Mid-Course Correction

I'm going to start implementing book reviews into my blog! After attending Greenbuild in Toronto last month, I started reading this book. Here is my review:

Pg. 11 -

• "In nature, there is no waste: one organism's waste is another's food."
• Recycling should be drive by renewable energy, otherwise we will consume more fossil fuel for the energy to recycle than we will save in virgin petrochemical raw materials by recycling in the first place.
• GAIN, not a LOSS ---> CLOSED LOOP

Pg. 55 -

• Ex.) Apollo XI - off course for 90% of the trip ---> MID COURSE CORRECTION!
• Humanity is off course...
• Wealth comes from raw natural resources... We cannot create something out of nothing.

T (technology)/x ---> x/T

T as part of the solution... Redefining wealth.

• Perception: EARTH IS IN CRISIS; not so bad
• Action: INADEQUATE; good enough
• Outcome: collapse; ABUNDANT FUTURE
• The Alarmists vs. Foot-Draggers

homo sapiens are 1/140th of a second on earth's 7 day timescale. (since the Industrial Revolution).

Pg. 60 -

• We have the wrong tax policy!
• We tax GOOD things such as income & prosperity.
• We need to tax BAD things such as pollution, waste & co2 production.
• Applied Intelligence:
• Harness solar income.
• Stop consuming stored natural capital.
• Close recycling loop & eliminate waste & toxic emissions.
• ---> Change the way we live, redefine wealth & come together as communities.

We lose rainforests at a rate of 1 football field every 2 seconds! The rainforest is home to 1/2 of the world's species.

Plutonium has a lifespan of 500,000 years.

Sea levels will rise 20 inches in the 21st century. That is 9,000 sq. miles of the US underwater in 100 years!

Group 14 Engineering - LEED Platinum!

This engineering group provides resource efficient solutions to green any building or neighborhood. Their office space was remodeled and certified Platinum. Here are some of the highlights of the building:

• The original building served as a dental office. They had remediated the asbestos and got points for using a brown site.
• The landscaping incorporates native/low-water plants.
• There is natural daylighting throughout of office because of the use of Solatubes throughout the building.
• Every employee has access to operable windows.
• They achieved a 64% savings in measured energy use relative to ASHRAE 90.1-2007
• A 3.5kW PV system offsets over 15% of the office energy consumption.
• Organic waste is composted through a contracted hauler.
• Reusable mugs, dishware, napkins, washcloths & take-out food containers reduce waste.
• The carpet, paints, adhesives & coatings contains no VOCs.
• 100% of the furniture is salvaged or reused.
• 1.1 gpf toilet, dual-flush toilets & a .125 gpf pint urinal are used. A 38% savings of water consumption was achieved.
  

http://group14eng.com/

why so much to war?

Wow, we pay this much for our military and still can't offer our citizens health care..

Check out the picture you can zoom and pan:

http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/1104/spending/flash.html

...

if you are thinking. you are winning.

stapleton - sustainable community

Check out HGTV's Green Home 2011 here in Stapleton, Denver. LEED Platinum!

http://www.stapletondenver.com/community/whats-happening/hgtv-green-home

february 2011 shred-it

yeah yeahh i know it's april, but i'm a bit behind on my shit.

libby, jon & i out for some early spring shred...

yep.. i love snowboarding.

The First Regiment Armory - LEED Platinum

Preservation AND Sustainability:

The First Regiment Armory is now the new home of Portland Center Stage, this formerly vacant landmark serves as a vibrant public gathering space and an educational outreach for sustainable practices.

Built in 1891, the Portland Armory is the first building on the National Register of Historic Places and first performing arts venue to receive a LEED Platinum rating. There are

fewer than 25 Platinum projects nationwide, and this building marks the first Platinum award in Oregon and Washington.

The extremely complex renovation preserved the historic character of the building shell while meeting the highly technical requirements for a state-of-the-art theater and attaining the highest LEED level possible. Located in the city’s core, this high-profile project included a

diverse group of public, non-profit and private stakeholders and utilized public funds.

An underground cistern harvests and filters rainwater for reuse in the building to flush toilets, and low-flow fixtures are used throughout the building. The former sidewalk surface has been replaced with pervious pavers, bioswales and native plants to create a “sliver” park that reduces stormwater runoff and activates the site during the change of seasons.

