Why doesn't USGBC sell a PDF of the LEED Reference Guide?
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7/1/09 Update: If you are looking to learn about the LEED 2009 rating systems, there's no better tool out there than our own LEEDuser.com, which was launched since this post was made.
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Trucking, Hunger, and Resilience
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A friend of mine near Barcelona wrote me that truckers in Spain are on strike and are blocking roads. They demand the government set a 35% haulage tariff, which would be in proportion to the increase in fuel costs in the past year. Anticipating the stores will soon be empty, my friend made a trip into town, by train, to get a 50-pound bag of rice and some butane cylinders to run his family's kitchen stove. News reports say perishables are expected to run out within a week. Of course, if people make a run on the stores, perishables and non-perishables alike could be scarce faster.
Climbing against climate change
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French climber Alain Robert, who has taken to climbing skyscrapers instead of cliffs -- so far he has made more than 70 urban ascents -- scaled the New York Times building June 5. Before being arrested, Robert unfurled a banner reading, "Global warming kills more people than 9/11 each week."
Robert targeted the Times building as the perch from which to make his point because of its green qualities.
Beware of CGREPs (it's not THAT easy being green)
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Greasy Socks and Certifications Recently I was doing research for a brief item about green education for "real estate professionals," that is, real estate agents, appraisers, house inspectors, and loan officers. I read about a new course being offered, covering global climate issues, green building, indoor and outdoor air quality, and, last but surely not least, using all this green material in marketing. Those who complete this course are allowed to add CGREP -- for Certified Green Real Estate Professional -- to their collection of post cognomenal letters.
Problems installing cotton insulation
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I bought some Ultratouch cotton fiber insulation a few months ago thinking that it would be a great natural product for the cabin I am building. This is the stuff that comes in blue unfaced batts, and is often said to use recycled blue jeans, although it uses pre-consumer denim from factory waste. I bought it from a (great) Brattleboro, Vermont retailer Renew Building Materials and Salvage for for 88 cents a square foot.
Notes from "Be a Product Detective: Sleuthing the Truth About Building Materials"
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Jennifer Atlee has posted notes from the session she co-presented at USGBC Cascadia chapter's Living Future 'Unconference'. See them here.
BuildingGreen Bulletin: Why Use Air Barriers? - June EBN
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Twice each month, BuildingGreen publishes an email news bulletin with current news and product information briefs. Sign up here — it's free. We will never share or sell your email address, and you may unsubscribe at any time.
Read the current bulletinDoes biomass power increase carbon emissions?
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Does wind power increase carbon emissions? That was the question I asked in a recent post after seeing a analysis by Stanley Rhodes of Scientific Certification Systems, a major testing and certification agency for green building products, among other things.
ASU Campus Metabolism
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I just learned about Arizona State University's new building energy/resource use dashboard called Campus Metabolism. The dashboard was apparently put together by a team of students and is currently up and running for their new Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS) building, with more buildings to come on line in the future.
Here it Comes: The Year of Greenwash
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Michelle Moore, a senior vice president of the USGBC, recently spent a day in our offices. Speculating on the shapes of things to come both near and far, she said something that stuck with me: "We're entering the year of greenwash." As if it wasn't already bad enough.
The reduction of social and environmental movements to merchandising means that a cause has hit the big time... but the increased breadth tends to come with a commensurate loss of depth.
"More Big Changes Ahead Predicted for Green Building"
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Peter Yost gave a presentation at the NAHB National Green Building Conference in New Orleans last week. Nation's Building News ("The Official Online Weekly Newspaper of NAHB") has a nice piece on it. Excerpted:
In 1999, people didn't talk about carbon-neutral or zero-energy homes, and the American public was largely unconcerned about global warming. There were only 7,000 Energy Star-certified homes.
BuildingGreen Bulletin - Next Generation of LEED; GreenSpec Updates
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Twice each month, BuildingGreen publishes an email news bulletin with current news and product information briefs. Sign up here — it's free. We will never share or sell your email address, and you may unsubscribe at any time.
Read the current bulletinMaking vs. Assembling
I love people that make, rather than assemble. The old-world built environment had a character of imperfection, a dose of wabi sabi, odd and lumpy bits that represent a connection that's both human and natural.
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I have a huge amount of appreciation and respect for (and some jealousy of) people plying artisan trades, and had a couple good conversations with AIA'08 exhibitors offering that sort of thing. John Canning & Company goes beyond artisan; check out the featured projects on their website. In my capacity as poster boy for the A Little Knowledge Club, we chatted a bit about lime plaster and mortar while I stood in awe of their portfolio.