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2014 November-December

Contributors

2014 November-December, Uncategorized

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="17387" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type="row" type="full_width" text_align="left" padding_bottom="50"][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_column_text] Calvin Hennick has written feature stories for a number of national magazines and newspapers including the Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Press, Men’s Health, Running Magazine, and Eating Well among others. He is a creative writing instructor at the University of Massachusetts.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_column_text] Alison Gregor has been a journalist at newspapers and magazines for 20 years. After obtaining a master’s degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism in 2003, Gregor began her freelance career focusing on coverage of real estate and business in New York City. She has written for the Columbia Journalism Review, Glamour, The Real Deal, New Jersey and Company, NYinc, Haute Living, and other publications.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_column_text] Kiley Jacques is a feature writer living on the North Shore of Massachusetts where she serves as managing editor of a regional lifestyle magazine. She has been published in New Old House, Energy of the City, Myopia Polo, and Ocean Home magazines, as well as various trade publications and media outlets.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type="row" type="full_width" text_align="left" background_color="#ffffff" padding_bottom="30"][vc_column width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1412553280581{padding-top: 30px !important;}"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="17996" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Mary Grauerholz is a healthcare grant writer and feature...

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Playing the Scale: Redefining Community for a Resilient Future

2014 November-December, LEED ON

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="18030" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/4"][vc_single_image image="18027" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Harriet Tregoning Director of HUD’s Office of Economic Resilience [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]raditionally, the word “community” conjures the notion of a small geographic area: a city block or small neighborhood, where you might enjoy a potluck at the local recreation center or get together with your neighbors to do an alley cleanup. More and more, however, changes in the way we interact with one another—as well as our recognition of common interests—are redefining the term community into something that morphs those geographic boundaries. These days, we are just as likely to think of our online communities the same as we are about our next door neighbors when we consider those who share common characteristics and have mutual interests. Likewise, when addressing the community-scale challenges of the 21st century, we are not bound by the solutions discovered in our own zip code. To build resilient communities—to prepare for climate change, to make critical infrastructure decisions, and to establish new physical and business models—we must plan, develop, and invest at different scales and, often, outside our neighborhood or jurisdictional boundaries. Not only do we have the...

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Taking the Challenge

2014 November-December, LEED impact

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="17531" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_single_image image="18036" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] [caption id="attachment_18039" align="alignleft" width="1100"] Since 2012, the city of Pittsburgh has committed 60 million square feet of real estate to meet the 2030 Challenge.[/caption]   By Jeff Harder Pittsburgh 2030 aims to reduce its energy consumption and transform the city as a leader in sustainability.   [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']W[/dropcaps]hen the Pittsburgh 2030 District branched out this past August, its reputation preceded its expansion. After just two years, the initiative had already guided a disparate assortment of property and business owners down a path toward creating high-performance, energy-saving buildings in the city’s Downtown. But when Pittsburgh 2030 added a second district in the adjacent Oakland neighborhood, the early response to the voluntary program exceeded the sunniest expectations: 244 buildings comprising 24.5 million square feet of real estate came under the program’s umbrella right away. “We launched with 81 percent of the total square footage committed to the program,” says Sean Luther, senior director of the Pittsburgh 2030 Districts at Green Building Alliance. “That was just a jaw-dropping stat once we added it all up.” It’s not the only impressive number: Since launching in 2012, the Pittsburgh 2030 Districts have committed...

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Community Health

2014 November-December, LEED impact

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="18059" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_single_image image="18060" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] By Mary Grauerholz Kaiser Permanente takes a holistic approach to healing its patients and the environment.   For places of healing, hospitals have emitted notoriously toxic substances—to say nothing of the noxious waste the structures discharge. Until the turn of this century, not much thought was given to the contradiction this posed. Kaiser Permanente, the prominent healthcare provider based in Oakland, California, has been turning this notion on its head. Kaiser Permanente executives maintain that hospitals should be healing environments and that healing is done best in clean, “green” environments. The same environmental stewardship, the organization maintains, can transform communities for better health for residents overall. In 2013, Kaiser Permanente invested $1.9 billion in the environment, people, knowledge, and communities through sponsorships and partnerships with community health clinics and other nonprofits with similar social missions. Also in 2013, the organization made a commitment to seek a minimum of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for new construction of its hospitals, large medical offices, and other major projects. The effort is expected to affect as many as 100 buildings and millions of square feet over the next...

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Better Building Products

2014 November-December, production innovation

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="18459" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type="row" type="full_width" text_align="left" padding_bottom="30"][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_column_text] EcoPower Securitron EcoPower™ is a highly efficient power supply designed to work with low-power electrified locks. This small, aesthetic access control power supply reduces standby power consumption to only 8.5mW (0.0085W), a 99% decrease compared to current linear and switching power supplies. EcoPower can reduce total door power consumption from 10W or more to a phenomenal 0.21W, when used with a lock like one leveraging Ecoflex technology. The low power consumption means that the included EcoPower battery provides 24 or more hours of backup power. EcoPower is the most efficient, fully featured power supply available today. Securitron www.securitron.com [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_column_text] H2i R2-Series VRF Zoning Systems Mitsubishi Electric US Cooling & Heating Division (Mitsubishi Electric), has introduced the Hyper-Heating R2-Series of Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) zoning systems. It can operate at up to 100 percent of its rated heating capacity at temperatures down to zero degrees Fahrenheit – the highest performance heating capacity at the lowest temperature in its field. The H2i R2-Series joins the Hyper-Heating INVERTER (H2i®) family of products, the most complete family of cold climate heating products. The patented flash injection technology allows the H2i R2-Series to simultaneously...

