a change will allow these sawmills to sell directly to local homebuilders, although not to retailers. This will help reduce the embedded energy in local woodframed homes.
Green Buildings Should Avoid the Ugly Stick: Should you be able to tell at a glance that a building is green? Should green buildings have a distinct look that proclaims their sustainability? At least, a growing number of architects say, green buildings don't have to be ugly.
Green Living in an Apartment: River Wired is running a series of articles on green apartment living. Articles include: Easy Ways To Get Sustainable, How To Green Your Apartment, Finding A Green Apartment Complex, and Tools for Living Green While Renting.
Current Events
Sustainable Home Design: Solar Energy International will host Building for the Future: Sustainable Home Design, a workshop 11-15 May 2009 in Carbondale, CO.
Trends
Out Is Out: Make room for the infill invasion, as studies confirm the growing demand for compact, infill development over suburban sprawl. Increased commuting costs have buyers looking for homes near hubs and transit stations. A study by the American Institute of Architects shows buyers believe infill homes will retain more value because their locations offer more convenient access to employment centers, commercial opportunities, and other daily household activities.
Economy Punctures Bloated Houses: Designer Russell Versaci is taking advantage of the recession to design smaller, well-built homes. He calls his style "The Pennywise House", and his "Simple Cottage Sampler" provides plans for manufactured homes ranging from 400 to 950 square feet.
Not Part of Any Trend: National Association of Home Builders unveiled its 26th annual New American Home in Las Vegas this year. While it incorporates many green aspects, including 12,000 khz worth of PV and spray-foam insulation up to R-50, some question whether it's really green. Billed as gold level under the NAHB National Green Building Program, it only qualifies under the Model Green Home Building Guidelines, not the more stringent ANSI ICC 700-2008 National Green Building Standard. And, an 8,800 square foot in the desert? No wonder it's surrounded by native plants and drought-tolerant, non-native species rather than grass!
Home Remodeling Continues: Even though remodeling has been reduced, National Association of Home Builders predicts more than $200 billion will go into remodeling this year. People who are looking for the best place to put their money are considering upgrading windows, insulation and their HVAC systems.
Upgrading Existing Homes: Window and door maker JELD-WEN lists three new trends in building: (1) affordable green options allow homeowners to move without blowing their budgets, (2) overstressed homeowners want maintenance-free products so they can use their time for relaxing, and (3) with less movement to new homes, maximizing existing space now has increased priority.
Standards
California Builders Get Behind Standards: The California Building Industry Association is endorsing two building standards: the California Green Builder program from the Building Industry Institute and the GreenPoint Rated program from Build It Green. CBIA wants to see more help to insulate and install modern window systems, rather than tougher energy standards.
New Products
Office Pops Out of the Box: Two architects have developed a green office maximizing the use of cardboard. The Nothing office uses cardboard for walls, signage, beams, tables, shelving and even stairs.
Heliostat Brings Light: Practical Solar has introduced a new heliostat that allows homes and companies to redirect sunlight for better use. The system can concentrate or spread sunlight. It is being used to beam sunlight onto the north side of buildings to light up businesses that would otherwise have to use artificial lighting.
Editorializing
Population Collides With Global Warming in the West: Scientists say climate change is shriveling the snow pack in California's Sierra Nevada. Urban sprawl has forced farm land out of production. While the recession has bought some time, officials in California cities are trying to figure out how to expand the flow when the economy picks up. Are we going to see highly-treated waste water reused in Los Angeles and San Diego?
Bay Area Mayors Unite on Green Direction
The mayors of San Francisco Bay Area's three largest cities are united on goals for fighting climate change. In a Climate Change Compact signed
Friday the cities will pool their resources in developing green programs. The compact includes 10 measurable goals. The cities want to promote
green jobs and green education.
USGBC Names New SVP of LEED
The U.S. Green Building Council named Scot Horst to the new position of Senior Vice President, LEED. Horst is widely recognized as a leader
in the sustainable design movement and participated in a broad range of work related to Life Cycle Assessment. Rick Fedrizzi, president and CEO, said
that the new position "underscores our intent to continue LEED's upward momentum as the market's tool of choice for advancing green building."
ICC-700 Encourages Better Glazing
The International Code Council's new
ICC-700 standard may encourage better use
of windows in buildings. Industry consultant Thomas D. Culp, Ph.D., says, "[the standard] will promote low-E in all regions [of the country],
and possibly some triple glazing in the north. There are also credits for sun-tempered design, passive cooling design and passive solar heating design."
Bonus Stories
Green Education Getting Hot: Colleges and universities are gearing up to offer the best green programs they can, hoping to cash in on the green wave. Oregon State University and Portland State University are collaborating to create $1.6 million of green building research programs. Many other schools have started programs or reoriented existing environmental programs. Our Schools and Training Institutions page provides a list of the educational organizations we know that have such degrees and programs.
Getting the Green Goods: NewHome is planning to open full-service showrooms for green building needs in April, starting with a store in San Rafael, CA. Formerly a conventional store, the new superstores are intended to compete with Home Depot and Lowe's. Along with a retail website, the stores will carry about 20,000 "eco-friendly" products.
New Technique Quickens the Charge for Lithium Ion Batteries: Two scientists at MIT have found a way to radically increase the speed with which lithium ion batteries can be charged and discharged. The technique sets up tunnels through the surface of the lithium iron phosphate cathode using a thin layer of lithium phosphate glass. Batteries with lithium iron phosphate are already in commercial production. This technique could allow electric cars to charge very quickly (if the means can be found to deliver that much current to a car safely). More information here.
Better Pay for Green Energy: Gainesville, FL, has become the first U.S. city to offer higher payments for solar power than grid energy, creating an incentive to buy that is more common in Europe than the States. The city pays homeowners twice the going electricity rate, and the better rates are guaranteed for 20 years. Hawaii and other states are considering following suit.
Organic Dyes Increase Solar Cell Efficiency: Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have achieved 9.8% efficiency with the new organic dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells. The stable, solvent-free cells are cheaper to produce than previous cells.
Gail Koffman contributed to these stories.Green Jobs Visionary Gets Job at White House
Van Jones will join the White House Council on Environmental Quality as special advisor for green jobs, enterprise and innovation.
Jones was author of the 2008 best-seller, The Green Collar Economy, and founder of Green For All, an organization for creating green jobs
in impoverished areas. In addition to serving on the council, he will advance the administration's energy and climate initiatives, with
a special focus on vulnerable communities.
After 10 Million Years, Women Get Houses Built for Them
While there are some obvious flaws in this story, I think it's worth noting that modern consumer research has finally helped builders to find out
what women (and I) have known for many years: homes need storage. When home builder NIH Homes of St. Paul, MN, started experiencing the downturn in 2006
they turned to a sales consultant for help. The result was homes designed for and marketed to women. Their new "woman-centric" homes not only have
a lot of storage, but other features designed to draw in women, such as better vanities, spas, and special lighting. [Personally, I can do without the mood lighting,
but there's got to be enough storage that I don't have to hide my toolbox in the living room.]
The Good Housekeeping Green Seal of Approval
After a century, Good Housekeeping is adding a second seal of approval later this year. Like the current Good Housekeeping Seal, which reassures buyers that
some 5,000 existing products are fit to be used, the new seal will help buyers distinguish products that they can safely buy. This includes
evaluating the product's health value and toxicity. The seal puts the organization's reputation on the line. See more information
here.
Bonus Stories
$1 Million of Green Trouble: Here's an opportunity to learn from someone else's mistake. After five years of construction, neighbors of a green home project have had enough. They asked the city of New Hope, MN, to come up with a traffic mitigation plan for their cul-de-sac for when the home "goes on exhibit". Council members acknowledged that it sounded like neighbors had suffered in the execution of the project, but said any extended remodel by any of them would have resulted in much the same thing. Still, one neighbor labeled the house "a massive science project."
Man's Metal Roof Flashes HOA: A homeowners' association in West Austin, TX, is suing one of the residents after he installed a metal roof without their permission. The HOA complains that the roof reflects light in an unacceptable manner. Homeowner Joe Sigel notes that he was not asked to stop the construction of the roof until it was near completion. States are now moving to pass laws that prevent homeowners' associations from prohibiting green building practices.
LEEDing Hotel: The Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle, WA, will become the city's first LEED certified hotel. Hyatt just completed a new Global Sustainable Design Guidelines that assesses it's global carbon footprint.
A Palace Not Fit for a Queen: Buckingham Palace, that is, if we believe reports that it is one of London's most environmentally damaging buildings. Thermal imaging shows it rife with energy leaks, and a team of surveyors scored it 0 out of 10. No wonder they spent spent £2.2 million on utility bills last year!
Paint Store Target of Counterfeit Bills: Sherwin Williams in Tracy, CA, was the target of six counterfeit $20 bills. That's all you really need to know, the rest is a police blotter.
Answer: $80 Billion: Question: How much will green building material be worth in 2013? FYI: It was about $57 billion last year.
California Warns of Green Scams
The Contractors State License Board has issued a Consumer Alert to warn the public about scams in "green" contracting trades. One contractor
in Sonoma County, CA, has had his license revoked.
Where Do Architects Go in Economic Winter?
One suggestion is that they be put to work doing energy audits of existing federal buildings. This could put "tens of thousands of architects to work."
An expansion of the AmeriCorps program to include a "Design Corps" could employ thousands more. Architects could also be hired to to catalogue
federal buildings with cutting-edge building information modeling (BIM). With this data, it would be easier to respond to emergencies.
Are Radiant Barriers Doing the Trick?
Most researchers put the effect of a radiant barrier in the roof in the range of 5% savings on cooling energy costs. The Florida Solar Energy Center
says that a radiant barrier with R-19 insulation in the attic performs at least as well as an attic with R-30 of insulation. But one homeowner
reduced the differential between outside and inside air from about 30 degrees to about six by using a three-prong approach of a radiant barrier,
better insulation, and additional eave vents with a solar-powered roof vent.
Bonus Stories
Earthen Floors Fit the Feet: The image of an earthen floor might conjure up the dusty necessity of a primitive hovel, but twenty-first century floors made from earth are soft and warm, with a durable surface. Built with proper foundation (drainage is, of course, highly important) and the right sealant (raw linseed oil is preferred as boiled linseed contains solvents and is highly toxic), earthen floors can be beautiful and very functional.
New Windows Rotate to the Seasons: Israeli researchers have developed reversible windows that can hold in warmth in the winter and keep it out in the summer. Two panes, a clear, sealed pane and a tinted one with vents, in a reversible frame allow the windows to adjust to the seasons. With the sealed pane inward, heat is kept inside; with it outward, sunlight penetrates to warm the inner pane, allowing warmth to be transfered to the room.
Windows Up for Better Energy Costs: Energy-efficient windows not only save on energy costs but make homes more comfortable and more valuable. Energy Star rated windows are twice as efficient as the average windows manufactured 10 years ago, and 40% more efficient than those required under most building codes. Coated windows can also block up to 75% of UV radiation, which helps preserve curtains, furniture and floors (which can be bleached by the sun).
Editorializing
Bad Times Breed Good Architecture: Doug Newby of Architecturally Significant Homes in Dallas, TX, believes that hard times make good homes.
Current Events
Emerging Technology Conference: The O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference in San Jose, CA, is running from 9-12 March 2009 at The Fairmont San Jose.
Riverside Taps Green Electic
In an effort to become one of the greenest cities around, Riverside, CA, plans to get half its electricity from renewable sources by 2013.
This includes pulling power from geothermal sources in Utah. The city also achieved California's first "Emerald City" status this month,
after proving its long-term commitment to reaching state environmental targets on improving air quality, waste reduction, recycling,
fuel use development, land conservation and energy efficiency. The award means state and private dollars for more green improvements.
Ex-Exurbs
Inland California may go back to a shallow sea, or at least to farmland, as extinct developers leave their lots fallow. Developers
in Solano and Stanislaus counties have failed, leaving empty tracts. Buyers may be seeking the lower risk of cities, where high gas prices won't strand you far from
a job. This is a plus for places like Visitacion Valley in San Francisco, where 1,250 homes, parks, shops and other amenities are planned.
Housing Starts Worse Than Last Year
Read it and weep. However, the ARRA may immediately lead to improvement in one tangible area:
architecture jobs.
One estimate is that the recent jobs package in Washington will create or save 14,000 architecture jobs around the country over the next two years.
Bonus Ideas
Like Shooting Rain Into a Barrel: Euclid, OH, wants its residents to install barrels to catch rain water for their lawns and gardens. Led by Councilwoman Mary Jo Minarik, the city set up a rain barrel display in the municipal center and scheduled a workshop for 28 March 2009 to teach people how to set them up and use them. Minarik says she collects 210 gallons of rainwater for every 1/2 inch that falls on her roof. Now, if only we could get some rain to fall on California....
The Green Vanishing From Southern California Lawns (Slowly): The climate through most of California ranges from dry to desert. It's a modern miracle, then, that the state has about 300,000 acres of residential lawn, soaking up enough water for 3 million homes. Still, will folks in Kensington, CA, tolerate drought-tolerant lawns among their spreads of green Bermuda grass?
The Toughest Skeptic to Convince: Fort Worth, TX, commercial real estate broker Trey Neville wanted to build the ultimate green home. But before he could spec out a LEED Platinum house for himself he had to convince the toughest skeptic--his wife.
Changes Coming to Highway Designs: The deteriorated road system may force changes to roadway design. Some are questioning building roads to optimal standards. Is this a waste of money? The new thinking is called "Practical Design" and prioritizes spending to only achieve specific requirements. While this saves money, does it provide an adequate margin for error? We'll probably find out a few years "down the road".
High-Performance Buildings Contribute to a Greener World: The think tank RMI, in Boulder, CO, wants to go beyond LEED and design "high-performance buildings" that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The "Cooling the Warming" initiative seeks buildings that act as giant air and water filters in which people live or work. One building under design is the "Energy Plus" center planned for Paris, France. It would have over 10,000 square meters of PV and use water from the Seine for cooling.
Politics (As Usual)
Students Demand Bolder Energy and Climate Policies: Power Shift '09 brought 10,000 young people to Washington, DC, demanding accountability for rebuilding our economy, as well as bold climate and clean energy policy. Update (2009-03-10): More details.
Importing Stick-Built Homes to Ireland: Gerry McCaughey helped convert nearly a quarter of Ireland's new homes to wood-frame by introducing factory building to the island. Traditional homes there are built with concrete blocks and brick. Capitalizing on the standardization of homes built off site and the better insulating quality of wood-frame homes, McCaughey built a major home manufacturing company and sold it to the Kingspan company in 2005. Now he has been drafted to clean up the Dublin docks, a task that will require more legal skills, it seems, than home building ones. [Note: The Oireachtas is the legislature of Ireland. Also, while wood has better insulation qualities, brick has better thermal mass properties, so the two are not strictly comparable solely on insulation values.]
Report From Developers Stirs Debate on Payback
The Commercial Real Estate Development Association released a report this week claiming that many energy efficiency goals are unattainable,
and some targets not feasible. But the report is already under attack by Edward Mazria, a Santa Fe architect, who pointed out the many ways
the report ignores options.
"NAIOP intentionally kept out of the analysis all the readily available low-cost, no-cost and cost-saving options to reduce a building's energy consumption,"
according to Mazria. ["NAIOP" is the former acronym for the developers association.]
Five Ways to Future-Proof Your Home
The median age of the American home is 36 years, perhaps consistent with the throw-away nature of our building practices. If you wanted a truly
future-proof home, one that will beat the average, where should you put your money? Here are five recommendations. If you had your choice between a
living room and a media room, which would you pick?
Walkable Neighborhoods Help Adolescents
Cavan Wilk examines why walkable urban neighborhoods are better for adolescents than car-bound suburban neighborhoods.
Editorializing
Slipping Into Slums: Should we try to live with the slum phenomenon, or try to eradicate it? About a billion humans now live in slums, pushing urban population past rural population numbers for the first time in history. Some say that slums represent the resilience of the human mind, but isn't the vastness of slum population really more of a comment on the quantity of human population?
Governments Respond to Economy With Green Ideas
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited Washington, DC, this week, bringing a global "Green New Deal" that aims to restore growth while dealing
with climate change and energy security. He might be glad to escape the hammering from Liberals, Tories and other parties over his handling of the
crisis, and flash mobs appearing outside RBS HQ in London.
Meanwhile, Obama has sent officials
to the Gulf Coast to speed up recovery from environmental disaster Hurricane Katrina, as the area languishes in its attempts to rebuild.
And, in Sweden, the Minister of Trade "encouraged" Saab to go into the wind turbine business, after refusing the troubled subsidiary of General
Motors financial support. But is Volvo getting favored-child status if the government provides assistance to them? No, says trade minister Maud Olofsson.
"Volvo's owners, Ford, told us that they will continue to support us and are ready to take full ownership responsibilites. That separates Ford from GM,
who is now just leaving Saab behind," he said.
SolarCity Announces New Promotion
SolarCity thinks it can provide you with solar power for half of what you'd have paid in 2008. With new discounts and counting incentives from
the government, homeowners would pay net cost for installations up to 50% less than the typical full retail price in 2008.
Bill Tauber Premiers Radio Show
Bill Tauber, CEO of Progressive Lighting & Energy Solutions, will be hosting a live half-hour radio talk show every Saturday at 7:30 am
on KRLA-870AM Radio in the Los Angeles area starting Saturday 7 March 2009. The show is intended to "keep pace with changing technologies
and advice to keep up with the rapidity of the green evolution for both home and business."
Update (2009-03-30): Show generates wide response.
Bonus Stories
Generating Methane from Carbon Dioxide: Penn State researchers believe that they can efficiently turning carbon dioxide and water vapor into methane and other hydrocarbons. This process requires eight photons per molecule, so it is very energy intensive. However, using titania nanotubes and solar power the process has obtained 20-times higher yield of methane than previous published methods.
New Solar-Powered Roof Fan Cools Houses: A new Roof Mount Solar Attic Fan from Solarstar is simply installed at the high point of the building, where it draws hot air out of the attic. In addition to helping cool the house, it can pull moisture out to prevent fungal growth in humid climates.
UK Considers Speaking MOTs for Buildings: The UK Green Building Council has released a plan for a Code for Sustainable Buildings that would require buildings to obtain "building MOTs". "MOT" stands for Ministry of Transportation, but the GBC doesn't expect many buildings sailing down the A5. The building MOTs would be certifications like the ministry requires of cars before they can go out on the roads. These would show, for instance, that the building met energy efficiency standards. The new code might accelerate investment in sustainable construction.
Editorializing
Rain Contributes to Feeling of Drought: Mark Morford notes in SFGate the brutal irony of listening to the rain pound on his windows as he gets ready for a year of water cutbacks. If he had a water catchment system, like the one in Noe Valley (See "Bay Area Homes Lap Up Rain Water" in On the Horizon archive for 2009-03-04) he would be listening to the sweet sound of it filling with water to keep him afloat this summer. Of course, the city Department of Building Inspection would have tsked, but how much water shortage would we have if every home in California were catching rainwater for later use?
Wind Turbines Come Under Fire in Maryland: Synergics Wind Energy is under fire from residents for their proposed Roth Rock project for not providing sufficient setbacks from housing.
Coming Events
Renewable Energy World North America Conference and Expo: The Renewable Energy World North America Conference and Expo starts on Tuesday 10 March 2009 and runs for three days through Thursday 12 March at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
Bay Area Homes Lap Up Rain Water
San Francisco green developer LORAX Development has installed the first residential
rooftop rain-catchment system in the city. After battling the
Department of Building Inspection, they added the system to a Noe Valley home, despite being told, "You can't be your own water plant."
