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The Missouri Public Service Commission and the North Carolina Utilities Commission have both selected providers for REC tracking systems. Both systems will be managed by APX Inc.
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Adelphi University purchased 20 million kWh of wind energy, equivalent to 100% of the electricity consumed at its Garden City campus, from Renewable Energy Choice.
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HostGator announced its purchase of about 5 million kWh of renewable energy sourced from wind farms in Texas. The purchase through 3Degrees represents 130% of the electricity used to power and cool more than 1,800 servers.
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DCG/West has signed up to purchase 100 percent of its electricity, or nearly 2.6 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually, from Seattle City Light and was recognized by the EPA as a Top 20 Printer.
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Archstone has contracted to purchase more than 14.6 million kWh of renewable energy from Green Mountain Energy Company. The purchase is equivalent to 100 percent of its operational energy use at 12 New York City apartment communities.
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DOE has awarded a conditional loan guarantee for nearly $1.4 billion to BrightSource Energy for three utility-scale concentrated solar power plants in southeastern California. Pending regulatory approval, the Ivanpah Solar Complex will generate about 400 megawatts of energy.
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A project to deploy 42,000 solar dishes in the Southern California desert has passed a key hurdle with the issuance of a draft environmental impact statement. Stirling Energy Systems and Tessera Solar recently deployed a much smaller system, featuring 60 solar dishes, in Arizona.
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Scientists are using a variety of research tools to develop a range of biofuel alternatives, including an algae photo-reactor to produce biofuel from wastewater, an oilier tobacco leaf for biofuel crops, and enzymes and microbes that turn biomass to fuel.
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U.S. utilities increased their spending on energy efficiency programs by 43% in 2009, reaching $5.3 billion, according to a new report from the Consortium for Energy Efficiency. Spending increased the most in the Southeast and South Central states, most notably in Kentucky, Maryland, and Tennessee.
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Vancouver appears headed for a mass transit gold medal during the 2010 Winter Olympics, as preliminary figures show record usage of bus, rail, and ferry transit. On average, 1.6 million riders used some form of transit daily during the first week of competition.
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I would contact a local insulation contractor. I don't know where you live, but Masco Contractor Sevices might be in your area. They will have baffles designed for trusses/rafters that are 24" on center.

The most important thing is not to restrict the airflow from your soffit vents to your ridge venting. Your house needs to breathe, and restricting that airflow will do more damage than you can imagine.

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It sounds like you are concerned about the possibility of radiation leaking from the granite countertops due to radon gas being present in the stone. There was quite a scare a few months ago after an article appeared in the New York Times about a high level of radon detected in a home and traced to the granite countertop in the kitchen.

The EPA responded to this concern by stating, at this time EPA believes that the existing data is insufficient to conclude that the types of granite commonly used in countertops are significantly increasing indoor radon levels. While radiation levels are not typically high, measurement of specific samples may reveal higher than expected levels on a case-by-case basis.

If you absolutely have to have granite countertops, and are concerned about the radon gas levels of the stone youve picked, you can purchase a radon testing kit online. If the radon level measures 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), choose another stone.

But why not choose another, greener, solid surface countertop material? There are many options for green countertops.

Consider one of the quartz-stone products like Caesar Stone or EuroStone. These engineered stones are much more durable than natural stone, and even have some choices made from post-industrial and post-consumer waste, and many color options. Both are environmentally responsible companies in terms of their mission and operations.

There are several beautiful, very green, solid surface materials manufactured in the United States. (Less of an embodied carbon footprint than when a product is manufactured overseas.) A few of the lesser-known but exciting options are Iguanacrete, Bottlestone, Squak Mountain Stone, Fuez, and Earthcrete by Sonoma Cast Stone. These are all West Coast manufacturers. Other options are IceStone, Enviroglas, and Eco by Cosentino.

A note about radon: High radon levels inside the home can be a real threat to your health. Radon gas present in the soil can enter the home through the foundation, and can also be in the water. It is important to know whether your home is in an area where radon gas levels are high enough to be a concern, and to test the indoor air to see if the gas is present at a level of 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). A qualified green building professional will know how to easily mitigate the situation if there are high levels of radon gas present.

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If possible, you should remove the T111. It can rot under the Hardi, and there might be additional issues that need to be addressed. Better now than later.

An air barrier is installed on the warm side of the exterior wall.

