Japan's Zero Emission House

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has unveiled its “Zero-Emission House” in parallel with the Hokkaido Toyako G8 Summit that is currently taking place.

This prefabricated house exhibits robots that serve tea to guests, a washer that requires no water, an air conditioner that sends cool air towards people in a room rather than general empty space, and a wind-turbine generator and a photovoltaic system which produces about 15 kilowatts of energy a day.

The structure has great insulation, natural aeration to maintain dry conditions and is designed with the seismic technology, SHEQAS, to mitigate damage due to earthquakes.

The waterless washer is a three-in-one machine that uses high-powered air to wash clothes without water. The process known as "ozonation" uses about twice as much electricity as a regular wash, but only one-fifth the total energy of a comparable full wash and dry because it operates without a drying system.

Additionally, there is a solar-powered TV, a roof-top vegetation system comprised of a thin film of moss grown on tile plates attached to the roof of the house which can also be fitted and grown alongside solar panels.

Very cool.

State of Utah Moving to 4-Day Work Week

I had the great pleasure of meeting Governor Jon Hunstman (R) from Utah today. An inspiring man on many fronts (he speaks fluent Mandarin and adopted two abandoned babies from China and India for a start), but I was particulaly inspired by his credible commitment to the environment. One of his most recent initiatives is to transition all state employees to a 4-day work week (4 ten-hour days with Fridays off). This will start full time in July and his team will be measuring the economic and environmental results at the 1-year mark. There are many logistics to work out (daycare for employees, etc.), but the benefits he sees are numerous:

1. With this one chnage, state government buildings in Utah will reduce energy consumption by 20%.
2. The state will be more likely to recruit smart, young people looking for work-life balance jobs.
3. They are more likely to retain staff - it's a perceived "bonus" by most to have three day weekends all year.
4. They will be able to provide better service to their constituants (they are open earlier and later Mon-Thurs, so better able to support working moms and dads).

If roughly 17,000 employees across an entire state can take on alternative work hours, how hard can it really be?

For more info: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25518225/

The future for coal power stations: renewable energy production?

Battersea Power Station in London was decommissioned a quarter of a century ago. It was the first in a series of large coal-fired electrical generating facilities set up in England. For those of you who are not familiar with London, Battersea is very centrally located, just across the River Thames from Kensington & Chelsea. The first part of the structure was built in 1939, but since the early 1980s the site has remained largely unused, with numerous failed redevelopment plans from successive site owners.

The building is the largest brick building in Europe and is notable for its original and lavish Sir Giles Gilbert Scott Art Deco fittings and decor. In fact, the building is Grade II* listed but the condition has been described as "very bad" by English Heritage. The site has been owned by Real Estate Opportunities (REO) since November 2006, after they purchased it for £400 million.

REO have made waves in the UK press this week by announcing their plans for the future of the Power Station as... a Power Station! But the difference is, this it will generate electricity from renewable sources rather than coal. It will once again be used to produce power with a new combined cooling, heat and power plant, but this time using biofuels, waste and other renewable energy sources. Two of the existing Power Station’s chimneys will be reused as flues for this new Energy Centre.

The site will also be developed to incorporate 8 million square feet of hotel, office, residential and retail accommodation. REO propose that alongside the existing Power Station there will be a new building, designed by Rafael Viñoly, which will be the cleanest and greenest building in London. A 300 metre high Chimney and Eco-Dome will dramatically reduce carbon emissions of the 38 acre £4 billion development. Additionally, the largest solar driven natural ventilation system ever conceived will eliminate the need for air conditioning for the commercial and ground floor retail accommodation.

The Chimney will also house apartments with panoramic views over London. The Battersea Power Station development will be home to around 7,000 people and up to 20,000 new jobs will be created. More than 3,200 homes will be built on the site and 2,500 jobs will be created during the construction phase.

The Chimney will draw air up through a campus of individual office buildings which will be covered by a transparent Eco-Dome, made of material similar to that used at the Eden Project in Cornwall. Up to 3,000 cubic metres per second of air will be drawn through the system on a sunny day, reducing energy demand in the buildings by 67%.