In the East Bay, Shapell Homes and others created a 600-acre community
that takes net zero water.
With off-site water mitigation and reductions in the on-site water needs (from 0.7 to just 0.45 million gallons of water per day),
the community fits within an area of East Bay Municipal Utility District that does not have long-term assured water supplies.
Products Take Up the Green Approved Label
Products, such as Weyerhaeuser's iLevel (wood products and lumber) are getting the new "Green Approved" product seal of approval
from NAHB Research Center. The
label shows that products meet the criteria for recognition in homes to be certified to the National Green Building Standard.
Solar Power Tracking to Grid Parity
With costs declining as a result of easing supplies of silicon and more competition in the market, one study shows total costs of systems
declining to $2/watt by 2012 (with $1 of that for the PV and the other for balance of system components). This translates to $0.10/kWh
in sunnier climes, but costs differ significantly by region.
Bonus Stories
RainTube Gathers Benchmarking Sustainability Awards: RainTube, a simple gutter protector, took nearly all Benchmarking Sustainability Awards from Green Building Pages. The tubes are made out of common recycled HDPE plastic and fit inside rain gutters to protect them from debris.
Sustainable Architecture Gathers Inspirations From Nature: Osaka University's Frontier Research Center uses a combination of techniques that mimic nature to create new structures. One material is a permeable glass similar to gills that allows buildings to exchange air when CO2 levels rise. Living Glass from think tank The Living (at Columbia GSAPP Architecture Lab and NYU xDesign Environmental Health Clinic in New York City) uses actuators to open and close slits in the panes.
Controls for LED Street Lamps Create Additional Power Savings: A new control system from Ruud Lighting may allow municipalities to cut energy use further by controling the LEDs they deploy better than previous systems. Fine controls allow a central control to send signals to lights on the street to determine when they go on and off, as well as how brightly they shine. Combined with the lower wattage for LED lights, the system could provide total of energy savings up to 80%.
Traffic Congestion Drops in 2008: Traffic congestion across the United States was down 30% last year as high gas prices and a weakening economy encouraged people to find alternatives to traveling by automobile. While vehicle miles only declined by 3%, this put it below the tipping point in many cities, causing major relief from congestion.
Coming Events
Sacramento Green Home Expo: The North State Building Industry Association will present the Sacramento Green Home Expo Friday 3 April 2009 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Sacramento Convention Center.
Drywall Class Action Suits Mounting
During the recent boom and following major hurricanes that hit Florida and the gulf coast, some firms began importing drywall from China. One manufacturer
appears to have shipped drywall that emits too much sulphur, resulting in
damage to metal in the walls and release of possibly harmful gasses.
Lawsuits have been filed in Florida against home builder Taylor Morrison and the Chinese manufacturer, Knauf Plasterboard, Tianjin Co.,
a subsidiary of the German construction-material company Knauf International GmbH. Drywall from this company apparently has been shipped to a variety
of states, including California and many in the gulf region. Update (2009-03-10): Indicators for Drywall Problems.
Microsoft Pictures the Future
A production from Microsoft Office Labs called "2019" reveals what they think the world will be like in ten years, perhaps
with a little bias toward computers and electronic communications.
Energy Star City Winners
EPA has released their new list of top Energy Star cities, and Los Angeles, CA,
tops the pack.
Bonus Stories
Family Vacates New "Toxic" Home: When the Wilsons moved into their new home, they quickly discovered that they were far sicker than they had ever been. Mr. Wilson was plagued with sinus infections, his wife with watery eyes, and their son with asthma. Yet, when little Alex Wilson went away for an extended weekend, his asthma cleared up. Tests have not revealed excessive levels of toxins, but the family is nonetheless moving out. This article reports that they haven't been opening their windows, but is that unusual? Surely, you don't need to leave your windows open to live in a new house!
Do Renters Help or Hurt Housing Prices?: Traditionally, upscale neighborhoods have shunned renters, believing that their lack of stake in the home means less careful use. But with foreclosures running high, many are rethinking their positions. Is it better to have a neighborhood with renters or one with shuttered homes? A foreclosure within an eighth of a mile knocks 1% off home value.
Bartering Increases as Cash Goes Away: Aided by Craigslist and other online services, bartering is increasing as people find it a means to get work done when they're short of cash. Bathroom counter tops, flooring and various services are being traded.
OptiSolar Sells to First Solar
First Solar, of Tempe, AZ, will now try to build OptiSolar's entire portfolio of planned solar power plants, after acquiring
them in a deal
worth $400 million in stock. This is part of additional M&As, including Spain's Fotowatio purchasing MMA Renewable Ventures,
of San Francisco.
Unemployed Architects Head Back to School
Severe economic conditions have sent many architects back to school. While this is a traditional way of weathing a downturn,
an unusual number of architects are applying to graduate schools. But it can be an expensive option, with a
master's program at a top school running up to $35,000 a year.
San Jose Seeks Solar Power
The City of San Jose, CA, has released an RFP
seeking 1 to 2 MW of solar power as PV to be installed at city maintenance yards. The vendor will build
and sell the power to the city. "Installing solar on city buildings will save taxpayer dollars and help stimulate our local economy,"
says Mayor Chuck Reed.
Bonus Stories
Solar Goes Out the Window: A new panel design allows you to mount them outside your windows, providing those on a budget a way to install a reasonable amount of solar power and increase it incrementally. Capra J'neva and Emilie Fetscher founded Veranda Solar (Oakland, CA) to produce the flower-shaped solar panels designed in their design school degree programs. The company will need additional funding to bring them to market.
What's the Difference?: This quick tour compares NAHB's National Green Building Program, USGBC Leed for Homes, and EPA's Energy Star for Homes. (Use the buttons near the top to scroll through.)
Kennett Square Home Becomes USGBC Project Profile: A sustainable home in Kennett Square, PA, will become a USGBC Project Profile in the LEED For Homes certification program.
Editorializing
Shining a Light on Bright Green: Alex Steffen walks us through the green spectrum, from "bright greens" (those that think sustainable innovation is the best path to lasting prosperity) to "grays" (those that don't see the need to make any changes at all).
EAH Housing Supports California Legislation to Increase Renewables: EAH Housing, a nonprofit provider and manager of affordable housing, supports efforts by state Sen. Joe Simitian to increase the required amount of renewable energy sources in California's portfolio to 33% by 2020. EAH argues that apartment complexes could contribute to this total with a simple change in regulation that would require utilities to take renewable power up to the limit used by a whole complex, rather than individual homes.
$10,000 Tax Break for Home Buyers in California
Those in the new home construction industry are happy about the new California tax credit for home buyers that kicks in next month and may help revive new home
construction in the state. Already home buyers "armed with information on the credit" are out shopping. The credit could be good for the
state, too, because the average new home generates about $16,000 in state tax revenues and stimulates jobs. Other states are following
the outcome and thinking about whether to implement similar measures.
SAH Creating Multimedia Architectural Journal
With a $213,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Society of Architectural Historians will begin creating
"the first online architecture journal that will incorporate moving images, sound, and Google Earth maps" of the architectural
environment. The journal, JSAH Online, will be published jointly with University California Press, and is scheduled to debut next year.
Dynamic images will accompany article text, and may include born-digital 3D models of buildings and cityscapes.
ASHRAE and GBI Pledge to Collaborate
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers and the Green Building Initiative have inked a deal
to cooperate to promote sustainability principles in the built environment. The organizations pledged to cooperate on education,
access to Green Globes tools, research, and standards, as well as in promoting the link between sustainable design and actual performance outcomes.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Green Building Council is
revising its standards
and expects to have a new rating system this spring. Points will be better standardized, and there will be an increased emphasis on avoiding
greenhouse gases. However, Build It Green's GreenPoint rating system (also being revised) will have more emphasis on water management,
which is an increasing concern as population grows in California.
Bonus Story
Bringing Green Homes to Tokyo: Architect Sachiko Zenyouji created a hypoallergenic house in Tokyo for a client with alergies. The home uses a fuel cell unit called Enefarm, which reduces energy use. When people live in these houses, "they don't want to go back", Zenyouji-san says. The architect gives a brief tour in the associated video.
Bank With a Bias: A bank in the suburbs of Philadelphia has a bias. If you need a loan, e3bank is going to want to know whether the purpose is green. Hybrid cars and sustainable homes get favorable treatment, and e3bank even wants its employees to be LEED-certified. Got a gas guzzler? Recycle it for one of Rob Boydstun's new homes. (See "Would You Buy a Used Car, Er, Recycled Home From This Man?" in On the Horizon archive for 2009-02-26.)
Lighten Up Your Life: Visual comfort is an important element of our environment. Lighting can cause headaches and other stress. How are we going to provide the daylighting needed for our environments?
Give Me Air: If your city is getting toxic and it's a long way to any oxygen-producing countryside, perhaps you'll want to install a life-support station that generates clean air and recycles organic waste, while producing food. You might call it an urban farm, but if experimental urban stations work, then you might just install a scaled up life-support station for your apartment building or condo. (This research project also tests ideas for using plants and animals to recycle wastes for habitats in space. An extended video shows the concept and how the station is built.)
Eye Candy
Organization Comes Out of the Closet: Nothing green, unless they're made from FSC-certified wood, but here are some closet organizers you might want to open the doors for.
Minnesota Home Wins Highest LEED Award
A home in Minnetonka, MN, has won the Outstanding Custom Project Award from LEED, the top honor. Dubbed the "Sustainable House",
the home was remodeled over a period of two years using seven teams of 278 individuals. The home contains an increadible
number of features.
Twelve-Year-Old Creates New Homeless Shelter Design
Max Wallack not only designed a new homeless shelter, but he did it from waste for the Trash to Treasure contest and won
$10K and a Dell laptop. His "Home Dome" looks like a yurt, but it's made from clear plastic, wire and packing peanuts. I bet it costs
a lot less than $10K to build. (With video clip.)
Would You Buy a Used Car, Er, Recycled Home From This Man?
How about if you knew you could get it for $95 a square foot? Rob Boydstun, formerly of Boydstun Metal Works and now a new
home manufacturer with the startup Miranda Homes, has found a way
to turn six car carcasses and some other materials into a brand new home that may be hard to tell from any others, except that it
is extremely energy efficient. Framed in rigid foam and slattered in sprayed foam, their envelop seal allows them to reduce
air exchanges to a mere 2-1/2 per hour. Boydstun and his team totally reworked the construction process to move as much production
indoors as possible and eliminate waste, using only a five-person team and only 45 days to construct the home. They expect to have
additional models available soon.
Bonus Stories
Portland Home Shows Green Doesn't Always Carry a Premium: Oregon developer Emilia Sibley is finding it difficult to sell her new energy-efficient homes, despite the green buzz. With homes in the mid-300s, she finds buyers are still more interested in traditional features, such as layout and finishes. Part of the problem may be that assessors still don't have enough comparables to show that green features carry a premium. But that may change as buyers increasingly take the total cost of ownership into account.
The Legendary $1 per Watt: A new solar panel is being manufactured for $1 per watt, a number associate with grid parity. While the total price would have to reach $1 per watt, solar cells at 65-70 cents per watt would make that feasible.
Foreclosures May Be Reaching a Floor: Discounts for JPMorgan Chase's real-estate-owned sales in California fell in 2008. Loss-severity numbers appeared to stabilize in the second half. If discounts continue to decline, housing prices may get high enough to put an end to the foreclosure crisis. However, new home sales hit a new bottom in January, the lowest level since 1963.
Yountville Hotel Goes Platinum: Bardessono hotel in Yountville, CA, is the first LEED-platinum hotel in California. Not just solar power, low-water fixtures and LED lights, but a geothermal system that heats and cools the rooms and spa using 82 wells. The redwood ceilings are from old wine tanks, as you might expect for a hotel in the middle of the Napa wine country.
Stimulated Tax Breaks Coming
One pleasant outcome of the stimulus package just signed into law by President Obama is the widest array of tax breaks for
energy efficiency ever. Advice is to look for ones that double up on local and/or state incentives. Click through to see more
information.
Economy Takes Its Toll on Home Design Magazines
House & Garden, In Style Home, Blueprint, Home magazine and many more have either shuttered or find themselves fighting for
survival as a combination of 24-hour TV shows, the Internet and oversaturation have put extreme financial pressure on
the market for magazines about homes.
Blended Green
The firm Coolerado has created a new device that combines air conditioning with solar power to get a solar-powered air conditioner
with spare voltage for your home or business. Calling it an air conditioner doesn't do it justice, since it uses no circulating coolant,
just the evaporative cooling of water, and has only two moving parts. Unlike a swamp cooler, the water is evaporated in a separate air
flow from the working air delivered to the building, as explained in their video.
The water ladened air (called "saturated") is routed to the undersides of the
PV panels, cooling them. In doing so, it raises their efficiency on hot days, where excessive temperatures could sap as much
as 30% off their power. The combined system takes advantage of this natural dynamic to lower the power requirements of the
air conditioner to about 1/10th what a regular air conditioner would use. However, the system can use as much as several gallons
of water per day.
Bonus Stories
DUH: What else can I say when Scott Adams (creator of the Dilbert comic strip) decides to build a green home and blog on it. Oh, yeah. "DUH" stands for the "Dilbert Ultimate House". A clay roof. Cool!
EPA Pushes New Steps for Green Building: The EPA's Midwestern (Chicago) region office has just released a new report titled Removing Market Barriers to Green Development, which lays out a roadmap for public entities to facility green building. The report contains some excellent suggestions (such as promoting measurement of energy use, something that is just getting a foothold), but critics say it could have more substance on the bigger picture, specifically community (re)design.
Power Your Home with 26 KW: Do you think you could get by in your green house with over 26 KW of power? The Page family is going to try in their Coachella Valley, CA, home with a new thin-film PV system from SunWize Systems, one of the largest of its kind in California.
Platinum Perhaps for Thin Flats: Do you love or hate the Thin Flats? Does the exterior remind you of an overstuffed bookcase or a collection of DVD covers? Whether you like the design, you may be attracted by these eight Philadelphia up-down units that could get LEED-H certification soon. Priced in the mid-500s, they have FSC-certified White Tiger hardwood floors and a heat recovery ventilation system.
Editorializing
On the Greenness of Spray Foam: Is spray foam insulation (Sprayed Polyurethane Foam or SPF) a green product? The Renaissance Ronin opines yes, and backs up his claim with facts.
Invisible Green: Well, come on, now! What's taking you so long? I've been hearing about this green thing for weeks, but I'm not seeing it! Darrell Hay takes on the explanation.
You Be the Judge: Are these the ten dumbest green buildings in the world?
Solar Power Approaching Grid Parity
Long the goal of solar power, cheaper chips may drive prices down to where solar power can compete with power off the grid. If
solar panels can be installed and operated more cheaply than grid power, the economics change to favor installing solar over building new power plants, even
in the absence of subsidies. The solar industry could see $1 per watt by 2012.
Berkeley Talk Carried Update on Passive Homes in California
A talk by Passive House California provided updates on
passive homes. Tips include using insulated and well-sealed windows and doors, often with triple-glazing and special coatings,
to keep the building envelope airtight.
Home Owners Turning to Ground-Source Heat Pumps
Using the consistent temperature of the earth as an energy bank for storing and retrieving heat, a ground-source heat pump
allows users to tap energy without burning fuel. About 50,000 units are installed each year in the U.S. A local Bay Area
company (GroundSource Geothermal) produces
drilling technology to make it easier to install.
Bonus Stories
New LEDs Step Up to Replace 60-Watt Bulbs: The new GeoBulb is plug-compatible with incandescents, but burns a fraction of the wattage while providing (slightly) more light. A 60-watt incandescent produces 337 lumens, but the GeoBulb produces 381 on just 7.5 watts. While the bulbs are expensive, they come with a three-year warranty that would allow them to burn continuously for that long.
Stainless Steel Helps Produce Hydrogen: For microbial electrolysis cells (MECs), platinum has been the expensive catalyst until now. By replacing it with stainless-steel bristle brushes researchers can get the same or better production with a much cheaper material.
Housing on $600 a Month
Pam Dorr of Hale Empowerment & Revitalization Organization and John Bielenberg of Project M have created a sustainably-crafted house for $20,000.
This is allowing them to show people in Alabama how to get into a house for as little as $600 a month. (Link provides access to videos.)
Where'd All the Water Go?
Looking out over the broad Pacific, one has to wonder why we would run short of water. But only a half percent of all water is available for human
use, and most of that is spoken for. Water conservation is important, and "one of the largest uses of fresh water is energy generation."
Cutting energy needs helps keep water needs down, as well.
Old Ideas in Wood Still New
"Being green is not a trend, it is an old movement," says New York interior designer Clodagh,
who also tells us that wood should be used (only) for useful objects. Does a dark paneled bar with warm Guiness qualify?
Bonus Stories
IBS Roundup: Green products were the hit of the recent International Builders' Show, with over three hundred vendors featuring them. Highlights include infill building, flashing material, efficient water heaters, and more.
Sun Shine in the Kitchen: Not only is hot water heated by the sun appropriate for kitchens, but you can cook with the sun, too.
Mercury Relief: Not from the thermometer, but from mercury toxicity, as the U.S. joins about 140 other countries signing up for a new treaty to reduce mercury emissions. Mercury is a neurological toxin that can lead to severe problems, especially in children with high exposures. There's no "safe" level for mercury, but it is readily released from burning coal.
Green Silicon Valley: Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network released a green vision prompting businesses and government here to focus on alternative energy and energy efficiency as the way to economic recovery and growth. The report (pdf) suggest "climate prosperity" strategies for turning the climate catastrophe into an opportunity. A Silicon Valley Climate Prosperity Council, part of seven projects nationwide, will direct the effort.
Tonga Off To?: As a personal point of interest, I'm wondering where the Tonga Room at the Fairmont in San Francisco will be after their planned remodel. As an inspiration for Jimmy Buffet and others, I'm sure I'm not the only one. Are they planning to reduce, reuse and recycle the room to another hotel?
Coming Events
Built Green Conference and Expo: Seattle, WA, hosts the 2009 Built Green Conference & Expo, an annual event for building industry professionals. The conference will be on Friday 6 March 2009 at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center.
Cardiff New Home for Solar Power
Does your solar cell work well in Wales? If Bob Hertzberg's solar-power company, G24i, makes a success of their new
facilities in Cardiff, they may prove that solar will work without sunny days. Hertzberg picked Europe in part because
he says regulations are less onerous, and he can still get to finanical markets in London in two hours by train. He expects his
solar strips, dye-sensitized thin-film that only capture 3% of incident light, to work as well in the haze as crystaline silicon.
The strips require so little energy to make that the factory will be powered by wind turbine. Devices produced with the strips
will probably be sold in the third-world, where new micro-financing is opening up markets.
Vesta Downsizing Target Homes for Fall Show
The Memphis Area Home Builders Association (Memphis, TN) has cut back the target homes from $1 million to about $300K this year,
as it promotes more green building. Citing the green building standard approved by the National Association of Home Builders,
"In today's market, it makes sense when building green, to start in homes that are the first- or second-time move-up homes because there are additional costs to building green",
one spokesperson said. Companies will build eight homes in the $275,000-$300,000 range for the 9 October to 1 November event.
Tips for Greening Your Homes
The California Association of Realtors has established a green website
to provide information for homeowners. Beverly Scott, president of the Yosemite Gateway Association of Realtors,
says that they took green into account when they built their new office building, with motion sensors to control lighting,
low-flow water fixtures, and water-conscious landscaping.
Bonus Stories
Going Up!: No surprise, really, but solar power in California could reach one-third of electrical needs by 2020 (the state goal). If all renewable power projects proposed last year were built they would generate 24,000 MW of electricity, enough for 18 million homes, according to CPUC.
