Eco-Mamas

Living in a Green Zone

Source: Sustainablog.org

Drawing from US Census Data and National Geographic Society’s Green Guide that collected data on thirty characteristics for American cities over 100,000 people, Popular Science create a list of America’s 50 Greenest Cities. Combining the data into four categories (electricity, transportation, green building/spaces, recycling), Popular Science determined green scores (see article for details) for the various cities and identified the cities who are at the forefront.

The top ten cities are: Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; Boston, MA; Oakland, CA; Eugene, OR; Cambridge, MA; Berkeley, CA; Seattle, WA; Chicago, IL; Austin, TX. If you enjoy a visual, an industrious blogger from Austin TX placed all of the data on a map for easy viewing.

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.

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.