Why Should We Build Green?

I was doing some “green” research like I do for way too many hours of the day. I spend more time on the internet than some people are awake. Ok maybe not that many but its close. But hey I always say you can learn more on the internet then you can in school.

Back to the topic, I came across some great info on building green on the Global Green USA website.

Did you know?

Typical building construction, use, and demolition, as well as the manufacturing of building materials, contribute significantly to environmental problems. In the United States, buildings account for:

• 36% of total energy use
• 65% of electricity consumption
• 30% of greenhouse gas emissions
• 30% of raw materials use
• 30% of waste output (equal to 136 million tons annually)
• 12% of potable water consumption

Try this one on for size:

A typical 1700 sq. ft wood frame home requires the equivalent of clear cutting one-acre of forest.

Despite all these intensive inputs, we are not constructing healthy buildings. More than 30% of buildings in the US have poor indoor air quality, a serious problem given that most people spend about 90% of their time indoors. A 1990 study by the American Medical Association and the U.S. Army found that indoor air quality problems cost U.S. businesses 150 million workdays and about $15 billion in productivity losses each year. The World Health Organization puts the losses at close to $60 billion.

By the year 2010, another 38 million buildings are expected to be constructed in the US, bringing our country’s total to over 100 million. The challenge is to build those new buildings, and renovate the older ones, in ways that reverse these unhealthy trends. Fortunately, there are ways we – as consumers, designers, builders and product manufacturers – can respond to this challenge. By building green, we can assist in preserving natural habitats, watersheds, and ecosystems, protect air and water quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste, all while conserving natural resources and creating healthier indoor and outdoor environments.

Green building also has tangible economic and public health benefits. These include lower operating costs via reduced energy and water utility bills, and reduced maintenance and replacement costs due to greater durability of materials. The use of non-toxic materials in residential construction is especially important in protecting children from respiratory and other diseases.

In commercial settings, green building results in improved occupant health and comfort (primarily due to indoor air quality measures and daylighting) which in turn leads to higher productivity, less absenteeism, and reduced insurance costs and liability risk.

On the hierarchy of human needs, shelter is second only to food. Everyone wants a place to live. One of the best and easiest ways to lessen the impact on the planet of fulfilling that need is to build environmentally-sound structures. Not only can we improve the global environment, building green can improve your local environment.

Via Global Green USA.

THE GGG VIEW

Green Building is one of my favorite parts of the “green movement”. If you recall we talked about Green Building in Spain and in California. I would love to see more states adopt stricter green building standards because the harder we push, the more results we are going to see.

So Why Should We Build Green?
Building Green not only helps the environment but it helps the home or business owners as well. Personally I would love seeing my electric bill around $25 a month and that is possible today. Whether you invest in solar, wind power or whatever, the bottom line is that it will pay off in the long run. The sun or wind isn’t going away anytime soon and if it does we are going to have much bigger problems than electricity bills.

Do You Smell That? My Car Has Gas.

Were not talking about gasoline, or the gas you get after eating at Taco Bell, we are talking about natural gas. Yes the same gas that comes out of your stove can power your car. Of course your car has to be made to run on natural gas. Now if you live in Europe you probably already know this but to us Americans this concept is not quite as common.

There is currently ONE production natural gas vehicle available in the United States and that is the Honda Civic GX. Across the Atlantic there are many choices when it comes to NGVs (Natural Gas Vehicles). This is mainly do to the difference in infrastructures between the US and Europe. According to Forbes there are only around 1,000 natural gas stations in the US.

Photo courtesy of Honda.com

There are many benefits of using natural gas to power vehicles with addition to great fuel economy according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

• they reduce carbon monoxide emissions 90 to 97 percent
• they reduce carbon dioxide emissions 25 percent
• they reduce nitrogen oxide emissions 35 to 60 percent
• they potentially reduce non-methane hydrocarbon emissions 50 to 75 percent
• they emit fewer toxic and carcinogenic pollutants
• they emit little or no particulate matter
• they eliminate evaporative emissions

So how come everyone is not driving a NGV?

THE GGG VIEW

The number one reason why everyone in the US is not driving a NGV is because there is only one available for purchase to the public. There are also companies that will convert your vehicle to an NGV but I believe they only work on fleet vehicles (i.e UPS, public transportation).

