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#Post#: 200--------------------------------------------------
Carbon Neutral Buildings
DIR By: AGelbert
Date: October 29, 2013, 8:54 pm
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Seattle's Bullitt Center
The Greenest Commercial Building In The World
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/earthhug.gif
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqf0CxftEQ&feature=player_embedded
HTML http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/emoticon-object-041.gifThe<br
/>Flower metaphor and the Flower IMPERATIVES for a TRUELY GREEN
BUILDING.
HTML http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/emoticon-object-103.gif
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHtgie2t5UI&feature=player_embedded
Designed to last 250 years, this TRUELY green building needed
special permits.
WHY? Because building a zero carbon footprint building that
generates it's own power, uses only the water that fall on it
and recycles ALL OF ITS WASTE so nothing goes into the garbage
or sewer VIOLATES at least 12 building construction codes in the
USA! :o
Seattle worked with a team to make this, the first of hopefully
millions of buildings like it, a reality. :emthup: :sunny:
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V7Bpd-pydY&feature=player_embedded
This video from a small drone is shaky but gives a nice outside
view of the building.
--- Quote ---
> A virtually self sustaining office building?
>
> The Bullitt Center in Seattle is beyond simply being "green".
All its water is supplied by rainwater collected in a 56,000
gallon cistern. They have composting toilets, a grand staircase
with a view to discourage elevator use, and rooftop
photovoltaics ready to break even with the energy use of the
building.
>
> The goal is to prove that carbon-neutral office space can be
commercially viable...and to influence everyone from developers
to banks to city government to start building along these lines.
--- End Quote ---
HTML http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/shelter/seattles-bullitt-center.html#sthash.ml95kKqU.dpuf
HTML http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/shelter/seattles-bullitt-center.html#sthash.ml95kKqU.dpuf
Another video (vimeo) at the link is quite informative.
HTML http://greentechadvocates.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Bullitt-energy-use.png
HTML http://www.millerhull.com/media/nonresidential/Bullitt/Bullitt10.jpg
HTML http://faculty.arch.tamu.edu/grogers/Land640Posters/Design%20Matters%20Posters%202010/Yi%20Xue2010%20mod.jpg
[img width=640
height=580]
HTML http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/world-s-greenest-office-building-makes-net-zero-look-easy/BullittCenterBenschneider300.jpg/image[/img]
HTML http://images.gizmag.com/hero/bullitt-center.png
HTML http://ad009cdnb.archdaily.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/5174d4b5b3fc4b748700011a_the-world-s-greenest-commercial-building-opens-in-seattle-today-_feature_diagram.jpg
HTML http://img.timeinc.net/time/2012/graphics/bullitt_0620.jpg
HTML http://bullittcenter.org/
HTML http://bullittcenter.org/
#Post#: 216--------------------------------------------------
Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
DIR By: Surly1
Date: October 30, 2013, 8:06 pm
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This is really compelling stuff.
Problem (not really) with these posts is, if you watch the
videos and follow all the links, you can easily put in a couple
of hours (depending on the length of the vid.)
Makes me wonder how long it takes you to create one!
#Post#: 283--------------------------------------------------
Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
DIR By: AGelbert
Date: November 8, 2013, 3:08 pm
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Surly,
A large percentage of my material was previously posted at the
DD (Which promptly would get lost in the posting memory hole).
So I have read most of it. That said, in the 18 chart post I
made yesterday I did not go read the detailed report because I
do trust the source. ;D
#Post#: 351--------------------------------------------------
LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design)
DIR By: AGelbert
Date: November 15, 2013, 7:34 pm
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LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Green
Building) Projects Near 60,000 Globally
11/15/2013
Clean Edge News
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released its second
installment of the LEED in Motion report series: Places and
Policies. The report states that there are nearly 60,000 LEED
green building projects across the globe, spanning 10.6 billion
square feet. Notably, Canada, India, China, the United Arab
Emirates and Brazil lead the way for countries with the highest
number of projects outside the U.S.