REO is planning to spend £150 million on saving and repairing Sir Giles Gilbert Scott’s Power Station, with the key historic spaces retained and open to the public. It will be the single largest development site in central London. It is planned that construction work will start in 2012 and the development will be completed by 2020 – depending on the speed of the planning process.

Garbage Gasification

Ok, I'll admit it, I am secretly a 12-year old boy. I was drawn to this article because of the word "gasification." Immature, yes, but also useful - due to my slightly warped sense of humor, I learned about a cool new technology: "The Prophet of Garbage" (found in Popular Science magazine) disusses an invention about the size of a two-car garage that basically vaporizes trash of all sorts to create energy.

According to the magazine, here's how it works:

Startech´s trash converter uses superheated plasma-an electrically conductive mass of charged particles (ions and electrons) generated from ordinary air-to reduce garbage to its molecular components. First the trash is fed into an auger that shreds it into small pieces. Then the mulch is delivered into the plasma chamber, where the superheated plasma converts it into two by-products. One is a syngas composed mostly of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which is fed into the adjacent Starcell system to be converted into fuel. The other is molten glass that can be sold for use in household tiles or road asphalt.

Pretty cool technology!

Shoppers - the new eco-energy supply?

I have been reading in The Sunday Times (UK) this morning that "the footfall of trudging shoppers is to become the latest source of emission-free energy".

Using under-floor generators, the technology could use the footsteps of pedestrians to power thousands of light bulbs at shopping centres. It uses the pressure of feet on the floor to compress pads underneath, driving fluid through mini-turbines that then generate electricity, which is stored in a battery.

The Sunday Times reports that engineers have carried out a trial of this technology at Victoria Underground station in central London, and have calculated that 34,000 travellers passing through every hour could power 6,500 light bulbs.

The article goes on to explain that the same principle can be applied to harnessing energy from trains moving over railway lines. But the most relevant application of this technology for this blog is the possible application in new office buildings.

Here is a link to the original article.

Energy Modeling... by an Energy Company

I'm not a huge fan of oil companies, but I am a big fan of scenario planning, a methodology for writing stories about business futures, first started by Royal Dutch Shell in the 1970s. Peter Schwartz' The Long View is a fantastic read for those interested in more reading about this. I was reading Shell's latest thinking on oil production today and noticed they continue to use this scenario planning methodology. And when you think about it, who has more interest in thinking through the future of energy than a company that lives and dies by it? Here are two "futures" they describe on their website.

To help think about the future of energy, we have developed two scenarios that describe alternative ways it may develop. In the first scenario – called Scramble – policymakers pay little attention to more efficient energy use until supplies are tight. Likewise, greenhouse gas emissions are not seriously addressed until there are major climate shocks. In the second scenario – Blueprints – growing local actions begin to address the challenges of economic development, energy security and environmental pollution. A price is applied to a critical mass of emissions giving a huge stimulus to the development of clean energy technologies, such as carbon dioxide capture and
storage, and energy efficiency measures. The result is far lower carbon dioxide emissions.

Read more about Shell's Scramble and Blueprints scenarios here. I haven't gone through a fact-checked every statement, it is presented very well. Extremely thought provoking.

The Inconvenient Truth of Being Green

Wired Magazine recently published an article called Inconvenient Truths: Get Ready to Rethink What It Means to Be Green. They suggested that being green doesn't always mean what we think it should.

A couple of their protested "heresies":

1) If a new Prius were placed head-to-head with a used car, would the Prius win? Don't bet on it. Making a Prius consumes 113 million BTUs, according to sustainability engineer Pablo Päster. A single gallon of gas contains about 113,000 Btus, so Toyota's green wonder guzzles the equivalent of 1,000 gallons before it clocks its first mile. A used car, on the other hand, starts with a significant advantage: The first owner has already paid off its carbon debt. Buy a decade-old Toyota Tercel, which gets a respectable 35 mpg, and the Prius will have to drive 100,000 miles to catch up.

2) Cut down old trees. Over its lifetime, a tree shifts from being a vacuum cleaner for atmospheric carbon to an emitter. A tree absorbs roughly 1,500 pounds of CO2 in its first 55 years. After that, its growth slows, and it takes in less carbon. Left untouched, it ultimately rots or burns and all that CO2 gets released.

