Post a job, your resume, or view job opportunities at Green Buildings Jobs February 8, 2009
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You can post a job, post a resume, or look for a position at Green Buildings Jobs [link here]
EcoClad siding is a green alternative January 28, 2009
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EcoClad siding is constructed of post-consumer paper products and dense, sustainable bamboo fibers, allowing for outstanding durability and water resistance—not to mention the peace of mind that you’re protecting natural resources. This greener alternative to more conventional siding is LEED certified. Learn more HERE
New draft guidelines for sustainable sites released December 22, 2008
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The Sustainable Sites Initiative Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks – Draft 2008 is the product of more than two years of work by a diverse group of experts in soils, hydrology, vegetation, materials and human health and well-being. It is expanded and updated from the Preliminary Report which was released in November of 2007. This report focuses on measuring how a site can protect, restore and regenerate ecosystem services – benefits provided by natural ecosystems such as cleaning air and water, climate regulation and human health benefits. This report contains over 50 draft prerequisites and credits that cover all stages of the site development process from site selection to landscape maintenance.
Learn more HERE
Watershed Forestry Resource Guide now available on the web December 17, 2008
Posted by bruce mcgranahan in forestry, pollution control, water.Tags: forestry, stormwater, watershed
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The good folks at the Center for Watershed Protection and the US Forest Services have joined forces to bring us a new forestry resource.
THE WATERSHED FORESTRY RESOURCE GUIDE is a central clearinghouse for all things related to forests and watersheds. Recent efforts towards managing urban forests for watershed health have resulted in a variety of highly useful tools and training materials. This site compiles these resources into a format that can be easily accessed and downloaded.
In case you’re wondering what the big deal is about forests…
Trees are the oldest and largest living things on the earth, and they are a good measure of the health and quality of our environment. Urban forests are located on public and private land right in our own back yard. They line our city streets and highways; make our towns, parks and recreation areas beautiful; and add life to the landscape of concrete. Urban trees help to clean the air of pollution and provide oxygen. They reduce stormwater runoff and when located properly they can even lower heating and cooling costs. As urbanization and sprawl expands into rural areas of our watersheds, forests become an increasingly important resource to all who live there.
The site is organized by four major categories.
1. Forest Planning and Assessment
- Do you need help setting an urban tree canopy goal for your community?
- Are you unsure how to prioritize planting locations and forest conservation tracts in your watershed?
- Do you need training materials to teach others how to estimate future impacts to forests from development?
2. Reducing Stormwater Runoff
- Do you want to learn how trees can help reduce stormwater runoff?
- Are you interested in incorporating trees into your stormwater treatment practices?
- Are you looking for some examples of stormwater credit systems for trees?
3. Forest Friendly Development
- Do you want to make your community’s codes and ordinances more forest friendly?
- Do you need help preserving trees at a development site in your community?
- Are you looking for examples of forest friendly communities to convince your elected officials to change local regulations?
4. Planting and Maintaining Trees
- Do you want to know the correct way to plant a tree?
- Are you unsure what species to plant or where to plant it?
- Do you need some tools to teach others how to plant and maintain trees?
Sealing driveways and parking lots with coal tar based coatings is toxic to aquatic life November 22, 2008
Posted by bruce mcgranahan in pollution control.Tags: Coal tar, Health
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Via ScienceDaily
Coal Tar seal coats – the shiny black material applied to many parking lots and driveways – are high in PHAs, which contribute to pollution in many of the nation’s urban lakes. PAHs are toxic to aquatic life and several are suspected carcinogens.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 22, 2008) — Dust collected from coal-tar sealcoated parking lots in Central and Eastern U.S. cities contains concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are about 1,000 times greater than levels found in Western cities where coal-tar sealcoat is less commonly used, according to a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study recently published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology … CONTINUED
The Precautionary Principle November 22, 2008
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celsius° reports that the The town of Lyndhurst, N.J. yesterday adopted a precautionary principle Ordinance to guide municipal policy.
