White Roofs Everywhere!

Want to know a quick, relatively easy way to reduce global climate change?  Paint your rooftops white. Yes, it’s true.The way rooftops—as well as roadways are currently constructed (using dark asphalt and color scheme) creates a feedback loop of heat absorption in the atmosphere. Dark colors absorb heat, meaning less is reflected back into space. It’s a dangerous cycle. According to Professor Steven Chu, the US Energy Secretary, white roofs could be a relatively inexpensive way to cut carbon, but are also doable with immediate results. In fact, Dr. Chu commented that “lightening roofs and roads in urban environments would offset the global warming effects of all the cars in the world for 11 years” .

One could argue however that producing all the toxic paint used to complete such a massive intiative would out-weight the benefits. It’s also not necessarily a long-term solution. Furthermore, there’s the case for “living roofs” that not only absorb heat but also act as carbon sinks. Of course green roofs—they are more commonly known—take much more time, money and effort, whereas painting is a relatively easy process. Either way, acting fast yet thinking long-term is the only way to truly battle climate change. Manageable steps with gigantic impact, such as lightening roofs and roadways, is something everyone can take part in today. Perhaps, then, it’s a good place to start.

Biomimicry- The next green revolution?

Wood Ant Hill

Wood Ant Hill

The current green revolution looks to renewable energy and green products to replace the polluting industries of the modern era.  What is often left out of the discussion is our relationship with the living biosphere and how our technology much revolutionize itself to not just being low-carbon, but operate under the principles of how nature organizes itself.  Janine Benyus, a scientist and founder of the company Biomimicry Guild, has been looking to nature to develop technologies that maximize efficiency prinicples inherent in the natural world.  This new movement, labeled biomimicry, asks homo sapiens sapiens to tap into the intellengence of nature in our design principles.  The natural world is not seen as a dumb organic machine, but rather a dynamic force that intelligently adapts to environmental changes to produce rhobust living ecosystems.

Humans are not the first and only species to be master builders, tool users, or farmers.  For over 3.8 billion years, nature has evolved eligant solutions to some of the basic ecological challenges we are struggling with today.  In the new online resource, www.asknature.org, it provides innovative minds with life’s best ideas to help develop sustainable technologies that are conductive to life.   On this free open source website, one can research a design question and find a list of how nature solves the issue.  For example, under the category of storing energy, there is a list of 33 species that adopt strategies to maximize energy use.

In the case of the wood ant, they build a nest with numerous holes for ventilation and entrances. At night and in cold weather the ants plug the holes to keep heat in. The workers also keep the slope of the nest at the right angle to obtain maximum amount of solar heat. The ants bring extra warmth into their nests as live heaters by basking in the sun in large numbers and taking the heat energy collected in their bodies into the nest.  Can our homes be built in ways to maximize existing natural resources and store and cool the building without destroying our atmosphere?  Passive solar design is one quick example of building techniques that blend old and new knowledge into our building design principles– with the potential of creating net zero energy use homes.

I believe this presents a paradigm shift for humanity, in which humans are not separate from the natural world but part of an intellegent ecosystem full of other species that have skills and wisdom to share with us.  To learn more about Biomimicry I recommend watching a talk by Janine Benyus at http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_biomimicry_in_action.html.

A New Kind of Green at the Ballpark

green-sports-stadiums-330

Fenway Park is home to the Green Monster, but it’s the LEED-certified Nationals Stadium in Washington D.C. that is the true green monster.

As National Geographic’s Green Guide points out, the Washington Nationals aren’t the only sports team building green.

The new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field (New York Mets), on the other hand, passed on the option to build sustainable venues, even though they were able to spend $1.5 billion and $900 million respectively to build their new stadia.  The green upgrades in Nationals Park, by contrast, cost but $2 million.

City Council Health & Environment Committee Hearing on the Stretch Code: July 28th

E-scale, a version of HERS (Home Energy Rating System)
The state is upgrading the state energy code as part of the Green Communities Act. On May 12, the Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS) approved the stretch code as an optional amendment to the 7th edition Massachusetts Building Code 780 CMR. Municipalities in Massachusetts do not have the legal authority to adopt their own code, but the recent passage of the state stretch code allows municipalities to adopt the tougher standard at their discretion.

This optional “stretch code” was developed in response to the call for improved local building energy efficiency in the commonwealth. The stretch code is about 30% more efficient than baseline code in Massachusetts. Some builders and developers worry the adoption of the stretch code will hinder a housing market revival and add additional red tape to the permitting process. Advocates contend that the stretch code will allow municipalities to improve the efficiency of buildings in their communities, helping to reduce greenhouse gasses and reduce fossil fuel consumption. See “Everything’s ACES” for additional context.

The stretch code would require a  third-party certification for a HERS index rating of 60 or less on new buildings. The current base energy code in Massachusetts requires a maximum HERS rating of 99. For major renovations under the stretch code, a HERS index of 70 or less is required.

The City Council will need to adopt the stretch code by January 1 in order for it to go into effect by July 1, 2010. The City Council Health & Environment Committee is holding a hearing on the stretch code on July 28. The Climate Protection Action Committee and the Green Building/Zoning Task Force have recommended adoption.

Population, Cities, and Design

citiesThis past Saturday was World Population Day, but I do not know anyone who was celebrating. It is a daunting subject for the many people aware of the problems regarding future population growth. At the end of the 20th century, the world population was passing 6 billion, and now it is estimated that by the end of the 21st century, the world population will reach 8-12 billion. This is certainly an issue that we must take seriously and prepare for. As our numbers increase, so does the concern and discussion about population growth.