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A conditioned crawlspace may be the answer. It would entail enclosing, insulating, and conditioning the space, but would minimize heat loss and deal with the issue of vermin.

Unvented crawlspaces are addressed in the building codes and work well. You will need to discuss it with your contractor and with the local building department.

Building Science Information has a white paper on the construction, performance, and code requirements of conditioned crawlspaces. You can download it here.

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Any recyclable/renewable resource as a countertop is a great idea. Bamboo has been around for countertops and cutting boards for decades and has stood up well. There are a few things to consider, however. When cutting or doing any other hard work on the surface, it will leave marks. The good side is it's easy to sand down and refinish . . . which brings us to that finish topic. You'll want to use a finishing material that is acceptable for food, such as various oils that are available. I've seen people use varnishes, which is not a good idea as over time, the moisture from general use and cutting breaks down the finish and gets into your food preparations. I've known tung oil to be a good finish -- look for products with low VOCs.

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• How can we support operations efficiently, and with just distribution of resources, while reducingthe Governments ecological footprint?
• Are we using existing stocks?
• Can we use a service instead of owning this product?d. Can we reuse and an existing facility rather than building a new one?

• WHO MADE IT? Does its production and use allow all to live with respect?
• WHATS IN IT? Is there a third party assessment of contents available to help us makeinformed decisions, such as an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)60 or ASTM InternationalSustainability Assessment of Building Products?
• HOW DOES ITS PRODUCTION AND USE AFFECT THE EARTHS CRITICAL ECOSYSTEMS?
• WHERE DOES IT GO WHEN IT IS NO LONGER NEEDED?

3. SHARE THE GOVERNMENTS VISION FOR SUSTAINABILITY WITH SUPPLIERS, AND FAVOR THOSE THAT SUPPORT THAT VISION.

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One-sixth of the worlds population has no access to safe drinking water, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, typhoid fever, Hepatitis A, and dysentery.

When attending an exhibition with the theme H2O at Milans International Furniture Fair, Alberto Meda, a furniture and lighting designer, and Francisco Gomez Paz, an industrial designer, learned about the solar water disinfection system (SODIS), a simple, low-cost solution for treating drinking water at a household level. Transparent plastic bottles are filled with contaminated water. When exposed to full sunlight for six hours, the pathogens in the water are destroyed.

Meda and Paz designed a container that brings out the best of the SODIS system, and the result is Solar Bottle, which has one transparent face for ultra-violet A and infrared ray collection and an aluminum color to increase the reflections. The high ratio surface and thickness of the low-cost container improves the performance of solar disinfection, and its flat shape makes it stackable and facilitates storage. A handle makes it possible to regulate the angle for best solar exposition and ensures easy transportation.
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Today I stopped by my neighborhood drug store on the way home from work. I noticed the store has recently been reconfigured to accept self check out. This new technology has had two benefits that I can see: 1) the lines move much faster and 2) it overtly asked you "how many bags you are taking" and then charges you 5 cents per bag. By the check out counter there are only plastic bags to choose from, so it's the plastic bag or nothing. DC has recently passed a "bag tax" of 5 cents per paper or plastic bag starting the first of the year.

What was really interesting about this experience for me was the fact that I was buying a bunch of bulky items today and I really was considering picking up a bag to carry them a few blocks home. But in a split second... literally the moment after I realized that picking up a bag would cost me something... I decided to make due with stuffing the items in the bag I had with me. It's like I was watching myself in a social behavior experiment... will she take the bag if it costs her something? Or will the small cost of 5 cents not even enter her conscience? Honestly, I changed my mind to go sans bag, and probably would have again, even if the bag cost just a penny.

This little experience today has reinforced my belief in the importance of incentives and disincentives to drive behavior to be more environmentally friendly. Let's take this same analogy to the workplace. What if companies had to pay more hefty fines for garbage pickup? What if individuals had to pay for Styrofoam cups at the coffee bar? Would we make the same decisions if we always had to pay for the negative externalities of our choices?

In Doug McKenzie-Mohr's book, Fostering Sustainable Behavior: Community Based Social Marketing, he uses countless examples of leveraging positive and negative incentives to help the environment. Here are a couple of good ones:

When San Jose, California introduced a user pay program in which residents were charged based upon the size of the container they placed at the curb, the impact was a 46% decrease in waste sent to the landfill, a 158% increase in recyclables captured, and a 38% increase in yard waste collected. There was no charge for curbside recycling and yard waste was collected at the curbside.

