"World's First and Only" - Gold LEED Certified- HotelSee features at: http://www.gaianapavalleyhotel.com/html/green-lodging.asp#americancanyon-ca-feature
Also... you'll find a copy of Al Gore's book, "An Inconvenient Truth", in each of the rooms for your reading pleasure."
"It’s a good time to be green, and Google is leading the way. Last year, the search giant Google announced that their installation of the solar panels on their campus, which are expected to provide around 1,600 kw/h. And keeping with their green commitment, they recently launched the Google solar panel project webpage which will help anyone track how much power their solar panels are generating. And now, their newest green initiatives include everything from plug-in hybrids and car-powered homes to carbon neutrality. And to top it off, Google has just announced that it expects to become carbon neutral by 2007. They will do this via a mixture of energy consumption reduction, carbon offsets, and use of renewable resources. They will also be submitting themselves to an independent audit to make sure that they meet this goal every year."
Interview by:
"American Campus Communities Inc., an owner, developer and manager of student housing, has been selected by the University of California, Irvine (UCI) to begin the planning process for the development of up to 4,000 on-campus beds...(using) LEED silver or higher certified rating."
Source: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/05/11/insulation_tec.html?category=technology"An engineer with an agricultural background recently developed a new kind of "eco-friendly" building insulation using mushroom spores. The "Greensulate formula [is] an organic, fire-retardant board made of water, flour, oyster mushroom spores and perlite, a mineral blend found in potting soil...A 1-inch-thick sample of the perlite-mushroom composite had a 2.9 R-value, the measure of a substance's ability to resist heat flow. Commercially produced fiberglass insulation typically has an R-value between 2.7 and 3.7 per inch of thickness." Clearly this is a way to avoid carcinogenic materials and petrochemicals in the walls of our homes and offices, and it also demonstrates the extent of what's possible when we innovate across disciplines."Source: http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/006892.html
"Bringing the insulation to market is still at least a year away though, said McIntyre, and will require much more research and work, not to mention more sophisticated equipment and a better work space."Source: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070624/eco_mushrooms_070624/20070624?hub=SciTech
"A smart home is one that’s good for its occupants and for the environment. Being smart includes being energy efficient and using resources wisely. It means choosing materials that are sustainable. It means designing and building homes that maximise occupants’ health and comfort, while also costing less to run."
"This is Libro's third "green" branch. Its design has received 4 outSee complete list of green features in the article at: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2007/19/c6518.html
of 5 Green Globes, a third party environmental building rating system. The
designation showcases Libro's leadership in energy efficient and environmental
design practices," says Jack Smit, President and CEO, Libro. "We are committed
to building "green" when we can. We know the importance of reducing our impact
on the environment. We may be new to the Williamsburg neighbourhood but we're
committed to its sustainability!"
"A 2007 University of Minnesota study compared LEED to Green Globes. The study found that Green Globes is less costly, easier to work with and less time-consuming than LEED."Click here for the full report: http://www.thegbi.org/gbi/Green_Building_Rating_UofM.pdf
"Being developed by a partnership between the USGBC, ASHRAE, and IESNA ... say the baseline standard, which will apply to new commercial construction and major renovations, will be fleshed out by 2007.Also see: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1647
The new standard will be largely based on LEED, with prescriptive measures for environmental performance drawn from its five categories.
code agencies could adopt Standard 189P as a baseline, while mandating additional sustainability measures as they see fit. This would relieve states and municipalities from needing to draft special legislation to mandate green buildings by, for instance, referencing LEED or other voluntary rating systems."
"Currently the standard is open for public comment and comments will be accepted through July 9, 2007 at www.ashrae.org/publicreviews. The committee plans to release the standard by late 2007. Upon completion, Standard 189 will be an ANSI-accredited standard that can be incorporated into building codes...(just as Standard 90.1... has been almost universally adopted as a baseline standard for energy efficiency)"
Also see: http://www.bre.co.uk/page.jsp?id=959
Reusing shipping containers as the start for pre-fab housing... smart! Lots more cool projects on their site but these are their 2 "city" ideas:
"We wanted our building to really reflect our institutional commitment to the environment and its sustainability," said Frank Almeda, senior curator of the academy's botany department.
When completed (2008), it's expected to be the first museum to earn the U.S. Green Building Council's "platinum" certification (LEED) —the highest rating for environmentally sustainable construction, academy officials said. Design by Italian architect Renzo Piano.The museum will feature... energy-saving technologies... roof will be bordered with solar panels that will provide a portion of its electricity needs... lights will automatically dim and brighten in response to daylight... rooftop skylights and side windows will open and close automatically to heat and cool the building."
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_6095255
"Yonge and Eglinton is now home to Toronto's first Green apartment building. Minto Roehampton is a 16-storey sustainable rental building, designed and built to embrace healthy living, promote energy savings and sustainability and protect the environment.Source: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2007/07/c2277.html
Minto Roehampton is a LEED(R)-Canada candidate for Gold Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Minto has also been selected among the very best in the country to construct an environmentally-friendly home as part of the CMHC Equilibrium Housing Initiative."
