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Along with rain and microbrews, Oregon has a reputation for being at the fore of the green building movement. Portland certainly has its share of buildings boasting the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, a standard-bearer in green building circles. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, the city is home to 65 LEED certified and 169 LEED registered commercial and institutional projects.
It should come as no surprise, then, that our state is home to at least two building projects vying for the title of the world's greenest. Independence Station, located about 15 miles southwest of Salem, envisions a mixed-use development of shops and condos capable of running for a year or more without assistance from the power grid. In addition to a green roof and a 42-foot high indoor vertical garden, the building will rely on waste vegetable oil for energy and use ice made at night to cool the building during the day. When complete in mid-2010, it will be on track to have the most LEED points of any building in existence.
Meanwhile, a second, larger project, still in the feasibility study process, is being planned near Portland State University. The high-rise office building, called the Oregon Sustainability Center, will bring together businesses, non-profits and universities to create a hub for the region's expertise in green building, design and sustainability. It aims to meet the standards set out by the Living Building Challenge, which goes beyond LEED in its sustainability demands, requiring buildings to have net zero energy use. (For the record, Independence Station developer Steven Ribeiro says his building aims to meet "Living Building" standards in the second phase of the project.)
At the moment, such projects represent the exception within the broader building movement, but with buildings accounting for more than one-third of national energy use, changes are afoot. The Oregon Legislature, for instance, is considering legislation backed by Governor Kulongoski which would move the state toward a goal of net zero emissions for new construction by 2030 as well as direct a task force to develop a state energy performance rating system.
So what's the future for green building? Just last week, the Clinton Climate Initiative and the U.S. Green Building Council announced a new effort (pdf) to promote urban real estate growth with net carbon emissions below zero.
Are you a developer or builder or contractor who works on green-certified buildings? What role does cost play in considering whether to pursue such certifications? Recent studies, after all, have differed on the savings involved in green buildings.
Do you live in a green home or work in a green office? What differences have you noticed? Have you retrofitted an older home to make it more efficient? What's the best way for builders and homeowners to "be green"?
GUESTS:
- Steven Ribeiro: Principal at Aldeia, the developer of Independence Station in Independence, Oregon
- Jill Sherman: Senior development manager at Gerding Edlen, the developer working on the Oregon Sustainability Center feasibility study
- Dave Hewitt: Executive director of the New Buildings Institute in Vancouver, Washington
- Nathan Good: Owner and architect at Nathan Good Architects
Photo credit: Hopeless128 / Flickr / Creative Commons
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I second this. The new Shaver Green, income restricted, apartment building on MLK and Shaver is LEED Gold. What a great way to revitalize an area in a responsible way.
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I wanted to add to this too. Ever since my proposal was accepted in RMLS to green the datapoints, both builders and existing home owners are thinking about these issues. I do think a person that has greened a 1920's bungalow should get more for their home than an owner that still has the old furnace etc. That is what got me started greening the MLS in the first place.
Mike is right, builders do think it costs more. The builders I know are doing it for comparable costs and they are having fun learning new ways to build. This is an exciting time in the built environment! The cost of certification is variable depending on what cert you get. But a buyer needs to know that it performs energywise
As I always stress it is not a black and white issue and we are collectively still learning.
Kria Green Realtor innovator of the greened MLS
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The Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center (Oregon BEST) is focused on connecting Oregon university researchers engaged in green building technologies with Oregon architects, builders and developers with the ultimate goal of creating new green products and jobs for Oregon.
Examples include: three PSU professors just received $600K to see if solar panels and green roofs can be installed in close proximity to benefit both (local companies, PGE, and City of Portland are collaborating); a UO architecture professor has designed a unique solar awning and is looking to partner with an Oregon manufacturer to produce and market this product; OSU faculty are collaborating with a Portland startup to see how under-recycled products such as styrofoam meat trays can become building insulation.
Oregon BEST is leveraging Oregon's position as an international green building leader to bring new work to Oregon's green building industry and to transform the state's green building research into new products and technologies produced by new and existing Oregon companies.
