2016 March-April

Creating Sustainable Cities

2016 March-April, LEED ON

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="21747" 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="21745" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Anne Hidalgo Mayor of Paris and Co-host of the Climate Summit for Local Leaders [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']C[/dropcaps]limate change endangers people’s health and poses serious economic threats. Yet by protecting the environment, we not only invest in the future but we also bring immediate public health and economic benefits. By acting boldly to address the perils of climate change, cities can improve millions of lives today—and build a safer, healthier future for the generations to come. Cities around the world are taking the lead in the battle against climate change, and, in doing so, are determining the course of our planet’s future. Cities are more agile than national governments—cities have immediacy in their relationship to the impacts of climate change. They can take bolder actions and can see the benefits of climate action directly. Here in Paris we introduced a Climate Action Plan unanimously approved by the Council of Paris in 2007, updated in 2012, committing our city to decrease its overall emissions by 75 percent in 2050 compared to 2004. In this perspective, Paris implements ambitious programs of construction...

Sustainable Sips

2016 March-April, ecosystems, LEED impact

[vc_row row_type="row" type="full_width" text_align="left" padding_top="25"][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="16705" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_single_image image="21782" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_column_text] By Kiley Jacques [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Sonoma County’s wine region is on the verge of a new identity—the first of its kind. [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Two years ago, Sonoma County Winegrowers (SCW) put forth a comprehensive sustainability initiative—one that aims to position the county as the nation’s first completely sustainable wine region. The county’s wine industry has always been a forerunner when it comes to sustainable farming. This latest move is a prime example of regional winegrowers’ efforts to ensure agriculture remains the vanguard of the local economy. A 100-year business plan—thought to be the first of its kind in the global wine industry—outlines the ways in which they will protect agriculture into the 22nd century. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="21787" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1458324637593{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"] Karissa Kruse is the president of the Sonoma County Winegrowers. [/vc_column_text][/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]Originally known as the Sonoma County Grape Growers association, SCW pushed for commission status in 2006. At that time, 1,800 growers voted to impose a self-assessment on the sale of their grapes, which meant that any vineyard in Sonoma County selling 25 tons or more would pay half of 1 percent...

Q&A with Libby Schaaf

2016 March-April, 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="21876" 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="21875" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1458589799748{margin-top: 20px !important;}"]Mayor Libby Schaaf was inaugurated Oakland, California’s 50th mayor on January 5, 2015. She is committed to revitalization that preserves and celebrates Oakland’s diversity and leads to direct prosperity for long-time residents and newcomers. Her four areas of focus as mayor are holistic community safety, responsive trustworthy government, sustainable vibrant infrastructure, and equitable jobs and housing.[/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 the threats of climate change to the city of Oakland? As a waterfront city, Oakland is threatened by sea level rise. Our airport, seaport, and low-lying neighborhoods are all at risk as sea levels rise and tidal and storm influences change. In addition, climate models predict more intense droughts and storms, which will affect our entire community as wildfires and floods grow stronger and more damaging. However, the most critical threat that Oakland faces is the impact of climate justice. Ensuring that the City can protect the lives, homes, and well-being of our most vulnerable community members in the face of a changing environment is key to our sustainability strategy. Q.Who will be most affected? Communities of...

Sustainable Energy

2016 March-April, human health, 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="21751" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] By Jeff Harder [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Clif Bar’s headquarters promotes sustainability and wellness for its employees. [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="20"][vc_column_text] Step into Clif Bar and Company’s headquarters, look up, and the bikes and kayaks dangling from the ceiling are among the quirky clues that suggest the leading energy bar maker is not content to leave the outdoors outside. Daylight beams through floor-to-ceiling walls of windows and changing colors fall onto workers spread across the open floor plan. A quartet of open-air atrium gardens offers a genuine slice of nature inside the building’s 115,000-sq-ft footprint. Step into one of the conference rooms built from reclaimed wood and the atmosphere feels a little like you have arrived at a trailhead. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="21753" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_column_text]As the leaders of a family- and employee-owned company, Gary Erickson, along with his wife, Kit Crawford, developed an innovative business model that integrates social and environmental responsibility into every area of the business.[/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="15"][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]Clif Bar’s offices on 66th Street in Emeryville, California, are more than a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum testament...

Teaching the Teachers

2016 March-April, COMMUNITY

[vc_row row_type="row" type="full_width" text_align="left"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Teaching the Teachers [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] A Pittsburgh program is giving local schools the tools they need to sprout their own green revolutions. By Calvin Hennick[/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text]Years ago, Jenna Cramer’s high school alma mater called her up looking for advice. Cramer had just recently begun working at the Pittsburgh-based Green Building Alliance, and her former high school was in the middle of a building project. School district officials wanted to pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, but much of the design for the new building had already been completed, and the cost of going back and starting over proved to be prohibitive. Despite district leaders’ interest in building a green school, it did not happen. They had simply waited too long. For Cramer, the scenario felt familiar. “It was the repetitive story of always being called a little too late,” Cramer says. “One of the barriers we found is that schools were calling us after they had their design and building teams onboard, and the teams were not steering them in the direction of building green and healthy schools.” The architects often lacked experience with sustainable design, she says, and as a result...

Greenthink

2016 March-April, green economy, LEED impact

[vc_row row_type="row" type="full_width" text_align="left"][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="17498" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_single_image image="21815" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="10"][vc_column_text] By Mary Grauerholz [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="10"][vc_column_text] Rick Fedrizzi’s new book explores how the country can reduce its carbon footprint while thriving economically. [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="10"][vc_column_text] When Rick Fedrizzi’s name comes up in conversation, it is often about his experience at UTC Carrier Corporation, when he got a directive from the CEO to create a “green agenda” for the air conditioning and heating division of the company—a pivotal moment that began the journey toward creation of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). But the life path that unfurled for Fedrizzi, USGBC’s CEO and founding chair, began much earlier, at the feet of his father. Fedrizzi’s dad, Arigo Fedrizzi, worked with his Italian parents and sister as farm labor throughout central New York, living in poverty and growing their own food in the backyard. “They picked everything imaginable,” Fedrizzi says in a recent interview. “It’s a reality for many people throughout the world.” Arigo Fedrizzi, burdened in his young life, took comfort in nature in his parenting years. “Whenever he could break away,” Fedrizzi says, “we would walk in the woods, go frogging—catch and release—to smell the...

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