Worchester, Massachusets introduced a program in which residents purchased bags for their garbage. This program resulted in a 45% reduction in the waste stream, with recycling responsible for 37% of the waste stream diversion. Residents were not charged for recycling nor for dropping off yard waste at a collection center.

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I live the in the Washington, D.C. area and one of the more interesting habits of commuters here is a practice called "slugging." At specific points throughout the city, drivers line up (as do passengers) and random strangers ride together to take advantage of HOV lanes. Drop off points in town are also centralized, so the system is surprisingly predictable. After having lived here a while, I've heard mostly good stories about this practice but a few bad stories too. Not everyone has a similar view on how to handle speed limits, for example. A number of riders have gotten to work a little more ruffled than when they left the house.

So how do you find a good carpool without depending on a strangers to drive you to work? That's where products like Ride Shark come into play.



Ride Shark basically connects people with a similar commute pattern together in a carpool. They have different systems for creating carpools within companies, within campuses and within metro areas. They facilitate carpools, vanpools as well as biking, walking and bus-riding buddies. They also can help you find an emergency ride home if you need it. And the best part? They track your "carbon emissions saved" by using their system.

Think of it as a transportation demand management and social networking tool all wrapped into one.

A number of my clients are using it and love it. They claim to especially enjoy the feature that allows companies or groups to compete against each other to reduce carbon emissions. Nothing like a little competition to make that morning commute more fun!
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Jeff Garlin weighs in on going green. Image from Simon Spotlight Curb Your Enthusiasm's Jeff Garlin is on a carbon and calorie loss diet. His new memoir, My Footprint: Carrying the Weight of the World, released this past week, chronicles his year-long journey to lower both his physical footprint and his carbon footprint. With wisecracks and candid wisdom, he describes facing down his food addiction and the steps he took for the environment. But is the comedian's two-pronged attack to go lean and gr...Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Green apple. Image credit:Aztec International, Inc. candle making scents. Those of you who have read my previous missives on personal electronics know I have little use for the like of Greenpeace's electronics rating scheme and am anoyed by the constant hectoring of Apple by NGO's. Often they are chasing trailing indicators and pushing protocols that miss the big picture. Continuing along those lines, I recently congratulated Apple's Board of Directors for opposing shareholder demands that Apple publish an ann...Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Earthquakes, like the one that struck today in Chile--which, at the time of this writing, is believed to have claimed 147 lives--are all the more devastating for their unpredictable nature. While geologists have resources available to indicate a probability of when a quake will strike, such as measurin...Read the full story on TreeHugger

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My cell phone makes me feel funny. Does yours? I couldn't tell if it was my better body awareness from yoga or my generally strong cell phone neurosis (long live the bees!). Every time I held my phone up to my ear, I felt a vibratory drum-like sensation as though something external and vampire-ish was sucking life out of me. Dash in a little of my hypochondria and you can imagine the visions of brain tumors, breast cancer and salivary gland cancerRead the full story on TreeHugger

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photo: Meghan Murphy, Smithsonian's National Zoo While it may seem small now, at only about 3 pounds, this guy will grow to about 13 times its current size. It's the Giant Pacific octopus and the National Zoo welcomed the first one of its kind last month. With an expected arm span of 25 feet, this mega octopus evokes memories of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Proponents of the Green movement insist that making environmentally conscious decisions will not only encourage a safe and ecologically friendly atmosphere, but are good for business and will also save money in the end, thanks to a streamlined spending structure.

Five schools across the country have become LEED certified in order to provide the cleanest and most energy-efficient learning environments for their students.

Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins, CO has been certified LEED Silver. By following standards outlined by the USGBC, the Poudre School District saved about $11,500 annually on their water bill. They also incorporated as much natural light as possible, simultaneously saving money on artificial light and creating a more favorable learning environment for students.

Sidwell Friends Middle School in Washington, D.C. received a LEED Platinum certification, the highest award a school has received from the USGBC. They constructed an artificial wetland in between the new and old wings of the school, which serves a dual purpose: allow for efficient, recyclable water, and provide a hands-on learning environment for science classes. Solar panels and natural light systems take full advantage of sunlight while saving on energy costs.

Clearview Elementary in Hanover, PA - certified LEED Gold - is also bathed in natural light thanks to huge windows along its long corridors. According to studies by the California Board for Energy Efficiency, tests scores were 15%-26% higher in classrooms with plenty of natural light versus classrooms with lower levels of sunlight.

