Green House Decathlon

"It's about asking questions and assessing your own lifestyle to live in a more sustainable way."
Jonathon Hanson, Team Boston Member

by Deb Powers

Earlier this week, I linked to a story about the Green House Decathlon being judged this week on the National Mall in D.C. The contest pits twenty teams of college students against each other in building a sustainable house using principles of green building. From my local paper this morning - an interview and photos of my local Team Boston's Curio House. With eight of the ten categories scored, Curio House is in 11th place, but the team has high hopes.
Read more: Sustainable Homes Decathlon

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How Green Are You?

by Blue&green

There are as many definitions of “green” as there are shades of color. The keys to greening your next home should include these key elements - Lower electric and water utility costs ,Environmentally effective use of building materials , Enhanced health and productivity, Long-term economic returns and Reduced environmental impact.

More on  How Green

Solar Sunday - Green Renovation

Landmark Buildings Going Green

by Deb Powers

Singulare@stock.xchangIf you're looking for more reasons to make your home renovation a greenovation, look no further than this article on landmark buildings going green. Chris Kahn reports on high profile buildings across the nation that have recently been given green facelifts. They include:

• New York City's Empire State Building ($120 million)

• Chicago's Sears Tower ($350 million)

• Lansing's Christman Building ($8.5 million)

• Albequerque's Sheraton and Hilton Hotels

Manhattan's United Nations HQ

Green renovations good for bottom line

If you're thinking that there must be more to it than warm, fuzzy feelings about saving our Earth, you're absolutely right. If you're thinking that it's all about government investment and tax breaks, well - not quite. While many of these buildings will/have received some tax benefits from going green, most of the money invested in each of these green renovation projects is private money - you know, the money that's supposed to be in such short supply these days. It comes down to something much more basic - going green with renewable energy and conservation measures has a very postive effect on the bottom line.

Green Buildings Redefined

References to “green building” usually implies use of sustainable building materials, energy-efficient design and use of alternative energy sources. The Chinese are doing all of the above AND in addition are literally showcasing a “green building”.

The exhibition hall is wrapped in 2,400 pieces of soil-less turf covering an area of 1,000 square meters. The turf, along with other eco-friendly insulating building materials, has the effect of moderating the interior temperature of the building. As an example the air temperature was 10 degrees centigrade lower inside the building than outside at high noon in the heat of the summer. This is with no air conditioner.

The exhibition hall manager indicated that the soil-less turf potentially could save water since soil-less turf requires less than 10% of that of traditional lawns. In researching soil-less grass I realized that there were many different solutions available and I could not find reference to lowered water requirements but if it is true then they may be on to something big.

The idea of soil-less grass has been around for at least two decades but is only now starting to catch on as the going green movement picks up momentum.  For the last couple of years cities like Vancouver have become a hot-bed for roof and vertical grass and gardens. Some of the advantages of using this technology on walls/roofs are as follows:

• Reduced temperature in the summer due to shading;
• Winter insulation by maintaining air near the walls;
• Carbon dioxide absorption (less greenhouse gas);
• Reduced noise levels;
• No need for pesticides since there are no weeds;
• Reduced water runoff into sewer systems since some water is absorbed;
• Production and shipping advantages of soil-less turf including no topsoil required, significantly less weight and volume
• Five times easier installation than regular turf.

Let’s hope that this new breed of green building catches on. Unlike many other green products, growing grass on the roof and walls is likely to be one of the true saviours of our ailing planet.