Makes you think, doesn't it? It's this kind of critical thinking that we're going to need to apply as we act as individuals to save the globe. We need people willing to state what may seem controversial or counter-intuitive. Our problems can't be solved with a majic product or service, but long term, consistent thinking about our actions.

My own heresy? I work for an architectural firm but think we need to build less. We'll have to in order to meet the goals federal, state and local governments have already or will soon set. We need to use what we've got which means living and working more frugally when it comes to space.

Green Buildings Pay

I was recently introduced to a CoStar report that got me very excited. http://www.costar.com/partners/costar-green-study.pdf It compares LEED certified and Energy Star buildings against those that are not across the US real estate market. The results of the study are astounding... they show that green buildings achieve higher rents, higher occupancy, have lower operating costs and achieve higer prices per square foot. Now what developer or building owner in their right might would choose anything but a green building!

That said, it turns out that one of my esteemed colleagues used this study in a recent presentation to pension real estate leaders and they were not so happy with the methodology used. They felt the analysis was not consistent in grouping unlike buildings together and the conclusions should not be drawn across all regions.

They did provide her with a bunch of additional articles that had similar findings. Here's a excerpt from a UBS study, How Will Green Construction Affect REITs?, they liked.

According to a survey done by McGraw-Hill, there is a 2% higher initial cost to go green, but over the long run, the benefits will outweigh the initial higher construction costs. These benefits include:

Operating costs: Average expected decrease of operating costs between 8% and 9% across the industry.

Building values: Average increase in values expected around 7.5%.

Return on investment (ROI): Average ROI expected to improve 6.6%.

Occupancy ratio: Occupancy rate expected to increase by 3.5%.

Rent ratio: On average, rents expected to increase by 3%.

Please comment and share other good studies you've found.

Give Yourself a Lift

Many of you may live or work in a building that has an elevator…or at least you’ve ridden in one at least once in your lifetime. This is particularly true if you live in a dense urban environment….which is great – yay density! That said, as you might suspect, elevators take energy to function, thereby increasing a building’s carbon footprint.

Many elevator manufacturers are developing energy efficient elevators and technologies to retrofit existing elevators. Instead of even attempting to pretend I am an elevator expert, here are a few links to articles about “green” elevators:

• Green Building Insider
• Archi-Tech
• Buildings.com
• McGraw Hill Construction

In the case that your building has an older energy hog elevator (or even if it has a new, energy-efficient model), here are a few things you can do to help reduce its impact:

• Group your trips – instead of going up and down multiple times per day, try to consolidate your trips into just a few (get coffee and go to the bank on the same trip) – it will save both time and energy.
• Hold the door for the person running toward you – it will only cost you a few seconds, make that person very happy, and may save an elevator trip.
• Take the stairs – it's good for your glutes as well as the environment.

Image source: Flickr

What's Your Electronic Load?

For Christmas, my Grandma received 5 digital photo albums (one from every grandkid). But did you know, incredibly, that the increase in usage from just one of those digital photo frames is equal to five 250MW generation plants?

And

The increase in usage by adding a 46” plasma and a set-top box is equal to approximately 860 kWh/yr/household or 2.7% of US electricity Consumption?

While much headway is being made on energy star products it's easy to forget about those DVR machines constantly scanning and recording stations or the thousands of ipods and other devices now being plugged in.

As we move forward and continue to see new gadgets unveiled it becomes increasingly important to be aware of our electronic loads and take advantage of as many energy efficient methods as possible.

Is Your Grass Greener?

A co-worker sent me an image of this Neuton Mower from the swanky purveyor of modern goods, Design Within Reach. Of course, like many things DWR, this mower is only 'within reach' of those with plump wallets, willing to shell out $500 for a fancy mower.

The price of the mower doesn't bug me at all, but the fact that it's touted as 'CO2 emissions free' does. It has a re-chargeable battery, which means that unless you have a PV panel or a wind turbine on your garage, you're probably just plugging it into your wall outlet, which is connected to the grid, which is connected in turn to something likely to be a coal-burning power plant. CO2 emissions free indeed. Just because the emissions aren't local doesn't mean they don't exist.