Rosa Parks Elementary in Portland, OR - certified LEED Gold - selected paints, carpets adhesives and sealants were selected for their low carbon emissions.

Finally, the LEED certified West Brazos Junior High School in Brazoria, TX, saved 18% on construction costs compared to the average middle school while using 55% locally manufactured materials.

Going Green doesn’t have to cost a fortune either. Whether you have a home you’re looking to turn Green or a local school you’d like to recommend, it can be affordable with government Green tax credits and debt consolidation.  With some smart planning and energy efficiency, any school can become the next LEED-certified school.

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Go Green Expo has organized the first annual Northeast Green Building & Design Show, coming up this October 8th and 9th at the New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center.

The event, which is targeted towards both building industry professionals (10/8 and 10/9) and homeowners (10/9 only), will showcase energy-efficient and environmentally responsible products and services.  Additionally, the event will feature a variety of interactive seminars from leaders in green building and design.  Think of it as a more navigable version of GreenBuild.

Tickets are only $10 in advance (www.gogreenexpo.com) or $20 at the door.

Special thanks to Chelsea Gleis from Organic Works PR for the event information.

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The USGBC has awarded a LEED EB O&M Sliver certification to the BASF Construction Chemicals - Building Systems headquarters in suburban Minneapolis.

The 50,879 square foot Shakopee, Minnesota facility was originally constructed in 1972 and has since three renovations and one major addition.  Highlights of the LEED-approved program include landfill waste reduction, an improvement of IAQ for the 100+ on-site employees and a sustainable purchasing program.

“As a supplier of products and solutions to this market, our decision to certify our building is an outward expression of our commitment, and has allowed us to more fully understand what it takes to participate in green and sustainable construction and renovation projects,” said Doug MacRae, Head of Building Systems.

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany.  BASF has more than 15,000 employees in North America, and had sales of approximately $17.5 billion in 2008.

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The University of Minnesota Gophers’ new 58,800-seat football stadium has been awarded LEED Silver by the USGBC.    The Minneapolis venue was designed by Populous is officially named TCF Bank Stadium and hosted its first game on September 12th to rave reviews from fans and players.

During a two year construction period, general contracted by M.A. Mortensen Construction Co., the following sustainable features were incorporated:

• 90% recycled steel, primarily locally produced
• A high Albedo roof system
• Low-VOC paint, carpet, sealants and adhesives.
• A comprehensive storm water management system that harvests, filters and drains runoff to the Mississippi River.

The project also achieved a 50% reduction of potable water use in landscaping (30% indoor use reduction) and diverted 98 percent of construction waste from landfills.  Further, in a testament to the true sustainable nature of the facility,  it can be expanded to just over 80,000 seats.

Take a virtual tour of this impressive stadium at http://stadium.gophersports.com.

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Metal roofing is an often-overlooked product to help (i) attain LEED credits and (ii) produce a more sustainable building.  While the material can’t be used in every circumstance, it does greatly assist when it can.

Specifically Applicable LEED 2009 Credits:

SS 7.2 Heat Island Effect: Roof - High albedo metal roofing can significantly contribute to the 75 requirement of this credit.

MR 4.1/4.2 Recycled Content: 10%/20% - Metal roofing can contain a high percentage of recycled content, assisting in total RC totals.

MR 2.1/2.2 Construction Waste Management: Divert 50%/75% from Disposal - Any excess material is easily recycled, elevating the percentage of recycled construction waste.

MR 5.2/5.2 Regional Materials: 10% / 20% - Properly purchased metal materials assists in the regional materials credit.

MR 1.1 Building Reuse: Maintain Existing Walls, Floors and Roof - Depending on age, it may be possible to reuse the actual roofing material but, given the longer useful life of a properly maintained metal roof vs. a traditional roof, the roof decking may be in better condition.

Other Sustainable Benefits:

There are also some benefits that, while not directly related to LEED, should be considered from a sustainability perspective.  First, length of service.  Metal roofing materials generally also have a longer warranty (up to 50 years) and, again, useful life than a traditional roof system.   Secondly, at the end of this longer useful life, the roofing materials are more easily recycled than traditional materials.  Today, the materials can, in many cases, be hauled off for free.

Special thanks to Adam from GreenIsGlobal.net for the post idea.  Be sure to check out his metal and solar laminate roofing blog.