Ocean City Works Out Wind Power Ordinance: Ocean City, MD, has worked out a new ordinance for wind turbines that accommodates resistance to their looks. "Growing up as a kid, I remember seeing something on everybody's roof. We didn't have cable TV. Every neighbor had antennas. I don't think a wind turbine is any more obtrusive than what I grew up with", said Councilman Lloyd Martin. [True. But weren't those antennas always kind of ugly?--Ed.] Also noted were that some of the newer models are "whisper-quiet".
Professor Researches Hurricane Resistant Green Home Materials: Professor of Engineering Nasim Uddin of the University of Alabama at Birmingham is headed to Bangladesh for more research into natural fiber-based composite technologies for low-cost residential coastal housing. He is looking for materials engineered to withstand hurricane strength wind and storm surge damage. The results could help with rebuilt homes along the U.S. gulf coast.
Technology Tips
Hot Salt Keeps the Turbines Running: A new solar thermal plant near Granada, Spain, will use 28,000 metric tons of salt to store heat, so that turbines can run day and night. The salt stores heat energy efficiently, so that solar energy can be used over a wider time range each day.
Pure Hydrogen: New membranes of "soft" molecules help purify hydrogen by putting the drag on other soft molecules. The hydrogen atoms act as "hard" molecules which barrel right on through. The membrane separates hydrogen from carbon dioxide, methane and other gases.
Efficiency Tops List of Energy Resources
Energy efficiency in the U.S. is "widely abundant" and may offer "more potential than any other known resource". It can "provide thousands of high-paying jobs"
and comes with little environmental cost. It's "always 'on,' ready to be 'dispatched' without delay or intervention by energy providers".
Physicist Amory Lovins calls energy efficiency "doing more with less through smarter technologies". The Obama Administration's goal
is to reduce electricity demand 15% from projected levels by 2020. But existing laws and policies are significant barriers
to increasing efficiency.
Solar Power Prices May Drop
Keith Johnson, posting on the WSJ website, says, "Solar power might be on the cusp of getting a lot cheaper", noting a study from
Lux Research that says solar prices will drop as supply outstrips demand. Prices have already fallen
significantly over the last decade. A report by Ryan Wiser, Galen Barbose, and Carla Peterman of Berkeley Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division
says that they declined from $10.50 per watt in 1998 to $7.60 per watt in 2007 in constant 2007 dollars.
Does Your Building Have LEED In It?
As green turns to gold, increasing numbers of companies may be misusing terms such as "LEED Certified" in advertising their properties.
One group asserts, "Misleading statements about LEED, which appear in marketing materials, press statements and even securities filings, are a form of greenwashing",
and they have presented several examples of projects being promoted as LEED-certified while still in the early stages.
Bonus Stories
Study Points to Better Materials for Solar Power: A study from the Energy and Resources Group and the Department of Chemistry at the University of California and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (both in Berkeley, CA) suggests that of nearly two dozen appropriate materials, twelve are abundant enough to meet or exceed annual worldwide energy demand and, of those, nine have a significant raw material cost reduction over traditional crystalline silicon. The study suggests thin films may not be able to scale to worldwide use, despite being composed of cheaper materials in today's market. Iron pyrite may be a better candidate for large-scale production.
New Solar Material May Triple Light Absorption: Researcher Zhang Jin has combined two nanotechnology techniques to improve conversion of light to electricity of thin films. One technique uses nitrogen mixed with nano particles of metal and the other uses nano-sized crystals, quantum points, to increase the efficiency of conversion to inject electrons in the sheet metal.
Hotel Tip Goes to Preserving Rainforests: Marriott Hotels provides a program that allows you to offset the carbon costs of your stay with a contribution to a Brazilian rainforest preservation fund.
Teach Me to Teach: Here are ten tips from IDEO for creating a 21st-century classroom experience. While intended for teaching toddlers, the principles speak softly to adult learning, too.
Architectural Eye Candy: A little OT, but here are some shots of the Chinese urban landscape--the good and the bad--plus a look at two architectural designs created by computers to solve solar heating and line-of-sight problems. Not bad for a computer, eh?
Editorializing
How Mainstream Is Energy Consciousness?: Camille LeFevre questions how much the general populace is aware of its daily energy use. As the National Building Museum's eco-exhibition, The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design, makes its way around the country, its proclamations about "the mainstreaming of sustainable design" raise questions of how deeply the environmental crisis has sunk in to the public consciousness.
Environmental Movement No Longer Opposition: While not quite mainstream, green building has reached acceptance, at least in places like Sonoma, CA, where it is becoming common. Geof Syphers, of Sonoma Mountain Village, says, "In the past, the environmental movement was an opposition movement. What we are starting to see is we have mainstream business leaders and politicians who realize a lot of this is about applied common sense."
Coming Events
LEDs Coming to Lightfair International: There will be plenty of LEDs at this year's (20th) Lightfair International, 5-7 May, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, NY.
Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in Atlanta: New Viridian tankless water heaters are set to display at the 2009 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in Atlanta, GA, 30 Apr-3 May 2009.
Solar Companies Plan Mergers
GroSolar of White River Junction, VT, is acquiring Borrego Solar Systems of San Diego County, CA. This follows the recent
merger of Regrid Power of Campbell, CA, and Real Goods Solar of Hopland, CA. They hope to rival other leaders, such as,
Solar City of Foster City, CA; Akeena Solar of Los Gatos, CA; and, REC Solar of San Luis Obispo, CA.
Energy Summit Starts Monday
The "National Clean Energy Project: Building the New Economy" summit will take place Monday 23 February 2009 in Washington, DC.
Political leaders spoke about the summit on a call, saying "Monday is going to be a good day for America". Money from the recent
ARRA could be used for ways to clean up fossil fuels. A bill is expected out of Senate committee within a few weeks to address
renewables and energy efficiency. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he favors a plan by T. Boone Pickens to convert
thousands of trucks to natural gas.
Hybrid Solar Plants Increase Uptime
Experimental power facilities in Negev, Israel, combine traditional fuel such as biomass or diesel with solar power to generate uninterrupted electricity.
The Iraeli energy company AORA is constructing its first hybrid solar power station, which will produce about 100 KW. Their
gas turbine can handle super-high temperatures from solar energy but also work with an external fuel source.
Bonus Stories
LEED-H Silver Home Shows TCO for Green Homes Lower: A Palm Springs, CA, home rated LEED-H Silver demostrates the features that make the total cost of ownership for green homes less expensive than traditional ones. Tax credits, rebates, and grants, as well as renewable energy, efficient systems, and resilient materials offset higher building costs. A new 100-point rating system this year will combine intuitive knowledge with new scientific analysis.
California City After 35% of Electricity From Solar Power: West County Wastewater District, Solar Power Partners, and Premier Power Renewable Energy announced the have a solar energy system for of Richmond, CA, designed to replace 35% of WCWD's electricity usage with solar energy at zero out-of-pocket costs.
Wind Power in Its Natural Environment: With gas at $7.74 a gallon, Toksook Bay, AK, is the natural place to save money by installing wind turbines. Other Alaska communities use a variety of natural energy sources, including paying locals to gather firewood.
Coming Events
Obtaining Materials Case Study: Ciro Giammona and Sara Jorgenson of Harrell Remodeling host "A Fresh Look at Green Finishes", Thursday 19 Feb 2009, 5-6:30 p.m. at the Redwood City Council Chambers, 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. Contact information.
McPherson Speaks for the Trees
A study by Dr Greg McPherson of the US Department of Agriculture's Forest Service in Davis, CA, shows that trees pay for themselves
under all conditioned studied. The value varies by city, but a tree in Brooklyn (or at least across the river in Manhattan) returns
$5 for every dollar spent. The study may encourage more urban forests. Don't forget the trees when you build your own house!
Stimulus Encourages Paying for PV Through Property Taxes
The ARRA will encourage more local governments to set up programs where home owners can pay for solar systems over time with
a line item on their property tax, helping to alleviate the upfront cost.
Architect Receives Platinum Award
David Sadowsky of Petersburgh, NY, has received a Platinum Award in the Best in American Living Award competition.
The award recognizes environmentally sustainable and affordable housing. Far from more expensive, his green homes come in at
$110/square foot, where the market average there is $150/square foot. Sadowsky said that the basic elements of green design
have not changed and many have been well know to people for hundreds of years.
Bonus Stories and Levity
LA's Got Street Lights, Now We've Got Street Lamps: Once LA completes replacing its streetlights with LEDs over the next five years, they will be able to continue on and replace their street lamps with these new designs from Germany, which are replacing gas lamps in the old country.
But My Tile Is Wavy!: Thought you had an excuse not to install PV in your tile roof? Not any more! This system slides right into traditional clay tile roofs.
Gas Lite: A thirty-second spot for British Gas that you might enjoy. If you ROFLOL, don't fall off your home planet!
Obama's Remarks: Just what he said.
High-Production Builders Turn to Sustainable Homes
High-production builders, such as Dewey Homes
of Philadelphia and Pohlig Builders of Malvern, PA, want
to make more sustainable homes. To do that, Dewey spent time with builders in Colorado, California and Oklahoma who were already
building green. They now consider EnergyStar a minimum, and offer LEED-certified homes.
Builders Reporting Better Traffic
Olson Company of California reported increased sales of homes in January, breaking a seven-month decline. Other builders
around the country are beginning to report similar success. Builders have been tailoring the sizes and designs of their homes
to attract more shoppers.
Freiburg Takes Solar Seriously
The city of Freiburg, Germany, is taking solar power very seriously. Reacting to proposed nuclear power in the 1970s, the city turned
to alernatives, such as Rolf Disch's rotating solar powered home. The city, however, only gets about 0.75% of its power from the sun.
While not exactly earthshattering, it forms the basis for continued growth. Some new homes are required to be energy neutral and are
being built in zones with restricted access to cars. Overall, Germany now has a $6 billion a year solar power industry with about 43,000 jobs.
Bonus Stories
Sustainable Brands Conference Coming to Monterey, CA: Sponsored by Sustainable Life Media, the Sustainable Brands Conference is coming to Monterey Conference Center on 31 May to 4 June, 2009.
Books Build a Comfortable Home: Not necessarily one you'd live in, but it makes for a great concept house at Calouste Gulbenkian's Foundation in Lisbon, Portugal.
What Color Is Your Remodel?: Red, yellow, orange and violet, which colors should you build your remodel around? The psychology of colors might tell you. Would you really paint your walls green? (Be sure to use green paint if you do!)
Best Air-Filtering Plants: Check out which plants are the best air filters, according to NASA.
BrightSource Energy Signs Contract With Southern California Edison
BrightSource of Oakland, CA, has signed a contract with SCE for 1,300 MW from seven large solar plants planned for the California desert.
SCE needs the plants to help comply with California law requiring 20% of power come from renewables by the end of 2010. The plants use
solar thermal power.
Islands of Sustainability
Eleven North Sea islands from six countries have agreed to experiment with a totally sustainable lifestyle, including renewable energy and products made
from materials that can be endlessly reused or organically decomposed. The 50,000 residents of islands will try different approaches,
depending on where they are located.
Foreclosures Down
Foreclosures fell in January (finally!). They were down 10% from December, although they are still running ahead of last year.
Bonus Stories
Solar Tree Brings Art to Green: New designs are bringing solar powered lighting to public areas--with a flair. (With video)
Builders Forced to Face Energy Inefficiencies by the Downturn: Homebuilders are trying to improve the way houses use energy, in an attempt to woo buyers. In better times, home buyers were reluctant to pay a premium for green homes. But, energy efficiency has emerged as a top priority because power bills have more than doubled in many markets.
Twestival Reality/Virtual Reality Mashup Promotes Water Awareness: Today is "Twestival", a celebration in 200 cities worldwide to raise funds for water-related charities.
Editorializing
Nevada Looks to Increase Green Jobs: As a state with abundant wind, solar and geothermal resources, Nevada should be well-positioned to capture green jobs. But The Las Vegas Sun (newspaper) says the state is falling behind.
Attendees at Concrete Show Look for Economic Answers
Those attending the World of Concrete show in Las Vegas this year have infrastructure on their minds in anticipation of the
federal jobs package. Increased liquid asphalt prices may encourage the use of concrete. Those in construction don't expect the stimulus
package to create many jobs before Q4. One showstopper was Putzmeister America's "Juggernaut", a mixer on a 10-axle Kenworth tractor-trailer
with a 70-meter concrete-pump boom.
Get Green Insulation and Save Energy
Green options include formaldehyde-free fiberglass insulation, bio-based soy foam insulation, cellulose Celpak, and Bonded Logic Ultra Touch.
EnerWorks Markets First EnergyStar-Rated Solar Water Heater
EnerWorks has become the first company to market an
EnergyStar-rated solar water heater. Other makers are expected to follow suit.
Bonus Stories
Trees for Frees: Not quite grammatical, but if you are building a home (or just living in one), remember to see if your community provides free trees, as they do in Monticello, MN. Many cities provide trees free to citizens who are willing to learn how to plant them and take care of them. (We obtained and planted a free tree from the city of Roseville, CA, at one of our previous houses. The community center provided a class on how to plant it.)
Green Power Still Affordable Only for the Rich: Study says that only 2% of households can voluntarily afford electricity powered by renewables. (With audio clip)
Modular Homes Emphasize Their Green Nature: In the downturn, the modular industry is noticing that efficiency and sustainability can make for good publicity.
Chemical Makers Gear Up to Supply Solar Manufacturers: Some chemical makers are investing significant resources in the R&D and production of chemicals and related products to support the solar industry.
Google Expands Into Smart Power Metering
Google's PowerMeter iGoogle gadget will allow home owners to examine their electrical usage. One tester said he
reduced his electricity use 64% over the past year, saving $3,000. Google expects less dramatic results for customers, more
in the range of 5 to 15% savings.
Bay Area Solar Companies Struggle With Economic Environment
Solar companies are changing their business models and studying their options as credit continues to blow a dry wind across
the industry. Ausra may forego building their own plants and become a technology supplier. BrightSource says it may take a year
to secure financing for 900 MW of projects. OptiSolar laid off 300 employees because it can't finance its new factory. Residential installer SolarCity
told customers it could take six to eight months for installations.
Butterfly Wings Improve Solar Cell Take
Microscopic solar scales on butterfly wings are being used experimentally to increase the absorption power of solar cells.
By simulating these structures on dye-sensitized solar cells Chinese and Japanese researchers were able to make
solar collectors absorb light more efficiently than conventional dye-sensitized cells.
Bonus Stories
Environmentally Friendly Printing: You'll probably never use this technology to print a house, but you might be interested to find out more about the UV printing this company uses to print on everything from plastics to wood veneer--and do it with less VOCs.
Pure Data on Solar Fabrication: This is not a fabrication as in a prevarication. It's a compendium of information about who's making solar cells and the market trends for that industry.
WPA Progress Sometimes Now History
In many places, the fruit of the Works Progress Administration has seen better days. That has created tension between those
who want modern-day progress and those who want to preserve history, a history that is sometimes dilapidated. Should it be torn down
or refurbished? Alarmed activists have created the National New Deal Preservation Association to try to preserve some of these
works before they can be bulldozed. While some of the architecture and art from the period may not fit the current aesthetic,
it has its own charm, as you can see if your look at
Coit Tower, completed during the height of the
depression and decorated by murals commissioned by the WPA. (Scroll to the bottom of the linked page to see pictures of the murals.)
The architecture of the 20th century can be at once uniquely ugly
and yet emotionally satisfying, as you might see from this
fifties montage from Corktown in Detroit, MI.
Ft. Myers Has Other Appeals
When President Obama goes to Ft. Myers to talk about the flagging economy, he might want to take a few moments out to look at
a more uplifting view. That would be the green homes on the Lee County annual Parade of Homes, which feature not just
energy-efficient appliances, but saltwater pools and landscaping that needs minimal watering. Other hot spots of green building:
Rocky Mount, NC, and
Calgary, Alberta.
In Rocky Mount, Charles Mullen is pursuing the area's first green bronze designation for a new home from the NAHB standards. To get it,
he's adding a more efficient air conditioning, ventilation and heating system; a tankless hot water heater; gutters draining into a rain barrel for water conservation;
and indigenous landscaping and drought-resistant grass. In Calgary, Joni Carroll and Michael Ireton are looking for
platinum-level certification by the Built-Green Society. To do that, they are building homes that make the most of natural light,
use sustainably harvested wood, stone materials, formaldehyde-free sealers and adhesives, and the latest in heating and ventilation systems.
Automatic Solar Panel Cleaning System
Heliotex has announced an automatic solar panel cleaner. Solar panels not
cleaned regularly can lose 30% of their power. The system automatically washes and rinses the panels.
Bonus Stories
Ten Ways to Green Up the Recession: The WSJ looks at 10 ways to make your life greener, with their analysis of the costs and payoffs of each.
Concrete News: Adrianne Jeffries takes an in-depth look as the green positives and negatives of concrete.
Renewables Treasure Map of the Western United States: If you're looking for where to get your 21st century energy resources, a study by the "Western Renewable Energy Zone" project (a joint venture of the Department of Energy and the Western Governors' Association) may help you pinpoint where the wind and the sun are. Bring your own equipment.
Cancelled Projects Affecting Renewables Market
The credit crisis has slowed wind and solar power installation in all but a few spots, like China. Where there were once
18 big banks and financial institutions willing to finance wind turbines and solar arrays, there are now only about four. Big
utilities, with better cash reserves, may take up some of the slack. Chinese investment in wind power remains strong, as the government
there put money into grid infrastructure. Wind energy is particularly sensitive to credit because wind farms require large tracts of land.
One bright spot for consumers: solar panel prices have fallen by 25% in six months.
You're Not Going to Blow My House Down!
An Amherst, OH, builder is showing off straw-bale construction at the Fifth Third Bank Home & Garden Show, at the Cleveland, OH,
I-X Center. Straw is a great renewable material for walls with good R-values. Straw-bale homes are also non-toxic and relatively
fireproof (when packed correctly and covered with plaster). While labor-intensive, straw-bale pays back in energy savings and
the environmental savings is priceless. As Bob Perritt said, "You can't put a price tag on the payback to the environment."
New Products
• Company With Quartz Counter Tops Attempts to Be Green:
How does a company that mines rock and builds countertops become green? Perhaps it's relative, but Stone Systems of South Florida
(a division of Cosentino) is attempting to do that by recycling water, running off solar power, and re-filling quarries. Quartz dust
is also recycled into tile.
• Solar Hot Water Panel:
Surface Power of County Mayo, Ireland, is introducing
"what could be the most efficient solar hot water panel ever produced." However, we were not able to find this product listed on their
website.
Bonus Ideas
Weatherizing Homes Becomes It's Own Industry: Businesses specializing in weatherizing homes may be a winner this year. With government encouragement of energy-efficiency retrofits, energy auditing will receive increased support. As noted in the January 22 On the Horizon, Sears plans to enter the field. (See the On the Horizon archive for 2009-01-22.) Update: Sears Offers Earth Day Promotion.
Throwing In Together Makes Co-Housing Green: More than 100 co-housing communities in the United States allow groups of families to combine their resources, as they share the responsibility of managing their communities and the benefits of working together. While families retain their own housing units, a common house is universal and important in bringing the community together to share meals and make joint decisions. Resources are listed at the end of the article.
Energy Secretary Chu Outlines Climate Change Scenario
Secretary Steven Chu said that California's agriculture could turn to dust and its cities disappear if climate changes as predicted.
"I don't think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen," he said, adding, "We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California.
Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative Henry Waxman have separate proposals in Congress to cut greenhouse emissions. California's
snowpack, the source of much of the state's water supply, is near 60% of normal levels this year, after a warm winter with little percipitation.
State of Green Business Forum
Companies have not been as quick to sacrifice their sustainability staffs in the current downturn as they were in the last recession.
Joel Makower, executive editor of Greener World Media, noted in introducing a new report from GreenBiz at Monday's event
that "companies are starting to see these teams as a way to grow their top line." The conference and the report are covered on our blog,
"The Greens". Check our State of Green Business Forum article
for notes and links to the report and the video of the conference.
Alleys Provide Green Opportunities
In LA, alleyways account for more than 900 linear miles of pavement. They get little use, compared to other, highly-utilized parts
of the city. "They're basically just sitting there," said Jennifer Wolch, professor at USC's Center for Sustainable Cities, which
has published a series of reports on them. She wants to get green alleys on the city's official agenda. Alleys offer incredible
opportunities for greening up the city, but they need careful planning. Previous attempts have had mixed results.
Bonus Ideas
Portland Considers Passive Housing: The concept of super-insulated homes arose in Canada in the 1970s, then resurged in Germany in the 1990s. The idea has come around before, but "Everybody at the time thought it was overkill," according to Mike O'Brien, residential green building specialist for the city of Portland. The Passive House Institute United States has additional information.
Food System Will Change With Higher Energy Prices: Food in the U.S. industrialized food system travels an average of 1,300 miles to the grocer. Fruits and vegetables spend one to two weeks in transit. When oil prices spiked last year, it imposed enormous strains on the system. One solution is to build more local food production into our economy. This article provides six ways to enhance food production.
Timothy Beatley's New Book: In Green Urbanism Down Under, authors Timothy Beatley and Peter Newman provide case studies of innovative policy-making, community solutions to preservation, and cutting-edge green building from Australia that may be useful in the U.S.
Coming Events
Phinney Home Design and Remodel Fair in Seattle on Sunday: The 12th Annual Phinney Home Design and Remodel Fair will take place Sunday 8 February 2009, from 10 AM to 4 PM. Admission is $9 for the general public.
Geothermal Power May Be Shipped to LA from Mexico
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has signed an agreement that allows the Department of Water and Power to purchase
geothermal power from Mexico's power agency, the Comisión Federal de Electricidad. The power originates in Baja California.
Radon Facts Hidden in California
Linda Kincaid says that realtors in California sometimes hide the fact that about half of California counties have radon in the
EPA Radon Zone 2, which averages 2-4 pCi/L of indoor radon. The
EPA suggests you fix your home if you have
levels above 4 pCi/L (picocuries per liter). One home in Sunnyvale, CA, tested 29 pCi/L and one in Los Gatos 56 pCi/L. A $5 kit
will allow you to test your home and fixes are generally not very expensive. The EPA estimates that radon causes 21,000 deaths per year,
more than drunk driving.
Voter Designed Cabin Goes Up In North Carolina
The DIY Network show "Blog Cabin" will include a cabin built in Madison County by
Greenstone Builders
of Asheville, NC. Over a million people voted
on the design of the cabin, which wil be given away in an online sweepstakes.
Bonus Stories
Can Your Kid Design a Better Wind Turbine?: Maybe, if they were attending one of the 'Discover Engineering' family workshops sponsored by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Cambridge University in the UK. The workshops is to introduce young people to the creativity, relevance and importance of engineering and technology in society.
Is It Worth Certifying Your Remodel Green?: The National Association of Home Builders is providing new guidelines to allow you to certify your remodel as green. An NAHB-trained verifier would certify your home after a $200 applicatin fee and about $300-700 for the inspection. While some doubt the certification is worth the cost, green homes can carry a $20,000 premium. Buyers are more likely willing to pay if they have confidence that the home really will perform better than average.
Green Depot Opens New Store in Manhattan
Green Depot, which already has 15 locations, will open a new store in downtown New York. It will have a zero-VOC paint bar, a resource and design center, and a section for new parents,
as well as a 3,000 square-foot showroom. The location is expected to be LEED certified.
Green Action Plan Addresses Impact of Existing Structures
A new set of standards from American Institute of Architects San Francisco
gives architects a way to manage proposed green initiatives across entire client organizations. Increased concern from the public
continues to drive stronger mandates to reduce impact on the environment. As a result, "Architects need to become leaders of a broad,
systemic transformation that addresses environmental imperatives in built environments at all levels of society."
IBS Show Homes Reviewed
Katherine Salant reviews two model homes at the International Builders Show: Builder magazine's LivingHome and NextGen's Urban Living.
Bonus Stories
CIFs Reduce Need for Furnaces in Illinois: Contractor Mark Hoerr of Don Hoerr and Sons, who learned to put up a concrete insulated foam house, said that it took about 30% longer to build than a similar stick framed house on their first attempt. But, CIF supplier Ken Senffner says that CIFs supply energy savings of about 70% over traditional wooden stud construction, due to heating and cooling from the earth. "The walls act like geothermal furnaces. [This] house has two furnaces in the main part of the house and one unit upstairs. A traditionally constructed home of the same size would need six units," Senffner said.
LED Becomes Architectural-Grade RGB Downlights: Renaissance Lighting is marketing new LED lamps that it claims are "30-50% more efficient and offer a higher light output than any other RGB downlight product on the market," with a 50,000-to-70,000-hour life span. The lamps in 4" and 7" round or square sizes take advantage of LED's higher performance and cost trends.
Price of Architecture Plunges to Five Cents: They say that people value your services higher if you charge for them, so never give them away for free. So, maybe charging a nickle for architectural advice gets you more customers.
Editorializing
Public Buildings Grant Heritage of Great Architecture: Peter Schubert argues, "Government sponsorship of great architecture has a proud tradition in the United States".
Pattern Language for the Obama Age: Stephen Rose publishes a pattern language primer for the Obama age, possibly making Christopher Alexander's architectural pattern language more accessible.
U.S. Now World's Top Wind Energy Producer
No jokes about how we're now bigger blow hards than Germany. Accoring to the Global Wind Energy Council in Brussels, the U.S. is now
tops in wind turbine capacity with 25 GW, just ahead of Germany (24 GW). U.S. wind power capacity climbed 50% last year, and is expected to climb again with incentives
favored by President Obama.
Not Enough Progress Says GreenBiz Assessment
Only a few areas made progress in this year's GreenBiz Index, which assesses progress on 20 indicators. Three are sinking, according to the report,
available free here (registration required). Carbon intensity
(emissions of greenhouse gases per unit of GDP), employee telecommuting (number of U.S. teleworkers), and E-Waste (percentage of recovered
electronic equipment with hazardous components) all got low marks. In addition, scientists at the World Economic Forum
reported that clean energy investments need to triple to $515 billion a year to stop planet-warming emissions. Fortunately, a study by
McKinsey and Company indicates that
an investment of less than 1% of of world GDP would be sufficient to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius by 2030.
Retrofitting Homes Much Better at Reducing Carbon Than Improvements to New Homes
A study for the California Homebuilding Foundation shows "retrofitting existing homes with energy-efficient features is four to eight times
more carbon- and cost-efficient than adding further energy-efficiency requirements to new housing". Both methods reduced carbon generation.
A $10,000 retrofit of a 1960s home could save 8.5 tons of carbon while a 35% improvment over current state requirements would cost about $5,000
and would reduce emissions by 1.1 tons.
Bonus Stories
Aluminium Gallium Nitride Prevents LED Production Cracks: LEDs made from gallium nitride cannot be grown on silicon wafers because the GaN shrinks twice as fast in cooling as silicon. But researchers at the University of Cambridge have discovered that layers of aluminium gallium nitride slow down the rate of shrinkage, so that LEDs made with it can be grown on silicon. This may eventually make LEDs price-competitive with CFLs.
Sensible Remodeling for Recessions: The days of house flipping are over. But there are still sensible remodels to do, even with lower home prices and scarcer loans. Changes that reduce the energy consumption of the home may still make sense. Start by checking out the efficiency of air ducts and general leakage in the envelope of your home. Evaluate your windows to see if replacing them could save on heating and cooling costs, or whether adding insulation could pay you back. If these aren't enough, this article suggests looking into wind turbines and geothermal systems, both of which were added to the tax credit rolls this year.
Editorializing
"We're Doomed to Global Warming, So Let's Give Up": It's not an exact quote, but it's the gist of an editorial by Paul Danish in the Boulder Weekly. A study recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that 450 ppm, CO2 levels recommended by the IPCC, could only be reached if we didn't build any more fossil fuel power plants and "the world's automobile fleet, which is growing by leaps and bounds, could burn no more oil than it currently does". "Both developments seem improbable," says Danish. If true, we are probably past fixing the problem by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. While Danish abandons hope, others believe that some of the sun's radiation could be blocked. But that would require shields in space, an unlikely event given the political decision process. Perhaps Danish is right: "Climate change is going to happen whether we like it or not. Learn to live with it."
Reports Show Strength in Green Building
The US Green Building Council says that green building is changing the way people think about the industry. Seventy percent of homebuyers
are more likely to buy a green home than a conventional one. Many in commercial property will be seeking LEED certification this year.
Cal ISO Meets With Renewable Energy Suppliers
The California Independent System Operators held an international symposium at its Folsom headquarters to focus on better production forecasting for large solar power plants.
ISO met with over 175 participants. Here is the the official press release.
Austin Considering 300-Acre Solar Project
Austin Energy wants to build a solar array that would power up to 5,000 homes and avoid 51,000 tons of carbon a year for the air. The
utility would pay $10 million per year.
Bonus Story
ICFs Help Make the Largest Green House Energy Efficient: How do you build a 45,000 square foot one-hundred-percent-renewable-energy home? Very carefully. And with ICFs, which have so far allowed contruction to go ahead of schedule and budget. The Athena Marie Ocean Front Southern Plantation will be the largest green home in the United States and Florida's first 100-percent renewable energy home.
Solar Shingles and Polymatrix: No one seems to be making solar roofing tiles from recycled tires (although non-solar roofing tiles are), but some are made from Polymatrix®, which is made from recycled plastics. Durable enough to walk on (maybe not the solar tiles themselves, however), Polymatrix can be recycled, doesn't absorb water, is UV-resistant and fire retardant, and PVC-free.
Editorializing
Prefab vs. Individual Houses: Matt Cantor muses on how the drive toward individuality has created a strong headwind for affordable premanufactured housing. Can homes made in quantity overcome our desire for something uniquely our own?
ANSI Approves a New National Building Standard
American National Standards Institute has approved a National Green Building Standard for all residential construction work,
including single-family homes, apartments and condos, land development and remodeling and renovation. The new standard can be used
to achieve green certification under NAHBGreen and the National Green Building Certification Program.
Abandoned Properties Perfect for Energy Generation
Researchers at Michigan State University suggest using brownfield sites (unused or under-utilized industrial areas) as renewable energy parks.
Wind turbines and solar facilities run into land-use issues, but siting them at previously used industrial property minimizes the impact.
Greensburg, KS, Rebuilds With Green Initiative
After a twister leveled Greensburg in May 2007 the city decided all new municipal structures would be built green, and encouraged
residents to join them. CBS's The Early Show
visited last April during the reconstruction. Energy-efficient buildings would save on all fronts: Estimates are that "for every $21 billion invested
in the energy efficiency of our buildings, we could close 22 coal-burning power plants, reduce natural gas use by 204 billion cubic feet per year,
cut oil use by 10.7 billion barrels a year, and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 86.7 billion metric tons."
Bonus Stories
Missouri Set to Encourage Green Homes: Missouri has new tax incentives this year to encourage green building, the latest result of efforts by the U.S. Department of Energy to persuade states to reward green. Incentives include tax deductions for residents who have their homes audited for energy efficiency.
Wiping Out the Grid: If the solar space superstorm of May 1921 occurred today, it would wipe out major portions of the grid, especially in the east and in the Pacific northwest. The sun occasionally experiences "super solar flares," followed by an extreme geomagnetic storm. Such an event creates intense currents on the grid, and those currents scale up with the size of the grid. A storm can melt the copper windings around transformers. A solar storm in September 1859 shocked telegraphers and set their telegraph papers on fire after current built up in telegraph lines.
Alternative-Alternative Energies Getting a Look
As biofuels, solar and wind power become more mainstream, other technologies step up to take their place
on the "fringe". Even technologies that were beyond the fringe, such as solar thermal and thin-film solar,
are starting to see applications. Moving up to the fringe are technologies like DIY electrical car kits,
next-gen batteries, cellulosic ethanol, algal fuel, ocean/tidal energy and natural gas conversion.
Broken Promises in Green Development
A green community planned for St. Peters, MO, has failed after buildings already under construction in
Highland Park had to be demolished. After the developers failed to complete the buildings, they became
eyesores, which the city has ordered owners to tear down. The weak economy has also caused net-zero homes
in Issaquah, WA, to be put on hold
pending about $2 million in financing. Project manager Brad Liljequist said, "The day the stock market dropped 800 points was the day of our groundbreaking".
Production Tax Credits Crucial to Wind Power
The Production Tax Credits are crucial to sustaining the development of wind power in the U.S. When the credits
drop out, as they did in 2000, 2002 and 2004, capacity installed drops to almost zero. Steady funding for
alternative energy is a dominant factor in keeping these industries alive during fluctuations in the market as
they grow to competitiveness.
Bonus Stories
One Block Off the Grid Looks to LA to Increase Its Clout: The solar collective 1BOG is looking to Los Angeles for enough solar panels to double its impact on Northern California. 1BOG gathers those interested in installing solar power from a geographical area and then does collective bargaining with suppliers to get the best deals. A new initiative hopes to bring this service to the Los Angeles area.
A Practical Guide for Insulating: Better insulation might be the first stop on your green upgrades. This article has items that should top your priority list.
Nation's Largest "Green" Townhome Neighborhood to Appear in DC
Builder EYA plans to construct the nation's largest green townhouse neighborhood
at Capitol Quarter in Washington, D.C. They will seek LEED-H certification for about 200 townhomes in an area close to
public transportation, employment centers, parks and neighborhood retail stores. Homes will feature
Energy Star appliances and windows, water saving plumbing fixtures, high efficiency heating and cooling equipment, and low VOC paints and finishes.
Home Depot Letting Go Its Expo Business
Home Depot will close 34 Expo Design Centers over the next two months and will shut two female-friendly hybrid stores, called THD Design Centers.
They will also close five contractor-oriented Yardbirds outlets in California.
The Expo concept launched in 1991 and grew to 50 stores. Cuts affect about 7,000 employees, about 2% of theit workforce. Sales are expected to be
off around 8% in FY2008 and capital expenditures will be down in 2009 from about $1.8 billion to about $1 billion.
Large Investors Call for Green Recovery
A group of 44 investors managing over $1.7 trillion in assets called for support for green initiatives in the stimulus package. Investors
want "a comprehensive and stable set of supportive policies" and a modernized energy grid.
Conferences Update
Green Products Featured at International Builders' Show: A record 363 vendors have green products at IBS in Las Vegas. New products include flashing that resembles tape.
Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas Hosts First Conference: From a dozen builders three years ago, the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas has grown to 1,600 members. Up to 500 industry leaders are expected to attend the summit from 7:30-11:00 AM Thursday at the Dallas Convention Center, 650 S. Griffin Street.
Cleveland Home Show Coming: The 66th annual Fifth Third Bank Home & Garden Show will be held 7-15 February 2009 at the I-X Center in Cleveland. The show, covering 20 indoor acres, hosts two walk-through log homes, nearly 30 blooming garden displays, five seminar stages, and a Green Pavilion.
California Benefits from Energy Efficiency
Saving energy has allowed Californians to shift money to other uses, making the state more prosperous while adding jobs. A new report by Next 10
shows that "cutting energy bills let California consumers and companies spend their cash on other things, and helped create 1.5 million jobs".
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the state dropped 10% since 1990. Between 2005 and 2007, green jobs grew at 10%, versus the 1% growth
overall in jobs.
Bulbs Bite the Dust
An energy bill signed in 2007 mandates the end of the incandescent light bulb in the U.S. for all but specialty purposes (such as appliance
lights). Manufacturers are already starting to phase out manufacturing plants. New standards generally can only be reached by CFLs or LEDs.
While LEDs currently cost between $35 and $90 each, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute estimates they could save $10 trillion globally within 10 years
because they cost less to operate and last much longer.
New Coating Reduces Price of Parabolic Trough Solar
A new coating developed by National Renewable Energy Lab and SkyFuel,
which is being tested in Colorado, should reduce the cost of constructing reflective solar thermal power. The coating replaces expensive and fragile
mirrors with a laminated polymer and silver coating. The polymer protects the silver from oxydation. The troughs are mounted on trackers capable
of supporting 9,000 pound loads and tracking to 1 milliradian.
Bonus Story
Modern Home Design in India: Check out these fresh designs from _Opolis Architects, a design firm in Mumbai and Pune, India.
WiMax Helps Control Wind Energy
Wind power lobbyists have descended on Washington, DC, to encourage subsidies for wind turbines. CEO of Southwest Windpower, Andy Kruse,
is among them, but he's also lobbying for WiMax. Their wind turbines include Zigbee wireless control, which helps to spot problems
and measure performance. He notes that a wind turbine is "No longer ... just an alternator that makes electricity,
but it's also a machine that you can communicate and interact with."
Oxygen Rich Substrates Can Control Graphene Metal Properties
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered a new method for controlling graphene surfaces.
The chemistry of the substrate determines whether graphene exhibits metallic or semiconductor properties. To date,
graphene nanostructures have a mixture of these properties, but the new techniques may make it possible to
fine tune areas to one or the other. The heat conduction properties of graphene keep it much cooler than copper, a property
that is especially helpful for interconnects.
Getting the Most from PV Panels
ExtremeTech has been presenting a series of entries
on a house in PG&E territory, with excellent coverage of its performance characteristics. It's been criticized as
a "$60,000 residential PV system that still leaves its owner with $200 per month winter power bills", but note comments in
this article on
actual costs/benefits. This article points out that neither grid-tied nor battery backup are perfect, but that you can
get better performance from batteries with proper maintenance. (See the article for details.) In addition, ExtremeTech
provides a useful case study
by Loyd Case of buying a PV system for a house in Sunnyvale, CA.
Bonus Stories
Solar Power Prices Drop 50% Since 2000: Angiolo Laviziano, CEO of REC Solar, says that the cost of a solar power system have decreased by more than 50% since 2000. In addition, REC Solar notes that a typical business solar system in California offsets more than 600,000 barrels of oil and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 425 million pounds during its lifetime.
New Solar Rating Service Comes Online: Green Power Labs has created a new online rating tool that tells homeowners how suitable their site is for solar power. We've added a link to our solar power services.
PG&E Will Take Equity in Solar Projects
CEO Peter Darbee said that the northern California utility will begin taking equity stakes in solar projects. The projects
include solar thermal and PV rooftops, similar to what Southern California Edison has done. The investment could be in the range of SCE's
$875 million investment in 250 MW of rooftop PVs. Darbee said that PG&E would
do equity investment because "we have a tax appetite, whereas so many other entities do not."
Steven Chu Must Upgrade Energy Department
But he may need devine help, since many of the essential jurisdictions belong to other agencies. One area where he may start is
on appliance standards, which lagged with the previous administration. "No fewer than 25 appliance efficiency standards are overdue from the Energy Department."
Setting these to the highest level would save the equivalent of the combined energy consumption of four states.
New Products Turn Up at International Builders' Show
New materials featured at IBS include very low-e windows (U-factor 0.08 to 0.09) from Serious Materials, new ventilation fans
from American Aldes, new PVs from Sanyo, and beefed-up insulated concrete forms from Logix. Additional products are reviewed at
Green Building Talk.