However, what is often unacknowledged is the impact of population growth on our cities. Half of the world’s population currently resides in cities, and every week, across the globe, one million people migrate to cities. If this current trend continues, and there is no reason to believe that it will stop, by 2050 an estimated 6 billion people, or more than two-thirds of humanity, will reside in cities.

Growing population pressures will require us find new sustainable ways to develop cities. Edward Mazria, who was featured on the E2 Design, an informative series on PBS (narrated by Brad Pitt) about the economies of being environmentally conscious, has developed his own plan to work towards this sustainable cities goal. He calls it “Architecture 2030”. Below is the behind the scenes Podcast for his Architecture 2030 E2 Design episode. What do you think?

Masdar: The World’s First Zero Carbon City

masdar1

Despite the fact that it is one of the largest steps taken forward in alternative energy history, Abu Dhabi’s city of Masdar is still a relatively unknown subject to most people. Set into motion in 2006, the Masdar initiative is expected to provide the world with the first zero-carbon, zero-waste city, and serve as an international breeding ground for sustainable technology.

The Masdar initiative to pursue “solutions to some of mankind’s most pressing issues: energy security, climate change, and the development of human expertise in sustainability ” includes plans for a research institute to develop environmental technologies, an investment arm to commercialize and deploy them, and an eco-city to provide housing for students and business’s and to serve as a test bed for their ideas. With this, CEO Dr. Sultan Al Jaber intends to turn Abu Dhabi’s Masdar into the silicon valley of clean technology.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovly1dQGKH4


But even with extensive efforts to monitor carbon expenditure, some critics are still skeptical. Most attacked, is the fact that while Abu Dhabi may be building the worlds largest and most extensive eco-center, just next door there are several energy intensive projects simultaneously being developed. This includes the worlds biggest aluminum smelter, which will include an on site gas-power plant, and an indoor ski slope within a nearby mall, like the one in Dubai.

Despite the fact that Masdar may not be the absolute perfect model for the future of our cities, the project can be acknowledged as an incredible step forward towards a future of alternative energy solutions that we desperately need. This is the first time an entire city has been dedicated to the international collaboration of sustainability efforts, and it presents a wonderful opportunity for the world’s nations to reassess their fossil fuel dependence in alliance.

TechTV

logo-mit-techtv

If you’ve got time and bandwidth to kill, you might want to check out TechTV. In the spirit of OpenCourseWare, MIT hosts videos of various guest lectures and conferences. For instance, Energy forecast for the rest of the century. Although I don’t personally agree with all of the professor’s interpretations—many conflict with the more pragmatic views portrayed in “Sustainable Energy,” which is incidentally available via OCW—it was an interesting presentation, and could probably serve as a good introduction for the uninitiated nevertheless. I also appreciated his putting the scope of human influence in perspective by comparing it with natural flows. It reminded me of prolific environmental author Vaclav Smil’s excellent Cycles of Life : Civilization and the Biosphere.

Building to a Higher Standard

You may be familiar with LEED, the U.S. Green Building Council’s green building certification standard, but now there is a new, more demanding system on the scene. The more stringent Living Building Challenge (LBC), endorsed by USGBC, strives to be the most advanced green building rating system in the world.

One of the first two buildings competing to become the first LBC-certified project is the new Living Learning Center at the Tyson Research Center, part of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

WUSTL Tyson Research Center

LEED and LBC differ in two substantial ways.  Whereas LEED operates on a point-scoring system, all sixteen of Living Building Challenge’s elements, in the categories of Site, Energy, Materials, Water, Indoor Quality, and Beauty & Inspiration, are mandatory.  And, while LEED designation measures anticipated performance, LBC measures actual performance over a building’s first year.  LBC features strict requirements on building material transportation distance, bans on certain chemicals, net-zero water and energy usage, among its sixteen requirements.

The Living Learning Center’s opening ceremony was May 29, 2009.  If the Living Learning Center succeeds, it will earn its LBC certification by June 2010.

Wind Turbine Zoning

Title: Wind Turbine Zoning
Location: City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, 2nd Floor Conference Room
Link out: Click here
Description: The Planning Board will be meeting to discuss amendments to local zoning outlined in the attached link.
Start Time: 19:30
Date: 2009-06-02

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Community Wind Resource map for Cambridge might also be of interest.

Massachusetts passes “Stretch Code” for higher efficiency buildings

MIT Green BuildingLast week Massachusetts passed the Stretch Code, which allows municipalities to adopt more stringent building codes than the state requires.  Current building requirements are set by Massachusetts Building codes and have to be updated every three years to meet the international ICC building standards.

The new stretch code standards would require a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating of 60, which means about 40% lower energy use than a standard built home. Modeling experts estimate that the extra construction cost an additional $8,100 (above the base code), which translates to $530 a year over a 30 year mortgage. But annual energy costs would be reduced on average by $1,360, for a net savings to the homeowner of $830 a year— a net savings of approximately $300 per year. In addition, many of the additional construction costs will be covered by subsidies from the utilities.

Home renovations would require a HERS rating only when feasible and for new commercial buildings there are several options for meeting the Stretch Code.  Commercial renovations, commercial buildings under 5,000 square feet, and specialty commercial buildings under 100,000 square feet (supermarkets, laboratories, warehouses) are all exempt from the proposal.

This is an excellent opportunity for communities like Cambridge, MA to forge ahead and adopt standards that will help it to meet its climate reduction targets.  Buildings contribute to 80% of the total greenhouse gas emissions produced in Cambridge, MA.  Adopting the stretch code could help Massachusetts communities reduce its emissions and save money that would otherwise go towards inefficient heating, cooling, and electric building  needs.