2016 January-February

Q&A with Katherine Hammack

2016 January-February, local pulse

[vc_row row_type="row" type="full_width" text_align="left" padding_top="50"][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="21533" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_column_text] Illustration by Melissa McGill [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="20"][vc_single_image image="21531" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1454011306345{margin-top: 20px !important;}"]The Honorable Katherine Hammack was appointed the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment (ASA IE&E) by President Obama on June 28, 2010. She is the primary advisor to the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army on all Army matters related to installation policy, oversight, and coordination of energy security and management. [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="20"][/vc_column][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Q.What are some of your responsibilities in your role with the U.S. Army? As the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, I am responsible for policy and oversight of sustainability and environmental initiatives; resource management, including design, military construction, operations, and maintenance; base realignment and closure (BRAC); privatization of Army family housing, lodging, real estate, and utilities; and the Army’s installations safety and occupational health programs. Q.What has been your greatest achievement in your 5 years in this position? I am proud to lead a team to establish the Army’s Net Zero program, publish a comprehensive Energy Security and Sustainability Strategy and create the Office of Energy Initiatives (OEI). The Net Zero Strategy is the...

Product Innovation

2016 January-February, production innovation

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="18627" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=".vc_custom_1424122673580{padding: 30px !important;}" row_type="row" type="full_width" text_align="left" padding_top="50" padding_bottom="50"][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="21507" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text] Exit Motion Sensor The XMS Passive Infrared Request to Exit Device is a motion detector specifically designed to reliably release magnetic locks. A person approaching the door is “seen” by the motion detector just before reaching the door. Securitron recommends that an emergency exit button be used in conjunction with the XMS to meet applicable building codes and specific life safety issues. Securitron www.securitron.com [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=".vc_custom_1424122673580{padding: 30px !important;}" row_type="row" type="full_width" text_align="left" padding_top="50" padding_bottom="50"][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="21512" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text] 1600 PowerShade™ Sun Shade System Kawneer’s Photovoltaic (PV) cells in the 1600 PowerShade™ Sun Shade System convert light energy from the sun into electricity, which can be fed into the building’s system. It is designed to effectively reduce solar heat gain with its exclusive dual-position pivot system, which provides optimal angle and extension for shading a façade at almost any geographic location. Kawneer www.kawneer.com [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=".vc_custom_1424122673580{padding: 30px !important;}" row_type="row" type="full_width" text_align="left" padding_top="50" padding_bottom="50"][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="21522" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text] Essence Essence is both an essential money-saving machine and a work of art. Ranging from 8 to 14 feet (2.4 to 4.3 meters) in diameter, Essence was developed...

Eco by Example

2016 January-February, COMMUNITY

[vc_row row_type="row" type="full_width" text_align="center"][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Eco by Example [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Habitat for Humanity has just completed construction on its largest net-zero and LEED Platinum for Homes affordable housing development to date. By Kiley Jacques | Photography by Angela Jimenez[/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type="row" type="full_width" text_align="center"][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_single_image image="21492" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full" alignment="center"][vc_column_text]Resident Robert Smith says sustainability is harmony...

Environmental Equality

2016 January-February, LEED ON

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="20507" 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="21356" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Roger Platt U.S. Green Building Council [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps]n early December, some of the brightest minds in government, business, and civil society gathered in Paris to discuss perhaps the greatest threat of our time: climate change. At the COP21 talks, USGBC’s voice was central in showcasing green buildings as critical solutions to climate change, and I was honored to lead our delegation to the conference. COP21 was about more than a commitment to change or a concern for the environment, it was about leadership and transformation, two concepts we are very familiar with at USGBC. In the months preceding the negotiations, we called on our base of member companies, many of which operate in industries or sectors directly impacted by the effects of climate change, to come together as one voice in support of a global agreement in Paris. More than 150 major companies, a third of which are USGBC members, signed on to the American Business Act on Climate Pledge. Additionally, a growing number of companies in our sector joined the Building and Real Estate Climate Declaration, a collaborative effort among...

Chattanooga’s Next Chapter

2016 January-February, energy, LEED impact

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="21415" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_single_image image="21416" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] By Alexandra DeLuca [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] EPB is not your parents’ electric company. Thanks to city leadership, the municipal utility operation is on a mission to eliminate waste and provide savings—and innovative services—for the city and its customers. [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="20"][vc_column_text] The revitalization of Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a story well told. In 1969, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified Chattanooga as the most polluted city in the country, and the subsequent report by Walter Cronkite—declaring it the “dirtiest city in America” on national evening news—became infamous. It was also something of a wake-up call for this industrial city along the river. Government and community banded together to bring improvements over the next 40 years—from a leading-edge air pollution control bureau to miles of greenways and electric shuttle buses—long before many of these things were mandated or in vogue. Sustainability has become something of a mission for the city, and EPB, the public electricity utility, is helping to write the municipal utility’s next chapter. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="21430" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_column_text]David Wade, COO of EPB, is making positive changes at the electric company.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type="row" type="full_width" text_align="left"...

Middle Grounds

2016 January-February, ecosystems, LEED impact

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="16705" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_single_image image="21382" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] By Kiley Jacques | Photography by Emily Hagopian [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] By closely examining nature for over 40 years, Alrie Middlebrook developed a model ecosystem in which people of all ages learn ecologically sound principles and practices in a playful environment. [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="20"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="21386" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_column_text]Alrie Middlebrook created an ecosystem in which people can learn ecologically sound principles and practices.[/vc_column_text][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="25"][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] It's not just anyone who would drive by a bus depot parking lot in downtown San Jose, California, and think: I can build a garden there. But a “For Lease” sign had ecological designer Alrie Middlebrook thinking just that. In 2000, her musings gained momentum and ultimately led to the formation of the California Native Garden Foundation (CNGF), a public-benefit corporation of which Middlebrook is founder and president. In time, CNGF developed the site to support its Environmental Laboratory for Sustainability and Ecological Education (ELSEE) program. Indeed, that lowly parking lot made way for the Middlebrook Center—headquarters for both CNGF and Middlebrook Gardens, its namesake’s for-profit garden design/build business responsible for funding the...

Living Well

2016 January-February, human health, LEED impact

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_video link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-gXfBZCpiE"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][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="21359" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] By Mary Grauerholz [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Tampa becomes the first city in the world to introduce a WELL Certified district. [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="20"][vc_column_text] When green building began to sweep the country in the 1970s, it came with a red alert: Construction with toxic components was harmful to the environment. A correlation between the effects of traditional construction and human health increased the urgency. Now, a group of stakeholders is breaking new, higher ground by establishing the world’s first WELL Certified city district in Tampa, Florida. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="21363" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_column_text]Paul Scialla helped launch the International WELL Building Institute. He oversees the work to ensure it will meet WELL Certification. [/vc_column_text][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="25" padding_top="25"][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] The project will be the first district-wide application of the WELL Building Standard, the world’s first building standard focused exclusively on human health and wellness. WELL fulfills a 2012 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action to improve the way people live indoors, and this new commitment builds on WELL and tackles the even greater challenge of creating...

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