Archive for the ‘Global Warming’ Category
September 28th, 2008
Academy of Sciences Museum Finally Opens in San Francisco
Written by Keith Rockmael, courtesy of GreenBuildingElements.com
It sounds like a war effort or some great new candy bar, but it has been ten years in the making. Yes, the Academy of Sciences museum finally opens in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. We’re totally jazzed to have this Green building icon finally opening up, with some of the old exhibits, the completely updated planetarium and the sustainably based dining options by Charles Phan and Loretta Keller. While most of the advance crowd marveled at the Africa Hall, the various fish aquariums, even the albino crocodile, we turned our attention to the building itself. Yes, a LEED Platinum structure that supposedly marks the largest LEED Platinum building in the U.S. With a building so large, we decided to get cute (or maybe efficient) and do an outside and inside post. And because humans spend 90 percent of their lives indoors, we’ll start outside for a change. Well, actually upside.
Look up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane no it’s a living roof. Not just a green roof with scattered plants but one covered with 1.7 million native plants. Architect Renzo Piano designed the roof as an homage to the hills of SF. Even more creative is how the plants keep from slip sliding off the hills. Rana Creek worked with Piano to use 50,000 porous, biodegradable trays (called a BioTray®), that they made from tree sap and coconut husks as containers for the vegetation to keep the little green guys in place.
In addition to the natural habitat created by the roof, the roof reduces the Urban Heat Island effect and reduces the building’s temperature by an average of 10 degrees versus a nasty old standard roof. Additionally, the roof’s cistern system will captures 90-98 percent rainwater, with 3.5 million gallons of rainwater per year expected to be absorbed by the roof.
With all the time we spent outside the museum it’s a wonder we didn’t get sunburned. But of course we used sustainably concocted sunscreen. Next museum post, we’ll take a green look at the interior.
September 25th, 2008
Green Your Weekend
Every weekend, each of us probably has a long list of things that we need or want to do. We are no different here at Low Impact Living, as our to-do lists seem never ending. Here’s what we’re hoping to accomplish this weekend – with a green twist!
At the Car Wash
Getting tired of the “Wash Me!” directive finger-painted into the dust on your back windshield by an unoriginal thinker? Before you pull the hose out to the driveway, consider this: your dirty, soapy water running down the storm drain is deposited directly into our lakes, rivers and streams, untreated. Many people don’t realize that the storm system is completely separate from the sewage system – but now that you do, remember the adage, “Only rain down the drain!” If you must wash your car at home, park it on the lawn so that the suds can be cleansed by the grass.
Of course, better alternatives exist, including spray-on “waterless” car washes. With these products, you just spray the eco-friendly formula onto the car, and wipe off. No water (other than what’s in the product itself) no mess, and no runoff. We’ve found that this option works best for touch ups – if your car is seriously dirty, you may run out of elbow grease before the job is done.
If you need a real wash, hit the local commercial car wash. When you watch your car go past all of those sprayers, it seems impossible that these systems use less water than you would at home, but it’s true. Commercial systems recycle a lot of the water that they use, plus any runoff is directed to sewage systems where it can be properly treated.
Laundry List
Now that the car is clean, it’s time to do the same for our clothes. Remember the tenants of greening your laundry:
+ Wash only full loads
+ Use cold water
+ Buy environmentally-friendly detergent
+ Hang clothes to dry (and avoid chemical-laden dryer sheets)
If you’re in the market for a new washing machine, make sure to get an Energy Star-rated machine, which will use less water and electricity than standard models.
Green Thumbs-Up
With the first day of fall officially behind us, it’s time for those of us in warmer climates to plant our fall gardens. Leaf and root crops, from spinach and arugula to turnips and carrots, can fare well in many areas. If you’re in colder climates, investigate raised beds, cold frames or greenhouses. Regardless of the method and crop that you choose, you can reap many tasty rewards.
As you get your garden going, make sure to consider the steps needed to make it organic, like using compost and natural pest control methods. For details, check out our post featuring Christy Wilhelmi from Gardenerd.com.
Bam! Let’s Cook!
If you’re like us, you don’t have much time to enjoy cooking during the week. But come the weekend, we like to do it up right! Cooking at home saves money, and allows us to see what we’re actually eating.
Starting with a trip to the garden or nearby farmer’s market, try to use locally-grown, seasonal ingredients in your meals. Cutting the distance from farm to kitchen cuts the energy used in shipping, and generally results in fresher, more nutritious food. Choose organic, and you’re not only reducing the chemicals that you ingest, but you’re also reducing the chemicals that are applied to the earth, which end up in our rivers, streams, and oceans.
