Be Wise! Be Healthy!
Be in the know about Sustainable Living and Green Building, Products & Experts
|
July 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Elaine Ireland
The theme of this month's editorial connects one of this centuries greatest concerns (that being water) with words so eloquently rhymed by Samuel Coleridge about 2 centuries ago “. . . Nor any drop to drink.” As I take my summer vacation on an island surrounded by the warm, aqua blue ocean this poem rises in my memory. (read on) |
|
|
|
Maine's Healthy Beach Program
Ensuring people enjoy the beach and healthy water conditions.
|
 |
General Features |
|
|
|
|
|
| The "Survey of the Nation's Lakes" is a federal and state partnership to assess conditions by studying 909 lakes, ponds and reservoirs whose profiles are representative of all lakes in the United States. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| New England office has provided funds to the Maine Healthy Beaches Program, to continue efforts to monitor water quality conditions at Maine beaches to ensure that people enjoying the beach are also enjoying healthy water conditions. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
Global Warming |
|
|
|
|
|
| If you have kids, take them to the beach. They should enjoy it while it lasts, because there's a chance that within their lifetimes California's beaches will vanish under the waves. Global warming will redraw the maps of the world. There's a lot of hoopla about cap and trade, C02 limits, and penalties for carbon pollution to slow this disappearance. A carbon tax may just be the best, cheapest and most efficient way to combat cataclysmic climate change. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Daisuke Wakabayashi
As part of a broad set of programs being introduced by the Clinton Foundation, led by former President Bill Clinton, the foundation and Microsoft Corp. have formed a partnership to develop new technology tools to help large cities create, track and share strategies to reduce carbon emissions. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| AIA President RK Stewart, FAIA, and AIA President-elect Marshall E. Purnell, FAIA, testified before two committees in the U.S. House of Representatives to encourage the federal government to adopt the AIA’s 2030 goals for federal buildings, urging Congress to set energy reduction targets for new federal buildings and buildings undergoing major renovations. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Along with the rise in energy prices, at least consciousness has also been raised on the subject. Gasoline consumption is expected to rise so watch gas prices ascend yearly over today's prices. See the chart in this article to compare what you pay. (read on) |
|
|
|
"IIf the success or failure of this planet, and of human beings, depended on how I am and what I do, How would I be? What would I do?"
R. Buckminster Fuller
|
|
|
|
|
|
By Jon Dougal
If you're at all worried about having enough electric power to supply the needs of a growing economy -Stop. The Wind Power Association has it all figured out. With the US supplying the largest single market for wind power in the world, opportunity abounds. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
Health & Toxins |
|
|
|
|
|
|
By Jon Dougal
Bio-accumulated Toxins (BAT's) are just one of the results of pesticide use. Many workers have suffered severe health degradation due to the use of pesticides. Dole, Dow, Del Monte, Chiquita Brands, inc., Shell Oil and possibly many other agriculture based firms who have operated fruit growing operations abroad are now being brought to task by American Law firms. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
Building & Construction |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Ward Hubbell, president of the Green Building Initiative™ (GBI), testified before the Senate Committee about the opportunities to leverage sustainable construction principles to help curb climate change. Read about the three key points Hubbell emphasized for the committee to contemplate as they develop future sustainability policies. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| The Building Industry Association of California indicates that a buildable lot, no streets, no slab on grade, and no sewage or utility lines costs about $200K by the time a developer is ready to build on that lot. Then the municipality loads fees for schools, streets, cable, and any other infrastructure mechanism they deem necessary at the time. So what is the real issue underlying the problems with housing affordability? (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| There appear to be many green building initiatives besides the USGBC. The National Association of Home Builders has developed one for their members, Canada has one, Australia has one, and the US has several. Green Globes is one we highlight this month to inform you about the choices. The Green Globes environmental assessment and rating system represents more than nine years of research and refinement by a wide range of prominent international organizations and experts. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Armstrongs' corporate headquarters building, built in 1998, is only the sixth existing building, and the first outside of California, to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council's highest certification, Platinum, under its LEED Green Building Rating System™ for existing buildings. Read about the features that earned this Platinum Rating. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
Lifestyle - What You Can Do |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Scan the newspaper racks or television shows and you'd think we're living in a nation obsessed with attaining a simpler, de-cluttered, well organized lifestyle. But then take a look at the homes builders are putting up all over the country and you'll experience a total disconnect between this search for a simpler lifestyle and the houses we're expected to live in. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
IEQ Interests (read more about Indoor Environmental Quality in our Sage Learning Center) |
|
|
|
|
|
courtesy Jan Coleman and NRDC
Bottled water costs hundreds or thousands of times more per gallon than tap water. Instead of relying on bottled water we need to make sure our tap water is clean and safe. Read about some facts and figures this author researched that might just make you switch back to tap. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
Green Products |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| This fall, CCA Global, a carpeting cooperative, will launch its "Green Select" initiative, committing to better the environment through its relationships with its member community, suppliers and employees. The Green Select initiative will be visible on products starting October 1st with materials explaining a commitment to making "the earth friendly choice." (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| If you're going to build green buildings doesn't it make sense to furnish them with sustainable materials? We already finish them with green paints, counter tops, flooring, but what about the couches, podiums, side boards, and conference tables? It's looking a lot greener at what is expected to be this July's red-hot Las Vegas Market, happening in just a few days. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Shaw has developed point-of-sale materials to help consumers understand the environmental benefits associated with many of their new products. An in-store kiosk and hanging signs are among the elements that point out the recycling capability of Shaw's Anso® nylon and other Nylon 6 carpets through the company's Evergreen Nylon Recycling plant in Augusta, Georgia. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Saying only that they have been doing sustainable business as a corporate paradigm because it was just the right thing to do, finally, Milliken is getting some praise for being a great company with great products. They have been named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Magazine, a national publication dedicated to illuminating the important correlation between ethics and profit. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| A major obstacle to the proliferation of green vegetative roofs has been that organizations have no effective way to compare the life cycle cost of green roofs with conventional roofs — until now. Professionals concerned with or responsible for sustainability, such as architects, designers and facility managers, will soon be able to use the Life Cycle Costing (LCC) Calculator. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
Green Economics |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| What if one day you woke up and realized you were bankrupt? You sat up and thought there is something wrong, but you couldn't put your finger on it. Sustainable economics is one of the underpinnings of the LEED protocol, and of all sustainable societies. Check out these numbers about you and our national debt. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| “Just when it appeared that demand for design services had crested with moderate, but flat growth in February through April, the ABI figures in May and June revealed extremely high demand for nonresidential construction projects . . . we are in a stretch of 30 consecutive months of growth in architectural billings – the second longest streak in the history of the survey that began in 1995.” (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Green Expert Profile |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Green Product Profile |
|
|
|
Green Real Estate Education |
|
|
Calendar of events |
|
|
|
Dozens of Green Events Around the World to Participate in |
|
Where Every Issue is a Green Issue