Displacement ventilation brings fresh air into occupied spaces and distributes it through an underfloor system to improve indoor air quality and save energy. In the office area, chilled beams work in concert with the ventilation system to heat and cool the space. The CFD model’s analysis of air movement ensured proper placement of the chilled beams and floor diffusers for maximum efficiency.

Skylights in the office area illuminate the open lobby and administrative spaces with natural light, and sensors monitor light levels and dim electric lights when not needed to conserve energy.

As a result of the combined systems, the Portland Armory realized an 89 percent savings in potable water and a 30 percent energy savings for a comparable building. By utilizing 45 percent of regionally manufactured materials, the renovation also supported the local community and reduced CO2 emissions.

The project’s sustainable features extend beyond construction, as stakeholders and building tenants implement green practices into daily operations through the use of recycled materials, on-site product recycling and a green cleaning policy over the building’s life.

Moreover, guided tours and interactive displays created by Second Story Interactive Studios educate visitors about the Portland Armory’s sustainable design and construction. This extensive outreach program offers the public new perspectives and highlights the importance of minimizing our impacts on the environment.

Source: http://www.greenbuildingservices.com/news/releases/

THE greenest building..

Is a new building the most sustainable choice?

http://thegreenestbuildingmovie.com/The_Greenest_Building/Home.html

• It takes an average of 40 years for an energy-efficient home to recover the carbon used during construction.
• A 10 story building when demolished, generates about 19 hundred tons of waste.
• What if a community invested in rehabilitating their existing buildings? Steady, local and sustainable jobs would be created!
• Greater craftsmanship = more buildings meant for the long-term.

Food For Thought

Is this natural? Is acres upon acres of green grass supposed to be found in the desert? I think not. We the people are NOT separate from the environment.

In the US, there are 35 million acres of lawn as well as 36 million acres of housing and lots used to feed animals. This doesn't even account for golf courses! This acreage is enough to feed the country...

50% of the food in America spoils. This is EDIBLE food... that simply spoils. What if even 1/4 of this food was given to one's chickens? What if everyone had a chicken coop on their property? This food would not be wasted and the egg commerce would be obsolete. An excellent example of a closed loop system.

America has a serious problem. Childhood obesity is out of the roof. Could these be contributing? ---->

Children's immune systems are also at risk. Parents are sanitizing them left and right. They are not playing in dirt, they are playing video games. They are not being exposed to germs and their immune systems are not being exercised.

We must look UP the stream to our country's health problems. What if we developed a HEALING food system. What if the hospitals were to lose business because Americans were healthy because their diets had improved so much?

We eat feedlot beef. We eat meat in almost every meal. We consume more meat than any other country in the world. What's wrong with adding more vegetables and consuming less meat? All those acres of crops are used to feed these poor cows, when they could be used to feed us directly.

Farmers should be ones to provide food that nourishes one. And our government should support this. Too bad the FDA receives millions from the USDA, "Beef, It's What's For Dinner"...

Infographic: United States of the Environment

Every state has an asset that puts them ahead of all of the other states.. but they also have a downfall. These pictures display this.

Kim and I went down to Durango for our annual SnowDown trip...

I really dig this song. :)

Carbon Nation

Whether you believe in it or not.. what's wrong with clean water, air and most cost effective energy!?

click huurrrr

First edit of the 2010/11 season. Footy of my friends and I in Summit County and the good 'ol Midwest.

Shoot the Moon!

Shoot The Moon Early Teaser from VIDEOGRASS on Vimeo.

Our Economy Needs Help..

We Must be the Change

The curtains were raised on the inter workings of Wall Street when the market collapsed. Wall Street is a world of deception, misrepresentation and insider dealings that does not contribute to anything of real value. Our economy needs to be one that roots economic power in communities to support the democratic ideal of one-person, one-vote citizen sovereignty & sustain our resources to support life on Planet Earth.

Our economy should be one that values life over money and give priority to the well-being of all... not just to those few with fortunes.

"Communism forgets that life is individual. Capitalism forgets that life is social, and the kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the theses of communism nor the antitheses of capitalism but in a higher synthesis... that combines the truths of both."

--MLK Jr.

-Excerpts from the book, Agenda for a New Economy: Transforming Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth by David C. Korten