Green Architecture and Design in New York’s Westchester County… and Beyond
From EcoHomeMagazine.com:
Vacuum glazings could change the way high-performance windows are manufactured and lower their costs if Guardian Industries’ research efforts prove themselves out. Double-pane, vacuum-sealed glass units with low-E coatings could achieve R-10 or better, and perform at levels now only attained by triple-pane, low-E glazings that rely on sophisticated gas fillers for much of their performance.
From AIA.org:
The time for talk is over. Green design should be a reality for everyone in every region and every industry, starting today. That’s what our Walk the Walk campaign is all about.
Many are unaware that buildings and their construction count for nearly half of all greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumed in the U.S. each year. Globally, this percentage is even higher.
The American Institute of Architects is committed to the goal of reaching at least a 50 percent carbon emission reduction by 2010 and carbon neutral buildings by 2030. We can achieve that goal through the support of our architect members, who stand ready to provide invaluable counsel on re-claiming brownfields, renewing urban areas, and re-shaping the current landscape toward a more renewable future.
We invite you to join us on this journey toward a more sustainable future. Choose your pathway and learn. The next step is up to you.
Westchester Green Link of the Week: Walk The Walk
From EcoPolitics Daily (originally posted on October 13, 2008:
Building contractor C.W. Brown Inc., based in Thornwood, this week became the first company to take advantage of New York’s new “net metering” law. Company officials flipped the switch Monday on their photovoltaic cells to start using solar power in their building, reports the Journal News.
Net metering allows for excess energy produced by solar panels, wind turbines and farm waste to be sold back to the local utility if it isn’t used.
Westchester Green… as seen in The New York Times.
Susan Serra, The Kitchen Designer, found a great list of tips for going green in the kitchen. The list was compiled by the editors of Consumer Reports’ ShopSmart magazine.
· Why: A gleaming new faucet is an easy upgrade, but kitchen models can be water wasters compared with some bathroom faucets. Low-flow bathroom faucets with the Environmental Protection Agency’s new WaterSense label are about 30 percent more efficient.
· Easy Green Fix: Until the EPA comes up with criteria for low-flow kitchen faucets (they’re in the works), for $3 to $11 you can make most new or existing taps more efficient simply by attaching an aerator.
· One Possible Draw Back: With lower flow, it might take a bit longer to fill that pasta pot.
· What to Buy: Two Kohler models that aced ShopSmart’s most recent tests and can be ordered with custom-fit aerators for about $10 are the Vinnata K-690-BX , $550, and the Forte K-10433-VS, $250. Another green choice is a hands-free faucet, like the Danze Parma D421058, $480.
· Tip: When you find a faucet style you like, make sure it has a lifetime warranty that covers stains and water-wasting leaks.
Hop over to Susan’s blog to check out more green kitchen tips…
The image above is from Hansen Living. Susan is the exclusive US distributor of 100% eco-friendly Hansen Kitchen Furniture.
From Low Impact Living:
Some diehard environmentalists consider eco-mansions an oxymoron at best, with militant types even setting fire to greenwashed mega-homes! But eco-mansion haters sometimes ignore an inconvenient truth: Huge homes are constantly getting built, and most of these are anything but green.
That’s the impetus behind “Playa” (above), a case study green home being built in Westchester, Calif., by Go Green Construction. The house, admittedly, will be huge — 4,300 square feet huge, to be exact — and located in a neighborhood that’s not particularly public transit-friendly. On the other hand, Playa’s also pre-rated for LEED platinum, serving as a self-described “living laboratory of green design” in a neighborhood full of ungreen McMansions.
On November 13th, the Orange County Citizens Foundation will host their Fourth Annual Building Green Conference featuring experts in the design, construction and regulatory fields. The day will feature presentations, case studies, panel discussions, and open dialogue.
Visit the Foundation’s website or call 845-469-9459 for more information.
To download a flyer, click here.
Thanks for the tip Helen.