Bonus Stories
Sears Introduces New Home Energy Audit Service: Sears will introduce their new home energy audit at the Go Green Expo, 24-25 January 2009 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The $550 regular price for the service is discounted for show attendees. Sears already makes 13 million service calls to homes each year.
Peterson-Dean Acquires Solar Roofing Company: Peterson-Dean, a roofing company from Vacaville, CA, will form a subsidiary (PD Solar) after acquiring OCR Solar & Roofing.
Microsoft Backs the New American Home
Featuring its Windows Media Center, Microsoft has announced it will provide platinum level sponsorship for
the New American Home 2009, debutting at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas. Equipment can distribute
HDTV, videos and photos to almost a dozen HD displays as well as music to up to 40 in-wall speakers.
New Industrial Design for Home Building
Faced with the downturn, companies are moving to establish more practical ways of building. Critics complain that
during the expansion a "craft-based approach to home design [yielded] more suburban sprawl and cheaply-built, cookie-cutter McMansions".
Designers are rethinking home production to build scalable and flexible, mass-customization home design systems that can result in
individualized homes that incorporate technology and provide high-performance, low-energy homes. Proponents look at home building
as an industrial design process, not a craft, and want to produce open source home designs. (See also our link to
Open Source House Plans from 14 January 2009.)
ProBuild Claims Expansion While Dropping 13,000 Jobs
Paul Hylbert, CEO, says that his company is expanding even as it sheds 13,000 workers. Yes, we're laying off, but at the same
time we're expanding into new markets, is the gist of his explanation. The company is moving to Oracle applications company-wide
over the next two years, which will enable it to better understand its customers.
Bonus Stories
Parade of Green Roofs: Remember yesterday's report on Ecoroofs in Portland? Huffington Post is polling readers on their favorite green roof. Never mind that the first roof pictured doesn't seem to support plant life, click on the forward triangle to see the others.
Why We're Going Green: The Wilkins Ice Shelf in Antarctica is collapsing due to global warming.
Some Wind Turbine Claims Full of Hot Air
A study by Encraft shows
wind turbines generate only fraction of what manufacturers claim. The study measured turbines
by four manufacturers in rural, suburban and urban settings. It found payback times ranged from 2 to 40 years.
Encraft has also found that the national wind speed database can
systematically overestimate
wind resource on sites by between 40 and 75% in the UK.
Fabcon Adds Recycled Materials to Light Brick Product
Vast Enterprises is set to begin shipping Fabcon their lightweight, thin bricks made from recycled materials to
be precast in concrete for brick facing. This will replace thin brick material made from clay.
Ecoroofs Gain Ground Root in Suburbs
While green roofs (roofs planted in vegetation) are nowhere near mainstream, they are gaining acceptance in many areas.
Ecoroofs reduce "urban island" heat, reduce temperatures and smog, and increase insulation (which reduces energy consumption).
Portland, OR, is planning to push green roofs, hoping to turn 43 of the city's 12,500 acres of roofs green.
Show Notes
Several trade shows are going on right now, including IBS in Las Vegas. Here are some notes from the various shows:
World Future Energy Summit: Notes about Masdar, the zero-carbon, zero-waste city being built near Abu Dhabi; plus notes on PV, hydrogen, low-carbon emissions, and other news.
Ecovaire Natural Gas Heat Pump at IBS: Aisin introduced its Ecovaire heat pump for the North American market at the International Builders' Show in Las Vegas, NV. It can save up to 45% on existing pumps, depending on local gas/electric rates. It came from technology Japan created in the 1980s in response to domestic energy demands.
I-Joists Pre-Engineered for Plumbing: Also at IBS, Georgia-Pacific Wood Products introduced the XJ 85 joist, the first engineered I-joist with strategically placed openings for easily-installed plumbing. Moving plumbing into interior, temperature-controlled spaces can save energy.
Industry Strategy Symposium 2009: Amid economic gloom the energy sector has some bright opportunities, highlighted at ISS '09 in Half Moon Bay, CA. This article covers predictions for solar energy.
Obama Tours Wind Turbine Company Today
On his way to the inauguration, Obama will stop at the Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Company in Bedford Heights, OH.
The company makes threaded fasteners, used to bolt wind turbine towers to their foundations. They recently added a Wind Power team to meet demand
from the expanding U.S. wind industry, which has grown from 2% of new power generation capacity added in the U.S. in 2004
to 35% of new capacity added in 2008.
Broadcasting Greeness to Your Neighbors
If you're not satisfied with quietly helping the planet, you can now alert your neighborhood to your virtuous greenness.
A prefabricated house by Kaplan Thompson Architects of Portland, ME, provides real-time feedback with
a skirt of LEDs on the exterior foundation. The base model of the super-insulated, solar-heated BrightBuilt Barn
will start at $200K.
PopMech Previews Clayton's I-House
Imagine living in a trailer. Okay, now imagine living in an affordable cool, green home that you can pack up and truck along
with you. Imagine you could buy it from Ikea. You might be imaging the future with the Clayton I-House, a
prefab home that can be powered for a dollar a day. It also has a tankless hot-water heater, a cistern to collects rainwater
and bamboo floors, as well as low-VOC or zero-VOC paint. The I-House was featured recently in our
blog. Check it out!
Bonus Stories
California ISO to Hold Solar Synmposium: The California Independent System Operator Corporation will hold a Solar Symposium on 29 January 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (PST). The meeting will be online. See the link for details on joining the conference. The meeting is designed to bring those who will provide solar energy together with ISO market and operations experts.
Community Is the Hope for Those in the Great Lag: Katie Liljedahl desponds about peak oil. When we know we have to change, but we're locked in the matrix of the grid, there may seem like no appropriate response. And the message from the pundits? Buy. Not exactly a green response. Katie suggests that we need to get together. "Community opens the doors to healing, provides a platform for ideas, builds bridges of trust and hope, provides a sense of security as well as adventure, and is the vital catalyst for transforming ideas into realities." So, sign up for our blog and get that sense of security.
NC and FL Universities Sponsor New Solar Energy Research Center
Today begins a conference that marks the creation of a new Solar Energy Research Center,
which is a joint effort between
University of North Carolina, Duke University, N.C. Central University, N.C. State University and the University of Florida.
The conference will open with a discussion by Nathan Lewis of the California Institute of Technology on the future of
solar technology. (7 p.m. at the Stone Center Theater in Chapel Hill). Comments from Dr. Lewis appeared in the
News and Observer.
First Silicon-Ink Based Solar Cell Pilot Assembly Completed
The first pilot manufacturing line for silicon-ink based solar cell production has been installed at Innovalight, in Sunnyvale, CA.
Most of the solar cell manufacturing equipment came from Roth & Rau AG, a German company that is a leading supplier
of plasma process systems for photovoltaics. The process combines the quality of crystal silicon wafer technology with
the low cost of silicon-ink printing.
Alternative Energy Continues to Provide Investment Opportunities
The alternative energy sector continues to provide opportunities despite being off its highs, as well as some weakenesses.
Sandi Brockway explores these, with good coverage of the overall industry factors. Opportunities for solar energy include:
Low fuel-risk and location advantages, as well as favorable political climate. Weaknesses include the economic crisis, especially
as it impacts the debt and equity markets and the current low price of crude oil.
Bonus Stories
Get Out Your Credit for 2009: New federal credits apply to the alternative minimum tax, and provide some payback for better insulation and windows. Check out some of the details in this coverage by DIY Renewable Energy.
Leonardo di Vinci Still Inspires Inventions: Harnessing vortex vibrations induced by cylinders (based on a phenomenon first noticed by di Vinci) may allow undersea hydrokinetic generators to turn slow ocean currents into electricity.
Cleaning Up Solar Power
Solar cells have the reputation as "clean power", but the manufacturing process isn't entirely clean. Many cells are produced
from silicon, a process that can produce silicon tetrachloride and other toxic substances. To make sure that the solar
power industry avoids some of the toxic legacy of the semiconductor industry (Silicon Valley ended up with dozens of
toxic waste sites), Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition is releasing a report on the potential environmental problems
facing solar business. The coalition wants manufacturers to examine the entire lifecycle of their products, including
how they will be recycled or disposed of.
Black Gold Turns Green in Gulf Region
What would you do if money were flowing into your country so fast you could hardly count it? What if that money came from
oil? For many countries in the Persian Gulf region, the answer is to think about a future without oil and prepare for it
by investing in green infrastructure. Abu Dhabi is building a model city designed to generate no carbon emissions.
The second World Future Energy Summit starts in the UAE next week and should draw leaders in politics, business and research.
Milan Plans It's Own Garden City
If you find austere, sterile city scapes a turnoff, you might like Milan Santa Monica, a two million square metre green space
planned for 2013. Using Frank Lloyd Wright's principles of harmony between man-made structure and nature, this new development
will mix solar panels and flowering terraces
into flowing apartment buildings and broad, car-less boulevards.
Bonus Stories
Green Condos Continue Strong Sales: In Philadelphia, buyers are showing a definite preference for green homes, which are selling as sales for other units lag behind.
Open Source House Plans: FreeGreen provides free home plans. The plans come with suggestions for products to use. They are now providing an "Open Source program", where designers and architects will be able to post their own green designs to the website.
Solar Prices Declining: The price of solar roofing systems is projected to decline by 15 to 20% this year as silicon becomes more available. This may put pressure on thin film manufacturers, who depend on the cost advantage over rigid silicon modules.
New Renssalaer LED Reduces Polarization Mismatch
Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute has announced a new type of LED light that is about 20% more efficient than current LEDs. The advantage comes by reducing the
efficiency droop with a polarization-matched active region.
Mismatched polarizations was leading to electron leakage at high energy densities.
Sundried Dry Wall
A new Southern California startup (CleanBoard) plans to make gypsum dry wall using solar furnaces, rather than ovens powered by traditional energy sources.
Similar in design to solar-thermal plants, a heat collector will heat transfer fluid that will then be used to heat drywall ovens
up to 200 degrees Celsius. Material will come from construction waste and the calcium sulfite that's a byproduct of coal-fired power plant smokestack scrubbers.
CleanBoard will provide competition for Serious Materials, which uses a low-heat chemical process to make its EcoRock drywall.
California Home Builders Get Ahead of Regulation
The California Building Industry Association decided that cooperation and consensus was the sensible way to handle inevitable changes
to building codes. By doing so, it came away with safeguards for its builder members and housing affordability. New codes from California's
Department of Housing and Community Development will create houses 50% more energy efficient than current national standards and 20% better than
the state's existing code.
Bonus Stories
Stanford University Gets New Energy Institute: Oil and gas executive Jay Precourt donated $50 million and Thomas Steyer (Farallon Capital Management) and his wife, Kat Taylor, gave $40 million to the new Precourt Institute for Energy.
Mag-Lev Wind Turbines Spin Up: Jay Leno gives an online demo of a new wind turbine that spins on mag-lev bearings in this video. He won't get the finished turbine, but plans to buy (a bigger) one for his house.
Are Your Google Searches Warming More Than Your Heart?
The typical Web search generates about 7 grams of carbon dioxide. It takes about 0.0003 kWh, the amount of energy your body
probably burns in 10 seconds. Globally, the IT industry generates about 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions, about the same
as the airline industry. For it's part, Google has suggested moving the U.S. off coal and oil, and has plans to generate
its own power with solar thermal facilities.
Avago Powers Up 1-Watt LED
The new ASMT-Ax00 LED, available for $1.70 each in 1,000 piece quantities, comes in a low-profile package
with 130-degree viewing angle and can handle high thermal and drive currents. It is targeted for use
in architectural, contour, retail display, decorative and garden lighting applications.
Ex-Exurbs
First it was the cost of gas and now it's the cost of homes. The suburbs are suffering and the exurbs are X. In this
New York Times opinion piece by Allison Arieff, Editor at Large for Sunset, the author wonders what will
save the suburbs. Given the recent rampant destruction of landscape, we may wonder why anyone would want to save them.
Bonus Story
GM Reveals Shocking Truth About Volt Batteries: GM plans to produce the batteries for the new Chevy Volt in-house, although the lithium-ion cells will come from LG Chem. GM will also sponsor a battery lab at the University of Michigan.
New England Leads in Green Building
Four states in New England top the list of states with the most energy-efficient office buildings in a study by
Jerry Jackson, Ph.D., of Texas A&M University. The New England Mechanical Contractors Association
sponsors webinars for contractor members to keep up on green design, green conservation, and green building opportunities.
Find Yourself Living at the Mall?
Victor Gruen, the man credited with inventing the mall, intended it as a community center. It should be "a car-free haven"
that includes everything you need--including housing. The traditional mall, however, has turned into an enclosed shopping center, a
concept that has all but died with only one being built this year. Instead, "lifestyle centers" are replacing malls as the
renovation of choice. (One is currently replacing Sunnyvale Town Center
in downtown Sunnyvale, CA, restoring the city grid and opening up the space to shops, restaurants and condos.) De-malled malls include
Belmar, in Lakewood, CO; Cottonwood Mall, in Holladay, UT; Natick Mall at MetroWest near Boston, MA; Coconut Point, in Estero, FL;
Firewheel Town Center, outside Dallas, TX; South Park, in Charlotte, NC; The Domain in Austin, TX; and, Reston Town Center, near
Washington, DC (all covered in the article).
Furniture Turns Green
Are you moving that old sofa from college into your new, green house? Possibly that's the greenest thing to do, since it's
long finished outsourcing toxic VOCs and requires no new trees to replace. But if you are looking for new furnishings
to complement your new digs, look for furniture made from recycled parts, FSC-certified wood, and low-VOC or zero-VOC
materials, as noted in this article.
Bonus Stories
Concentrated PV Provide Additional Advantages: SolFocus is building panels that provide energy payback of just over 6 months. Other advantages are that the panels are 95% recylable and mounted on tracking systems that allow the land to be farmed or used in other ways.
Audubon Society Hits LEED High: The National Audubon Society's new office space at 225 Varick Street captured the highest point total ever for a LEED Platinum Commercial Interiors certification. Audubon reported that its success is partly due to increased availability of green building materials on the market.
Solar Power Finally Reaching Parity
Sempra Energy of San Diego is completing a 10 MW solar farm in Nevada that can produce power at a cost of $.075/kw-h, according to a
veteran analyst. Experts calculate grid power now costs an average of $.09/kw-h. The company would not confirm the costs, for competitive reasons.
The panels were produced by First Solar, which says it has cut cost of manufacturing by 67% over the past four years. Meanwhile,
Perpetual Energy Systems has activated four new PV installations
for wineries, including a 1.34 MW system at Beringer Vineyards.
Stimulus May Include Mortgages in Exchange for Green Upgrades
There are hints the Obama Administration might use the stimulus package to provide mortgage relief in return for green upgrades and
invest in residential green technologies. One proposal, by Architecture 2030, would lower mortgage rates for homeowners achieving significant energy savings.
Geared to generate 8.5 million new jobs over a two-year period, the proposal may be gaining traction in Washington.
Lisa Margonelli of New America Foundation recommends the government fund a mass home weatherization program for families with incomes less than $75,000.
The Department of Energy already has someone with a mandate to weatherize all homes in the country, but this specific proposal would probably
add funding.
Ohio Rolls Out New Renewable Power Program
Ohio is rolling out a $3.5 million program to encourage wind power and solar-heated hot water at houses and apartments. Its
manufacturing and university-driven research bases position Ohio as a national leader in renewable energy.
Dick Coin pioneered wind turbine and solar panel energy on his six-acre spread in Geauga County's Hambden Township with
state and federal incentives that cut his $28,800 costs by half.
BMHC Reduces Operations
Building Materials Holding Corporation announced it will close all operations in northern Nevada and shut facilities in five other western states.
BMHC is the fifth largest lumber and building materials dealer, but was hit unusually hard by the downturn because of reductions by
production builders. However, possibly in an early indicator of building activity, investors seem to be returning to the housing market,
as the rapid decline in prices in the Inland Empire may be starting to draw
those who either flip or rent houses into returning.
Seattle High-Rises Continue to Climb
Four new high-rises are going up in Seattle, but a condominium tower
has been delayed in Los Angeles. Two of the towers in Seattle include improved architectural features, such as recessed balconies in the
asymmetric Bellevue Towers that elminate some of the vertigo of lofted balconies and hobby studios tucked into the corners of the parking garage at
Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue that use up otherwise wasted space. Meanwhile, 10000 Santa Monica Boulevard, a 45-story tower by Jean Nouvel, has been delayed.
IDEC Completes Energy Upgrade of Headquarters
IDEC Corporation just completed a 162 KW solar electric system and efficient warehouse lighting system for its US corporate headquarters
in Sunnyvale, California. This replaces 25% of power usually purchased from utilities, and may save 35% since peak power will
be produced during the most expensive periods--summer afternoons. IDEC owns probably the first building in the world to be
illuminated entirely by LED lighting. Lime Energy provided the lighting retrofit, and REC Solar provided the electric system.
Bonus Story
Ghost Bus Leaves Without Harry: Apropo nothing, the UK Department for Transport is running empty buses to fulfill technical legal requirements. And we're wondering why the ice caps are melting.
Design Note:
Hard Times Boost Designs: "Design tends to thrive in hard times," says Michael Cannell in the New York Times. While recent boom times have lined the pocketbooks of designers, they have also encouraged the vacuous. In the lean years ahead, "there will be less design, but much better design," says Paola Antonelli of the Museum of Modern Art. Are we looking at another Eames chair?
Chip Makers Shifting to Solar Cells
Investment in solar-cell production could match investment in semiconductor manufacturing by 2010. Intel, IBM, National Semiconductor, and other
semiconductor manufacturers have announced partnerships and investments in polysilicon and other solar technologies. The entry of big name manufacturers
gives increased credibility to the solar power industry.
Solar Co-op for Bay Area
One Block off the Grid and SolarCity have a new community purchase program that provides lower cost comprehensive design and installation of
solar panels for the San Francisco Bay Area. 1BOG helps groups of buyers in a community negotiate better deals on solar installation. Check the
"Solar Panels" page under Resources in the right panel on Green Making for options on solar installation.
What Does a Green House Look Like?
The National Building Museum has a traveling exhibit featuring photos and drawings of 22 green homes worldwide.
The exhibit, "The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design", is currently at the University of Minnesota and will
head to Morristown, NJ, next.
Bonus Story: Greening Kitchen Remodels
Especially if you plan to sell your house, a remodeled kitchen can give shoppers a positive impression. But if you are remodeling, what are your green options? No option comes without impact on the environment. Granite requires significant energy expenditure to mine and process; bamboo is still largely shipped from Asia. Aimee Leduc, of Lavender and Lotus Interior Design in Concord, MA, suggests ways to green up kitchen remodels. You might also want to check out the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association's Environmental Stewardship Program, which can help you find eco-friendly cabinets.
Architecture Faces Rough Surfaces in 2009
The deteriorating economy is causing architectural firms to continue laying off staff as they see the
Architecture Billings Index tumble. It was 34.7 in November, down from 36.2 in October, the second month of record low scores
since the index was established in 1995. Architects continue to expect
2009 to be challenging,
as clients of all kinds find it difficult to obtain affordable financing for their projects.
Eskaton Model Home Combines Senior With Green Housing
Eskaton Senior Services has built "the senior home of the future" in Roseville, CA. A combination of
high-tech innovations, senior-friendly design elements and green technology, the model at Lakemont's Eskaton Village
is designed as a teaching tool for architects and senior home builders. Appliances are designed to allow users to remain
seated while cooking, and the home uses LED lighting whereever possible, reducing the need to change bulbs as well as
saving energy. The "GrandCare System" allows family members to monitor elderly family member's well-being from any distance,
and the system keeps seniors connected to the community and to a network of care givers. While you're at it, you might want
to continue up I-80 to Incline Village, NV, and visit the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences
to get a docent-led tour of one of the few platinum certified green buildings in the world.