I think it is feeble that there is only one NGV available in the US. Now I do not think natural gas is a permanent solution to the rising oil prices but at this point anything will help. The US has to stop depending on foreign oil or gas prices will continue to get worse.

Whether it is NGV, electric, fuel cell or  bio diesel, the US needs to decide on a uniform alternative fuel source or else none of them will catch on. The American public loves to claim they like freedom of choice but reality is they LOVE uniformity. Like Blu Ray vs. HD DVD, and VHS vs. Betamax, in the end the public won’t adapt until there is only one choice.

China Finally Cutting Back

Yesterday marked the first day of China’s new restriction on car use in an attempt to reduce smog before the 2008 Olympics. The restriction will remove half of China’s 3 million cars from the road on alternate days. The restriction is based on whether the license plate ends in an odd or even number. Does this bring back any memories for those who were in the oil shortages of the 1980’s?

More on this topic a little later…

Original Post via CNN.

Update: CA Entroduces Green Building Standards

In our last post regarding the new California Green building standards, we said…

Also this code is also just a minimum level meaning counties can require new buildings to be even more energy efficient.

We dug into this little a deeper and found this video on youtube. Looks like San Francisco is going to push the Green Building envelope even further in the next couple years. The goal of these codes is not hinder construction but to build “greener” in order to attract bussiness.

CA Entroduces Green Building Standards

This one is from my neck of the woods, Sacramento, California. Yesterday, California became the first state in the US to approve green building standards.

“The plan, adopted by the California Building Standards Commission, requires that all new construction – from commercial buildings to homes, schools and hospitals – reduce energy usage by 15 percent, water use by 20 percent and water for landscaping by 50 percent. A voluntary form of the code is scheduled to kick in on July 1, 2009.”

The code for right now is voluntary but the CBSC is working on making it mandatory by the end of 2010. There are no regulations on how builders can make these reductions so you know builders are going to get creative, in a good way I hope. This new code/law is another step towards California’s very ambitious goal (AB32) of reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions 30% within the next 12 years. For those unfamiliar with AB32, you can read up on it here.

Original news article via SF Gate.

THE GGG VIEW

I have a feeling that this code could swing construction either way. On one side the code could finally push construction companies to stop wasting materials and really pay attention to reducing energy usage. On the other side it could force construction companies to cut corners elsewhere in order to meet the green building standards. Due to the fact that “green” building materials costs more than non “green” materials. The same goes for Energy Star or energy efficient appliances, they will cost you more up front but will save you more over the long run. Though after doing a little research on the energystar website I found that if you purchase an Energy Star Qualified home that you qualify for special Energy Star Financing availble through special lendors. I do not know what the special financing entails but it is something to look into.

I would like to see this code push builders to create even more energy efficient homes/buildings then is required. Maybe California will be the next place you see one of these babies. Also this code is also just a minimum level meaning counties can require new buildings to be even more energy efficient.

There’s More Wind Than Rocks in Rock Port

Welcome to Rock Port, Missouri but don’t let the name fool you, they are known more for their wind than their rocks. On Wednesday, Rock Port announced that it is first 100% wind powered community in the United States.

What does 100% wind power actually mean?
It means all the power that the community of 1,300 residents uses comes from that wonderful natural resource you can,t see, the wind. The four huge, I mean these things are gigantic, wind turbines actually produce more electricity than the town uses. And there are plans in the future to send that excess electricity to other areas.

Not only do the turbines provide electricity for the residents but they can also make them money. Residents can make anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 by leasing part of their property for wind turbines. For those of us in Northern California, when was the last time SMUD or PGE paid you for anything? Never last time I checked (Unless you are selling power back to them).

And to top it all off, the huge turbines are attracting visitors from all over providing some tourism revenue to the small town.

Original Post Via Science Daily

The GGG View

Lets list off some pros here:

• Town using 100% renewable energy
• Using excess energy to power other areas
• Residents making money by leasing land for wind turbines
• Turbines generating additional tourism revenue for town

Cons:

• None other than having to stare at those turbines everyday.

Windmills have been around since like the first century. It is kind of sad that it has taken like 2000 years for the first town in the US to be 100% wind powered. But hey better now than never so I give credit to Rock Port and the state of Missouri.