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It is great that the Christian organization Habitat for Humanity is building green. Perhaps, it really has become mainstream. We might as well, prolong the misery of a planet, we have so meticulously destroyed---it would be sad if no one was around to enjoy the mess!
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You've given us many memorable comments over the last year and a half, but this is one of my favorites: what a classic blend of pessimism and hope!
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Dave,
Thank you very much! I know I need to try and say some nice things every once in a while. I can be a real drag... . But, I don't mean to be, it's just the way I am (or think).
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Most of the discussion I see about green building concerns new buildings. I know that some old buildings are simply unsalvageable -- I have friends who are deconstructing a disaster of a house they bought, which is occupying a perfectly wonderful solar site. They intend to build a passive solar house on the site, and recycle most of the old materials right there. But many of us have to work with what we have. At SolWest Fair in John Day this summer, we are emphasizing creative solutions for people with a desire to live responsibly but not a lot of cash. I hope people will take advantage of our 50 workshops on all kinds of syustainable living skills, and come out to join the SolWest community. www.solwest.org
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My husband and I live in the CyanPDX, a new building (so new that a large portion of it is still under construction) that attracted us with the proposition of green, community-minded living. Since relocating from a third-floor apartment in a century-old Victorian home, we definitely realize how much energy we used to require because of the age of the house. The old place was adorable, but also incredibly drafty in the winter and blazing hot in the summertime. To compensate for the lack of temperature control we would run the gas furnace (which was at least 50 years old) so hard to get to 65ºF our bill would triple in the chilly months, and in the hotter months fans ran around the clock to keep us from melting. Since moving to the CyanPDX we notice a more normalized temperature thanks to the double concrete walls and double-paned glass. In fact, we have central A/C but have yet to use it (doubt we will at all, actually). The CyanPDX also provides amazingly efficient washer/dryer combos, and all the appliances (refridgerator, dishwasher, oven) are smaller than normal. We stock less food, run fuller loads of dishes and laundry, and the oven preheats at lightening speed. We are also excited that rain water will be used for upkeep of the landscaping, and non-fossil fuel community grills (in fact, we don't have to worry about a gas bill at all anymore) are being built in the courtyard. Once the building is finished, they anticipate LEED Gold certification. You can check them out here: http://www.cyanpdx.com We love it!
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I've lived in a green 'affordable housing for seniors' apartment since it was built in 2007, and I love it. There are many nice features. Our building is part of a mixed-use development with market-rate apartments and condos on the property too, joined by a natural area meandering through it. The designer daylighted a creek tributary on this former grayfield site, and it's planted with drought-resistant native species. My apartment is 652 sq. ft. and it's so well designed that it's very spacious and bright. Energy star appliances, green roof for stormwater and insulation, continuous ventilation in the building, low VOC paints, sealants and carpet (no nasty new-home fumes), good windows etc. My electric bill dropped in the winter by $100 a month. Having lived here now, I can offer some suggestions for green apartment buildings, and I'm surprised that these things weren't built into the concept of green living. We only have garbage disposal for food scraps---this is the first time in the last 35 years that I haven't been able to have a compost, and it's been a hard adjustment! And, we have no bike storage, no covered racks, no place on the building to lock your bike under cover---as a result, I never ride my bike, and that's sad. We really enjoy our little balconies, 5' x 10'; I for one grow food and flowers and herbs on it; many of the residents are expert gardeners. And although we have a green roof, we're not allowed to go up there. We wish we had a garden area somewhere onsite, and really wish we could grow some food on that roof! I know it's planted with hardy succulents in lightweight mix and understand some of the challenges of growing on roofs, but maybe a small area of the roof could be adapted. Not just food for ourselves, but to grow for the poor too. Many residents are retired with time on their hands, and would enjoy this form on service that builds health and community.