The first section of the report showcases in-depth statistics
and graphics on LEED projects and areas of growth around the
world, with a sub-section for projects in the U.S. as well as
global projects. Canada leads the way in LEED projects outside
the U.S. with 4,375 projects, followed by India with 1,586,
China with 1,282, UAE with 816 and Brazil with 717
LEED-certified green building projects.
The second section examines domestic and international policies
and partnerships that support the framework of LEED and drive
global progress. 400+ localities have LEED-specific policies in
place. Globally, there are nearly 100 green building councils in
various stages of development, a LEED International Roundtable
with members from 30 countries and newly launched Alternative
Compliance Paths and Regional Priority Creditsfor LEED, which
provide flexible, regionally-focused approaches to LEED credits
for projects outside the U.S.
“LEED is a global phenomenon,” said Scot Horst, senior vice
president of LEED, USGBC. “People spend 90% of their lives
indoors; a healthy, resource-friendly and environmentally sound
indoor environment contributes to the health, happiness and
well-being of people and is something people from countries
across the globe are finding value
in.”
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141113185701.png
HTML http://www.cleanedge.com/Resources/news/LEED-Green-Building-Projects-Near-60,000-Globally
#Post#: 510--------------------------------------------------
Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
DIR By: AGelbert
Date: December 6, 2013, 9:36 pm
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‘A Terrible Irony’ - Affordable Housing, Unaffordable Energy
Oakland Local/New America Media, News Feature, Eric K. Arnold,
Posted: Nov 26, 2013
Editor’s Note: In Oakland, buildings account for 56 percent of
the city’s carbon emissions that drive climate change. That’s
slightly higher than the state average of 50 percent.
Nationally, buildings make up slightly more than two-thirds of
greenhouse gas emissions, making the sector a key area to
achieve emissions reductions. In the past few years, several
pilot projects have highlighted the benefits of bringing solar
and energy efficiency upgrades to affordable housing, including
public housing. In the second part of a two-part series, Oakland
Local reporter Eric K. Arnold explores the benefits of energy
efficiency and renewable energy for low-income residents, as
well as the challenges to more widespread adoption.
Read Part 1
OAKLAND, Calif. –Tassafaronga Village, a mixed-use housing
development in East Oakland, isn’t your average affordable
housing project.
During a site visit, assistant manager Wendy Ruiz and
maintenance worker Edgar Valencia proudly show off the
building’s roof: Rows and rows of solar panels – 145 in all --
efficiently harness energy from the sun.
So far, the solar investment is reaping big energy cost savings.
The monthly electricity costs to light common areas such as
hallways for the entire housing project, Ruiz says, is about $25
for 137 affordable housing units and $12 for 20 market-rate
townhouses. The panels require “very low maintenance,” Valencia
adds. Although residents pay for individual utility use, the
bills are very low, about $10-$15 monthly, Ruiz says.
Tassafaronga is the jewel in the crown of the city’s affordable
housing -- a model for sustainable development that uses less
electricity from the grid, has a lighter carbon footprint and
provides benefits to residents and the wider community. While
the model has proved effective—Tassafaronga has won numerous
sustainability awards—state and federal budget cuts have
derailed efforts to further green affordable housing stock in
Oakland and other cities, leaving developers scrambling to find
new funding sources.
The case for energy efficiency in affordable housing
Energy efficiency is particularly critical in affordable housing
developments, says Jeremy Hays, chief strategist for state and
local initiatives at Green For All, an environmental advocacy
group. According to Hays, apartment buildings built before 1970
use 55 percent more energy than those built after 1990.
Oakland has some 8,800 units of affordable housing, not
including the 3,300 units of public housing overseen by the
Oakland Housing Authority (OHA), a city agency that administers
federally-subsidized public housing programs and develops
affordable housing throughout the city. Many of OHA’s properties
were built decades ago, and are in need of rehabilitation.
A 2013 study by the Rocky Mountain Institute found that energy
costs for federally-subsidized affordable housing are almost 40
percent higher than energy costs for private homes, and 10 times
greater[/I] than government investment in energy efficiency.