Now not every city in the US can be powered by wind because there are some places where is simply no wind at all. However I feel that we (the US) should take more advantage of wind power in places where it is possible. It seems that I am not the only one feeling that way as the US Department of Energy wants 20% of US electricity to be produced via wind by 2030. We have a long way to go as our current percentage stands at 0.5%. While other counties like Denmark and Spain have 20% and 9% of their electricity produced by wind respectively.

7000 Sq. Feet and No Carbon Footprint?

It is called The Eco Home, it is 7000 square feet with a zero carbon footprint and almost zero operating costs. This beautiful work of art is designed by Diseño Earle will be built in Southern Spain by 2009. According to Diseño Earle the house/villa will be built with 75% less waste than a traditional design and operate 80% more efficiently than a similar sized home.

This is one amazing eco-house with the key environmental friendly aspect being the massive solar panels built into the wing like roof. But the Diseño Earle team didn’t stop there, the house also features a rainwater reclamation system, grey water recycling, radiant heating system powered by the solar panels, geothermal energy for back-up cooling and heating, low VOC paints, LED lights, environmentally-sensitive smart glass and abundant natural lighting, and energy and water efficient appliances.

Another interesting detail of the house is that the living room sits above 30cm deep canal of water which is part of the cooling system. It looks like the Spanish team has ironed out all the details in order to produce a zero carbon footprint house.

Here are some more pictures:

Original story via Jetson Green.

The GGG View

I would love to see more of this style house being built in the US. US home builders need to take some notes, this is a true environmentally friendly house. I am not sure about supposed “eco houses” in other parts of the US but here in northern California (one of the greenest states) home builders slap on a few solar panels on the roof, install a couple CFL lights inside and call it an Eco House.

That is bs in my mind, if you are going to call it an Eco House then at least set some standards and say it is at least 60 or 70% self sufficient. A row solar panels depending on the size combined with no other energy efficient aspects will produce maybe 15 to 25% of a house’s energy usage.

NYC Yellow Cabs Being Repainted Green?

Ok well not really….but maybe someday. Personally I wouldn’t mind seeing a different color than yellow. Anyways NYC is speeding up the process of turning their yellow taxi fleet to hybrids at the rate of 300 cars a month. There are already over 1,000 hybrid taxis running around NYC as I type this. The NY Taxi and Limo Commission said that its entire fleet of taxis will be all-hybrid by 2012.

This is another “green” initiative of Mayor/Billionaire/Political Party Flip Flopper Michael Bloomberg. Mr. Bloomberg has said he wants accomplish 127 “green” initiatives before his final term is up in 2010. Thats pretty ambitious Mr. Bloomberg, lets hope you don’t change your mind down the road. By the way for those who were wondering Mr. Bloomberg is the 25th richest person in the United States according to Forbes’s 2007 list.

Original Article via Reuters.

The GGG View (With almost every post we will give our readers our view on the post subject and how it could effect you as an everyday consumer)

This is a good thing for all parties involved. The taxi drivers save tons of money on gas per year, automakers like Ford and Chevy get some much needed revenue and NYC becomes a little less polluted which it needs given the fact it is currently 8th the list of most polluted (ozone) cities in America. And who knows maybe more money in the drivers pockets equals lower fares for us the passengers….ya highly doubt that but who knows.

A Little About GGG

So new readers of our blog are probably like what the heck is GGG?

Is it some weird tree hugger site? No there are no tree huggers here. (No offense real tree huggers.)

Is it a blog written by a bunch of nerds? Well kind of.

Is it another “green” blog that gives useless information on eco-products people will never use? Not at all.

Here at GGG we aim to deliver our readers with valuable information regarding everything in the “green” world. We get a lot of hands on access to the latest and greatest green products so if you want to know what the latest energy bill that just got passed is all about or you are looking for information regarding solar power we have you covered.

Now the “green” movement used to be a one of those things that only dedicated environmentalists cared about. Well things have kind of changed just a little…ok well a lot. Today everyone is talking about going green, everyone wants to be energy efficient, everyone wants to have a smaller “carbon footprint”, and now everyone gets all excited when Jennifer Anniston buys a green house or Ms. Alba buys a Toyota Prius.

Tune into GGG everyday so next time your co-workers are talking about latest Telsa model you know what the heck they are talking about.

Welcome to GGG Blog!

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