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Can green building make China’s cities more competitive?

2014 November-December, GLOBAL PULSE

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="18127" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type="row" type="full_width" text_align="left" padding_bottom="20"][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] By Christopher Gray [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']N[/dropcaps]ovember’s historic climate change agreement between China and the United States provides the green building community with another opportunity to evaluate our movement’s importance to China’s long-term economic and environmental forecast. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) has already become a major driver of market transformation in China, but how does green building fit into the complex puzzle of China’s overarching economic and demographic trends? Now that President Xi Jinping has signaled the full extent of China’s commitment to combating climate change and greening its economy, several questions remain regarding the long-term strategic direction that China should take to ensure that it reaches its ambitious goals. Given current conditions and projections, it is clear that China’s best chance of reaching its goal of capping carbon emissions by the year 2030 is to focus on a rapid green transformation of its urban centers. The most logical first step in this process would be to focus on the transformation of China’s built environment, not only in established international cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, but also in China’s emerging...

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Winner’s Circle

2014 November-December, ADVOCACY

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="18142" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text]By Cecilia Shutters Sustainability in Louisville is all about taking the reins.   [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']H[/dropcaps]ow does a city design for a sustainable future? Answer: Begin by having the right people at the starting gate. In a Derby City-style trifecta, leadership from the city, the university, and a new innovation incubator—the Nucleus Innovation Center—aim to place Louisville, Kentucky, in the winner’s circle of sustainable development. Louisville’s Mayor Greg Fischer is unequivocal about his commitment to put the city’s 400 square miles on the map as an eco-friendly hub. Maria Koetter, director of the office of sustainability for metro Louisville, actualizes this commitment. Mayor Fisher tasked her office with developing a comprehensive sustainability plan, Sustain Louisville, which the office[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1418069954938{margin-top: 25px !important;}"][vc_single_image image="18146" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1418070040248{margin-top: 10px !important;}"]Louisville’s Nucleus Innovation Center offers a rooftop garden and a 100 percent reflective roof.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]released in March of 2013. Key successes from the first year have already been reported this past June. “For a new office of sustainability like ours, leadership means bringing the right pieces together and building from there, rather than trying to ‘reinvent the wheel,’” Koetter says. “We are fortunate to...

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Inland Empire Gives Back

2014 November-December, ADVOCACY

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="18158" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text]By Jeff Harder A Californian USGBC chapter brings green principles to its residents.   [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]he Inland Empire begins some 40 gridlocked miles east of downtown Los Angeles. It’s a bedroom community comprising Riverside and San Bernardino counties, a place famous for reasonable housing prices and exhausting commutes. It’s also a proving ground for a crucial question: Beyond extolling the virtues of energy audits and sealing building envelopes to architects, builders, and contractors, how can the sustainability movement convince ordinary homeowners and community members why going green matters? The answer looks a lot like the Sustainable and Healthy Communities [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1418069954938{margin-top: 25px !important;}"][vc_single_image image="18159" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1418071185508{margin-top: 10px !important;}"]Through community workshops, residents gain job experience and sustainability training. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]Initiative, now in its third year under the auspices of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Inland Empire (IE) Chapter. It’s a plan aimed at exposing the benefits of energy efficiency and environmental consciousness using a simple principle: Show—don’t just tell. By partnering with other organizations, the initiative has upgraded more than a dozen homes in the area, given unemployed volunteers skills and experience to build new careers, and brought sustainability...

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Leading by Example

2014 November-December, LEED impact

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="18094" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_single_image image="18095" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] By Barbra Murray StopWaste adds to its list of firsts with LEED v4 Platinum certification.   StopWaste—a public agency responsible for reducing waste in Alameda County, California—is green by nature, and its staff is always conscious of the need to “walk the talk.” The agency, which works on behalf of the 14 cities in Alameda County, the county itself, and two sanitary [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="18096" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1418066850668{margin-top: 10px !important;}"]Nathan Greene and Wes Sullens of StopWaste.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] districts, tries to lead by example, and one of its latest accomplishments may well draw the attention of building owners and building professionals around the globe. The organization’s 14,000-square-foot headquarters in downtown Oakland recently became the first building to earn Platinum certification under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) v4 Building Operations and Maintenance.. “There’s been a lot of angst around v4, so getting the project out there and showcasing it—especially it being a public sector project—will help everyone realize that v4 is not scary,” says Wes Sullens, manager of Green Building Policy and Advocacy at StopWaste. Sullens also worked with U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) on the development of v4. If it can be...

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