This leads, the study found, to “a terrible irony: affordable
housing saddled with unaffordable energy bills.”
The disparity means that higher energy costs are passed down to
property owners and[i] low-income tenants.
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141113183729.png
:(
In both affordable housing and public housing units, tenants
receive federal subsidies, known as Section 8 vouchers. Tenants
generally contribute 30 percent of their monthly income toward
rent and utilities, and pay utilities directly, receiving a
utility allowance, which is supposed to be adjusted annually or
when rates rise more than 10 percent.
Low-income residents spend 12 percent of their annual income on
utility bills – four times the amount that the average American
spends, according to Green for All.
Furthermore, affordable housing owners, including public housing
agencies and non-profit real estate developers, are constrained
by rising utility bills; energy consumption in the United States
has steadily increased nearly every year since 1985, a trend
that shows no signs of reversing.
As utility bills continue to rise, “we’ll continue to lose
affordable housing,” Hays says, unless the amount spent on
utilities can be reduced.
“Every time you reduce your energy bill, you build in some
safety for yourself around increased cost,” he noted.
According to the U.S. Green Building Council, energy efficiency
saves 30 to 40 percent of consumption at little to no additional
cost—a significant number, considering that buildings account
for 75 percent of U.S. electricity use and 36 percent of natural
gas use.
Because it creates a win-win situation—lowering utility costs
while benefitting the environment—utilizing renewable energy and
energy efficiency has become a growing trend in the affordable
housing field.
“Energy efficiency and green building will help the building and
its systems last longer, which provides positive health benefits
to residents and lasting benefits to the neighborhood in terms
of blight reduction,” says Carlos Castellanos, director of Real
Estate Development at the East Bay Asian Local Development
Corporation (EBALDC), a non-profit affordable housing
organization, which has developed more than 1,900 residential
units.
Building affordable housing to a green standard
Built at a cost of $75 million dollars—a figure which includes
not only building and construction costs, but environmental
clean-up of neighborhood brownfields—Tassafaronga was the last
large public housing development in the city to undergo what
OHA’s Bridget Galka calls a “complete rehabilitation.”
Originally built in 1964, during the Johnson administration,
Tassafaronga’s existing 87 units of low-rise public housing were
dilapidated and run-down, exacerbated by jagged cracks and
fissures that exemplified the term “concrete jungle” and created
seismic safety issues to boot. On top of that, the site’s soil
was highly contaminated by petroleum and pesticides. The
neglected, blighted area became a haven for crime, prostitution
and drug dealing.
After applying for a federal grant from the Environmental
Protection Agency and creatively tweaking its financing
model—leveraging Section 8 vouchers to qualify for a bank
loan—OHA demolished the existing structures, with Galka serving
as project manager for the revitalization effort.
In 2010, Tassafaronga opened, offering 157 mixed-income units—a
combination of market-rate and affordable housing—covering 7.5
acres. The project has two major panel systems: rooftop solar
(which powers common electrical systems), and solar water
heaters. In addition to solar energy, Tassafaronga boasts
energy-efficient windows, lighting and boiler systems. Other
green measures include recycled building materials, low-flow
toilets, rainwater-catchment drains, and paint that releases
fewer toxic chemicals.
Tassafaraonga attained LEED Platinum status—the highest
certification level possible—from the U.S. Green Building
Council for Environmentally Sustainable Development. Completing
the project “really bumped up [OHA’s] status as far as being
super energy-efficient,” Galka said.
Sustainability as a community model
The development of Tassafaronga Village highlights how
sustainability features in affordable housing can transform
neighborhoods, when combined with holistic urban planning and
community-oriented development.
Numerous studies have examined the impact of blight reduction on
crime in neighborhoods. A 2011 study from the University of
Michigan noted “Beautifying and maintaining” vacant or blighted
property “can be an effective crime prevention strategy.”
In 2011, the Acta Non Verba Youth Urban Farm Project, a
youth-run sustainable urban gardening project adjacent to the
redeveloped property, opened on a city-owned plot in a
neighborhood known for violent crime, drug dealing, and
prostitution.