Once you’re ready to get cookin’, consider the costs and impact of different methods and foods. For example, microwaving uses less energy than the oven, and is usually faster. Consider using a solar oven. Eat less meat, especially corn-fed beef, which takes a lot of water to produce. Buy in bulk to cut down on packaging. All of these steps will reduce the impact of your meal on the environment.
Reading is Fundamental
For a little quiet time, nothing beats a bookstore. Except maybe, a used book store, where it feels a little more like a treasure hunt, with costs savings as the prize! Instead of ponying up big bucks for the latest hardcover best-seller, take the green route and cruise the shelves of pre-loved books. Most cities have local faves, like Half-Price Books (in 15 states). If you’d rather shop in your pajamas, used options abound from giants like Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Or, consider a used book sharing service, like PaperbackSwap or BookMooch. These services generally work on a point system: post what you’re willing to give away, and earn points for sending books to other members. Redeem points by requesting books that you’d like to read from other members. Very simple, very easy, and very green.
Another new option, for those voracious readers among us, is Amazon’s Kindle. Though it’s not cheap ($359), once you buy the device, you simply download books from Amazon’s website. The books aren’t free, but are generally less expensive than new printed copies. Plus, there’s no paper for printing and no shipping required! The quality is great, and now you don’t have to take a pile of books when you go on vacation.
Last but not least, once we’ve completed all of our chores, we hope to sleep – it’s carbon-neutral!
September 24th, 2008
Carbon Trading Coming to the US This Fall
NPR did an excellent piece today on the up-coming introduction of a carbon auction this fall in the Eastern United States. Ten states in the East have joined together to form the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). These states are taking a big step to create a market for carbon trading. Companies in those states that are major polluters, like big power companies, will have to buy allowances for their carbon emissions in this new auction. Read on to learn more about this important step towards market-based carbon emissions controls.
NPR, All Things Considered, September 24, 2008– On Sept. 25, several Eastern states will make history by holding an auction. They’re selling allowances to emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. If you’re a big power company in those states, you’ll have to buy an allowance for every ton of gas that goes up your smokestack.
It’s a big step toward a carbon market in the United States. It means slapping a price on the biggest greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. If you put it up in the atmosphere, you’ll have to pay. If you get rid of it, you can make money. Economists call it the “market-based” way to make people do things they don’t necessarily want to do.
Ten states in the East have joined together to start the process. Jonathan Schrag is in charge of this group, called the regional greenhouse gas initiative (RGGI). They’re organizing the first market-based, mandatory program to control greenhouse gases, starting with companies that make electricity. “Every ton that they emit starting Jan. 1, 2009, they’ll need to have an allowance to show for that,” says Schrag.
Companies must buy the allowances at the auction — enough to cover the amount of carbon dioxide they think they’ll emit. The states get to keep the auction money, says Shari Wilson, who runs the Department of the Environment in Maryland.
Click here to read the rest of this article.
September 23rd, 2008
Chrysler to Sell Electric Cars in U.S. as Early as 2010
Written by Andrew Williams, courtesy of Gas 2.0
Chrysler has announced that it is working on an electric powered version of its Voyager MPV, which could be put into commercial production as early as 2010. The model will most likely be based on the ecoVoyager concept (pictured), first seen at this years Detroit Motor Show. Details are limited at this stage, but it seems that the zero-emission car will have a 300-mile range - pretty impressive for an MPV capable of carrying an entire family and their luggage.
The company has already stated its intentions not to be left behind the competition when it comes to green and fuel efficient vehicle technologies. The electric MPV is the first in a series of three possible production electric cars that will be viewed by dealers later this month, with the one that’s best received going into production first.
As if this news wasn’t exciting enough, ENVI, Chrysler’s eco-technologies division, is also finalising a rival to the Chevrolet Volt, slated for commercial release in 2012. The car will feature a small gasoline engine for topping-up the batteries when they fall below 40% charge.
The plans indicate that Chrysler is raising its game as we move into a new era of intense competition over the market for ultra low-emissions and fuel efficient cars. In helping to meet this challenge, the firm will also be hoping that a proposed $25 billion U.S. government loan, to it and rival ‘big three’ companies Ford and GM, is given the green light.
