Meet SCIP

I recently discovered GreenTech radio, which podcasts about green building technology. The latest one was sponsored by Studio-RMA, an architecture firm in California, on the topic of SCIP.

SCIP stands for Structural Concrete Insulated Panels. It consists of insulating foam panels reinforced with 12-ga steel mesh, and covered on both faces with shotcrete (sprayed-on concrete). Robotic welding of the mesh and foam results in a strong assembly, made even stronger by the concrete-on-mesh facing.

These panels can withstand 200 mph winds, and seismic forces up to 8 on the Richter scale, plus they boast a 4-hour fire rating. Panels are vermin- and termite-resistant, and insulation values start at R-40.

Why are they green? First of all, they are built with recycled and sustainable materials. Unlike SIP (Structural Insulated Panels, faced with wood) structures, SCIP buildings can last up to 100 years because concrete does not deteriorate as quickly as wood when exposed to weather. When a SCIP building is demolished, the panels can be crushed, and each component recycled separately.

SCIP panels are currently being used in residential construction, especially in areas of the southern USA damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Retaining wall testing is underway, and they may be used in dam construction in the future.

Stay tuned for more on new green building materials...

So many acronyms...

Over the past few months I’ve been collecting a list of acronyms that are useful for navigating the world of green building and the technical BIM and interoperability jargon that is sprouting up around it. View my list here.

Tiny is terrific!

Could you imagine living in a house less than 100 square feet? Jay Schafer could. In fact, he liked the idea so much that he started the Tumbleweed Tiny House company to design and sell his lilliputian creations. Now people all around the country are living in small, semi-portable Tumbleweed houses.

They come in various sizes ranging from 70 to 770 square feet. Building plans can be customized, and if you aren't the do-it-yourself type you can even have them build and ship it to you in about three months. All but the largest versions are built on trailers, so they can be towed anywhere, plugged to electricity (or solar/wind/hydro/etc power) and made your own.

Building materials in Baltimore

An entry in the Cheapskate monthly newsletter reminded me of a favorite shopping destination here in Baltimore: Second Chance Architectural Salvage.

Not only do they give old buildings new life by rescuing unique architectural elements from demolition, they also provide job training for low-income residents of Baltimore by providing instruction in construction skills from carpentry to precision deconstruction techniques.

While their main focus is building materials, they do sell furniture too. On my last trip to Second Chance a few weeks ago, I came away with a lovely little cherry dresser, gently used. You never know what treasures you will find in their warehouses! Remember, antiquing is recycling.

Here are some other local stores that give construction materials a second chance...

The Baltimore ReStore. Grand opening coming up on April 5. This Habitat for Humanity fundraiser serves the community by providing discount building materials, and serves the environment by keeping these materials out of landfills.

The Loading Dock. Their motto is “Don’t Dump: Donate!” ...proving that you really can build a house with what people throw away. Look for them at the Ecofestival during Baltimore Green Week.

In other cities...

New York "Build It Green"

Or check the national directory at the Building Materials Reuse Association webpage.

Greensburg goes green

A city in Kansas called Greensburg (yep, Greensburg) that was decimated by a tornado in May 2007 has resolved to rebuild their community as sustainably as possible: all city buildings are to be certified LEED platinum. It will be the first city in the country to undertake such an endeavor. Read the press release on the USGBC website here.

Why buy organic?

A recent study from the University of California at Davis found that organically grown tomatoes had higher amounts of two disease-fighting flavonoids than conventionally raised tomatoes. Plus, the levels of these two nutrients rose over the course of the 10-year project until they were 97 and 79 percent higher, respectively.

Why? Organic plants have to work harder than plants raised on chemical fertilizers to fight off infections and predators, and to extract nutrients from the soil. Because of this, they grow more slowly and have the time to produce more nutrients. There is also evidence that organic produce contains more antioxidants than conventionally-grown produce.

Need more incentive to buy organic? Consider the Bug Arms Race concept presented by Steven Hopp in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: evolution is based on survival of the strongest, the fittest, the most adaptable. Repeated spraying of pesticides by farmers is weeding out only the weaker bugs, while the stronger bugs develop resistance to pesticides in much the same way that some germs in humans are developing resistance to antibiotic medicines. These chemicals are also killing micronutrients in the soil that are essential to plant health, fertility, and resistance to diseases.

When pesticides were first introduced in 1948, farmers used about 50 millions pounds of them and suffered a 7 percent crop loss. Contrast that with year 2000: farmers used more like a billion pounds of pesticides and lost 13 percent of their crops.

Note that 20 percent of chemical pesticides are listed by the EPA as carcinogenic in humans.

(sources: Good Housekeeping, January 2008, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver)

Greenwashing: literally!

Hooray for “green” dry-cleaners! Until today, I knew of only one in the Baltimore area (Cranbrook Shopping Center in Cockeysville), which is outside my usual errand-running area. But now there is another: Sparks II Cleaners at 7206-C York Road in Towson, near Stevenson Lane. The original Sparks cleaners is on Fila Way near Loveton Farms, in Sparks.

The cleaner/tailor shop is open Monday to Friday 7am - 7pm and Saturday 8am - 5pm. They also offer pickup and delivery service. You can phone them at 410-832-5326.

According to the article at greenearthcleaning.net, "Instead of using the standard dry cleaning solution known as perc (perchlorethylene), which is a petroleum-based solvent regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Sparks Cleaners uses a silicone-based cleaner. It is made from water, sand and carbon dioxide..."

This article also mentions that traditional dry cleaners are the single largest users of perc, and that the dry-cleaning machines that use this substance are to be phased out by the year 2020.

Let's hope so! Until then, patronize your local green drycleaner.

Recycling the lost timbers of Atlantis?

Here’s an interesting snippet from the January issue of one of my favorite magazines, Wonderful West Virginia. The article, “Haunting beauty below ‘see level,’” is about a man-made lake in my home state:

“…Wood decomposes most readily, either organically or chemically, in the presence of oxygen, light, and warmth. None of these components is abundant in [most lakes]. The water is naturally cold, and sunlight quickly dims with depth. And although there’s enough oxygen in the water to keep fish alive, there’s not enough to promote the decomposition of wood. Thus the stumps in the lake, like the long-forgotten logs that rest at the bottom of many other bodies of water, remain unchanged as years go by.

Indeed, a whole new industry, the salvaging of underwater logs, is developing in Canada. A company called Logs End harvests logs that sank in the Ottawa River in the heyday of nineteenth-century logging operations. These logs are milled and used as beams, flooring, and paneling in homes today….”

This reminds me of a historical tidbit I picked up while traveling in Italy during college: many old waterfront cities in Europe (like Venice) are supported by submerged, wooden pilings that are centuries old, yet still structurally sound. How can this be? Because they’ve been kept totally underwater, in the dark. If you were to excavate them, they would quickly decompose as soon as they were exposed to air and light.

Glad to hear that the lumber industry is making use of this forgotten underwater resource.

GreenBuild 2007

In November, I attended the GreenBuild International Conference and Expo in Chicago.

Here is my trip report...

Earth to America: time to get green!

Here's a fun little video I found as I was assembling a presentation about green building. It's from the "Earth to America" TV special that aired on TBS in November.

Watch more videos here.