Cities Focus on Green Initiatives
Many cities are focusing on green initiatives, even if they sometimes don't sense the urgency. In Palo Alto, CA,
Peter Drekmeier is the favorite to become the new mayor. On the city council, he helped drive the city's green building ordinance
and zero-waste plan. He wants the city to be more locally self-reliant, but he will face challenges during the economic downturn
implementing green initiatives if they cost more today even if they save in the long run. In Eureka, CA, the city council wants to
create a green team
from existing staff to help make the city a greener place to live and do business. And, in Pittsburg, CA, the mayor
wants to incorporate green thought into the normal course of business. "I think that most people are pretty well-convinced
that this climate business has some validity; it might not be a crisis," she said. "Whatever we can do to efficiently
make these changes, why shouldn't we do them?" Admirable, but Pittsburg is effectively at sea level. So, get a move on, Mayor Parent!
Fretting Over Finances in 2009
Will the renewable industry succumb to the general financial troubles in 2009? Many in the industry think that the
damage will not be as bad as previously thought because "the case for aggressively re-building the world's
energy infrastructure has been strengthened by the financial crisis as job creation and sustainable economic growth
have become top issues". And if you can work it into your personal finances, opportunities abound to
take credit for energy efficiency,
as a host of tax law changes come into effect this year.
Wind Turbine Design Increases Output
Taking cues from jet engines,
a design from FloDesign Wind Turbine of Wilbraham, MA, uses stationary blades and shrouds to
increase the efficiency of airflow around their turbines. The company is building a full-scale prototype for demonstration.
Traditional wind turbines lose up to 39.7%
of potential energy because some wind flows between the blades and some is directed away from the turbine.
You can see more about how the design works at New Energy and Fuel.
Downturn Reaches Green Terminology
Tired of hearing about "green"? You're not alone. "Green" (as well as "carbon footprint" and "carbon offsetting") topped
the 2009 Lake Superior State University Banished Words List.
I don't see what's so objectionable about an iconic, game-changing word like green. People have been trying to "go green"
ever since the first greenbacks came out. Perhaps LSSU is influenced by their proximity to Green Bay, which would
account for the ubiquitous use of the word in their neck of the green woods. Personally, I <3 the word "green". So, there, LSSU!
Additional Notes:
Encinitas Considers Solar Program
The City of Encinitas is considering a new residential solar power program.
AEE Solar Conference
AEE Solar will hold its 2nd Annual AEE Solar Dealer Conference in Mesa, AZ, February 18-21, 2009.
Naples Carbon Footprint Exceeds National Average
A $4,000 study shows the City of Naples, FL, has high green house gas emissions, significantly higher than some of the other inventories.
A rise in the Atlantic sea level would flood Naples and many other southwest Florida communities.
Passive Houses Eliminate Heating Costs
Houses in Germany are being built without the furnace, but with ultrathick insulation and complex doors and windows they are
just as warm and comfortable as traditional houses. These passive houses cost only about 5-7% more to build there, but
are more expensive in the U.S. They use heat
exchangers to keep the air fresh. Nabih Tahan, a California architect, is building a passive house in Berkeley.
Suburban Sprawl Goes Overseas
I'm not sure how you'll feel about this, but U.S. architects are taking American-style suburbs to other countries. As domestic real estate slumps,
architects and urban planners are heading to China and other countries to ply their trade. "Grassy front lawns and driveways lead to pastel-colored
homes that mimic French, Italian or Spanish architectural styles." (Can you sing, "Little boxes on the hillside"?) One glimmer
of hope: "Many advances in green home design developed in the U.S. are being introduced overseas,
including better insulation or ventilation for heating and air conditioning."
Mohave County Brings Green Power to Rural Elderly
The Owner Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program of Mohave County, AZ, has started installing green power for rural areas,
beginning with 85-year-old Evelyn Bellamy, a disabled resident who previously had no electricity for heating, cooling or hot water.
The primary focus of the program is to give residents "longevity in their homes".
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Californians Installing Record Number of Solar Panels in December Do-It-Yourself Key Trend in 2009 Evaluating Sustainable Energy Claims |
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Green Not a Guarantee of Sales
Recently, green homes have been selling when their traditional counterparts sat on the market. But Meritage Homes in
Vacaville, CA, have seen a slowdown in sales of their Encore homes and is re-evaluating plans for new green communities.
Still, Phoenix, AZ, homebuilder Ed Gorman sold out his comparatively expensive "Galleries at Turney" homes, which are
$700,000 and $850,000 for the 2,000-square-foot units. Despite being more expensive than homes in the same neighborhood,
these LEED-certified homes are about 50% more energy efficient than most homes their size. Shea Homes is also putting green projects
on hold, as the market softens, but they still showed initial success with Trilogy communities (in AZ, CA, FL, and WA),
which sold better than traditional homes.
The Solar Year in Text
Green Tech Media surveys the top solar power stories of 2008 with links to the top stories, including stories on tax credits,
venture capital, hot markets, polysilicon, thin film and others.
Fuel Cells Increasingly Supply Storage Needs
This comprehensive story by the Korean Hearld covers Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell, Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell,
the latter (on the horizon) may reach 70% efficiency. While typically designed for industrial energy storage, new technology
may eventually create cells that could store energy for the home.
Bonus Story
Miles of Solar Panels: William Ellard suggests we use our miles of highways to locate solar panels. This area is already an environmental wasteland, often full of "scrub, weeds, debris, and power lines". US highways provide land for perhaps 20 million megawatts of solar capacity.
Hat Tip
We extend our hat tip to the Milpitas Unified School District (Milpitas, CA), which just completed a 14-site, district-wide solar and energy-efficiency project designed to supply 75% of the district's total annual electricity needs through solar energy. Helped by Chevron Energy Solutions and Bank of America, the district installed parking canopies and shade structures mounted with solar photovoltaic arrays plus energy-management software on the district's computers to improve energy efficiency. Nice going!
Winter Bring Woes to Renewable Sources
Winter is testing the commitment of home owners to their green options. In winter, solar panels get less sun and can be blocked
by accumulated snow. Since panels are wired in series, even one blocked cell can shut down a panel. Wind turbine blades can
ice up, either stopping them or throwing sheets of ice off as they spin. And water turbines are susceptible to ice buildup, as well.
However, brilliantly clear, sunny days with the sun reflecting off the snow, and the colder temperatures (which allow solar
cells to operate more efficiently) can result in better power generation in some cases than in summer. Shovel those walks
and squeegee those snow panels!
Design/Build Teams Quicken Green Homes
For designers struggling to get builders to implement their sustainable plans, the option of moving into construction allows them
to move more quickly. Chris Redmond of Little Green Homes in Portsmouth, NH,
decided to include building to his design service
after finding builders "unable or unwilling to implement his sustainable designs." Kevin and Hardy Wronske of
Heyday Partnership in Los Angeles also design and build
green homes, and are creating the first small lot LEED-certified subdivision
in the city of Los Angeles.
Rebates to Decrease in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust will reduce rebates available through its Commonwealth Solar program on January 1, 2009.
Higher demand and increased availability of federal tax credits led to the decrease. Rebates will drop from $2 per watt to $1.
The agency is going through its $68 million four-year funding faster than expected.
Bonus Story: Old Favorites Going Green
Habitat for Humanity just completed a new green house in the West Pasco Habitat near St. Petersburg, FL, for the first green home in that community. But it wasn't easy going green, they said, citing "problems with permits, blueprints, and parts of the planning weren't included." Meanwhile, This Old House earned a LEED Silver Certification for their home built recently in Weston, MA.
The Architecture Year in Pictures
Designboom provides a photo-rich tour of 2008, with stunning pictures from cutting-edge commercial and residential build projects, including
a Chilean house by Smiljan Radic Clarke, "Kiltro House" by Supersudaka, a Swiss hillside villa by Wespi de Meuron Architects,
the Sumika Projects by Sou Fujimoto and other architects, retreats by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, and many more.
Solar Is in the Roof
MSR Innovations has developed a new roofing system designed to enable solar PV. The 2x2' polymer tiles installed on special tracks
are just as affordable as fibre-glass shakes or concrete tiles. Installing PV is as simple as swapping tiles for clear ones with
PV underneath. The new field of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) includes
Redwood Renewables, which we met at Clean Tech Open's
Green Building Symposium.
Testing the Wind
Second Wind of Somerville, MA, is producing the Triton Sonic Wind Profiler, a 6' machine to measure wind and other
meteorological data up to 200 meters using "sodar". The technology helps locate ideal sites for wind farms.
Bonus Story
California SB7 Would Encourage Small Solar Providers
California State Senator Patricia Wiggins has introduced legislation that would compensate smaller producers for all of the solar power that they generate.
Currently, power produced beyond the property owner's own use is returned to their electric provider for free. The bill would
allow residential utility customers to continue to receive credits for the solar power beyond that limit.
Top Green Cities
Portland, OR, tops the list of green cities according to a 2008 study by SustainLane. Others in the top five included:
San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, Chicago, IL, and New York, NY.
Back to Earth Floor Demo
Get the picture on how to build your own earthen floor with this time-lapse video that shows how it's done.
Laminate Countertops on the Rise
New designs and the affordability of laminate countertops are making them more popular. Newer products look more natural and can contain
recycled materials. Granite continues to dominate, but quartz and engineer stone are also becoming more popular. Buyers
continue to ask about green products, but often find them cost-prohibitive. Still, the green trend is not going away.
See more at Kitchen Exchange,
but note that sinks placed under countertops become a remodeling issue when the sink wears out. Some people have broken countertops
while trying to replace worn-out sinks, but sinks placed on top of the countertop don't suffer this problem.
Bonus Story
Compressed Air Used to Store Power
Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) can be used by power plants to store energy from intermittent sources, such as wind or solar.
Two CAES plants are in operation, in McIntosh, AL, and Huntorf, Germany. Energy Storage and Power of New Jersey
announced that it will invest $20 million to develop CAES for wind turbines and other power sources.
RSi Solar Produces Photovoltaic Windows
Rainbow Solar recently announced transparent, photovoltaic-glass windows, which generate 80-250 watts per window. Intended
mainly for commercial buildings, they reduce cooling costs and provide a 100% reduction in UV and infrared radiation.
RSi is desiging smart home features, like an electrical privacy curtain and the ability for the window to transform into a light panel.
Superinsulating Your Home
Homeowners hope to radically reduce heating and cooling costs by cladding their homes in foam insulation. Alex Cheimets
expects to cut oil consumption by 70 percent on his 80-year-old, two-family home in Arlington, MA. The roof will have an
R-value of 59, and the walls an R-value of 39, exceeding federal recommendations of R 49 for an attic and R 13 for walls in Massachusetts.
SmartHome at Chicago Museum of Science Shows the Way to Sustainable Housing
A new exhibit outside the Chicago Museum of Science demonstrates a state-of-the-art 2,500-square-foot home that uses less
than half the energy and a third of the water of traditional homes. Designed by Oakland architect Michelle Kaufmann,
the modular SmartHome sports a kitchen countertop composter and a sink made from concrete and fly ash, as well as
a bicycle that must be pedaled to charge the battery for video games.
Bonus Story
Butte College Offers Green Courses for Spring 2009
Butte College of Oroville, CA, will offer
classes and community workshops focused on obtaining green jobs. The three new courses are sponsored by a grant from
the National Science Foundation, and green workshops will be offered through The Training Place starting in January.
Thermal Storage of Concrete on Research Agenda
Researchers at the University of Arkansas are testing how energy can be stored in concrete. While this is intended for
large-scale energy storage, finding concrete with good thermal-storage characteristics will help optimize thermal mass
for homes. The goal is to discover which concrete mixes can store the most thermal energy. Thermal storage with ice is
currently available for air conditioning units
to take advantage of cheaper off-peak electicity.
New Investments in Solar Power Announced
Renewable production to further "green infrastructure" initiatives are the bright spot in commercial investments.
New facilities include: a solar panel production plant in Belen, NM, from Signet Solar; $1.2 billion investment build a site in Clarksville, TN,
for polycrystalline silicon production; a $100 million wind turbine manufacturing facility in Jonesboro, AR, for Nordex USA; a $220 million
facility in Battle Creek, MI, for United Solar Ovonic; a 122,400-square-foot facility in Austin, TX, for HelioVolt to manufacture
thin-film solar energy products; and, the 480,000-square-foot plant in Hillsboro, OR, for SolarWorld,
which should reach 500 MW capacity by 2011.
Polystyrene Recycled for Building Materials in Sacramento
Verde Development expects to lease facilities in Sacramento to manufacture building blocks from recycled polystyrene.
The 4-foot interlocking blocks have channels for Rebar and concrete, to give walls more strength. Currently,
only builders where International Code Council approval is not necessary have been able to use the material.
However, similar technology has been in eastern Europe for decades. It is 3-5% more expensive than a wood-frame building,
but is fire and mold resistance.
Renewable Energy Industry Ramping Up
Studies from Earth Policy Institute and others show that
industrial output in the renewable energy industry is growing at 30% a year. There is currently 24,000 MW of wind generating capacity
online in the U.S., with 8,000 MW from 83 wind farms coming. 40 plants manufacture wind power components. There is
200 MW of solar cell generating capacity. PG&E is building 800 MW of PV capacity. The SEGS complex in California provides
350 MW of solar thermal power, with 18 commercial-scale power plants under development. There are also 96 geothermal energy projects.
Modern Green Crafts Home Developed in Marin
Berkeley-based GreenPads is planning a new development (CAZNEAUpads) in Sausalito, CA, which is designed to blend
craft traditions with the green approach of sustainable design and homebuilding. Green features include low-waste panelized construction,
rain screen and lime plaster exterior, solar thermal hot water, radiant heating, as well as soy and recycled jeans insulation.
Is Your Landscaping Green? (See under CalFinder news entries)
"You might think all landscaping is green...." But, unfortunately, the default landscaping from builders and developers is anything but.
Not only is there an opportunity to put in
xeriscaping,
permaculture, or
organic gardens, but
good landscaping can add 20% to property value and save up to 25% in heating and cooling costs.
Bonus Story
Collective Living Presentation and Green Home Tour in Berkeley
Green Key Real Estate and Seventh Haven Homes will present speakers on co-housing, the micro community
and other forms of collective living on Sunday 4 January 2009, 4-6 PM. RSVP at 510-384-8014.
Toledo Remakes Itself as Solar Valley
Toledo, OH, is leveraging its history as a glass manufacturing hub to launch new solar power industries. Companies like
Xunlight, Solar Fields and other solar energy-related businesses have created 6,000 new "green collar" jobs in the former "Glass City".
San Jose Library Creates Architecture from PV and Art Glass
San Jose's Pearl Avenue Branch Library is the first U.S. city entity to install permanent public art combining PV cells and
art glass in an architectural application. Four art glass windows embedded with photovoltaic cells power a suspended 200-watt glass LED-illuminated lamp.
EarthLED Releases New 7-watt LED Bulb
EarthLED has released the new ZetaLux, a 7-watt LED light bulb, which produces the equivalent of a 50-60 watt incandescent bulb
but takes about 1/10th the energy. It is a direct-path bulb with a "warm white" light that sells for about $50 and plugs into
a standard medium base.
Hurry Up
The Arctic Is Melting
Going green was never more urgent. Scientists have unequivocal evidence that the Arctic region is warming at a faster rate
than the rest of the world, and 10 or 15 years before expected.
Solar Advances Adding Up
Technologies "from the surface of solar cells to their very heart" are transforming solar cells in the lab. At at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
researchers have attempted to capture the full spectrum using seven stacked layers of antireflective coating, each about 100 nanometers thick
and composed of nanoscale rods, all positioned at oblique angles. At MIT, researchers covered the back of the cell with
multiple layers of reflective coatings and a diffraction grating, boosting its efficiency by up to 50%. Sunovia Energy Technologies
and EPIR Technologies developed a glass ceramic material with nanoscale crystalline particles that converts ultraviolet light into visible light,
which can then be absorbed by traditional means. Work continues to find more efficient materials and designs.
Reinvention 2008 Wraps Up
The Reinvention 2008 conference wrapped up in Austin, TX, last week with presentations on new ideas in residential construction.
Solar Red Innovates Solar Panel Installation
Solar Red thinks is attempting to reduce costs by integrating the process into home construction or renovation and making this
a process that can be performed by regular roofers and construction workers.
Homeowners Get Green Insurance Policies
Lexington Insurance, an AIG subsidiary (them again?), now provides insurance in the Northeast that covers the cost of adding
green elements if you rebuild after a loss. Targeted at those who generate their own energy, the additional premium
covers cost to purchase power elsewhere and get permits and inspections to bring systems back online, among other expenses.
In addition, auto insurers (Travelers, Farmers, and others) offer discounts if you buy a hybrid car or limit driving.
Tiny Eco-Homes May Reduce Average Home Size
Home designs from Project FROG,
miniHome and
Envision Prefab may help reduce the average size
of the American home, which has crept up to nearly 2,500 square feet. Doolittle Sothere provides a quick tour of these green homes
and ones by Michelle Kaufman in this piece on the
"mini-housing" boom.
Organic Soils Reduce Flooding
In laboratory trials, organically farmed soils had 850% less runoff than conventional, chemically fertilized soils. And
since conventional, chemical fertilizer release soil carbon into the atmosphere, organic farming helps sequester more
carbon in the soil. (Unfortunately, this won't solve global warming because the earth's human population is too large to live totally
off organic farming.)
Bonus Story
Organic Farms Dot Middle of Oakland
In West Oakland, City Slicker Farms provides organic produce
from four tiny farms comprising less than an acre between them using intensive gardening techniques.
Green Jobs and Infrastructure Act Proposed in Congress
The Green Jobs and Infrastructure Act of 2008 (S.3725),
sponsored by Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow and co-sposored by Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown,
would establish a $50 billion loan program to help manufacturing plants retool and retrain workers to produce clean energy
and energy efficiency components and end products. It would also provide block grants for renewable energy projects,
add $250 million for the Green Jobs Act, and finance a Clean Energy Service Corps to organized volunteers. Find more at
The Apollo Alliance.
The Green Arcade Sponsors Green Remodeling Presentation
The Green Arcade will sponsor an informal talk with residential remodeling consultant Mary Fitzgerald in San Francisco
on Saturday 13 December 2008 at 1680 Market Street (at Gough). Contact The Green Arcade at 415-431-6800.
What Should the Sustainable City Look Like?
Richard Layman, a historic preservation-centric urban revitalization advocate in Washington, DC, discusses the basis of
sustainable cities. He is critical of LEED building certifications as a "be all and end all" of sustainability.
Bonus Story
California Adopts Sweeping Global Warming Plan
The New York Times reports that the California Air Resources Board voted unanimously to adopt the nation's most comprehensive global warming plan.
The plan will create a carbon-credit market designed to give the state's major polluters cheaper ways to cut the amount of their emissions.
Consumer Electronics Association Sponsors Green Life Smart Life™
Consumer Electronics Association will be the primary technology sponsors of the Green Life Smart Life project, which is building a
house in Rhode Island using smart technology to improve comfort and energy efficiency, as well as a sustainable and environmentally-friendly
LEED-certified home.
