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Green Building Codes In The Four Corners Region

February 1, 2012 By 3 Comments
Four-Corners-Region-US

A few years ago, as a real estate agent specializing in green homes, I was asked to be part of a steering committee to write a green building code for the town of Taos, New Mexico. A group of contractors, solar installers, architects and designers met with a consulting company for several months to find out what the industry would benefit from. Hours of brainstorming sessions and fine-tuning details led to the High Performance Building Ordinance of 2009. Taos was one of the first communities … [Read more...]

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5 Green Built College Campuses

October 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Green City Leaf Illustration

As the 21st Century rolls forward, understanding that sustainability is our main mission as a species, green building and leaders in the construction industry have educated themselves in what it will take to build a future. One area where this is most dramatically demonstrated is in the halls of higher education in general. It has been American institutions of learning that have played a major part in leading the nation toward smarter, and more inexpensive, ways to build large scale buildings, … [Read more...]

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How Energy and Water Conservation Can Save You Money

March 2, 2011 By 4 Comments
Energy Efficiency

Renewable energy is getting more and more attention as people are becoming aware of our finite natural resources. Solar is my favorite, since I’m such a sun-lover. I have installed solar hot water at my house, and after only six years, the system will have paid for itself, and my hot water will be free! The best way to save money with solar hot water or solar electric (PV or photovoltaic) is to cut back on your energy use first. You’ll save money doing this in preparation, then you will save … [Read more...]

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4 Ways To Include Passive Solar Heating To Warm Your Home

February 11, 2011 By 3 Comments
Passive Solar Windows

There is nothing new about heating a living space with the sun. Ancient cliff dwellings in the American Southwest were dug into a south-facing cliff to capture the heat of the low, southern winter sun. At night, the rock walls radiated the stored heat to keep the occupants warm. Do you know how a sidewalk is hot in summer? That is the sun’s heat radiating to your feet. In summer, the sun moves north and climbs high in the sky, almost directly overhead. By digging a home into the cliff wall, … [Read more...]

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Energy Use of Modern Buildings & How We Make Them More Green

August 30, 2010 By 1 Comment
greenerBuildingsSmall

The energy output of buildings is a significant factor in all kinds of areas when it comes to environmental impact, including C02 emissions, and fossil fuel use, and reliance.  Over the course of the 20th century, C02 emissions have leapt by astronomical levels, and the energy use derived from fossil fuel use in both commercial and residential buildings is a primary reason. Take a look at this infographic that plots some of the numbers involved.  And look at some of the issues that governments, … [Read more...]

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Three Stunning Eco Friendly House Designs

July 28, 2010 By 3 Comments
Beccles House

Today's green building piece is from Becky Striepe, a green blogger with a love for elegant, eco-friendly design.   Becky talks here about three eco-friendly homes that have impressed her.  Take a look. *** Whether you're talking about homes made from natural building materials or ones that focus on efficiency and alternative energy, eco-friendly homes save on money and resources. Eco friendly houses aren't just better for the environment - they can be gorgeous examples of unique design. Here … [Read more...]

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What to expect from a energy efficiency audit

June 23, 2010 By 7 Comments
energy efficiency light blubs

The importance of green energy and energy efficiency in general is growing.  This is true both as pursuits that homeowners undergo to lower their energy bills as well as their carbon footprints, and as a blossoming inspection job sector.  In times of recession, this is a welcome trend. Further to this, governments are encouraging this burgeoning sector, which also makes sense during times of economic recession.  After all, if  the average household uses less energy, then the burden on government … [Read more...]

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Green Building: Walk This Way

June 16, 2010 By 5 Comments
Walking feet on a sidewalk

One recurring theme I've found, and that which has been virtually impossible to ignore, is the relationship between how resources are used, and the cultural attitudes and expectations that drive it.  I've expressed this relationship between culture and green living here on this blog a number of times I suppose.  I do feel that it is really these cultural elements which stand as the highest wall to scale when looking to determine our future. A big piece of this is about lifestyles, and the accouterments … [Read more...]

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10 Essential Green Building and Sustainability Features For Modern Cities

June 8, 2010 By 15 Comments
Spring in the City

Urban planning and sustainability has been a big area of interest to me, and therefore a big topic on this blog, too. So, what I've done is to once again scour the interwebs, and mine my own imagination and thoughts about 10 essential features which I think every city should have going further into our 21st century. There have been several cities all over the world which have made green building a priority.  This historically new agenda serves on a number of levels.  First, it serves the … [Read more...]

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Green Building, Sustainability, and Modern Design: The Last Straw

April 6, 2010 By 2 Comments
straw-building

The search for greater sustainability to preserve the future is being looked for in the opposite direction, it seems - in the past. Straw has been a key building material for thousands of years, used as a binding agent for mud and clay buildings, like the bricks made with straw in Egypt (and then not, because of Pharaoh's hardness of heart), purportedly by Hebrew slaves. Everyone watched The Ten Commandments over the Passover/Easter holiday, right? But another element of straw as a building … [Read more...]

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