"GreenPoint Rated is a program of Build It Green, a professional non-profit membership organization whose mission is to promote healthy, energy- and resource-efficient buildings in California.Source: http://www.stopwaste.org/home/index.asp?page=474
An independent, third-party rater verifies that each project satisfies green building standards. Certified GreenPoint raters are experienced professionals who have completed extensive technical training and passed written and field exams. GreenPoint ratings are now available for single-family and multifamily new construction projects."
"...a service run by student volunteers from various disciplines. The primary purpose of UWSP is to improve the state of sustainability on campus as well as raise environmental awareness among students, faculty, and staff. UWSP is comprised of different working groups each targeting specific aspects of sustainability."Source: http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1475&Itemid=59&issuedate=2007-06-01Working Groups
- Clearing a Path
(trying to have University of Waterloo commit to Talloirses Declaration)- Green Roofs Over Waterloo (GROW)
- Naturalistic Landscaping Team (NLT)
- Sustainable Technology Education Project (STEP)
- Waste Management
- FootSteps to Conservation
- Zimride
- Campus Sustainability Assessment Framework (UW CSAF Project)
"Composed in 1990 at an international conference in Talloires, France, this is the first official statement made by university administrators of a commitment to environmental sustainability in higher education. The Talloires Declaration (TD) is a ten-point action plan for incorporating sustainability and environmental literacy in teaching, research, operations and outreach at colleges and universities. It has been signed by over 300 university presidents and chancellors in over 40 countries."Canadian Universities and Colleges include:
I think this is a little large for what I'd consider "low footprint". Greenwashing???"EarthCraft House is a green building program that serves as a blueprint for healthy, comfortable homes that reduce utility bills and protect the environment. EarthCraft House is a partnership between the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, Southface, government and industry partners."
"CMHC is pleased to announce that the Net Zero Energy Healthy
Housing initiative has been officially branded EQuilibrium Housing. It reflects
the objective of balancing our country's housing requirements with the need to
preserve and protect our natural environment."
12 Demonstration Projects: http://www.schl.ca/en/inpr/su/eqho/eqdepr/index.cfm
June 1, 2007
"LEED certified buildings have energy consumption 25 to 60 % less than ones built to the Canada’s Model National Energy Building Code standard.
The province will also be piloting a green roof project to cut costs for heating and cooling, reduce the heat island effect of cities in summer time, help clean the air and prevent rain water runoff. This will help reduce the government’s carbon footprint."
"The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and CH2M HILL Canada Limited honoured the 10 winners of the FCM-CH2M HILL Sustainable Community Awards at a recognition ceremony at FCM's 70th Annual Conference and Municipal ExpoTM in Calgary today (June 2, 2007). The Awards recognize municipal leadership in sustainable community development and giveWinners:
national recognition to projects that demonstrate environmental excellence and
innovation in service delivery."
"It's been 6 months since ... Ontario started its Standard Offer Program (SOP), which created the first feed-in tariff (FIT) in North America for renewable energy in over 20 years.Source: http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=48565
Since last November (2006), OPA has received applications under the new FIT for 65 wind, solar, biomass and hydropower projects totaling roughly 330 megawatts (MW) of capacity.
... a FIT sets a price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of generated renewable energy that is high enough to properly compensate the generator and make a project profitable."
Green Roof Design 101 Introductory Course (2nd Ed.)Check their site for other dates in other cities: http://www.greenroofs.net/index.php
In this revised introductory course you will learn about the components and benefits of green roofs, how to design a project for maximum benefits, how to cost estimate for different types of projects and much more. The new course includes the most up-to-date green roof research and design practices as well, as new case studies from this rapidly expanding industry. Tuition: $395
"The first tranche of houses at Oxley Woods in Milton Keynes, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, ... go on sale at £199,995 for a two-bedroom property this week."Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c87d0b08-fc36-11db-93a4-000b5df10621,Authorised=false.html
"The homes are constructed from sustainable materials and employ unique features including an ‘EcoHat’ – allowing hot air to be re-used to optimise energy consumption and provide passive solar water heating.Sources:
...houses represent a reduction of approximately 27% in carbon dioxide emissions, compared with a conventional new-build house of similar size. This reduction rises to almost 40% with the inclusion of the EcoHat"
"The World Green Building Council is a union of national councils whose mission is to accelerate the transformation of the global property industry towards sustainability. Current members are GBCAustralia, CanadaGBC, EmiratesGBC, IndiaGBC, JapanSBC, MexicoGBC, New Zealand GBC, TaiwanGBC, United KingdomGBC and the USGBC. Collectively, these nations represent over 50% of global construction activity, and touch more than eight thousand companies and organizations worldwide."