Section 22-8.1 of Ordinance 2674 reads,
“The following Precautionary Principle shall be established as the policy of the Township of Lyndhurst: ‘When an activity raises threats of harm to human health, or the environment precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.’ (Wingspread Statement, 1998)” Section 22-8.2 of Ordinance 2674, says, in part,
“a. …The Township of Lyndhurst will utilize the Precautionary Principle to develop laws for a healthier environment. By doing so, the Township will create and maintain a healthy, viable environment for current and future generations, and will become a model of sustainability. The Precautionary Principle is intended as a tool and philosophy to promote environmentally healthy alternatives while removing the negative and often unintended consequences of new
technologies.”“b. …The Township of Lyndhurst will strive to make decisions based on the least environmentally harmful alternatives in order to provide every resident with an equal right to a healthy and safe environment. This requires that our air, water, soil, and food be of a sufficiently high standard that we can live healthy lives. The precautionary approach to decision-making will help Lyndhurst move beyond fixing environmental ills to preventing the ills before they can do harm.”
2008 Top-10 Green Building Products November 21, 2008
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BuildingGreen, LLC, publisher of the GreenSpec® Directory and Environmental Building News™, today announced the 2008 Top-10 Green Building Products.
The 2008 Top-10 Green Building Products are listed below. More complete descriptions and contact information is provided on the linked pages:
- Integrity Block
- Safe ‘N Sound Emerald doors from Masonite
- FSC-certified Plyboo Pure bamboo flooring from Smith & Fong
- Natura Paint from Benjamin Moore
- PolyWhey Floor Finish from Vermont Natural Coatings
- O Ecotextiles Natural-Fiber Fabrics
- Matrix Total Home System from NTI
- SunCache solar water heating system from Harpiris Energy
- Agilewaves Resource Monitor
- Rainwater H2OG storage tanks
EcoRock more earth-friendly than traditional drywall November 15, 2008
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Via EcoGeek >>>
Serious Materials has won Popular Science’s “Best of What’s New” Award in green tech innovation for their eco-friendly drywall called EcoRock.
EcoRock requires 80 percent less energy to produce and cuts CO2 output by 90 percent compared to traditional gypsum-based drywall. The material congeals without heat and no mining is necessary in its production. It uses 85 percent recycled content and is fully recyclable. The company claims it holds up even better than gypsum drywall.
EcoRock is just one of the company’s many green building products like ThermaProof insulated windows and sustainable sound-proof doors. EcoRock costs $14 – $20 per 4×8-foot sheet, about the same as high-end drywall and will be available starting in 2009.
Free E-book “Green Building 101″ November 9, 2008
Posted by bruce mcgranahan in green building.Tags: green building
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Tree Hugger Consulting offers their free e-book, “Green Building 101: A Basic Guide to Building and Remodeling Sustainably.”
To order the FREE e-book, “Green Building 101,” send your request via e-mail to treehuggerconsulting@comcast.net. They promise to have the book to you by the next business day.
Don’t demolish, de-construct November 2, 2008
Posted by bruce mcgranahan in green building, waste reduction.Tags: Construction, Waste
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Via Solve Climate …
Every year America throws away 250,000 homes.
Bulldozers are knocking down almost 700 houses every day and trucks are carting the demolition debris for burial in landfills all across the country. It’s estimated that 1.2 billion board feet of usable lumber ends up in the garbage, not to mention salvageable hardware, fixtures, wiring, piping, doors and windows.
But a new appreciation of the value of this waste stream is leading to the growth of a nascent industry: deconstruction. In a worsening economy and in the effort to create green jobs for a low-carbon future, deconstruction could prove to be a boom industry — if it wasn’t so cheap to throw things away — creating jobs, recycling valuable materials and recovering and reusing the energy embedded in these existing construction materials… READ MORE