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There are a number of ways to save on your electricity bill. Weatherproofing, double pane windows, not running the air/heat when away from the home, etc.  But I found another way to save that comes from the outside. In particular, landscaping can actually help out with energy savings. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (http://www.energy.gov/landscaping.htm), "[o]n average landscaping for energy efficiency provides enough energy savings to return an initial investment in less than 8 years." If you're looking to make changes to your landscape or looking for additional ways to cut energy costs, here are some tips, from the U.S. Department of Energy, to help beautify your home while helping save on your energy bill.

Tip #1 - Landscaping your home for energy efficiency can reduce your heating and cooling, which is the largest component of your total home energy use. One thing to note is that your landscaping strategy should depend on where you live and your climate.

Tip #2 - Plant trees to shade your home. This can reduce cooling costs in the summertime. Trees can start shading the first year they are planted but typically take about five to ten years for them to reach your roof.

Tip #3 - Plant shrubs, bushes and/or vines next to your home. Doing this creates dead air spaces that will insulate your home in both the winter and summer. Be sure to plant them at least one foot away from your home's wall and from any full grown plants.

Tip #4 - Dense, low-lying trees and shrubbery. During the winter, these that grow on the north and northeast sides of your home can protect it from wind chill, which can help your heating costs. 

If you'd like to learn more about landscaping and the various regional climates, click here.

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Everyone loves infographics! Here's one from Infrastructurist.com about ways people in different cities commute to work.

No surprise, the majority of the people who live in Houston drive themselves to work. For Houston commuters, sometimes there's no other option than to drive yourself to work because the city is so sprawled out. I guess that's the benefit of living in a densely populated city such as New York. Since New York is so compact, such as people and locations being so close together, the need for automobiles is reduced and makes efficient public transit possible. New Yorkers have the smallest carbon footprint in the nation. 82% of Manhattan residents travel to work by public transit, bike, or by foot and the city has the lowest rate of automobile ownership in the nation. Yale Environment 360 has ranked New York as one of the greenest cities in America because of this reason.

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It seems that there are certain times of the year where my allergies seem worse than others. I've also noticed that I'm not the only person in the household who is affected by allergies, so is my seven month old daughter. I've heard that one way to help with indoor allergies is to use an air purifier because it removes allergens from the air. After looking around, I found an interesting and innovative air purifier that looks different then all of the rest. 

It's called the Andrea Air Purifier and it absorbs toxic gases from your home or office. The difference is  that it removes toxins in the air by using live plants. This purifier is designed to work with any live household plant and can work in any room in the house (I kill plants like it's a sport so this sounds like a good solution for me and our poor plants). It works by drawing air in with a quiet fan and then moves the air through the plant's leaves and root system. Next the air is pushed through the water and soil and then finally is pushed back into the room. Not only is it ozone-free, which helps the environment, but it biochemically transforms and eliminates waste and pollution instead of only collecting it through filters like other purifiers. 

Because I haven't tried this product, I can't tell you if or how well this purifier works, but it seems like it could be a green and decorative alternative to the rest.  

For more information on this product go to www.andreaair.com.

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While listening to President Obama's speech last week, I noticed one of the items mentioned over and over was "clean energy. I have heard that phrase many times before, and I have a general idea of what it is. But for those who aren't exactly sure what it means, here is some information to help shed some light on the subject.

Clean energy goes by a number of terms such as renewable energy, green energy, etc. In short, it is a process to produce energy that lessens the impact to the environment.  Clean energy techniques pollute less, or not at all, and may use renewable resources. The common forms of clean energy come from water, wind, solar (from the sun) and sometimes from coal (called clean coal), which the President also mentioned last night. The reason for such a push towards clean energy is because believers hope that with its use, it may help to reduce global warming and greenhouse gas emission. This in turn would have a positive effect on the planet. This is a topic of great debate, but we wont get into that right now.   

Although it does cost money to collect this energy, another benefit is that certain forms of clean energy are abundant and available to anyone.  Unlike oil and gas, which is owned through mineral rights, resources such as sun and wind are relatively free to the masses. Many people who support clean energy feel that dependence on oil in foreign countries creates problems diplomatically, but once again, I'll leave that for you to decide.

What to expect in the future?  According to President Obama, a comprehensive energy and climate bill will be drafted with incentives for clean energy. Sure to spark new debate, but hopefully this initiative will lead to promising new technologies in energy production.  
  

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