Mill Creek NetZero Home Publishes Stats
Using the new WATSUN 2008 solar hot water system simulator, Rasing Spaces
has simulated the costs for their Mill Creek NetZero Home. According to their calculations, a system with 3 Collectors, a 1000 litre,
R50 hot water tank, and R10 pipes, is projected to generate 94% of annual hot water from the sun, and will produce additional space heating.
Melbourne New Stadium Uses Bio Frame Roof
The new Melbourne Rectangular Stadium for 31,000 spectators incorporates environmental features, such as rainwater harvesting and an ingenious
bio-frame roof design, which uses around 50% less steel than an equivalent cantilevered roof. The new stadium may reduce use of potable water
by up to 95%. Additional eco-friendly features include a building automation system to minimise power use and low-VOC carpet and paints.
Green Building Symposium in San Francisco Brings Together DOE and CPUC
Yesterday's Green Building Symposium brought together federal and California state agencies to promote green building in both the commercial and
residential segments. Speakers included David Rodgers, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency, U.S. Department of Energy and
Dian Gruenich, Commissioner, California Public Utility Commission, as well as a panel of government and business leaders. A full video of
the event (for RealPlayer) can be downloaded from this link.
(This video is scheduled to be available for six months.)
AIG Announces New Insurance for Green Builders
AIG's (yes, that AIG: American International Group Inc) Risk Management branch has announced two special types of insurance to protect developers and managers of green homes.
AIGRMGreen Reputation Coverage insures developers and managers against the costs of countering bad publicity on a green building project.
AIGRMGreen Indoor Environment Coverage insures companies against claims of illness or injury caused by specialist environmental equipment.
Lightweight Composites May Make Houses Resistant to Hurricanes
University of Alabama at Birmingham professor Nasim Uddin, Ph.D., has launched a study to whether home foundations and frames built of a lightweight
composite material may perform better in a hurricane by bending and possibly floating on a storm's coastal surge. The research is designed to
find a substantially stronger and green building material.
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Understanding Sustainable Investment Citibank Works With Green Alliance to Finance Upgrades Suntech and Open Energy Agree to Market BIPV |
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EPA Investigating Formaldehyde in Pressed Wood
The Environmental Protection Agency has launched an investigation into the health effects of formaldehyde in pressed wood products and asked
experts, the industry, and the public for help defining possible risks of exposure. The new investigation is partly the result of reports that
many in FEMA trailers following Hurricane Katrina suffered from respiratory illnesses possibly linked to formaldehyde exposure.
Leave Your PC Running and Save Energy
Theorectically. If you sign up for The Clean Energy Project (sponsored by IBM and Harvard University), you can use those spare cycles to
study next-generation solar power and fuel cell materials.
Ascent Reports 9.5% Efficiency on CIGS
Ascent Solar Technologies announced it has achieved greater than 9.5% efficiency for its flexible Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenide (CIGS) monolithically
integrated modules. This confirms the earlier report
in On the Horizon of efficiencies in the 9.6-10.0% range.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Climbed in 2007
The need for green homes continued to increase. U.S. greenhouse gases flowing into the atmosphere rose by 1.4% after a decline in 2006. CO2 rose by 1.3% in the U.S. and 3% globally. Drops in 2006
were attributed to warmer than normal winter.
LA and Portland Use Two Quite Different Green Regulations
Los Angeles, CA, and Portland, OR, use two very different regulations to encourage green building. LA requires plans to go to the Department of Building and Safety
for approval, but then forgets about them. Portland assesses a fee for buildings, unless they meet LEED certification. In addition, for LEED Silver,
the owner obtains access to financing options, and for LEED Gold, the city writes the project owner a check!
IKEA Improving Green Sales
IKEA is moving to FSC-certified wood. The chain expects to have 30% FSC in the next few years and uses renewable energy for 45% of heating and 20% of electricity.
Earlier IKEA said it would like to sell green goods
(such as solar panels, alternative light sources, product materials, energy efficiency, and water saving and purification).
Bonus Christmas Story
LEDs Radically Reduce Holiday Bills
The total holiday on incandescent Christmas tree lights could cost $23.95 in electricity, but with LEDs only 54 cents.
In 2003, the DOE estimated that the holiday displays consumed 2.2 billion kilowatt-hours a year--enough to power 200,000 homes.
Brad Pitt Continues to Build Green in New Orleans
Families are moving into the first six houses built through Pitt's Make It Right foundation. The homes echo traditional New Orleans styles, but
also have solar panels and other features that help cut energy bills by at least 75%.
Start Green Remodels With Green
Writer "Norah" lists five points for making green remodels, including "Start Green". Reference to
Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Energy.
Go Green on Multiunits in 2009
The U.S. Green Building Council will focus on encouraging
the greening of multiunit properties in 2009. Related trends
in investing suggest going green to weather the downturn. Additional advice:
BART Finally Coming to San Jose
It might be a while, since it depends on federal funding, but voters in Santa Clara County appear to have very narrowly approved
a sales tax increase to fund additional construction on BART to bring it to San Jose, CA. Opponents still have four more days to
force a recount, but that would cost $400,000. Measure B required 2/3 approval to pass, according to California constitutional
requirements, and it appears to have just a few votes more than the required majority.
LED Lighting Shows Progress at Middle East Trade Show
"Efficient and environmentally friendly organic LED systems are also on the horizon," as noted at the Palme Middle East trade show.
Barco unveiled the world's first environmentally friendly outdoor display with sustainable components using minimal power consumption.
Incandescent light bulbs only convert about 15% of electricity into light. More efficient, LEDs use 75-95% less electricity to create an equivalent amount of light.
Blue Prints Reviewed for Green
AVID Home Studios provides a home analysis that can save labor and material costs while qualifying for green points and credits.
Residential house plans are analysed for material and labor efficiency, then a new set of plans is created showing how to cut and
install each major framing, flooring, wall and roofing component. NAHB Green Building Program, the EarthCraft House and LEED
can award green building credits and points for the resulting plans.
Bonus Story
Green Remodeling Can Overcome Slow Market
A little preemptive green remodeling can increase your chances of selling your home. Different regions respond differently. Areas to focus on
include eco-friendly countertops, green flooring, laundry room enhancements, water-saving bathrooms and low-VOC paint.
Is Prefab the Way to Affordable Green Homes?
Chad Ludeman, President of Philadelphia-based Postgreen, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using prefab as a way to deliver
affordable green homes. His conclusion is that prefab, by itself, is not the answer, but can be combined with site-built techniques
to deliver a hybrid that takes advantages of both systems. For example, Structured Insulated Panels (SIPs) are premanufactured, but lend
themselves to site-built homes. Postgreen created the
100K house for Philadelphia.
Obama Moving to the Green House
President-elect Obama said that he would conduct an energy audit with the chief usher at the White House and would continue efforts to save
energy there. He said he wants to "show the American people that it's not that hard" [to save energy]. Despite a less-than-green reputation,
President Bush had a grid of 167 solar photovoltaic panels and a solar water-heating system installed in 2002. Update:
Architects Offer to Assist President-elect Barack Obama on Promoting Green Buildings.
2009 International Builders' Show
The 2009 International Builders' Show will take place 20-23 January 2009 in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show includes
hands-on demonstrations and working models in over 300 building industry categories at the National Association Home Builders' annual convention.
Last year's show drew over 90,000 attendees. The show focuses on residential or light commercial construction. The show includes a seminar on
marketing green homes.
Energy Efficiency May Outweigh Solar Upgrades
While solar energy is getting subsidies, improving your home's energy efficiency may be more cost-effective. Homes tend to be leaky, and 2% of energy used in California
is lost just from bad ducts. A bill to require energy audits when homes are sold died in the state senate. Ted and Astrid Olsson of
San Francisco had Sustainable Spaces conduct their energy audit.
Even Apartment Dwellers Can Go Green
While options may be limited, renters and condo owners can still improve their carbon footprint. One important step is replacing incandescent bulbs
with either CFLs or LEDs. Small changes include replacing broken appliances with Energy Star-rated ones, and installing a programmable thermostat.
As prices normalize for green materials and components, any remodel to an apartment or condo, including repainting, is an opportunity to
consider a green option.
Go Green Expo LA
The next Go Green Expo is scheduled for 24-25 January 2009 at The Los Angeles Convention Center. A Business-to-Business Expo will be held
on 23 January 2009 (the day before). More information is at Craigslist.
Studies Show Green Trend Continues
A report from McGraw-Hill Construction and the NAHB shows that green building continues to grow despite the down market. A study by
Information Resources Inc. shows
this is a long-term trend, not a fad. "Building green" makes it easier to market in a down economy, according to 40% of builders,
and 60% claim buyers are willing to pay more for green homes.
Boy "Makes a Wish" to Meet Renewable Energy Researchers
David, a 13-year-old boy who is battling leukemia, is on a year-long trip to meet renewable energy researchers after he told
the Make-A-Wish Foundation
that he wanted to meet them as his wish.
Strategies for Urban Agriculture
This blog entry presents the history of agriculture in Los Angeles and various options for increasing food production in an urban
setting. Covers:
and other ideas. Farmlab in LA will be harvesting seeds from 25 November to 6 December 2008.
Bonus Story
City of Palo Alto Has #1 Green Energy Program
According to National Renewable Energy Laboratory, PaloAltoGreen now includes 20% of ratepayers. The voluntary green energy purchasing program
is far ahead of national averages, which are around 2%. On average, the program takes less than ten dollars a month more than standard rates to get 100% green energy.
Can Big Homes Be Green?
Take a look at some of the most expensive homes in the world--crammed with green options. Can a 15,000 square foot house be called "green"?
What about a $29 million "Green Giant"? Many of these homes clearly aren't for one family. Does your family need six refrigerators?
Solar-Powered Wifi
Meraki is making solar-powered wifi for outdoor use. While the $749 price tag (without the solar panel) may be high for individual use, localities may be
buying. The Meraki Solar comes with lithium iron-phosphate batteries to provide guaranteed 24-hour performance.
New Solar Cell Structure Boosts Output 50%
Scientists at MIT have announced new advanced chip-manufacturing techniques for solar cells that capture more light. Using a combination
of anti-reflective coating on the front, multi-layered reflective coatings, and a defraction grating on the back of of ultrathin silicon films, the
cells attained as much as 50% higher output. The thin films used take only about one percent as much silicon as high-quality silicon crystal
substrates used in conventional solar cells.
Bonus Story
Wind Turbines You Might Want on Your House
Think the wind turbine you're contemplating looks a bit clunky? Try one of these designs, which can add a bit of style.
OCR Solar & Roofing Signs With Shea Homes to Install Solar Roofs
OCR Solar & Roofing will install BP Solar Home Solutions® systems on Trilogy™ by Shea Homes communities in California, as part of Trilogy's
efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of homes in all of its Shea Homes Active Lifestyle™ Communities.
Green Home Designers Turn City Home Green
Lisa Sharkey and Paul Gleicher, authors of Dreaming Green, remodelled their Manhattan townhouse as an eco-friendly home from top to bottom. Tips include
green furnishing ("bamboo and beech sheets for your beds") and care items ("organic baking soda and organic vinegar as cleansers"). Take the
tour.
Room Makeovers Increase as Sales Sag
For homeowners taking their homes off the market, the alternative is sometimes rejuvenating their existing home. Painting, redoing floors or adding new
window shades are relatively inexpensive ways to invigorate a room. Unfortunately, many of these products are not green, so check closely to find
out what materials are used. Also, laminate floors often sound artificial unless they are laid correctly, so quality installation is a must.
European Project Sets New Efficiency Record for Solar
While conventional PV cells made of silicon are currently converting about 17% of the spectrum into power, European Commission sponsored Fullspectrum
has developed photovoltaic multi-junction solar cells able to convert 39.7% This is part of Framework Programme 6.
Renting Solar Beginning to Take Hold
SolarCity provides leasing in Arizona, California, and Oregon. Other companies to watch: Citizenrē, freEner-g, and CT Solar Lease. Currently,
leasing is only available in areas with net metering, where excess power can be sold back to the grid.
Struggling to Go Green in Westchester County
(Free) NYTimes.com account required
Homeowners may do well to start small and develop their solar power systems over a period of time. The Ginsbergs in Chappaqua, NY,
started with a 600-square-foot home office built over the garage. The Halls, also of Chappaqua, began by adding green elements 14 years ago to a 1940s colonial.
By evolving over time, they learned about the technologies without taking undue risk. A number of green options used are covered in the
article.
Solyndra and Carlisle Cool Roofs Increase Rooftop Solar Efficiency
Carlisle's white cool roofs reflect solar radiation away from the building and into the Solyndra
cylindrical solar collectors. The system also saves on
mounting costs for the panels.
Five Next Game-Changing Technologies in Solar Power
Alex Hutchison expects these to be game-changing technologies:
SunRun Receives $105 Million in Financing
San Francisco-based SunRun said it received $105 million in financing from an affiliate of US Bancorp. This is sufficient to expand from the current
300 roof tops to over 2,000. SunRun installs solar panels on residential roofs and then sells the electricity to those customers at a low fixed rate,
eliminating the need for individual home owners to finance, purchase and install the panels.
Myths Dispelled on Home Solar Energy
Consider these myths gone:
Planning is the key to keeping PV costs in line. PV does work on cloudy days, just at a reduced capacity. And, the efficiency depends on how you make the calculation. Remember, energy coming from the utilities is projected to rise substantially as fossil fuels become more problematic, and you have to think about the long-term costs in any calculation.
PINK Fiberglas(TM) Reaches 40% Recycled Content
Owens Corning has announced that it is increasing certified recycled content in its flagship PINK Fiberglas(TM) insulation to a minimum of 40%.
This is five percent more than previously. This reduces landfill while also reducing the embodied energy in their product, and saves CO2 release.
Austin Home Builder Expands to Remodeling
Green Builders, Inc. is expanding its services to include green remodeling. The service is for central Texas home owners who
who want to reduce home energy demands and utility bills, lessen home maintenance costs and increase the comfort of their home. An
energy audit that evaluates the home's energy usage and performance. After that, Green Builders
creates a custom action plan.
Builders Lead Consumers in Green Building Market
While builders typically respond to consumer demand, in the residential green building market, many builders are out in front. Consumers
are slowly starting to ask about green building, and they go to builders to find out what it is. NAHB has defined seven categories of green building.
Of these, energy efficiency tops the list of consumer questions.
Trend to Urban Green Development
The Urban Land Institute's study, Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2009 conclude the real estate market is near the bottom. The study
argues for invest in energy-efficient urban infill and mixed-use real estate as the best move for 2009.
Certain Green Technologies Finally Seeing Wide Adoption
"People don't have to open or close their windows, which is so 18th century." ABC News surveys the technologies that are making it with
consumers: solar panels that don't look clunky, sealing air leaks, foam insulation, and light tubes. But "many of the best green home solutions available to homeowners
hail from the 18th century", such as awnings over windows and line-drying clothes.
Insurance Lags Behind for Green Building
Many insurers are covering green projects but are underwriting them much more closely and are monitoring problematic trends that might occur
with new materials or project delays due to procuring specialized materials. They are estimating soft costs, such as recycling materials
after a loss occurs. Fireman's Fund is one company that has created new types of coverage geared toward sustainable design.
Solar-Powered, All-Green Urban Community Under Construction in Hollywood
MasterCraft Homes is building an all solar-powered, all-green urban community that features 34 detached homes with utility bills by as much as 60% lower.
The homes are made possible by the Small Lot Subdivision Ordinance, adopted by the Los Angeles City Council in 2004. The community also includes
drought-resistant California native plant landscaping and low-emitting building materials to recycled construction waste and lumber culled from managed forests.
Kansas City Builders Slowly Warm to Green Houses
Despite being "very pessimistic when the HBA first started discussing" it, Kansas City builders are starting to see
the feasibility of green residential building. Meeting green home standards adds between 3 percent and 7 percent
to construction costs, but pays back in five to seven years.
Features include ultra high-quality insulation, highly efficient air conditioning units and heat pumps, water-saving devices,
tankless water heaters, airtight light fixtures, Energy Star-rated appliances, timers on some switches, and concrete fiber board siding.
Note
Mill Valley City Council Consider Adopting Marin Clean Energy Ordinance
The Mill Valley City Council will meet at 7:30 p.m. Monday to consider adopting the Marin Clean Energy ordinance.
Unicorporated Santa Clara County, CA, to Come Under Green Codes
The Board of Supervisors plans to adopt a Green Building Ordinance to require home building and remodeling be environmentally sensitive.
Builders will likely be able to choose either the Build it Green (BiG) or the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) systems.
This is the first time the county will require residents and developers to use green standards.
Greenfest Starts Today in San Francisco
Green Festival is a joint project of Global Exchange and Co-op America. It is like "a walk through a sustainable community", with
hundreds of speakers, vendors, (vegetarian) food and music.
Home Sellers Prefer Green Agents
A National Association of Realtors study says a majority of recent homebuyers consider environmental and energy features important.
More than half of potential sellers say it's important to work with a green-certified real estate agent.
About a third of homeowners say they would spend money to increase their green appeal.
Bonus Story
Recycled Wyoming Fence Becomes Siding
The new 2008 Southern Living Idea House in Whisper Mountain near Asheville, NC, features recycled siding from
Centennial Woods of Laramie, WY. The company
maintains and then reclaims Wyoming snowfence for interior and exterior residential and commercial use.
Dirty Air Kills More Than Auto Crashes
Researchers at California State University-Fullerton say lowering air pollution in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley would save
more lives than ending all motor vehicle fatalities in the two regions. Meeting federal air standards would save $1,600 annually per person
in the San Joaquin Valley and $1,250 in the South Coast Air Basin.
Shipping Containers Stalled
Even without the drop-off in shipping, a million cargo containers come to the U.S. each year and about half never leave. Hundreds of thousands
may be available currently for other uses. Smart builders are turning them into components for houses.
Reviving Shaker Architecture With Virtual Buildings
A University of Cincinnati public-education project is rebuilding lost Shaker structures and interiors using advanced visualization technology.
As a religious group in the 1800s, the Shakers built 19 communities in the United States, but much of this architecture has been lost. The Virtual Shaker Village
can be found at the Electronic Reconstruction of Historical and Archaeological Sites.
Green Building Initiative for Veterans
the American Society of Interior Designers announced a new program to support veterans by assisting them with home renovation. This
intiative includes resources from Regreen, a joint program of
the American Society of Interior Designers' Foundation and the U.S. Green Building Council.
New Techniques for Emergency Shelters (video)
Goldsworthy has come up with a new shelter construction system
using composite materials and natural fibers. The sections of snap-lock panels form a complete housing, office, or storage unit.
How Solar Panels Are Made (video)
Video from Discovery Channel (on YouTube) shows how solar crystaline solar cells are processed into panels and tested.
Balloons Capture Solar Power
Cool Earth Solar plans to start testing a prototype solar plant built around rows of reflective balloons hung on poles. Each balloon can generate 1 kw of electricity.
The balloons use cheap aluminum-coated plastic to concentrate solar power on a small amount of expensive solar cells.
Green Homes in South Bay Meet Aesthetic and Cost Standards
A newly built home in Willow Glenin ranks in the top 1 percent of nearly 650 homes rated, according to ecoEdge Consulting, a San Jose-based green building consultant.
The home received 5+ Stars on the Energy Star homes rating scale. Benefits include energy savings and improved health and indoor air quality.
Low-Cost Silicon Reaches 14.6% Efficiency in Solar Cells
Blue Square Energy has produced a 14.6 percent efficient solar cell using 100 percent 4N UMG silicon. Results were independently
verified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Going Green Good for Wallet
Building to green standards escalates property values. Studies by the New Buildings Institute (NBI) measures the value of buildings
with sustainability features compared to conventional buildings. In one study of a pool of more than 1,300 buildings, representing
about 351 million square feet, Energy Star buildings commanded an additional $61 per square foot on the market. And while rental rates for
Energy Star buildings are $2.40 per square foot higher, occupancy rates are 3.6 percent higher. LEED-certified buildings perform even
better in the market. But some buildings underperformed their expected energy savings, with some underperforming code by 60 percent.
