January 30, 2009
by Environmental Building Strategies
in Energy
Tags: climate, climate change, energy, sustainability, Sustainable Site
So I flipped on CNN this morning early as I usually do and was shocked that I hadn’t heard about the ice storm back there. Apparently Kentucky and Arkansas are badly hit by a winter storm that has left droves of power outages in its wake. Here is an article for you if your still behind the times (as I was as of this morning). Below is an excerpt from the article:
Many Kentucky hotels offering discounted “power outage rates” reported being fully booked with people escaping frosty neighborhoods. Those who hunkered down in their homes face long lines to buy generators, firewood, groceries — even bottled water because power outages crippled local pumping stations.
Truckloads of ready-to-eat meals, water and generators from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were expected to arrive Friday at a staging area in Fort Campbell, Ky., said Mary Hudak, a spokeswoman for FEMA’s southeast region.
In Paducah, Amber Fiers and her neighbor Miranda Brittan tried a half-dozen filling stations before finding one where they could buy kerosene. The two were in a line that swelled to 50 or more at the 13th Street Station, which began pumping kerosene after its owner set up a generator.
So here’s my thing – this guy gets on the TV and goes “WE NEED FUEL – WE NEED GAS!!!”
In the background is footage of lines of cars wrapping around the block and hillbillys screaming “we’ve been here for like two hours!”
When will this society realize that its reliance on fossil fuels is completely unsustainable. Its like building a massive structure and leaning it on an earthquake fault.
I mean you have to be kidding me – people are freezing over there and starving because we can’t and haven’t come up with smarter – and yes I do mean smarter – ways of producing energy.
And to boot even if we did have a completely open grid with solar power plants everywhere and electricity powering our every move, we still have the issues of transmission lines.
My advice to you is get off the grid or stock up on coal, oil and kerosene – in the meantime, have fun with the price fluctuations, embargoes, middle eastern conflicts, and land pillage. We need a better solution and I’m glad that Obama is considering rerouting NASA to focus on climate change – who the hell wants to live on Mars anyway.
–The EBS Team
December 15, 2008
by Environmental Building Strategies
in Green Building, Renewable Energy
Tags: Build It Green, Green Building, GreenPoint, Sustainable Site
The California Air Resources Board cam out with this press release after a unanimous decision to cut greenhouse gas emissions was approved.
Science News release an article shortly afterward that goes further in depth and can be found here
And if Carbon Emissions is your real target then please read the StopWaste.org website which has this Climate Calculator – a really cool tool to help push the green building message a bit more.
All of this speaks volumes to California’s initiatives to go green and reduce global warm potential state wide. Now only if people will listen and other states will adopt. . .
November 9, 2008
by Environmental Building Strategies
in Green Building
Tags: Green Building, Sustainable Site
During a Sustainable Building Course this weekend it became evident that a real divide in the world exists of which most Americans are completely unaware. I want to share with everyone the presentation that brought this divide to reality for us here at Environmental Building Strategies. Organic Architect presented this to us, and their company satisfies many of the same principles that Environmental Building Strategies embodies. Please read through this presentation and learn about how you can contribute in ways beyond the built environment.
November 6, 2008
by Environmental Building Strategies
in Green Building, LEED
Tags: Green Building, LEED, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Site, USGBC
4. “Conserve Building Materials, Reduce Construction Waste, and Sensibly Use Natural Resources.” Recycling old materials, using products like bamboo which has a short regeneration time, and focusing on attaining materials from nearby all contribute to the conservation of natural resources. 5. “Protect and Enhance Indoor Environmental Quality.” Monitoring levels of carbon dioxide as well as maintaining adequate air ventilation contribute to this environmental quality. It is also important to stray from using toxics that create a “new-building smell,” as well as to focus on aesthetics such as adequate daylight and views of the outdoors.
November 6, 2008
by Environmental Building Strategies
in Green Building, LEED
Tags: Green Building, LEED, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Site, USGBC
So what does it mean to go “green?” The US Green Building Council (USGBC) utilizes the Leadership in Energy and Design (LEED) system to highlight the following five factors as considerations for constructing a green building. While not all green buildings integrate every one of these, they are important to consider and to help explain a little more about what a green building is. 1. “Promote Selection of Appropriate Sites and Environmentally Sustainable Site Development.” By utilizing preexisting structures, whether a brownfield or an old building, the need for new materials and open spaces decreases. More
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