Related Features:
Chevy Volt: Mass-Market Electric Car Coming 2010
Convert Your Car to Run on Electricity
Turbo Diesels Take on Hybrids
September 22nd, 2008
Green Prefab From Across the Pond
I happened to live in France back in 2002, and during my year there I noticed a pretty significant gap between sustainability as practiced in Europe in the US. In Europe, I was working with large public companies who were already integrating the implications of global warming and sustainbility into their businesses. In the US (and sadly still today), many companies were still arguing whether global warming even existed!
This difference was also evident in houshold products - from luxury hotels in Italy fully outfitted with CFLs to low-flow water fixtures and dual-flush toilets in many homes to small upright washers in even the most basic apartments, the kinds of products associated with our burgeoning US green movement today were already the norm in many parts of Europe back then.
On a recent trip overseas I happened to pick up a French architecture magazine for the flight home. I was pleasantly surprised to see that we had really caught up in the past six years - outside of being written in French, you would have been hard-pressed to distinguish this magazine from any of the leading US architecture magazines.
One article caught my eye, though, for it did point out a slight difference that needs to move across the pond. It was on a beautiful and practical prefab home, called the EvolutiV house by Olgga Architectes of Paris. The house itself is striking, made from two rectangular prefrabicated sections that can be rearranged to develop different floorplans and having exterior walls made from sections of wooden logs. The homes also come with the latest and greatest in eco-design: natural ventilation, rainwater collection, solar panels (both PV and thermal), green roof, radiant heating with an option for geothermal heating/cooling, and the typical eco-friendly materials throughout.
The most interesting piece of the story, though, is that the literature for the house and the articles written about it all refer to the home’s target energy usage: less than 48 kWh / m2 / year, which translates to about 4.4 kWh / ft2 / year. This is 70% less energy usage than the typical US home in similar climates.
It’s not the level of performance that makes this interesting, for many prefab options in the US can do as well. It’s that the media in France AND the architecture firm who designed the house feel compelled to advertise efficiency in terms of a single number that is easy to understand and can be used to compare this home to others one might choose. I’ve rarely if ever seen that in discussion of US prefab options (or other green homes) - outside of a LEED rating, we’re often left to guess exactly how eco-friendly that home is. We’d love to see this become more widespread in the US - information is power, and simple, objective numbers like this can help us separate the truly eco-friendly from innovative designs that are green in name (or advertising) only.
To see more photos of the Evolutiv house, click here to view the balance of this posting. (FYI, the EvolutiV house is about 800 square feet and is available in France for about $150,000.)
And click here to find great green prefab homes available in the US.
September 20th, 2008
Exciting News on Government Support for Home Solar
There were two pieces of very exciting news this week on the home solar power front. First, the City of Berkeley has voted to support home-owners by providing loans for installing solar power systems. Second, the Senate appears to have reached a deal that would extend the tax credits available for home renewable energy systems that were slated to expire this year. Here’s three green cheers to both of these developments–and a prayer for much more government support of residential renewable energy initiatives!
According to the New York Times, ”The Berkeley City Council moved late Tuesday to eliminate one of the biggest obstacles to making homes more energy-efficient: the upfront cost.
The Council unanimously approved a program to give city-backed loans to property owners who install rooftop solar-power systems. The loans, which are likely to total up to $22,000 apiece, would be paid off over 20 years as part of the owners’ property-tax bills.
While the more conventional approach of government rebates and tax breaks is being tried by the State of California and many other jurisdictions, this is the first time that a special property tax district has been created expressly to help retrofit homes and businesses to reduce electrical use. “ Read the rest of the article here.
And from Grist.org on Sept. 17, “The Senate appears to have reached a deal on a major tax package that includes the extension of tax credits for renewable energy that are set to expire at the end of this year.
Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), chair and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, announced on Tuesday that they have come to agreement on a tax package that would provide $17 billion in renewable energy tax breaks. The bill would also adjust the alternative minimum tax, extend the child tax credit and several business tax cuts, and provide $7 billion in tax relief for those affected by the Midwestern floods and the Gulf Coast hurricanes.
The bill extends the investment tax credit for solar and wind for eight years. It extends the production tax credit (PTC) for wind for one year, and the PTC for solar, biomass, and hydropower for two years. The residential energy-efficient property credit is also extended through 2016, and the definition of the systems that qualify for that credit is expanded to include small wind investment and geothermal heat pumps. There is also a credit for plug-in electric vehicles, and $1.5 billion in tax credits for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) demonstration projects. (Read a summary of the bill [PDF].)”
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Find wind power installers near you by clicking here.
