Month: September 2011

Brick Buildings for Sustainable Living Costs

Sustainable brick home infographic showing a modern brick house, mature trees, and icons highlighting durability, thermal mass, energy efficiency, reclaimed materials, local sourcing, stormwater management, and low maintenance.

The latest options in clay brick offer increasingly green benefits for more sustainable homes that can help homeowners save on major household costs. From abundant natural resources and manufactured with virtually no waste, brick helps lower energy costs and upkeep through a maintenance-free exterior that offers superior durability, moisture control, termite resistance, proven stability and enduring beauty. Often incorporating recycled content, brick options including exterior, interior and landscaping features increase sustainability while meeting the highest green building criteria. “As a versatile building material made from abundant natural resources, brick delivers on all fronts,” said Brick Industry Association (BIA) President and CEO Gregg Borchelt, P.E. “Brick’s flexibility and inherent green benefits help builders and architects achieve maximum sustainability and greater homeowner value with reduced environmental impact,” he said.

Accoya Wood: A Game-Changer in Sustainable Construction

The generated image beautifully captures the essence of Accoya wood's role in sustainable construction. In the foreground, we see a carpenter's skilled hands working with a piece of Accoya wood. The wood's distinctive light golden color shines under the warm, natural lighting, highlighting its smooth and durable appearance. This close-up view allows us to appreciate the unique qualities that make Accoya a game-changer in green building. The wood's texture suggests its enhanced stability and resistance to decay, key features that contribute to its popularity in eco-friendly construction projects. Moving to the background, we glimpse a partially constructed modern building. It's clear that Accoya wood is the star of this structure, featuring prominently in various architectural elements. We can spot Accoya being used for window frames, decking, and siding, showcasing its versatility and suitability for both interior and exterior applications. The eco-friendly nature of the project is further emphasized by the lush greenery surrounding the construction site. This juxtaposition of natural wood and living plants creates a harmonious scene that speaks to the sustainable ethos behind Accoya wood use. What's particularly striking about this image is how it illustrates the marriage of traditional craftsmanship with innovative, sustainable materials. The carpenter's hands represent the skilled labor still essential in construction, while the Accoya wood embodies cutting-edge technology in wood modification. As the Green Living Guy, I'm thrilled to see this visual representation of Accoya wood in action! It's not just a plank; it's a plank of progress! This image showcases how we're building a greener future, quite literally, from the ground up. Accoya wood is proving that sustainability doesn't mean sacrificing quality or aesthetics. It's like Mother Nature and modern technology had a baby, and it's gorgeous! This is the kind of innovation that makes me excited about the future of sustainable construction. Remember, folks, when we choose materials like Accoya, we're not just building homes – we're building hope for a greener planet! The image serves as a powerful testament to the article's message about Accoya wood being a game-changer in sustainable construction. It visually communicates the material's durability, versatility, and eco-friendly properties, reinforcing why Accoya has become a preferred choice for environmentally conscious builders and architects.

Accoya Wood: Nature's High-Tech Marvel Revolutionary Timber Outperforms Industrial Giants Accoya wood emerges as a game-changer in the construction industry. This modified timber surpasses aluminum, steel, concrete, and also even some tropical hardwood. All in sync with sustainability metrics. Consequently, it's also reshaping the future of green building. Cradle-to-Grave Excellence A comprehensive life cycle assessment... Continue Reading →

GreenTowns Launches Connecticut Sustainable Communities Campaign

Outdoor event with booths about solar power, wind innovations, geothermal heat, and clean energy future in Connecticut

More than 80 Connecticut organizations, businesses and green leaders are involved in a new campaign to connect green initiatives and their supporters in and across every city and town in Connecticut. The Connecticut Campaign for Sustainable Communities spearheaded by Fairfield-based GreenTowns.com, aims to connect sustainability leaders, mayors, green businesses, non-profits and local citizens who want to work together to build awareness and support each other in the “greening” of Connecticut. “There are many ground-breaking and worthwhile green efforts underway by great people and committed organizations across the state that can be replicated or expanded through 21st Century communication tools,” said GreenTowns Director and Connecticut resident Daphne Dixon. “GreenTowns is designed to facilitate and accelerate these connections, with our goal of connecting 1,000 people in Connecticut in October. The faster people connect around green, the quicker Connecticut will become sustainable.”

Museum LED Light : Energy Efficiency and Quality

Energy-efficient LED lighting illuminates framed artwork inside a modern museum gallery, highlighting how museums can reduce energy use while maintaining high-quality exhibit lighting.

Toshiba International Corporation’s (TIC) LED Lighting Systems Division is proud to announce a new relationship with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. As part of this agreement, Toshiba will supply the museum with its superior and innovative LED lamps, allowing museum visitors to experience the latest in eco-friendly illumination while significantly lowering the museum’s energy and maintenance costs. “Our museum has always offered the best and the brightest, and our lighting should be no different,” said Jack Eby, Exhibit Design Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. “We’re excited that our institution now features this cutting-edge lighting technology.” The new lamps, Toshiba’s most recent innovation in LED lighting, are far more energy efficient and last significantly longer than conventional light bulbs or compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).

PACE: A Bipartisan Approach to Renewable Energy Legislation

What Is An Off-The-Grid Home System And How To Convert Your Home Into One

By Green America.org
While it might seem rare these days for Republicans and Democrats cooperatively to work together on anything, two Republican members of the US House of Representatives recently joined with one of their Democratic colleagues to introduce an important new piece of renewable energy legislation.
On July 20, Rep. Nan Hayward (R, NY), Rep. Dan Lungren (R, CA), and Rep. Mike Thompson (D, CA), proposed a bill designed to protect local communities’ ability to adopt an innovative clean-energy financing strategy that itself has attracted bi-partisan support from coast to coast – and with good reason. This financing strategy, known as “property assessed clean energy,” or PACE, allows homeowners finance the up-front costs of installing residential clean-energy systems through city partnerships that spread out the payments as an add-on to their property taxes for as long as 20 years.

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