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I am in the final stages of building a "Green Restaurant". I have tried to use green building practices where ever possible. The foundation of the structure is a recycled shipping container which is considered industrial waste. Pictures can be seen at www.aprisacuisine.com; go to the "Franchising" and "Going Green" tabs. The name of the architecture firm I worked with to design this project was Akaan Design in St. Helens Oregon and they are LEED certified. Together we designed a building which uses green materials in its construction wherever possible within building codes. Almost all materials are either recycled or could be recycled when the building is no longer viably useable. Another consideration when choosing building materials was their burn rating. This small restaurant uses very little wood in its construction. By doing so the chance of the structure ever catching fire and releasing pollutants is minimal, not to mention saving trees. Down to the smallest details; our aim was to gain every "efficiency" advantage possible and was in the forefront of the design. An example would be routing the incoming water lines behind the grills to heat water before it enters the water heater. Also by using sprayed foam insulation on the entire exterior of the building; we gained an extremely high "R" rating; thereby greatly reducing the energy usage throughout the life of the building. The cooking and mechanical equipment are all Energy Star rated. The utilities are installed using fixtures rated for efficiency.
However, we had to make decisions based on the "All mighty dollar". For example, we had discussed trying to incorporate roof top solar power in to the design, but were told it would be cost prohibitive when considering the output. Also, I wanted to design a water system that utilized a roof top tank designed to capture rain water that would then be used to flush the toilet. Both the cost and engineering proved far to challenging to make it feasible.
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At ArchitectureWeek magazine, we use a four part test for green building, a "Four Leaf Green" standard for full-spectrum climate-stabilizing and environmentally-responsible buildings:
One - Maximum Overall Sustainability
As in LEED and comparable international overall sustainable building standards, including prioritizing reuse of existing structures, especially when they have cultural as well as construction value.
Two - Minimum Carbon Footprint
As in Energy Star and the UK Zero-Carbon Housing standard, and other increasingly strict prerequisite standards for limiting building carbon-equivalent footprints, and general energy consumption, over the full design-build-occupy cycle.
Three - Effective Location
Buildings are built in locations that reduce VMT by regional geography and by walkable access to frequent transit. As in the 'Living Building Challenge', buildings are built on brownfield sites or otherwise in such a way as to maintain existing natural carbon storage, ecosystem services, and biodiversity.
Four - Appropriate Size
Buildings are measured and evaluated to standards that account for climate and environmental impacts on a per-occupant basis, as well as on a per-building-area basis. Size matters, as well as efficiency.
Location is especially important, though sometimes overlooked, since the greenest building in a sprawl location will probably have a higher overall carbon footprint than an average contemporary building in a walkable urban neighborhood.
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There lots of developers that don't do green buildings. Will they change or continue doing what they have always done?
I am very concerned about the appearance of buildings. Green building designers often want to have an ICONIC building that shouts to the neighborhood, "I am better than all you old buildings". How do we get designers to do buildings that are compatible in design and scale with the area in which they build?
How do we retrofit existing buildings to have the same attributes as green buildings? Part of sustainability is making the best use of the resources we have.
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I think one of the most appealing aspects of "green" buildings, beside the "green" of course, are the aesthetics. Few seem to be hokey or awkward, they generally seem to be fairly modern, minimal and elegant. Unlike, the unfortunate design of the appallingly ugly and doofy Prius.
Iconic buildings generally appear iconic, because the surroundings are not. -
Becoming sustainable, or moving toward sustainability in an older home is an interesting, frustrating, challenging and consuming hobby. It involves a lot of compromises, but after 16 years I'm seeing real benefits from each incremental change to my 1923 home.
My frustration comes in trying to find people who can confirm my own research or advise me on my plans. Everybody is a specialist, or trying to sell me something, and NOBODY seems to be able to assess all the necessary compromises and give me advice on the best balance. And it is depressing to see new infill homes being built all around me that are only trying in the most superficial ways to move toward sustainability if at all.