IEA Predicts $200/Barrel Oil
The International Energy Agency warns that oil prices will continue to climb over the next two decades and could reach $200 a barrel by 2030.
Former Shell chairman Ron Oxburgh said that a shift away from fossil fuels was now essential. The IEA also predicted renewables would grow at the rate of
about seven per cent a year, but this would only make them 4% by 2030. But carbon levels may already be
in the danger zone.
Berkeley Architect Trachtenberg Designs Earthly Home After Fire
Berkeley architect David Trachtenberg designed a new home where Bill and Karen McClung could live "live pretty close to the ground" after
they lost their house in the house in the 1991 fire. The house features a sleeping porch illuminated only by candlelight as well as
an open living room fire circle, rather than a fireplace. This report from SFGate also looks at other Trachtenberg projects.
BottleStone Wins Clean Tech Award
A new material from BottleStone that has three times the flexure strength of concrete
won the Clean Tech Open Green Building Prize.
It can be molded like concrete, but takes 42% of its CO2 to make. The material looks like quartz, and it is hard and durable, like granite.
Flexible Solar Cells Could Be Sprayed On
Xiaomei Jiang and other researchers at the University of South Florida have developed a new organic polymer that has the same electrical properties
as silicon wafers but can be dissolved and applied to flexible materials.
Twenty tiny cells produced from the material
generate 7.8 volts of electricity. The polymer could be applied to flat surfaces, such as a roof or even clothing, to create a solar array.
Compressed Air Cars Make Progress
Air France/KLM will deploy "AirPods" to ferry passengers around airports in France and Amsterdam. The 6-foot long vehicles that carry four people
weigh roughly 450 pounds, have a range of about 135 miles and a top speed of 43 mph.
The State of Solid Hydrogen
Hydrogen can be used to store energy.
New tests could lead to better ways to store hydrogen as a solid. Researcher Robin Gremaud used hydrogenography ("writing with hydrogen") to scan hydrogen absorption in alloys, assaying
thousands of metal alloys at once to determine their ability to absorb hydrogen.
Water From Air
This technology uses a material to absorb water molecules from the air. The water is then desorbed and finally condensed for collection.
Some systems are available to condense drinking water from humidity in the air for about $0.50 per cubic meter (1000 liters).
Florida State University Continues to Develop Buckypaper
Composites made from buckypaper are 10 times lighter but potentially 500 times stronger than steel.
It is highly conductive of heat and electricity. A research group at FSU (Florida Advanced Center for Composite Technologies) is working on processes to cheaply mass-produce the material.
New Composite Materials Make More Efficient Solar Cells
Research teams at Spain's IMDEA Nanoscience and the University of Hamburg have developed a hybrid material using quantum dots and carbon nanotubes
to create more efficient LEDs and solar cells. This is
expected
to help us understand photoconversion.
First Solar To Supply Thin Film to SolarCity
First Solar has signed a five-year agreement to supply 100 megawatts of advanced thin film solar modules to SolarCity. The deal includes
a $25 million equity investment in SolarCity.
Residential Development Slows in San Francisco
Beacon Capital Partners has stopped construction on 535 Mission, which would have been a 27-story office tower. The 24-story residential tower at One Hawthorne
will probably be the last residential project of the year in the City. Lack of financing for projects and difficulty obtaining mortgages have all but
killed residential projects.
Radical Architecting Creates Radical Cost Reductions
Using recycled and repurposed materials, Sander Architects, of Venice, CA, created a 4,200 square-foot home
in Culver City, CA, for about $528,000. Materials include Panelite, Styrofoam, recycled steel, acrylic, sunflower husks, and blue jeans.
New Antireflective Coating Boosts Solar Cell Efficiency
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute discovered and are refining a new antireflective coating that boosts the amount of sunlight captured by solar panels
and allows those panels to absorb the entire solar spectrum. An untreated silicon solar cell only absorbs 67.4 percent of sunlight, but
the new material absorbed 96.21 percent.
Green Building to Reach More Than 6%
According to a recent McGraw Hill Report, green building may reach 6-10% of the market this year. Larger profits for builders
and increased green building regulations are driving the trend. Customers are demanding green homes. KB Homes announced that
all of their homes in 2009 will be built to Energy Star standards.
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Physics Every President Should Know Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Gain Efficiency Window Fascade Saves 40% on Heating |
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Thermal Tests Confirm Blacklight Powder Claims
BlackLight Power, Inc., claims to have used new atomic theories to obtain power from processing hydrogen atoms to extract heat directly from the
hydrogen electron's orbit. The process uses conventional chemical
reactions to generate a catalyst and atomic hydrogen at high reactant densities.
Inti Repackages Containers with PVs to Produce Classrooms
A small company in Costa Rica, Inti Tech Solar, adds photovoltaic systems to
used transoceanic containers to produce finished classrooms with solar panels, inverter, batteries, generator for a back-up, laptops, satellite dish, desks and chairs.
Dominion Power Encouraging Energy-Efficient Housing
Dominion Virginia Power has partnered with EarthCraft House Virginia to deliver
a blueprint for healthy, comfortable homes that reduce energy consumption and protect the environment.
Oil's End Could Be Sooner Than We Think
The International Energy Agency annual World Energy Outlook suggests that the world's largest oil fields have a natural annual rate of output decline is 9.1 per cent.
To compensate, new fields must come on line to make up the capacity, equivalent to a new Saudi Arabia every 18 months.
Moving Beyond Sustainability
"Environmental effectiveness goes beyond sustainability and challenges us to ask whether or not we're using our resources
to enhance life; because if we're not, isn't that the true definition of waste?" The effectiveness question is: how much are we getting for a
specific cost to the environment?
Wal-Mart Demands Suppliers Go Green
This is perhaps the most shocking recent news: Wal-Mart has told its Chinese suppliers bluntly that they will clean up their environmental act. Among the
requirements for continued business:
Comparison of Biofuels
This chart from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer compares the environmental friendliness of seven types of biofuels, including
algae, switchgrass, and wood residue, which are not yet ready for prime time. Fuels are compared with each other and with
gasoline and diesel production on greenhouse gasses emitted (in kg of carbon dioxide created per megajoule of energy produced).
Public LED Lighting Discussion in San Francisco
In a class sponsored by PG&E, Dr. Curran will highlight some of the resources available to help designers sort through claims for LEDs. 6:30 pm on 30 October 2008.
Follow the link for location and sign-up details.
Commentary on 60 Minutes's Electric Car Segment
For those who missed 60 Minutes from 5 October, here is commentary and a link to the segment "The Race for The Electric Car".
Builder Magazine 2008 Builder's Choice Award Winners
Builder Magazine has announced its list of residential
building awards. Grand awards include two houses in San Francisco (Crescent Cove and Glen Park Residence),
one in Portola Valley (Kelly Residence), as well as several others in California (located in
Irvine, Orange, and San Diego). It also includes a military residence at Fort Irwin Family Housing
and the Florblanca Reserva resort in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica.
Will Weeds Choke Us as CO2 Rises?
The International Herald Tribune reports on research by scientists at the Agriculture Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
on the response of weeds to rising CO2 levels that come with global warming. The news is not good. However, there are a few options for using
weeds to help respond. For example, while kudzu has already migrated up to central Illinois and by 2015 could reach Michigan's Upper Peninsula, it is
as much as 50 percent starch by weight, and could be ideal for ethanol production. Also, genetic material from weeds (and wild cousins of crops) has been
used to help food crops overcome diseases and pests.
Quieter Wind Turbine for Rooftops
A new wind turbine by SWIFT can generate 1.5 KW with 14 mile per hour winds.
The seven-foot wide turbine has a ring that reduces noise to 35 decibels.
Home Electronics Extend Daily Power Peaks
People using their big screen TVs and home computers are extending the peak power utilities see beyond 7 pm to as late as 9:00 o'clock.
The pressure is on manufacturers to reduce the power demands of their devices.
Solar-Powered Homes May Be the Bright Green Spot for Builders
With financial markets in the tank, recent legislation in the U.S. has sent "a positive jolt to one of the economy's darkest sectors: homebuilding."
Surveys show that solar systems were outselling others by as much as 2:1 in 13 California communities before the crash, and solar-powered homes
are set to peak. Consumers are recognizing the value as utility bills increase, and solar homes resell for a premium of up to 5%.
Overall Economic Conditions Worsen for Alternative Energy
Despite political interest in alternative fuels, the recent plunge in oil prices and the freeze-up in credit markets have been damaging
efforts to bring alternative energy systems on line. Stock in alternative energy companies have fallen faster than the market. VC financing
for experimental techniques has been drying up. VC financing this year could be half the 2007 total. Natural gas is dropping toward
$6 per thousand square feet, making even wind energy uncompetitive and solar "unfathomably expensive". Renewable energy still has a large
investment (about $148.4 billion last year), although the total may retreat a little this year.
South American Sustainable Village Gaviotas
In the 1970s, a group of South American scientists and engineers began work on a sustainable community in Colombia's arid eastern plains. Forty
years later, the village is thriving. Living on Earth interviews Alan Weisman about the community on the occasion of his ten-year update of
his book, Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World.
Amish Embrace Solar Power
Solar power is slowly making its way through the Amish community, where it fits their philosophy of independence. While the Amish will
not tap into the electric grid, solar power is now used to power buggy lamps and water heaters.
Black Silicon Shows Up on the Horizon
Harvard University scientists have created a new material that's 100 to 500 times more sensitive to light than conventional silicon. The
technology was recently licensed by startup SiOnyx.
The impact could go beyond the solar industry to imaging products like night vision, medical imaging, and digital cameras.
North America's Largest Solar Factory
SolarWorld is opening North America's largest solar cell manufacturing facility in Hillsboro, OR. The 480,000 square foot facility
will produce solar cells to be shipped to Camarillo, CA, and made into solar panels.
Farms in the Sky
Vancouver is considering rooftop gardens and vertical farms as a hedge against the global food crisis. This could lead to
vertical farms as high as 30 storeys, with glass walls, solar panels and an irrigation system to grow produce.
Solar Jobs Stay Close to Home
"Solar companies have determined that it makes economic sense to manufacture close to your market, because among other factors it reduces shipping costs."
The U.S. market is expanding. Suntech expects to expand dealers from 25 to at least 150.
SunPower imports panels it manufactures in the Philippines. But two startups in San Jose are
manufacturing locally.
Building Workshop on Modern Prefab Homes
Marin Modern Real Estate will be holding a seminar on
building modern and eco-friendly prefabricated homes in the Bay Area, Thursday, November 6, 2008, 7-9PM in San Rafael.
Trane Educating Students on Green Building
Through its representatives, Trane is reaching out to university students to show how they can reduce the impact of buildings by using green
building and sustainability through the Engineering Better Careers, Engineering Better Environments program. The program connects Trane's senior
executives with college engineering students to address the expected shortfall of engineering students for the HVAC industry.
India On a Green Building Spree
As much as 67 million square feet of green building is currently going up in India. The CII-Godrej Green Building Council in Hyderabad has
registered 320 green building projects, with over 240 million square feet, adding to 30 existing LEED certified buildings. Green buildings
command a rental premium of 3-5% and can also improve employee productivity.
Artificial Trees To Generate Power
Solar Botanic is planning to produce trees and shrubs
with artificial "nanoleaves" that transform incident solar radiation and wind into power. The
nanoleaves convert both
visible and infrared wavelengths to electricity, and also use a tiny piezo electric generator to convert
motion generated by wind to electricity.
Australian Firm Combines Batteries With Capacitors
CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) has developed a combination lead-acid battery
and capacitor unit for cars that costs about 70 percent less, lasts is at least four times longer and it's said to produce 50 percent more power.
Of course, EEstor has been on the
trail of an ultracapacitor storage device that would replace batteries, but there is
great controversy
over whether their technology is real. (Note that in this article the complaints about charge times for
the capacitor would apply to all batteries.)
New Thin-Film PV Production
Signet Solar has announced volume production of thin-film PV at its manufacturing facility in Mochau, Germany. Using
Applied Materials SunFab™ production line, Signet has produced over 2,000 solar PV modules during its pilot production period
and will ramp up to an initial capacity of 20 MW per year. Sharp expects to
introduce its second-generation thin-film
PVs to the US soon.
New Financing Makes Solar Easier to Afford
Changes in California state law make it possible for cities to issue bonds and create special districts for funding renewable-power and energy-efficiency
measures by homeowners. Companies are moving licensing deals from commercial to residential deals, allowing homeowners to
obtain lowered rates on their utility bills.
New Material Absorbs Full Spectrum
Ohio State University chemists have created a new material sensitive to all the colours in the rainbow. Made from
an electrically conductive plastic combined with metals including molybdenum and titanium, the material has especially
long-lived excited state, which may permit better separation of charge.
Our Economy Is Killing the Earth
We may have to give up economic growth to save the earth. "How do we square Earth's finite resources with the fact that as the economy grows, the amount
of natural resources needed to sustain that activity must grow too?" The 16 October 2008 issue of New Scientist
contains a group of articles examining this question.
Real Future Begs Alternatives
A report from Forum for the Future, a British NGO, paints a bleak picture of the future unless we act now to
limit carbon emissions. Among the shocking alternatives we could see Antarctica's population hit 3.5 million by 2040.
Oh, Pooh! Ecological Sanitation
In this book review, Scientific American's David Biello talk with Rose George, author of
The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters, about toilets. This is
a big topic, especially for the 2.6 billion people in the world who don't have one.
Silicon PV Finally Obeys Moore's Law
Generally, since PVs were introduced in the 1960s, end prices have dropped only about 6% per year. However, the last couple of
years have seen a marked reduction in costs which may allow prices to reach parity with the grid in six years. IEEE
reported this summer that "global PV production has been increasing at a rate of 50 percent per year, so that accumulated global capacity doubles about
every 18 months. The PV Moore's law states that with every doubling of capacity, PV costs come down by 20 percent."
PV costs are only one component of price, but a very significant component.
Tesla May Experience Slower Introduction of Roadster
The current financial climate may have slowed introduction of the Tesla Motors roadster until 2011. However, other moves in the industry
suggest that electric cars will continue to move into production. Warren Buffet has placed a $233 million investment in Chinese battery maker BYD.
At Tesla, founder Elon Musk is acting as CEO after Ze'ev Dror left.
National Energy Plan to Dump Coal & Oil
Google.org has unveiled a plan to replace fossile fuel energy in the U.S. by 2030 in favor of renewable energy. The $4.4 trillion
"Clean Energy 2030" plan shows how to eliminate coal and oil from energy production, reduce oil use for cars by 40%, and save
one third of energy use through efficiencies. Google hopes to push the plan through Congress during the next administration.
Concentrator Makes Electic, Heat or Light Available
The Power-Spar® uses parabolic troughs to concentrate solar energy for electricity (via high efficiency multi-sun photovoltaic cells), or to heat
(via a patented absorption surface), or transports the light to the buildings's interior (via optical cabling).
True Costs of Renewable Energy
What are the true costs of solar, wind, hyrdo and geothermal? Use the solar calculator at Find Solar,
the watts estimator at Choose Renewables, or other
resources to estimate the true costs of your systems.
Thin Film Edges Closer to Production
Thin-film solar startup, XsunX Inc., is building a 90,000-square-foot facility for its 25 megawatt thin film photovoltaic (TFPV) solar module manufacturing plant in Oregon. They should
be in commercial production by early next year (2009).
Extended Tax Breaks Lead to Reassessing Costs
The 2008 Wall Street bailout contains extensions to alternative energy provisions of previous bills and other changes that
provide additional incentives to go solar or use wind, geothermal or other renewable energy systems. The full text of the bill is at
frwebgate. Note
Sections 103-107.
Competition Open for 2009 NAHB National Green Building Awards
The NAHB is finalizing its competition for the 2009 National Green Building Awards. The NAHB will honor home builders and housing industry professionals
with a commitment to green building, and sharing their innovative best practices with the residential construction industry.
Protecting Your Personal Power Generation
New technology is available to protect microgrids from electromagnetic pulses and future attacks. Microgrids are small, isolated
grids with their own power sources. This technology is scaled down from military grade.
CA Integrated Waste Management Board
The California Integrated Waste Management Board is the State agency designated to oversee, manage, and track California's waste.
The Board provides grants and loans to help California cities, counties, businesses, and organizations meet the State's waste reduction, reuse, and recycling goals.
It provides comprehensive definitions and standards for green building materials.
Smart Meters from Swansea University's School of Engineering
Swansea's smart meters monitor individual circuits in the building and displays power usage in terms of money used/saved. It can also display power
generated from renewable on-site resources.
Humanity's Impact on the Environment
Scientific American presents current facts on humanities hidden impact on the environment. For example, "2,000,000 plastic bottles are discarded in the U.S. every five minutes."
Get the picture with a slide presentation.
Condos Are a Green Choice
"By their very nature, many condo complexes adhere to some of the most basic tenets of green housing: density, to maximize surrounding open space and minimize buildings' physical and operational footprints; proximity to mass transit, given their typical location in urban areas; and reduced resource use per unit, thanks to shared systems, walls and common spaces."
From EarthTalk, requires paid subscription here.
Will Bio-Fuels Survive in a Hungry World?
Several important scientific societies are holding their joint meeting this week in Houston, TX. Nick Chambers reports that biofuels have increase the economic
value of agriculture, but crop yields will need to be improved to make bio-fuels available without displacing food sources. Genetic engineering
is not currently up to the task. One option for bio-fuel that doesn't compete for food crops is Jatropha.
Stanford Research on Energy Efficient Buildings
Stanford University, through the Precourt Institute for Energy Efficiency, is conducting studies of how to make buildings more energy efficient.
Green Communities Initiative to Create Affordable Green Housing
Natural Resources Defense Council's Green Communities Initiative will build thousands of affordable, environmentally friendly homes across the country. This is part of an
ongoing five-year initiative to bring green to affordable homes.
National Green Builders Products Expo
NGBPE will hold a "Business-To-Business" builders expo for green building products only in Las Vegas on October 15, 2008 at the
Las Vegas Convention Center.
Multijunction Solar Cells Achieve New Efficiency
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems announced achieving 39.7% efficiency for multijunction solar cells used in concentrated systems. The system is made
with triple-junction III-V semiconductor solar cells using metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) to deposite more than 30 layers on germanium.
Combined PV/Thermal System Doubles Energy Take
Vinod Khosla (x-founder Sun Microsystems) is funding PVT Solar, which is looking
for ways to harvest waste heat on PV systems for additional uses. This includes an electronic control for managing heat use and possibly thermal
storage in ceilings using stone.
Supercool Solar Panels from Sunrgi
Sunrgi has developed sun-tracking solar panels with magnification that simultaneously cools cells so that they stay near ambient temperatures.
Projected costs in the American southwest could be as low as 5 cents per kilowatt hour (over a twenty-year period). See also concentration research
by IBM at IBM Research Unveils Breakthrough In Solar Farm Technology
Hydrogen Storage With Nanotubes
Greek scientists have figured out how to store more hydrogen-per-liter using a lattice of carbon nanotubes. They are claiming 41 grams per liter.
Seeing Atomic-Scale Fuel-Cell Nanoparticles
Scientists at University of Texas and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have taken atomic-scale pictures of nanoparticles near platinum and cobalt
catalysts. This may reveal why the addition of cobalt causes reactions up to four times faster than for platinum alone.