Frank Bergamaschi | February 20th, 2012
Anyone who is a student of environmental issues knows that fossil-fueled vehicles are a major contributor to our present predicament, and are unsustainable both from an emissions standpoint, and because the worldwide resource pool used to power them is in decline. The answer is often touted to be electric cars. But how “green” are electric cars? If a recent study is to be believed, greener than you might think.
There are two basic lines of thought about the negative impact electric vehicles have. The first is that all the mining, refining, manufacturing and disposal associated with the required batteries comes with significant environmental costs, with special worries associated with the necessary lithium. The bigger issue argues that charging an electric car from a dirty, inefficient grid doesn’t reduce emissions, but rather simply shifts them to a new outlet, the power plant. That’s the “long-tailpipe” argument, and there are claims that under certain scenarios driving an electric car can be more environmentally detrimental than driving a fossil-fuel car.
Read the rest of Electric Cars and Sustainability »
Monica Treadway Funston | February 15th, 2012
In the Bay Area, many of us recycle, compost, turn off lights when they’re not needed, turn off the faucet as we brush our teeth, but what about the outside part of the house?
StopWaste.org has an Alameda-County-based program called Bay-Friendly Landscaping and Gardening that’s applicable anywhere in the Bay Area. It focuses on encouraging an environmental approach to landscapes, whether that landscape is as simple as a container garden or as a complex as a massive commercial project.
Read the rest of How Green Is Your Garden? »
Alicia Livitt | February 13th, 2012
An exciting exhibition is making an appearance in San Francisco over February 17-26 at the Fort Mason Center. Spotlighting the famous German penchant for innovation, Das Haus is a “traveling pavilion, a North American tour and an ongoing international dialogue about advanced technologies for home construction and solar energy use.” The event, jointly hosted by the German American Chambers of Commerce (GACCs) and Canadian German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, kicked off in Atlanta, GA last October and will have visited 12 North American cities by the time of its October 2012 conclusion in Denver.
Read the rest of Das Haus is Da House »
Alicia Livitt | February 6th, 2012
The next time I fly out of SFO I might leave a few extra minutes for a mini-detour to San Francisco International Airport’s Terminal 2 (T2). What is so enticing about T2 to warrant a special visit? Well, if you are a building enthusiast like me, you’ll likely understand the novelty of the 64,000 square-foot terminal’s recent $383 million renovation. Announced last month, T2 was awarded LEED® Gold certification, the first airport terminal in the United States to receive this distinction and only the second in the world after India’s New Delhi airport. That’s right, the city reputed to be the greenest in the United States has made headlines again with another step toward sustainability.
Originally, the bar wasn’t set so high; the project planners had targeted their sights on LEED® Silver, the level currently required by San Francisco for new public buildings and major renovations. It was only midway through the construction process did they realize that a Gold rating was within reach. Remarkably, the pioneering terminal building remodel checks off line after line of the USGBC’s wish list with ambitious conservation policies and a wealth of innovative features, including: Read the rest of Flying with Gold Status »
Frank Bergamaschi | February 2nd, 2012
In my last entry, I described how I came to realize that deep residential energy reductions are possible without significant lifestyle impacts, and how that realization led to my family’s home being the 5th North American home to qualify for ACI’s innovative 1,000-Home Challenge. In this entry I will elaborate on how I created a snapshot audit method.
Read the rest of Snapshot Audit Method for Reducing Energy »
Alicia Livitt | January 6th, 2012
San Francisco has long been recognized, both anecdotally and officially, as the one of the greenest cities in the world with global recognition of its green credentials. Just recently, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-17) held in Durban, South Africa (December 2011), San Francisco was named as a recipient of the World Green Building Council’s (WorldGBC) Government Leadership Awards for Excellence in City Policy for Green Building. Specifically, San Francisco was honored with the Best Green Building Policy award for its San Francisco Green Building Ordinance.
Supported by educational outreach, innovation and incentives, the revolutionary building ordinance calls for all new commercial, residential and municipal construction to be built to LEED standards, and existing buildings to publicly disclose energy labels, participate in periodic energy audits, and engage in mandatory water efficiency retrofits at the time of sale. According to the WorldGBC award publication, “San Francisco’s Green Building Ordinance requirements together represent the strictest, most ambitious, most comprehensive policy approach to the built environment yet undertaken by any city in the United States.”
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Monica Treadway Funston | January 3rd, 2012
It’s never a good idea to start a project, much less a green project, with a “what if this doesn’t work” attitude.
There’s a thin line, however, between optimism and Pollyanna. And there are some unique risks to building green. Competition is getting stronger, and legal exposure is greater. And, with many public institutions requiring LEED certification, everyone from the owner on down has a healthy respect for the risk of litigation.
There are three risk categories: Read the rest of When Green Hits the Fan »
Frank Bergamaschi | December 20th, 2011
In my last blog I introduced the 1,000-Home Challenge, an innovative ACI initiative that is working to demonstrate the viability of reducing residential site energy use by 70% or more by enrolling 1,000 North American homes that either already qualify or are willing to make changes to do so. My family’s home is number five.
Read the rest of Reducing Home Energy Use by 70% or More »
Monica Treadway Funston | December 14th, 2011
PTA meetings are not known for their inspirational quality; they tend to be more perspirational. But the last two I’ve been to have given me hope for the future, and it’s because of the kids.
At my son’s elementary school, last year’s PTA board elected to use their surplus money to build a shade structure for the children. It would cover the school’s outdoor lunch area and would solve two problems: shield the children from bird droppings (that have historically been a maintenance challenge) and provide shade for the children while they eat lunch (the metal benches can get pretty hot).
When the school’s PTA board presented their ideas to the School District for approval, it opened the proverbial can of worms. Read the rest of Kids These Days »
Alicia Livitt | December 13th, 2011
Could you live in 500 square foot house? How about 300? 100 or less? Could you squeeze a family in there too? In doing so, what would you have to give up? What would you gain? For many, downsizing in favor of a simplified lifestyle sounds great, in theory, but how is it in practice?
These are questions the remarkable people promoting the Small House Movement hope to answer. A growing crusade for living efficiently in small spaces, the Small House Movement has emerged as an antithesis to the resource-hungry supersized McMansions dominating the landscape in recent years. In an era celebrating excess, in just the past 3 decades, single-family homes have ballooned from a typical 1,780 square feet in 1978 to 2,479 square feet in 2007. The American Dream realized?
Read the rest of The Itty-Bitty Dream Home »
