Eco-Mamas

Storms Bring Sprawl Pollution to Rivers

By Eric Hammerling

The pejorative term “sprawl" conjures up an image of cookie-cutter subdivisions marching inexorably over gentle hills that were once farms or forests. Many of us bemoan the changes that sprawl has wrought on our neighborhoods and towns — more paved areas, more traffic, more look-alike strip malls. We rarely speak of what may be the most harmful aspect of sprawl, and that is how it affects our water supply.

What is happening isn’t hard to explain. Sprawling development is accompanied by an explosion of paved areas, which scientists call “impervious surfaces.” When rain falls or snow melts, the water runs off these impervious surfaces into storm drains and is conveyed directly into the nearest river, stream, or lake. Stormwater, as this runoff is known, carries along whatever is in its path. That too often includes pet wastes; road sand and salt; oil, gas, heavy metals and other car-related pollutants; pesticides; and fertilizers and sediment from poorly controlled construction sites. These pollutants, especially when combined with low water and warm temperatures, can spell serious trouble for the river or lake and the fish and the wildlife who depend upon it.

A Green Wedding Gift

Many young couples are concerned about climate change.  Davie and Tiffany Foley, a newly wedded couple received an unusual wedding gift from their relatives--this forest in Costa Rica designed to balance their carbon emissions for the next 25 years.

CO2 is responsible for climate change and global warming. The average annual per capita CO2 emission of each U.S. citizen was 23.5 metric tonnes in 2004, up 18% since 1990.  A couple who does not take measures to reduce their emissions is thus responsible for 47 tonnes each year.

In addition to buying hybrid cars, installing solar panels, switching over to clean energy, and reducing our use of electricity, another option for managing CO2 emissions is to sponsor a carbon-offset forest.  Working with farmers to reforest pastures in 25-year contracts, programs like Reforest the Tropics manage new forests to produce wood for farmer income and to sequester CO2 on behalf of U.S. emitters.

Balancing Your School's CO2 Emissions

By Dr. Herster Barres

Reforest The Tropics, Inc. (RTT) is a CT-based non-profit organization that works with schools to teach students about climate change.  The approach to learning involves teaching students the somewhat grim realities of climate change, but offers practical steps that students can take to feel a part of the solution.

There are four basic ways to deal with global warming: energy efficiency, energy conservation, new sources of clean energy, and sequestration of CO2--which is accomplished by trees that hold units of CO2 until they are cut down or die.  Working in the area of sequestration, Reforest the Tropics has developed a working model of the long-term sequestration of US CO2 emissions in sustainable tree-farm forests located in Costa Rica, where year-round temperatures are best for growing healthy trees.

As a part of the program, all participating schools receive science or math instruction with RTT staff or a local environmental group to achieve the following:

1)  Learn how to calculate the CO2 emissions of your school and home in order to track our success in reducing these emissions.  Student can do an in-class exercise each year to up-date their school's inventory.

2)  Sponsor a forest on a farm in Costa Rica, a forest dedicated to offsetting 25 or more tonnes of CO2 each year in a long-term contract with the farmer.  You can track the growth and sequestration in this forest through data and pictures taken by the RTT forester in Costa Rica and sent to your school's
e-mail address.

For more information, visit reforestthetropics.org or contact hbarres@aol.com in Mystic, CT.

Carbon Neutral and Guilt-Free

By Heather Burns-DeMelo

A few weeks ago I read an article in the Danbury News Times about a man named Dr. Herster Barres whose program, Reforest the Tropics, partners with farmers in Costa Rica to plant and manage trees in order to offset personal and corporate CO2 emissions.

While working for the United Nations and as Director of the applied research program, Reforest the Tropics, Dr. Barres has studied the fastest growing and best carbon-gulping tree species in order to sequestor 25 tons of CO2 per year, per 2.5 acres. To date, 54 New England emitters have sponsored 263 acres of new forests in Costa Rica.

Carbon offsets are a hot topic these days, especially with corporations frantically trying to "green" their image. Credit companies like GE are offering card holders the opportunity to purchase carbon offsets, but as this Yahoo! article points out, the carbon offset market isn't regulated, so there's no way to be certain if your carbon is truly being offset. That is, of course, unless you purchase your credits from Reforest the Tropics, where a real person answers your questions, addresses your concerns, and they work hard to keep each sponsor in touch with their forests.

Building Green: Desirable and Cost-Effective

By Anneli Olila

Building green is becoming increasingly attractive to Connecticut developers, architects, and construction professionals. Why? Because evidence is mounting that, in addition to being environmentally sound, green buildings may be more cost-effective than previously thought.

Historically, the assumption has been that building green is cost-prohibitive. Building for sustainability involves considering the entire life-cycle of a building, and selecting and using resources for each phase of that life-cycle in an efficient, environmentally sound, and sustainable manner. This means that choosing a site, construction materials and methods, building operations and maintenance, as well as, the ultimate demolition of the building all need to be considered from a sustainability perspective during building design. Such an involved design phase can be daunting and require greater up-front costs for the developer.

Even with these increased up-front costs, however, building green can be not only feasible, but even profitable. Green buildings are high performance buildings and typically less expensive to operate and maintain. A recent study of 40 high-performance buildings found that, although owners incurred a 1% - 2% higher construction cost, they quickly recouped this - and more - with savings of $50 - $70 per square foot due to lower energy and water use and reduced wastewater treatment costs.

In addition to being operationally cost-effective, green buildings are proving beneficial to owners and occupants in other ways. Not only are those pursuing green building enjoying enhanced corporate reputations, but those using the buildings seem to be functioning better as well. The cleaner air, natural light, and overall healthier environment have been found to increase employee productivity by up to 15%, improve student learning in some cases by 20%, and even increase sales.

Given figures like these, it’s not hard to understand why more people in the development and construction industries are thinking seriously about going green. This trend promises to continue as technology for sustainable design and construction advances, and as green building products increase in availability and decrease in price. Broadly recognized rating systems such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) are adding to the momentum through providing public recognition for incorporation of green elements into building design.

Building green is proving to be beneficial on numerous fronts – environmentally, financially, and in terms of health and productivity. For investors, owners, and occupants, green buildings are no longer desirable for their environmental benefits alone. They are cost-effective and profitable, too.

Please visit the following link to learn more about green building in Connecticut:

Connecticut Fund for the Environment

© 2007 Anneli Olila

Choosing the Best Place for Your New Green Home

By Heather Burns-DeMelo

Most of us have been conditioned to choose a building lot for new construction based on factors that go against the tenants of green building. We want long driveways, large yards that border woodlands, our house perched on a hilltop for a glorious view. While the point here is not to deprive ourselves of enjoying the fruits of our labor, a lot can be gained--personally, locally and globally--from pausing for thoughtful consideration and introspection when choosing the land on which we build.

Begin by reviewing the general topography noting large flat areas that would be best kept for agriculture, parking or septic drainage fields.