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i can help call or email me
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I am amazed that the developer of Independence Station is on the air with all these claims. We sold our produce at the Independence farmers market across the street from this project and our final year was when the "project" started... if I remember correctly around 2003. In a small, historic, agriculturally-based town, this project which resembles something that belongs in downtown Portland tore down an old business and created a giant hole followed by industrial-scale construction complete with steel framing and tons of concrete. And it still sits there in basically the same condition it was in a few years ago. Is this the developer's latest PR move to sell overpriced (300's to 600's) condos in a small farm town? Where the same money would buy a modest house and several acres of land on which a person could grow their own produce? Geez, do some research on your guests before you believe the story they are selling. 300's to 600's is not realistic or sustainable in a town like Independence.
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I agree. I think it would have been a more "sustainable" move if he built it in downtown Portland, but even just three years ago selling all these elements to a developer and building commission in Portland was alot to sale and I sure he did th best he could with what he had. I think he should lease out the building to the salem politicians as they all take the sustainable building advisor program class so they can understand how to implement policies which really reflect the values and principlies of a sustainable society.
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Can anyone talk about how we might green our houses? I don't mean LEED certified just ways to use less energy or take advantage of the rain that falls on the property, things like that.
According to Scientific American concrete actually absorbes CO2. Not enough to make it carbon neutral, but engineers are working on it.
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We will! In the last third of the show.
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Avoid the replacement window salespeople! Nothing detracts from a home's character more than seeing it's eyes ripped out and replaced with vinyl (bad stuff) in the name of energy efficiency. The time it would take to recoup your costs would likely be longer than you will be alive and the repalcement windows won't last nearly as long as the originals, meaning you'll end up on a treadmill of window replacement as replacements often cannot be fixed, like old windows can. Instead they have to be repalced once more.
For more information why in older homes it is better to repair your existing windows rather than tear them out contact the Architectural Heritage Center in Portland or the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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Energystar.gov everything you need for your home, information and tools are free.
Contact me and I will help how I can robert@arkpdx.org
Depending on where you live their is information you can get from your local soil and water conservation districts. http://www.emswcd.org/
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What is green?
How is green measured?
Is there a standard for green?
Is there a site that I can compare my home to the green standard?
How do I get the government, that I must get permission from to build my house, to allow me to use non conventional building materials which would let me be green?
They did not!
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A: Q 1-3 http://www.b-e-f.org/index.php
A: B contact me rjs@rjsholdingsinc.com
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My wife and I live in a modest home. We've tackled some minor projects to increase energy efficiency, but nothing major. Through simple efforts to reduce our energy use, we keep our "carbon footprint" low. We don't heat too much in winter, we air-dry most of our clothes, we don't use the A/C much in the summer (if at all). When my wife did a survey to compare our energy use to others, she found that we used about half as much energy as the average Canadian household, which uses about half as much energy as the average U.S. household. We are off-the chart outliers when it comes to energy use for the average American household.
We also rarely drive. We ride bikes for almost all local transportation, or walk. I've had to replace the battery in may car twice because I let it sit so long. If that isn't ironic I don't know what is.
The coolest part? I don't think we sacrifice anything in quality of life. In fact, I think all the walking and riding we do (instead of driving) improves our quality of life.
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Awesome keep up the good work your an inspiration to us all
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I have a question for Jill.
She mentioned a substitute for PVC piping.
I am a plastics recycler and have access to extrusion houses in the Northwest who may be interested in developing a local source for this substitute material.
What is the substitute material, specifications, etc.
Jeff Walter
Portland
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Generally speaking the alternative would be Polyethylene (PE) plastics. There are also other options including preferably biobased polymers. Greenpeace has a great summary of options for alternatives to pvc at this website:
http://archive.greenpeace.org/toxics/pvcdatabase/bad.html
Stephen Aiguier - President Green Hammer Inc. Portland Oregon
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Please contact me rjs@rjsholdingsinc.com I may be in a position to help you develop your local source.