Today, the farm grows sunflowers, cotton, and organic
vegetables. It also produces cheese and spaghetti sauce that is
sold onsite. In addition to mitigating the “food desert”
syndrome common in inner-city neighborhoods by providing a
source of fresh produce, revenue from the farm goes into an
education fund for its youth workers.
As Acta Non Verba Founder and Executive Director Kelly Carlisle
noted, “on top of beautifying the community within the so-called
bad part of town, we’ve also allowed elders and youth to
consider what they’re eating.”
Further catalyzing East Oakland’s transformation, in 2011, a new
public library opened up on 81st Avenue, just down the street
from Tassafaronga Village. Rounding out the neighborhood is
Acorn Woodland Elementary, an award-winning K-5 school also on
81st Ave., which opened in 2006 and houses a preventative care
clinic onsite.
While the use of sustainability features in Tassafaronga Village
isn’t solely responsible for the neighborhood’s transition from
eyesore to community model, it’s unlikely the City of Oakland
would have redeveloped the land used for the farm had the
housing development not been rehabilitated and re-envisioned as
the centerpiece of an uber-green urban planning project.
Budget cuts jeopardize future green projects
Despite the benefits of energy efficiency investments in
affordable housing, financial hurdles hinder greater efforts on
this front. Even though sustainability and green living models
have been established in the affordable housing sector, Galka
says, budget constraints limit what agencies like OHA can
presently do.
For instance, Tassafaronga’s funding included $12 million from
Oakland’s Redevelopment Agency. Yet that sum was locked in prior
to the statewide elimination of Redevelopment Agencies in 2012.
After redevelopment funding was cut, developments in the
pipeline required a larger percentage of OHA funds than in
previous years. The federal Housing and Urban Development
department has also slashed its public housing budget.
The affordable housing sector has also been heavily impacted by
mandatory sequestration due to federal budget cuts. As the San
Jose Mercury News reported, OHA faces $11 million in cuts due to
sequestration in 2013, which could result in the loss of a
significant amount of Section 8 vouchers. That’s critical to
projects like Tassafaronga, which leveraged federal housing
subsidies to qualify for some $23 million in bank loans—nearly
one-third of the project’s total budget.
“The reduction of affordable housing funds makes it challenging
to pay for energy-efficient features,” Castellanos said.
In the past, federal funds have helped to defray up-front costs,
he says, but “the long-term savings over operations that
sustainable features yield doesn’t always communicate well to
politicians who are trying to reduce budgets at all levels.”
The challenges which lie ahead for affordable housing are clear:
Although increased investment in energy efficiency can lower
energy costs for low-income residents, reduces power
consumption, provides health benefits, and results in long-term
cost savings for property owners, unless new funding sources are
secured, the ability of affordable housing developers to provide
future sustainability features remains in jeopardy.
This work was supported by a 2013 New America Media Energy
Reporting Fellowship in collaboration with SoundVision
Productions’ Burn: An Energy Journal.
HTML http://newamericamedia.org/2013/11/budget-cuts-derail-efforts-to-green-affordable-housing.php
#Post#: 533--------------------------------------------------
Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
DIR By: AGelbert
Date: December 10, 2013, 10:00 pm
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HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghhgUmGBjX8&feature=player_embedded<br
/>
#Post#: 659--------------------------------------------------
Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
DIR By: AGelbert
Date: January 5, 2014, 3:44 pm
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[i]I envy this fellow from Canada (and admire him too!)
HTML http://www.clker.com/cliparts/c/8/f/8/11949865511933397169thumbs_up_nathan_eady_01.svg.hi.png<br
/>
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/19.gif[i]
SparkyBtheWonderDog
My bungalow on Prince Edward Island, Canada, is heated right now
with a solar air heater (Cansolair) and its a very comfortable
72-75F inside on a cold and snow covered day (19F today,
although it was -20F yesterday, and it was the same temperature
inside then too) 3500 miles ENE of Lancaster CA. Ditto with the
solar hot water panels on the roof. Hot water for ZERO running
cost as the circulator pumps have their own PV cell, and the
solar warm air costs me less than $15.00 a year for the 31 Watt
fan on the Cansolair.
