Published on July 3rd, 2009
Time is running out. No, that isn’t another car sell or a joke to keep GM in business but if you want to have your hand out to receive the $10,000 tax credit for purchasing a hopefully green new construction property (or even a condo in a dirty building) then you better do so soon.
That mammoth amount of cash that the state provided to steer buyers to the dormant new construction market has dwindled to only $12 million. May proved to be a boon for buyers taking advantage of the tax credit as buyers claimed approximately $30 million. The California Franchise Tax Board speculates that the $100 million fund will be “wiped out by August 2009 and the incentive will not be extended.” Read the rest of this entry »
Published on April 14th, 2009
House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the energy and environment subcommittee, released a draft of a massive 648-page bill that tackles both climate and energy. “This legislation will create millions of clean energy jobs, put America on the path to energy independence, and cut global warming pollution,” Waxman claims. The “cap and trade” bill seeks to cut carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions in the US, with an ultimate goal of reducing them to 83% of 2005 levels by 2050. It also requires 25% of electricity to come from renewable sources or energy efficiency measures by 2025.
What is raising eyebrows, however, are not the goals of the bill, but the fact that it only applies to the United States. Many opponents believe that without a global plan, US companies will simply pollute in other countries, then bring their products here for sale. It is also expected to raise energy prices, as power companies will have to purchase more carbon producing permits, and will pass the costs on to consumers.
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Published on April 13th, 2009
In preparation for next week’s Earth Day, the Missouri Botanical Garden is sponsoring Eco Expo, a two-day event in the Saint Louis Science Center. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will kick off the events on Tuesday, April 14 with a presentation of “Our Environmental Destiny.” Tickets can be purchased here. The expo itself is free to the public and spans Saturday and Sunday, April 18 & 19. Featured in the Eco Expo will be a model green home and a working green kitchen that will feature organic cooking demonstrations. From the press release:
“The Eco Expo was created to inspire our community to better care for the environment -through education, entertainment and access to businesses who are committed to achieving sustainability. This is a fantastic opportunity for all ages to learn about simple changes that can make great impact. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on April 8th, 2009
MIT is hosting a sustainability summit as a cap to Earth Week. The summit will be entirely student-organized, and is entitled, “Discovering New Dimensions for Growth.” The Sustainability Summit will bring together students, business leaders, academics, sustainability activists, and public servants for a day of invited talks, panel discussions and opportunities for informal networking on the subject of how to face the opportunities and challenges of making the transition to a sustainable world.
The theme of the summit, “Discovering New Dimensions for Growth,” explores emerging solutions to the problems of unsustainable development. Current economic, political, and academic institutions, though highly interwoven, mainly work in isolation from each other. Students and practitioners of the field of sustainability are increasingly aware of the opportunities to collaborate to enhance their work on environmental, social, and economic endeavors. The goals are to restore natural systems, create a just and equitable social infrastructure, and revitalize the world’s economies - an incredible challenge that requires collaboration across many previously disparate fields.
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Published on April 7th, 2009
New York city’s most iconic image, the Empire State Building, is about to undergo a ‘green’ makeover. Soon, one of the nation’s oldest buildings will be in the top 10 percent of the greenest buildings in America.
Who says only new buildings can be green?
Leading the way in this green revolution is former US President Bill Clinton. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Tony Malkin of the Empire State Building Company, and the energy and construction partners joined Mr. Clinton to bring this retrofitting project together.
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Published on March 28th, 2009
Green is heading into overdrive over the next 10 years!
At the 11th annual Greenprints Conference and Trade show in Atlanta, Georgia this past Wednesday and Thursday, the overall message was loud and clear; building and retrofitting green is and will be the only way forward for commercial real estate and home owners.
As I made my way into a crowded conference room at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Atlanta, you could feel that finally, people are taking green seriously. This wasn’t a room full of tree hugging hippies and global warming activists preaching to save the planet, but a room full of professionals who are bringing a smarter way of living to a world that has up til now, quite frankly, lived vicariously through excess consumption.
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Published on March 25th, 2009
As if Florida’s housing market hasn’t had enough bad news lately, it now seems that some homes built with imported Chinese drywall have experienced problems ranging from rotten egg odor to appliance failure, and in some cases health problems. The culprit, according to homeowners involved in class action lawsuits in Florida, Louisiana, and Alabama, is high levels of sulfur within the drywall. The corrosive gas has destroyed copper wiring, causing air conditioners and other appliances to fail. Some homeowners claim the drywall has caused health problems, including headaches, sore throats, insomnia, and swollen joints.
During the boom years of 2005 and 2006, when frenzied new home construction combined with post-hurricane reconstruction, home builders found some material, including drywall, in short supply, and looked to cheap imports to fill the need. The gypsum used in the drywall, plaintiffs claim, originated in a Chinese mine with toxic levels of sulfur, though the companies that sell the drywall deny this claim. It is estimated that the number of homes with Chinese dry wall could be as high as 50,000, with Florida accounting for as many as 30,000. Time Magazine asks “Is Drywall the Next Chinese Import Scandal?” Read the rest of this entry »
Published on March 23rd, 2009
Homeowners Avrim and Vicki Topel are using their experiences building a LEED Silver home in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania as a chance to educate others on how to do the same. They have written a book, Green Beginnings: The Story of How We Built Our Green and Sustainable Home, and recently announced the release of a companion video.
The video and book show the process of building a sustainable home from the viewpoint of the homeowners, a different perspective than the normal project case study. The home, constructed by green builder and timber frame artisan Hugh Lofting, has become the catalyst for a nationwide educational and outreach program started by the owners.
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Published on March 18th, 2009
The First Lady went green on St. Patrick’s Day, and not just with her choice of footwear or her order to dye the White House fountain green. Joining the members of YouthBuild, a non-profit organization that teaches low-income youths construction skills while they work toward their GED or high school diploma, Michelle Obama helped build an affordable, energy efficient home for a Texas mother whose mobile home was damaged last year by Hurricane Dolly. YouthBuild is celebrating their 30th anniversary by inviting current students and graduates of the program to show off green building techniques of all types on the National Mall.
Mrs. Obama took the opportunity to speak on the importance of both community service and building green:
“The work you’ve done here is quite impressive, and the evolution of your work to include green building, something that we’re talking more and more about as a nation, energy-saving practices, and environmental awareness, it demonstrates how YouthBuild has endured as a leading non-profit organization, keeping up with the times, making sure that the training and education that you get is current.” Read the rest of this entry »
Published on March 3rd, 2009
Building Green Remains Strong, but LEED Popularity Slips
In the race for being certified as a ‘green’ building, LEED has been the certification of choice thus far, but some are not feeling so eager to obtain certification any more.
While the majority of builders and building owners support building green, the popularity of LEED certification has slipped a bit according to a recent survey conducted by Allen Matkins/CTG/Green Building Insider. The consensus from 900 design professionals, contractors, constructions planners and building owners was that 93.4% agreed that it is worth the time and effort to build green, but only 66.2% believe that obtaining LEED certification is worth the effort.
Has LEED lost the lead in the green building certification race?
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Time is running out. No, that isn’t another car sell or a joke to keep GM in business but if you want to have your hand out to receive the $10,000 tax credit for purchasing a hopefully green new construction property (or even a condo in a dirty building) then you better do so soon.
