August 7, 2011

Newest Chapter House at Mississippi State University Registers LEED® Certification

August 7, 2011 No Comments

The new chapter house for Pi Beta Phi at Mississippi State University has become LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), making this the first sorority house in the U.S. with such distinction.
Pi Beta Phi Fraternity Housing Corporation’s (FHC) development team directed Pryor and Morrow Architects of Columbus, Mississippi, designed the chapter house at 110 Robert L. Jones Drive, Starkville, Mississippi, to the guidelines set by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to achieve LEED certification. The 16,000 square foot home maximizes open space, uses indigenous landscaping and bicycle storage. Plumbing and air conditioning systems incorporate water-use reduction features. The use of insulation and window glazing also optimizes energy performance.
Specific design elements used in achieving LEED certification are renewable materials and recycled content in finishes, compact fluorescent lighting, and drought tolerant plants, which minimizes water needs and allows lush green landscaping without the need for irrigation.

Greenblock LEEDing the Way for 7-Eleven

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Greenblock Worldwide Corporation (www.greenblock.com) announced today that its Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) wall system was selected by 7-Eleven, Inc. for the exterior walls of their first “green” convenience store, as defined by the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Paperwork has been submitted to the USGBC to request LEED certification for the new store located in DeLand, Florida just north of Orlando.
The 3000+ square-foot store, featuring Greenblock’s 6-inch core ICF, is a new design and construction concept for 7-Eleven and will serve as a prototype facility to determine if other stores will be built to similar green standards.
“I see two kinds of ‘green’ in this store”, says 7-Eleven project manager Jonathon Pauls. “The first is the green of the store’s design itself, and the second green is the savings in energy the new environmentally friendly design brings to the store’s bottom line.”

Are Consumers Getting Smarter About Hybrid Cars?

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Last week President Obama announced that American automobiles must meet a fuel-efficiency standard of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Obama called the shift “the single most important step we’ve ever taken as a nation to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood blogged that it would save the country about $1.7 trillion in fuel costs.
In the past the automakers have challenged attempts to raise the fuel economy standard, but representatives from a dozen car companies joined Obama for his announcement. That’s an unprecedented level of industry support, and a somewhat startling one considering that just weeks ago, when the administration made its m.p.g. ambitions known, auto leaders seemed less than thrilled.
The New York Times attributes this “extraordinary shift” to the growing popularity of fuel-efficient cars:
Six of the 10 best-selling vehicles in America are small or midsize cars, and one of the most popular pickup models on the market is a Ford F-Series with a high-mileage, six-cylinder engine.

Solar Energy Apartment: A Glimpse into the Future of Urban Living

August 7, 2011 No Comments

Sunrise Solar Solutions has just completed a 50 kilowatt solar PV system for Woods Edge Apartments in Hempstead, Long Island. The system, which features Conergy panels and Enphase Energy microinverters, will power most of the common space electrical usage for the complex. Building owner/manager Wilder Balter Partners has been a leader in the green building field and has embraced solar for both their new projects and existing housing stock.
CFO Gary Friedland said, “As landlord/managers of an affordable property, with limited profit potential, it is critical for us to seek ways to lower operating expenses while maintaining the quality of life for the residents.” Friedland also noted Sunrise worked with the roofing contractor and manufacturer to ensure that the solar system would comply with the 30 year roof warranty and perform effortlessly for decades.

Green new deals, ecological scarcity and the lessons of history

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The history of natural resource use and development, from the Agricultural Transition 12,000 years ago to the present, suggests that humankind has had to surmount successive scarcity problems: From Malthusian population-land “traps” to fossil fuel scarcity, and now, ecological scarcity.
In any age of natural resource scarcity, there also appear to be winners and losers. The winners adjust to the changing economic conditions imposed by scarcity, innovate before other economies do, and end up dominating trade and economic relationships as a result. Over a thousand years ago, China, India and other Asian Empires were among the most powerful economies in the world, because their rulers adopted long-term strategies to parlay their vast agricultural and resource-based wealth into regional and then global dominance. Today, modern China, South Korea and other Asian economies look to green and clean energy investments and technologies as propelling their economies to the forefront of global trade and development, as well as securing a more sustainable economic future.