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What drives me crazy is business that leave every light and who knows what else on when they are closed. I can see a couple light for seceurity reasons but sometimes it's out of control. There is a light fixture store in Canby and every product in their store is on 24/7.
Thanks for the great program.
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tell them about Energy Star. They have an online area for a lighting calculator to demonstrate how much profit they are loosing with these wasteful activities.
also send them to the earth advantage center http://www.earthadvantage.org/ a few hours with those folks and I bet you'll be able to see the stars when you drive by LOL.
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As someone else mentioned, there needs to be a more serious discussion about retrofitting existing buildings of all shapes and sizes. Currently, green building discussions most always are about building new. Meanwhile it takes fewer resources to renovate what already exists. Adding energy efficiency or otherwise updating our existing building stock keeps countless tons of energy embodied in our older buildings from being thrown away. There's a reason many old buildings have stood for a century or more - the materials used to put them together were more durable. It is also more sustainable to renovate/repair/re-use, than the more consumptive model of building new, in that it is more labor intensive than product intensive. The result is local job creation while creating sustainable neighborhoods that still reflect their original charm. There needs to be a move away from the consumer model of "green building" toward a "let's use what we have first" model. Not only will this be environmentally sustainable but socially and culturally sustainable as well. In other words, we can build all of the fancy new green buildings we want, but if the end result is the erosion of our sense of place - something that can be preserved while "greening" our existing buildings - what good is that?
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Amen!!
Energy Improvement mortgages allow for home and business owners to include 100% of the cost of energy efficiency upgrades (including onsite generation) into refiancing a green home.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=bldrs_lenders_raters.energy_efficient_mortgage
I think we need a program that resembles the efforts of sanomo county in California http://www.sonomacountyenergy.org/
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Thanks for the moment on the soapbox.
1) Energy Star is the first step that leads to the Living Building Challenge. Energystar.gov has tons of practical and low cost tools for every household and has free training and a online portfolio manager for commercical buildings.
2) http://www.sustainlane.com/us-city-rankings/ describes what constitutes a sustainable city. Portland ranked first in the nation at 85% "there". I believe we have the social will to manifest as the worlds first fully sustainable city as a template for other cities and an example of how America can prosper as leaders of the fossil free world.
3) The people who can afford to do sustainable developments needs to make thos investments because that is the only way the people who need sustainability (our low income and sensitive citizens. Umpqua Bank has taken a leadership stance and started providing in cooperation with the Energy Trust www.energtrust.org to provide www.greenstreetloan.com
4) Education is key on this. To make my contribution I started in 2005 a TV program which has become Sustainable Today www.sustainabletoday.org and last year I founded the Allianc for Reason and Knowledge www.arkpdx.org, which among other things is hosting a forum called the Clackamas County Green Drinks. We are holding one from 5:30 -8pm at th Flying Pie Pizza 16691 SE Mcloughlin, Milwaukie. Tonight we are working with Growing Gardens http://growing-gardens.org, to create an outreach program based on their work in Multnomah county to help people start their own gardens.
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In the past three years, my husband and I had a metal roof put on, installed a tank-less hot water heater, built garden beds out of Trex, and have put ceiling fans in all our rooms.
The idea was to cut down on roof materials in the landfill (for really, who can reuse that stuff?), heat hot water as we need it (not keeping a pilot light going 24/7), no central air (rooms are controlled one by one), and hopefully we will not need to rebuild our garden beds due to rot.
We would love to add solar panel for our electrical needs, but so far the cost has been too high ($20,000).
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Contact me and I can provide you with some options. rjs@rjsholdingsinc.com The upfront cost of all this wonderful stuff has always been a thorn in my side but there are now solutions based on your needs and situations.
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Perhaps Mr. Ribeiro should give a "hard-hat" tour to one of your journalists instead. Having lived through the beginning stages of this project and visited the area since, I have a pretty strong bias. It's only an hour from Portland, Mr. Miller should take a drive down there, go on the tour, then interview a few neighbors. See what they have to say about the five+ year "green" overpriced project they have lived with-- of which no current pictures are featured on the project website.