So when my co-worker asked me if I thought this was truly green, I said, "maybe a little, but have you thought about one of these?"

I was referring to good, old-fashioned push reel mowers. This is about as green as it gets, folks, no batteries or gasoline (or diesel) required! And the website for Clean Air Gardening says that they are easier to push than your grandpa's version.

"Modern reel mowers are easy to push! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. People who think they are hard to push usually haven't seen or touched a reel mower in 20 years. Check out our testimonials page to see for yourself."

The good news? My co-worker surprised me with an e-mail this morning telling me he ordered the Scotts Classic Reel Mower at a sweet $129 (vs. the DWR version at $479) and is looking forward to tackling his physique while he tackles an overgrown lawn. Success!

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/reelmowers.html

I Want a Big Belly!

YES, they make solar compacting recycling stations too!

The BigBelly is a compacting trash receptacle that is completely self-powered. Instead of requiring a grid connection, BigBelly uses solar power for 100% of its energy needs. The unit takes up as much space as the "footprint" of an ordinary receptacle—but its capacity is five times greater. Increased capacity reduces collection trips and can cut fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions by 80%. BigBelly also provides cost efficiencies from labor savings, fuel cost and maintenance savings, as well as environmental benefits from reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

What I really like about this is that it is a very people-friendly solar device - something everyone will connect with at some point. I have worked on some DC Parks and Recreation projects that would have greatlt benefitted from something like this. And I have heard rumors that these badboys have earned a LEED point in Innovation and Design. Not bad for the little trash compactor that could!

Greening the Gym

Chances are good that either your office has a gym, or there’s one nearby. For me, it’s the nearby Washington Sports Club. Generally, I love going to the gym, but I’ve found that the environmental practices are a bit lacking (both at WSC and every other gym I’ve been to recently). I did however run across a cool idea for human-powered river gyms - pretty cool!

So what are some of the simpler things your office gym can do better (without becoming a floating river gym)?

• Recycling bins – everyone drinks tons of bottled water…but there are no recycling bins
• Cleaning products – while I appreciate the need to keep things sanitary, there are some serious VOCs coming from the cleaning products
• Showers (and other water-use elements) – low flow fixtures and timers would be great. And also some signage about conserving water (although the skimpy shower curtains certainly do encourage me to take quick showers)
• Towels – the gym provides free use of towels to members…but there really could be some sort of educational signage to remind people to take only as many as they really need
• Equipment – let’s face it, some equipment can be a big energy hog. What about equipment that uses no energy, or even creates its own (rowing machine, Nordic track, stationary bike)? Or actively seeking out other equipment that uses less energy than standard. And of course, free weights, bands, and kettleballs also use no energy.
• Clothing – provide recycling programs for old exercise clothes and sneakers.
• Educational programs – teach people how to be more environmentally friendly – i.e., selecting the best clothing, using reusable water bottles, etc.
• Material Selection – there are lots of materials in the gym that could be more friendly. What about bamboo floors or yoga mats made of recycled material?

All this aside, of course the most sustainable option is to skip the gym and take yourself for a walk or run powered only by your own two feet!

Work from Home Wednesdays!

Washington, DC traffic has finally gotten the best of me. Well, that, and my sense of duty to the environment. I’ve started working from home one day per week. It’s a tough change for me – even though I know that telecommuting is a great way to reduce environmental impact and my boss is completely on board, I still feel a bit like a slacker for sitting at home in my sweatpants with my cat clawing my feet as I work away (she only looks sweet & innocent).

The major disadvantage for me (besides worrying about being perceived as a slacker) is the ability to track down the folks I need. When I’m in the office and I need to talk to someone, I can always go right over to their desk. If I’m at home, I can’t tell if they are available or not and have to rely on them checking voicemail and email regularly.

I think that having instant messenger (AIM, G-Talk, MSN Messenger, Office Communicator, etc.) available to the entire office would help with both of these issues. IM would at least allow me to see if people are at least on their computer, and they can see that I’m at mine. Also, it allows for shooting over a quick question/comment without having to have an entire conversation.

