Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Flies in my ointment


My house has been plagued with fruit flies ever since summertime, and since I work from home, they drive me nuts!  Found this simple fruit fly trap recipe on ApartmentTherapy.com by way of Lifehacker.com (both fantastic websites, btw) and started testing it today.  Thanks to my friends Megan and Sandy for the pretty jars and death art...

Thursday, January 13, 2011

LEED 2012: NextGen

The LEED rating system has evolved from v2.2 to 2009 to 2012. The first comment period for this latest version of LEED ends on Monday 17 Jan, and before it does, comments are invited here: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2360


USGBC Maryland chapter chair Stuart Kaplow, Esq., has written this article about remarkable changes in this new version. http://www.stuartkaplow.com/library3.cfm?article_id=182


Highlights from his article and presentation at today's chapter event:

-Philosophical transition from “less negative” to “positive” environmental impact re: net zero buildings.

-No more easy credits: standard practice credits like Fundamental Refrigerant Management have been removed, but not replaced with a higher standard.

-Three new credit categories: Integrated Process, Location & Transportation, and Performance

-More prescriptive, less room for interpretation

-More emphasis on Energy, less on IEQ credits

-Note that actual credit weights have not yet been released.



Other points of interest:

-Datacenter-specific rating system may be coming in the future

-India and UAE have the highest square footage of LEED buildings outside the USA

-LEED currently has about 25% non-residential market penetration



For more information, visit http://www.usgbc.org/ or http://www.stuartkaplow.com/

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Steel, the most recycled material on earth


From Modern Steel Construction magazine...

The sustainability page at www.aisc.org contains links to green steel studies, projects, resources, and links to more Modern Steel Construction articles.

One such article about AISC at GreenBuild in MSC's January issue includes links to sustainability resources at a few steel companies:

View the Nucor sustainability report, and get information about LEED MR credits.
www.nucor.com/responsibility/environment/leed 

Track the scrap steel on a Gerdau Ameristeel project for LEED credits using this calculator (for customers only) https://scraptrack.gerdauameristeel.com

There was also mention of scrap/recycled content information available at www.steeldynamics.com, but I didn't find anything that specifically mentioned applicability to LEED credits. (I did, however, find the photo used in this post:  photo credit to Steel Dynamics).

Friday, January 7, 2011

Help plan a Baltimore cohousing community



Sharing the following announcement on behalf of a friend... you can contact her via the links below.

What is Cohousing? A residential community owned, managed, and planned by people who seek a balance between private life and community life.


Who are we? A group of Baltimore area people seeking to form a cohousing community that is:
• Ecologically sensitive and sustainable
• Intergenerational
• Embracing of diversity

Where is it?  Only in our dreams, so far!  Please join us to explore cohousing and the process of planning a new community.

Saturday, January 29, 2011 - Baltimore Cohousing Organizing Meeting - 3:30 to 5 pm - Baltimore, MD


Please join us at the Ruscombe Mansion, 4801/4803 Yellowwood Ave, Baltimore, MD 21209.
Directions: www.ruscombe.org/directionstoruscombe.html.
For more information on cohousing, see http://www.cohousing.org/  and http://www.cohousingcollaborative.com/ .
To RSVP to the meeting, email rebeccalachen@gmail.com

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Want to study sustainability in Sweden?


Would you like to earn an amazing master's degree, while studying with international colleagues in a beautiful part of the world?

Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) in Karlskrona, Sweden offers two groundbreaking Master's programmes - one in sustainability strategy and one in product innovation.

A friend of mine completed the MSLS program in 2008, and he says it was truly a life-changing experience, both professionally and personally.  Read more about it on his blog here:  http://www.stackcoordination.com/take-the-leap-go-to-sweden-for-year/

Applications are open until January 17.  Apply here:  http://www.bth.se/msls