John sent me an article with a very interesting argument in favor of nuclear power. It’s author is clearly a John McCain supporter, but politics aside, I am curious to hear from you. Do you think nuclear power is “humanity’s next great industrial advance”?
Please read the article. Then share your thoughts by clicking “comments” above.
…this isn’t just about energy. Our whole economy is at stake. If we’re ever to free ourselves from foreign energy supplies and turn this country into a productive society again, it’s going to have to be by pushing through to the next era of human progress — the age of nuclear power.
So here goes.
Let’s begin by understanding that the scale of the energy stored at the nucleus of the atom is so great — so completely unlike anything in human history — that people are having a hard time understanding it. Everybody thinks of the atom in terms of a big, big bomb. But that’s the wrong approach. You have to think of it as a small, small amount of matter producing almost unimaginable amounts of energy. That’s what makes uranium so easy on the environment — because it takes only a very small quantity of material to produce statewide levels of electrical power.
Let’s look at some numbers…
From BigAssFans.com:
Lexington, Ky.-born Big Ass Fan Company, contributing to the country’s growing movement towards sustainability, has found itself in a position to move air in an unlikely venue: a Brooklyn Catholic Church. Typically, 200 parishioners travel to the almost century-old Our Lady of Refuge Church for the popular 11:30 a.m. mass each Sunday. The New York summer heat has discouraged congregation members, cutting the attendance in half. The parish employed the services of Big Ass Fans as a cooling solution to their heat-related absenteeism. Just one of approximately 50 churches nationwide that have purchased Big Ass Fans, Our Lady of Refuge will use a 24 ft. diameter PowerfoilPlus™ model to keep its congregation comfortable for years to come.
Since its inception, Big Ass Fans has found its product primarily circulating in industrial and agricultural settings. In recent years, many other unexpected venues like churches, restaurants and offices have discovered the benefits of Big Ass Fans. Using only 1-2 hp motors, Big Ass Fans are inherently energy efficient to operate. To meet the needs of our growing customer base, the all-new Element™ was designed with functionality better suited to commercial settings. Combining its distinctive appearance with its high-performance operation, the new Element fan serves a wide range of applications. Los Angeles-based art gallery, Pharmaka, called on Big Ass Fans to provide an air movement solution that not only matched the sleek design of the spot, but also offered a sustainable benefit to the space. The silent, stylish Element will be featured on Planet Green’s environmentally focused program, Alter-Eco, on September 8th.
About Big Ass Fans
Big Ass Fans has been featured in Entrepreneur, Inc., Fast Company, Discovery Channel Canada, Fox Business and National Geographic Channel. Since its founding in 1999, the Big Ass Fan Company has designed and manufactured 6-foot to 24-foot diameter industrial grade ceiling fans. Their energy efficient design keeps operating costs at just pennies-per-day. Big Ass Fans can be found in over 30,000 applications worldwide from warehouses and distribution centers to restaurants and zoos.
From eOne.com:
Here’s the idea behind the E/One Sewer system: Both the gravity sewer system and the E/One Sewer system are known as central sewer systems. (Septic systems fall into a whole other category of waste disposal — see “The High Cost of Septic Systems” on the following page.) Most cities and many villages use central sewering, which simply means that waste is transferred, usually by a pipe or main, to a central treatment plant.
Gravity sewers are the “original” central sewers, with origins in the Roman aqueducts. Unfortunately, the technology behind gravity sewers is also centuries-old: they’re bulky systems using a large main and can require major excavation to install. They must be accurately placed and bedded along a continuous downward grade. Plus they’re expensive and not entirely efficient in transporting waste because they can tend to leak.
The more advanced E/One Sewer system employs highly sophisticated technology and has become known for its reliability, minimal maintenance, low upfront costs, reduced operating expenses, and ability to be installed at any site, regardless of the challenges of topography. And only the E/One Sewer system with its GP 2000 grinder pump overcomes the challenges of low-pressure systems, performing dependably day in and day out.
How good is the E/One Sewer System? Well, they installed one at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater.