That said, there are many green pros of working from home:

• No need to drive = fewer miles on the road, less wear & tear on Ralph the Prius, and less gas used
• No need to shower and blow dry hair = less water and energy use
• No need to dress up = fewer clothes to wash, dry, and iron or dryclean
• No need for dog walker = less miles she’s putting on the road + less expensive for me
• Desk next to window = happier Millennial 4 Earth + less need for electric lights
• Temperature control = no need for space heater since I have blankets available
• Not at my desk = people only bother me when they really need me
• No particularly delicious lunch joints nearby = healthier eating, less spending money, and less food in my fridge rotting from not eating it.

What are your experiences?

Is your company Green-e Certified?

I was recently speaking with some sustainable design "Champions" about purchasing green energy.  It made me think about a couple things.  First, what companies out there are already doing this?  Second, is there a way for potential consumers of green energy to ensure that the energy they are purchasing is indeed green?  In my research I came across the Green-e Program.   

Green-e is the nation's leading renewable energy certification program.  Since 1997, Green-e has helped consumers identify environmentally superior renewable offerings throughout North America.  The Green-e Program certifies that the renewable energy we purchase  meets the strict environmental and consumer protection standards established by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions.

The mission of the Green-e program is to:

-  Bolster customer confidence in the reliability of retail electricity products reflecting renewable energy generation.

-  Expand the retail market for electricity products incorporating renewable energy, including  expanding the demand for new renewable energy generation.

-Provide customers clear information about retail "green" electricity products to enable them  to make informed purchasing decisions.

-Encourage the deployment of electricity products that minimize air pollution and reduce  greenhouse gas emissions.

Aveda, the high-end beauty company, manufacturers with 100% certified wind power.  While the energy may not come directly from a turbine, Aveda funds enough new wind energy sources to offset 100% of the electricity used in the primary manufacturing, distribution and headquarters facility in Minnesota, USA.

Sources:   http://aveda.aveda.com/aboutaveda/earth_month.asp

               http://www.green-e.org  

Go Barefoot Day at HOK

In preparation for Earth Day, HOK challenged all of their 2500 employees to "go barefoot" by taking a tangible step toward reducing their carbon footprint by altering their transportation, travel and work habits on April 22.

They invite others to join them, and have created a PDF with a number of suggestions for getting to work and what you can do when you get there, showing the impact of each, with links to more information.

"We hope "Go Barefoot Day" builds momentum beyond the walls of HOK and inspires our clients and communities to walk alongside us" says Sustainable Design Director Mary Ann Lazarus.
They have a link at the bottom of the PDF to a spreadsheet that shows all of the assumptions and sources for their data, which will prove to be a very useful resource. ::HOK Go Barefoot

The Average Woman

As you may have realized by now, I’m a bit of a fan of numbers and statistics. Women’s Health kindly helped me meet my geeky number quota with their “Average Woman” section in this month’s issue: "Green Days – Who isn’t going (enviro)mental?"

Here are some of the highlights:

• 3 in 4 Americans resolved to be greener this year
• 70% of women think pollution and global warming are bigger threats than terrorism (56% of men agree)
• 24% of women have read or watched An Inconvenient Truth (64% of those became more eco-active as a result)
• 70% of women have eco-guilt (feel bad about harming the planet)
• 25% of women dry their sheets on a clothesline (87% of those also hang out their undies to dry)
• Using a clothesline saves 1,079 kWh per year (about $85 at current prices)
• 17% of women say they were eco-activists before Leonardo DiCaprio was

Many apologies to all the folks who stopped by my desk to see the pretty ladies in the magazine – it’s going home today!

The UK - to have an eco-town makeover?

Today the UK government has revealed 15 locations which have been shortlisted as the first new towns in England in since the 1960s. 10 sites will be selected from this list to be built as new "eco-towns" by 2020 and will contribute to the government's plans to build 3 million new homes by the same year.

The eco-towns initiative has been designed to tackle the dual challenges of climate change and the need for more UK families to own their own home. However, they have come under fire on both these areas.

The UK government's sustainability agenda for eco-towns

Eco-towns are planned to be low-energy, carbon-neutral and built from recycled materials. Each development will be exemplary in one area of sustainability, such as energy production or waste disposal.

