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West Coast Green Building Codes: CalGreen, OEESC and More

February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Electric streetcar San Francisco

The west coast of the US – California, Oregon and Washington – has always been seen as being progressive and forward thinking is many ways. They have held up that reputation with their building and energy codes, too. California was the first state in the US to adopt a statewide, mandatory building code. The California Green Building Standards Codes, or CalGreen, took effect in January 2011. It applies only to new construction of low-rise residential, public and commercial buildings, including … [Read more...]

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Green Building Codes in New England

February 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Paul Revere Statue

The New England states are all over the map as far as mandatory green building codes. Some have little interest, whereas others are progressive. I spent my first 33 winters in Connecticut and New Hampshire. I distinctly remember the last two weeks of January with lows of minus 20-40 degrees and a high rarely above 0 degrees. Bitter northwest winds after snowstorms made it unbearable to go outside. If any region should have energy efficient features built into their codes, it should be New England! Green … [Read more...]

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Green Building At The Office: Changing Culture At Work

January 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Green office mug

It's become apparent that the future won't be defined by technology, so much as it will be defined by the culture that drives that technology. And since we spend an enormous portion of our time at work, it makes sense that what we do while we're there has equally enormous impact. For those of us who work in offices, this means a changing office culture when it comes to sustainability. But, how does this play out? Writer Tal Baron is here to talk about how sustainability and office culture … [Read more...]

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Our Custom Green Built Home

January 20, 2012 By 1 Comment
Building a Home

I am back doing my favorite thing – designing a house, this time for my partner and me. I swore I’d never build again after building one house new and extensively remodeling another. I guess the trauma has worn off, and I’m ready to tackle another project! It’s so much fun to design for myself again! The final product will be the result of our needs and wants. We have talked about this extensively, and I am clear on how to satisfy our needs. Our own green built custom home - thinking … [Read more...]

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Cordwood Homes: Natural Beauty and Energy Efficiency

January 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Photo: Greg Webster

Cordwood masonry, or stackwall construction, is an excellent do-it-yourself way to build a house. It’s inexpensive, labor intensive and does not require any special skills. Local materials, which are sometimes scraps, can be used, making it an environmentally friendly building method. In Siberia and Greece, cordwood buildings date back 1000 years, although there is no clear beginning of their history. They have also been found in Scandinavia. In the 1800s, cordwood homes and barns were cropping … [Read more...]

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Green Building In China

January 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
China Bejing rooftop garden

In 2010, China surpassed the US as the biggest emitter of greenhouse gasses. It also surpassed India as the largest cement consumer in the world. China consumes more electricity, most of which is coal generated, than the US, and 16% of China’s water goes to construction. At this pace, energy consumption is expected to reach 35% of the national total by 2020. The economy is growing quickly, and millions of people are relocating to urban areas every year. This means housing and work places are … [Read more...]

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Green Building Slowly Comes to Russia

January 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Green building Russia

Until recently, Russia has been behind the rest of the world as far as green building. A lack of interest coupled with no government or real estate industry involvement stalled the movement. With the current economic atmosphere though, industry professionals needed to expand their businesses and began to include green design. With international investors interested in Russia, a rating system needed to be devised to remain competitive. Hence, the Russian Green Building Council (RUGBC) was formed … [Read more...]

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Nan’s Top 5 Favorite BuildDirect Green Blog Posts of 2011

December 30, 2011 By 1 Comment
Green world

I love research. I’m an analytical info junkie. I love to surf, read and connect the dots. Researching for this blog for most of 2011 has been enlightening and humbling. I’ve discovered joy and conflict, moved into topics that I knew little about and expanded on topics I already understood. I’ve learned a lot and hopefully got you thinking. A big thank you to Rob Jones for hiring me in February and for giving me ideas and inspiration when I was dry throughout the year. Our emails are worth … [Read more...]

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BuildDirect Green Blog Retrospective 2011

December 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Social Green Living

Well, here we are almost at the end of 2011 after a year of posts about green building, sustainabilty, energy efficiency, and a great many other related areas here on the BuildDirect green blog. After a year at looking how the construction industry, independent builders, energy innovators, architects,  governments, and even individual citizens are helping to move the world into a smarter, more rational 21st Century, I thought it might be a good idea to reflect on some of the top posts on this … [Read more...]

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Green Building in New Zealand and Australia

December 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Photo: epcp

My older daughter went to New Zealand and Australia for three weeks the day after she turned 12. I’ve always resonated with NZ. It’s been a dream destination of mine since I was young, and I could hardly believe she got there before me! When she returned, her stories told me that NZ was progressive, which I’d suspected, while Australia was more traditional. She preferred Australia, and, knowing her values were very mainstream, this was in sync with my ideas of both places. Alternative … [Read more...]

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