By the way, I am firmly in the green camp. I grew organic produce for that market, own a full-electric vehicle, etc etc. I follow all the alternative-technology progress and fully support it. Just can't stand hearing greenwashing in order to sell their product, whether it's the never-to-be-sold Chevy Volt or Independence Station. Thanks for listening.
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Hello. I've been listening to this morning's show and am wondering if the designs of green buildings is taking birds into consideration, both resident and migratory?
Thanks!
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yes, green buildings also consider the other life forms we share this planet with. Although I am not aware of any LEED credits for this type of consideration one of the innovative credits we are looking at in a platinum green building we are working on in Clackamas County is certifing a portion of the land as a Backyard Habitat with the national wildlife federation.
http://www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife/
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1) We have also been working to help expand the garden at Concord Elementary (volunteers needed) and working to bring the programs and resources of the Oregon Green Schools program http://www.oregongreenschools.org/ and the Bonneville Environmental Foundations solar for schools program http://www.b-e-f.org/programs to develop a model that will turn all of our schools into lving building clean power plants.
2) If anyone gets out to the Sellwood neighborhood the Alliance for Reason and Knowledge has launched a campaign there called the buzz about climate change. An educational kiosk inside the Twin Paradox coffee shop on 17th ave, which provides information on what climate change is and practical tools on how people can make
For anyone interested my contact information is 503 875 5590
For social education and empowerment robert@arkpdx.org
For bringing homes and businesses to life or turning them into small power plants rjs@rjsholdingsinc.com
Please note the websites are under construction
You can also find me on Linked In and Facebook
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Oregon - and Portland in particular - has a wealth of LEED-certified buildings and quite a few LEED Platinum-certified buildings. Any one of them would have been a more credible example for this discussion of green building than the Independence Station.
It is entirely too easy to fall into the P.R. trap laid by developers who seek to attract press coverage (aka "free advertising") of unfinished buildings by promoting their anticipated green certification levels.
It has happened before that buildings were promoted as seeking a particular LEED certification only to fall short. And in the case of the recent San Francisco Federal Building - a much-hyped "green" project - the building ultimately failed to receive any LEED certification, though it may arguably be a green building.
We should all applaud a developer for seeking to build a LEED Platinum-certified building anywhere in the U.S., and especially in a small town like Independence. But it's really a little dishonest to highlight an unfinished project, whose claims of "greenness" are currently theoretical. -
Habitat for Humanity has been increasing its green and sustainable building practices every year and here in Portland we just completed the first two LEED certified Habitat homes in the state of Oregon, in partnership with Walsh Construction and the Cascadia Green Building Council. In fact, these two homes achieved the LEED Platinum rating, which was beyond what we were even shooting for. The more we got into the project and the LEED qualifications, the more realized that with advance planning achieving LEED does not have to mean increased costs.
In addition to the Energy Star products and practices implemented on all our homes, these two homes used locally produced materials; formaldehyde-free interior wood products; a gray-water filtration system that uses runoff from the metal roof to water the yard; hardscaping with reclaimed materials; Forest Stewardship Council Certified Wood; low emitting paints, carpets, adhesives, flooring, and composite wood; water re-use system for toilet flushing; Perlite foundation insulation; and low-flow kitchen and bathroom fixtures.
At Habitat for Humanity we beleive that is is absolutely essential that Habitat homes are not only affordable to buy, but affordable and healthy to live in a well.
You can see more about these homes on our web site at www.habitatportlandmetro.org
Steve Messinetti, Executive Director
Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East
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Now this is hat Im talking about. This is exactly the type of thing we need to support as a community. Good job Steve, you have my support and anything I can do to help just drop me a line.
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How "green" is Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian home now at Oregon Garden?
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I am glad to hear Jill's mention of EcoDistricts. After tracking the actual performance of first generation green buildings, the design and construction industry is beginning to look at the potential for groups of buildings, whether in city districts or on campuses, to achieve much greater degrees of energy and water efficiency with less cost than would be possible in isolated buildings.