The argument against the sustainability agenda

The opposition has accused the government of "eco-spin rather than a genuine attempt to address the environmental nature of UK housing".

The UK government's house-building agenda for eco-towns

The UK is currently experiencing a housing shortage, especially in the affordable housing market. The largest eco-town will provide between 15,000 and 20,000 new homes and 30% to 40% of each eco-town will be allocated as affordable housing.

The argument against the house-building agenda

The opposition argue that because three-quarters of the housing we'll be living in by 2050 is already built, that unless you do something about the existing stock, putting up a few eco-towns amounts to a tiny fraction of the total housing we will require. There are also several shortlisted new towns that will require building on green field sites.

The opposition have also stressed the need to ensure inhabitants of new eco-towns do not have to commute in order to work. As if this happened, the sites would not be sustainable at all and would in fact give rise to extra carbon emissions in transportation. There are concerns among environmental campaigners that most of the proposed eco-towns will increase car pollution because they will not be big or diverse enough to sustain viable public transport.

For more information go to the UK Communities and Local Government Department website.

Map source: BBC News

LEED is Just Not Enough

The U.S. Green Building Council and their LEED certification process is truly making a difference in the building industry. See Jetson Green's ovation for their recent success: Green Buildings Financially Crush and Outperform Non-Green Buildings!!

That's all well and good, but look at some of the real hurdles we're setting for ourselves. Take California for example. Executive Order S-3-05 targets a reduction in greenhouse gases to:

• 2000 levels by 2010
• 1990 levels by 2020
• 80% below 1990 levels by 2050

This means that by 2050 we must reduce our emissions to roughly 17% of what they are today. Yikes. So how do we attack this? Well, transportation is roughtly 41% of emissions, electricity production impacts 22% (with 75% of that used for buildings) and residential and commercial bulidings emit roughly 9%. The built environment affects 2/3 of CA's GHG emissions.

So even if every single building in the state achieves LEED certification , we won't even come close to meeting this target. The solution? To realistically meet this target, we need to stop building buildings. And reduce single occupancy driving as much as humanly possible. We need to find new ways to create energy and transport goods / people through our cities. We have to overhaul the system. LEED certification just isn't enough by itself.

Admittedly CA, as usual, has set some of the more aggressive of U.S. policies, but all the government targets I'm seeing (and listed on the USGBC website) require significantly more attention than we're giving them today. Find the public policies that affect your neck of the woods. Turning off lights and driving hybrids is not going to do it. We need to engage in some extremely creative thinking about how we work, recreate and live.

Companies that are starting to think this way today are already avoiding costs and receiving kudos by environmentalists at the same time. It takes time to work through these issues, but isn't it worth it?

Earth Hour: U.S. cities to dim lamps, illuminate climate-change

Today the Christian Science Monitor had an article on WWF's upcoming campaign called "Earth Hour." Twenty-five cities around the world will participate and go dark between 8-9pm on March 29th, 2008 (http://www13.earthhourus.org/).

For example, the city of Chicago will experience a "lights-out" from everything as high as the Sears Tower to the multiple McDonald's located on its streets. But it doesn't stop there - the initiative includes cities such as Bangkok, Thailand; Dublin, Ireland; and Tel Aviv.

Naysayers point out that impacts from such events are too minimal to make a difference; promoters refute that the idea is to get people talking.

I agree with the promotors. Recently, I've seen more and more articles similar to this idea popping up - how do we get people to think and talk seriously about their personal energy use?

Behavioral economist at the University of Chicago and the authors of "Nudge" (featured in the NY Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/science/25tier.html) are analyzing how people think about climate change - their idea is to help people understand how their energy use compares to the social norm and provide more guidance to the average user on their daily impact. For example, bring in more home devices such as energy counts on thermostats that allows homeowners to compare themselves to everyone else on the block. Is your home the highest or lowest energy user?

Campaigns and finding such as these will help us find a way to make climate change something that EVERYONE readily thinks about and understands.

The quote I loved most about "earth hour" from the Christian Science Monitor: "It's like the Boston Tea Party... dumping tea in Boston wasn't going to bring down the British Empire, but it created a spark that started the Revolution."