Within a year, I'll also have solar PV panels, supplying my
electricity. Its not how warm it is outside, its the SUNSHINE
and it works even in midwinter way up north about 6 or 7 climate
zones colder than Lancaster CA. Actually, sunshine works pretty
well on those cold, crisp, bitter (and cloudless) dry winter
days, with the sunshine reflecting off the snow onto solar
panels.
So, if it works here, it will work ANYWHERE in North America,
and likely much better than here, which is sunny the way Germany
is sunny (ie, not exceptionally) Yeah, and even here my solar
systems ($11K for both) are entirely paid for in house heating
furnace oil not burned and electricity not used for hot water in
under 5 years...
HTML http://www.smile-day.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Smiley-Thumbs-Up2.jpg<br
/>
[i]Agelber NOTE: The above comment was posted after this article
about an intelligent, far seeing, rational Republican in
Lancaster, California. :o
--- Quote ---
> [color=navy]Surprising to hear from a Republican? Not so much,
Parris notes. “The Republican Party is in a quandary because the
polling shows that the voters support environmental protection.
It’s the leadership that doesn’t,” Parris said. “You’d have to
be a moron to discount global warming. I don’t know anybody that
doesn’t recognize it’s occurring.”
> Read more at
HTML http://cleantechnica.com/2014/01/04/lancaster-home-solar-mandate-1st-us-world-leads-city-2014/#TxyPjS8dFSIq38E6.99
HTML http://cleantechnica.com/2014/01/04/lancaster-home-solar-mandate-1st-us-world-leads-city-2014/#TxyPjS8dFSIq38E6.99
--- End Quote ---
#Post#: 684--------------------------------------------------
Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
DIR By: AGelbert
Date: January 11, 2014, 5:14 pm
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BIOMIMETIC ARCHITECTURE: Green Building in Zimbabwe Modeled
After Termite Mounds
by Abigail Doan
HTML http://gdb.voanews.com/77EFCADE-28C1-40C1-A2BF-CD65159CB48E_mw1024_n_s.jpg
Biomimicry’s Cool Alternative: Eastgate Centre in Zimbabwe The
Eastgate Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe, typifies the best of green
architecture and ecologically sensitive adaptation. The
country’s largest office and shopping complex is an
architectural marvel in its use of biomimicry principles.
The mid-rise building, designed by architect Mick Pearce in
conjunction with engineers at Arup Associates, has no
conventional air-conditioning or heating, yet stays regulated
year round with dramatically less energy consumption using
design methods inspired by indigenous Zimbabwean masonry and the
self-cooling mounds of African termites!
HTML http://www.illustrationsof.com/royalty-free-termite-clipart-illustration-65144tn.jpg
HTML http://payload126.cargocollective.com/1/10/326952/4831354/termitemound01.jpg
HTML http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z1d_7zmpEG4/SiRpRXZgYbI/AAAAAAAABeA/atL0KDuOwjo/s400/The%2BEastgate%2BCentre%2Bin%2BHarare%2B1.jpg
Termites in Zimbabwe build gigantic mounds inside of which they
farm a fungus that is their primary food source. The fungus must
be kept at exactly 87 degrees F, while the temperatures outside
range from 35 degrees F at night to 104 degrees F during the
day.
The termites achieve this remarkable feat by constantly opening
and closing a series of heating and cooling vents throughout the
mound over the course of the day. With a system of carefully
adjusted convection currents, air is sucked in at the lower part
of the mound, down into enclosures with muddy walls, and up
through a channel to the peak of the termite mound. The
industrious termites constantly dig new vents and plug up old
ones in order to regulate the temperature. :
HTML http://us.cdn2.123rf.com/168nwm/lenm/lenm1201/lenm120100200/12107060-illustration-of-a-smiley-giving-a-thumbs-up.jpg<br
/>
HTML http://bioclimaticx.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/eastgate-zimbabwe-apartment-building.jpg
The Eastgate Centre, largely made of concrete, has a ventilation
system which operates in a similar way. Outside air that is
drawn in is either warmed or cooled by the building mass
depending on which is hotter, the building concrete or the air.
