When It Comes To Green Building, Where You Are Is As Important As What You Build

via TreeHugger

 HSBC Headquarters, Prospect Heights, Ill, outside of Chicago, certified LEED Gold



A few years back, Alex Wilson of BuildingGreen started using the term "Transportation Energy Efficiency",.He defined it as "the amount of energy associated with getting people to and from that building, whether they are commuters, shoppers, vendors, or homeowners."


But Alex was  a sob in the wilderness, while developers kept building green office buildings in the suburbs and people kept building green houses deep in the country. But now the facts, and the tools, are making it clear that where you build is as important as what you build, perhaps even more important.

Camping Without a Butler

via EcoSalon | Conscious Culture and Fashion

One of the decisive trends for 2011 is nature. Pure, rustic nature. The call of the wild plus the desire to mingle with brother Nature will manifest in our homes, travel plans, plus urban environments. As know-how continues to present shiny small devices to keep us connected, our innate desire to disconnect grows stronger. Here are a few ideas of how the hunger for nature will impact the fresh new year.

Ever heard of glamping? It’s the adventure of camping with the addition of glamour (which, in my view, drastically dwindles the amount of adventure). Glamping is the latest two star brush with nature. Yes, I said two star. The overwhelming movement toward luxury glamping destinations over the last few years may be about to shift toward less luxury, think National Parks plus outhouses. Nothing takes away the temptation to plug in over a travel location without outlets.

As all classes of travelers start to feel the itch, I foresee a respective swing for fresh air. Those dining at two star restaurants plus staying at two star hotels may take up glamping in its most luxurious form (butlers who serve s’mores plus maids to tend to the ‘tent’ is pure luxury from my point of view). Travelers who danced with glamping plus slept in yurts last year may be inclined to brave a simple tent in a simple campground this year. plus last year’s campground campers may take to the paths plus invite adventure with a complete lack of amenities.

Traditional camping plus temporary escapades with the wild isn’t the only way nature will establish a firm hold in 2011. In my humble opinion, the charm of nature will discover a significant place in design plus décor. Natural materials in natural states will continue to beauty home owners with tonal wood emphasizing organic wood grain furniture, green leafy plants plus succulents will permanently reside in prominent corners, plus photography that captures a glimpse of the great outside will dangle on walls.

The inclination of nature in our lives isn’t  inherent (the decisions of travel and design), but extrinsic, . The wisdom of urban planners is about to sprinkle some green in the concrete jungle. The untamed success of The High Line park (click here for more information) in Manhattan is the likely beginning of urban industrial park development in a city near you. Is there anything more poetic than lifeless industrial skeletons being revitalized in to green escapes for urban dwellers? JWT Intelligence includes the development of urban industrial parks as one of its 100 Things to Watch in 2011. According to the smart creatives at JWT, Philadelphia, Berlin, and Chicago are already slating projects to rival the High Line (not an elementary task).

Plucky Daisy Outgrows the Endangered Species List

via TreeHugger 



Photo credit: US Fish & Wildlife Service



Just before the small Maguire daisy, native to the desert Southwest of the United States, was placed on the endangered species list in 1985, a survey estimated that the population had dropped to just five plants. Extinction, it appeared, was inevitable.


Thanks to continued conservation efforts, the situation today is looking much better—making the daisy one of the greatest conservation successes of the last 25 years.


"Working in partnership with other federal agencies, state and local governments, and other partners," Assistant Secretary of the inside for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Tom Strickland explained, "we can make definite irreplaceable plants and animals such as the Maguire daisy and the habitat they depend on are preserved for future generations."


The daisy, part of the sunflower relatives, is now thought to occupy 10 populations across Utah, numbering as lots of as 163,000 plants. It's lovely , officials have agreed, to remove the daisy from the Endangered Species List.


When the decision goes in to effect on February 20, 2011, Erigeron maguirei will join the 20 other species that have managed to outgrow their listed status.

In NYC Tonight: Cities As Green Engines

via TreeHugger



Cities may account for two-thirds of global energy usage & over 70% of global carbon emissions, but we know we don't must be enemies of the environment.

That's the thrust of a panel discussion tonight at Baruch College that seeks to identify the ways that urban centers can serve as cleantech innovation hubs, provide models for urban & transportation planning, become leaders in energy efficiency & green building design, & act as platforms for social justice. (Bonus: Treehugger's Bonnie Hulkower helped organize it.)


Moderated by Jack Nyman, Director of Steven L. Newman actual Estate Institute at Baruch/CUNY, & hosted by the Sustainability Practice Network, the discussion will include:


The benefits aren't  global but local : as the Bloomberg administration's PlaNYC initiative has underscored, smart city-level sustainability policies can reduce carbon emissions while boosting job creation, know-how development, & quality of life.

Vestas Wins $1.5 Million Clean Energy Award, Immediately Gives it All Away

The event drawing the most buzz on day two of the World Future Energy Summit was certainly the Zayed Future Energy Prize award ceremony. The show was held at the preposterously opulent Emirates Palace -- rumor has it that it's the 2nd most costly building ever built (whatever that means) -- and featured speeches from luminaries like Rajendra Pachouri. This year, the $1.5 million prize was awarded to the Dutch wind power company Vestas -- and Vestas immediately proceeded to give it all away.
 

Company CEO Ditlev Engel took the stage after receiving the award, and wasted no time in donating the whole sum to a variety of sustainable causes. $750,000, the first half of the award, would be given to a brand spanking new NGO that Vestas helps to launch called WindMade. The nonprofit group will act as a kind of quality stamp for wind power products, and will help generate consumer confidence in the market. Here's a video of the press conference where Engel explains the project:


The second half was to be split between each of the other top finalists in the jogging for the Zayed prize -- $250,000 will be given to First Solar, an American solar energy company, Bunker Roy, the director of Barefoot College (the "only fully solar electrified college in India", which trains females to join the clean energy workforce), and Terry Tamminen, the CEO of 7th Generation Advisors, a renewable energy firm in California.

The Zayed award is something of a curious beast: this is only the third time that the award has been given out, and the earlier two winners were a Bangladeshi man who started a movement training females who live in rural areas to put in solar panels -- and Toyota, the biggest automobile company in the world. nevertheless, it's lovely to see some recognition given to what are arguably a quantity of the most successful green projects in the world.

Livia Firth stunned on the red carpet at the Golden Globes Sunday night wearing stunning green fashion.

The spouse of actor Colin Firth, who was named best dramatic actor for his role in The King's Speech, wore an Ahimsa silk (peace silk) number in naturally-dyed indigo blue, designed by Prophetik's Jeff Garner.

As Firth documents on her Green Carpet Challenge weblog over on Vogue UK, Prophetik designer Jeff Garner designed the Golden Globes dress using peace silk and hemp. Garner, who was born-and-bred in Tennessee, grows his own indigo plants and naturally dyes the fabrics by hand. The result is southern-inspired and simple, yet refined, green fashion, and in this case, it's an elegant and romantic gown.