Not only can such systems benefit from variety of time of occupancy, as Jill mentioned, but types of occupancy that have very different energy demands such as residences requiring heat while offices primarily need to reject heat. These district systems achieve symbiosis mimicking natural systems.
The GED-developed brewery blocks district thermal system has become available beyond that immediate development. The ZGF-designed GED project, 12th and Washington, for example was able to tap into that district system, which in concert with energy efficient building design and systems will make the building over 45 percent more efficient than the national energy code.
The governor's Oregon Solutions project is trying to make such an integrated EcoDistrict take shape in Portland's Lloyd Redevelopment District, and we've been involved in envisioning what that might look like.
It is an exciting time to see the scale of thinking about green building reach the community scale, an area where Oregon has always been a leader.
Johanna Brickman
Director of Sustainability
ZGF Architects, LLP
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Passive House:
It's Passive with an 'e'
check it out:
http://www.passivehouse.us
It's the most affordable and wise solution for meeting the LBC standard by first minimizing the heat load on the building to eliminate the need for an expensive mechanical system and minimize the demand for any alternative energy sources.
And Yes you can do a Passive House retrofit.
Stephen Aiguier - President Green Hammer inc. Portland Oregon
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1) The PDC has before them the concept of a 25 story urban vertical farm I designed based on the Vertical Farm project http://www.verticalfarm.com/. This concept is part of the plan for the Portland Sustainable Living Center. A project which I am pushing to be the beating heart of a living city. For details on how and why this is a crtical goal should check out http://www.thevenusproject.com/
2) I heard this morning about a movement in Troutdale to help feed the homeless. They should really consider doing thier own vertical farm project.
3) We have one problem in the world. We built a global civilization based on the artificial myth of superabundance, and this cannot be sustained. This is made clear in the www.storyofstuff.org. The science of sustainability gives us the principles, processes, and technologies to build an ecologically sustainable industrialized world.
4) The world is changing. We must act now to implement these principles into the very building codes and policies, which drive development, before living beyond our natural carrying capacity catches up with us and change happens without us being involved.
I am here to help in any way I can
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To the OPB staff-
Thank you thak you thank you. Your efforts are making our world a more sustainable each and every day. I hope i can make as much of a positive contribution with my own work. Lets here more about -The Shift-
May I recommend you talk to Doug Boleyn, Cascade Solar Consulting, (Green Home Guru Carbon trader)
Sandra Walden Real Energy Management (Solar for Schools)
John Patterson Mr Sun Solar (oldest solar installer owns Oregons first commercial net zero building)
Stuart Cowan, Apoiesis (founder of EcoTrust)
Robert Preus Abundant Renewable Energy (oregons only small wind manufacturer)
contact information provided if needed
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I am looking forward to the day when I will be able to afford all those cool and green energy generators along with millions of other ordinary people!
miele bags
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Like affordable housing projects across the country, the project’s financing was threatened when the recession killed the market for low-income housing tax credits. Such projects help you to save money and then spend it on something more useful such as sash window or furniture in you house.))) -
Comments are now closed.
Hi, TOL--
Probably the greatest barrier to green building is the perception that it costs more than conventional building.
Yet in Portland it is striking that affordable housing providers, who have the most constrained budgets, have repeatedly stepped up to design and build green homes and apartment buildings. For example, Habitat for Humanity just completed two LEED Platinum houses in NE Portland. The Housing Authority of Portland has received several awards for sustainable building at New Columbia. At the same time, people who have plenty of resources complain that they can't build green because it costs too much.
Green building is not about spending more money, rather, it's about making informed choices. For example, you could choose to use salvage wood that comes from deconstructed buildings instead of new wood from industrial logging. Reused wood has less impact, looks great, performs as well and costs less than new wood. The barrier to reusing wood is mainly in our assumptions and old habits.
Mike O'Brien, Green Building Specialist, City of Portland