It is then vented into the building’s floors and offices before
exiting via chimneys at the top. The complex also consists of
two buildings side by side that are separated by an open space
that is covered by glass and open to the local breezes.
HTML http://sustainabilityworkshop.autodesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/core-page-inserted-images/eastgate_building_-_swl.jpg
Air is continuously drawn from this open space by fans on the
first floor. It is then pushed up vertical supply sections of
ducts that are located in the central spine of each of the two
buildings. The fresh air replaces stale air that rises and exits
through exhaust ports in the ceilings of each floor. Ultimately
it enters the exhaust section of the vertical ducts before it is
flushed out of the building through chimneys.
HTML http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ehp.121-a18.g004.png
The Eastgate Centre uses less than 10% of the energy of a
conventional building its size. :o :emthup:These efficiencies
translate directly to the bottom line: Eastgate’s owners have
saved $3.5 million alone because of an air-conditioning system
that did not have to be implemented. Outside of being
eco-efficient and better for the environment, these savings also
trickle down to the tenants whose rents are 20 percent lower
than those of occupants in the surrounding buildings.
Who would have guessed that the replication of designs created
by termites would not only provide for a sound climate control
solution but also be the most cost-effective way for humans to
function in an otherwise challenging context?
HTML http://inhabitat.com/building-modelled-on-termites-eastgate-centre-in-zimbabwe/
HTML http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/uu272/Ctthacker/termites/6886.jpg
SECRET termite thoughts upon viewing the Eastgate Mall:
It took those monkeys a while, but they finally figured out how
WE do it! But they STILL DON'T REALLY GET IT!
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/ugly004.gif
As all of us smart termites KNOW, altruistic behavior is our
SECRET. Human greedballs get heartburn when they are faced with
this so our secret is still safe.
HTML http://www.imgion.com/images/01/Angry-animated-smiley.jpg
Those dumb shits think we build efficient nests just because we
don't know any better? How stupid can they be!
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/gen152.gif
Do they think we "co-evolved" with FUNGUS? Don't they understand
that we don't just farm fungus, we have to avoid the kind that
kills us too!
Do they think we have guards at the entrance to decapitate any
termite with spores from the wrong fungus on them out at the
hazardous waste site AND replace the guards who immediately
commit suicide because we don't know any better?
HTML http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_2932.gif
Oh well, that Marx guy has been demonized so Homo SAP will
probable make great fungus culture for us in a hundred years or
so. We can wait.
HTML http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/emoticon-tv-003.gif
#Post#: 1035--------------------------------------------------
Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
DIR By: AGelbert
Date: May 2, 2014, 11:33 pm
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HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJbVLyst4Ok&feature=player_embedded<br
/>
Amory Lovins grows bananas in the Rockies and sells electricity
too (WITHOUT A FURNACE! :o ;D).
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMTCNOlozTA&feature=player_embedded<br
/>
LONG VERSION of first video for non-DOOMERS only. ;D
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5txQlEI7bc&feature=player_embedded<br
/>
Energy efficiency 1 of 5 videos: Amory Lovins
#Post#: 1049--------------------------------------------------
Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
DIR By: Surly1
Date: May 4, 2014, 8:49 am
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Here's a contrarian view, which when I read it, raised a number
of questions. As someone who considers not only "green tech" but
the moral implications seriously, I pass it along. A tip o' the
Surly Crown of thorns to JD Wheeler, who posted it first.
"People tend to think that technologies like wind, solar,
on-site water capture, and so on will empower the average person
and local communities and loosen the power of centralized power
structures. But what if the opposite is true? What if all these
technologies hand the one percent even more power? Under our
current socioeconomic system, what if these technologies allow
the one percent to establish their libertarian utopia where they
don’t need the rest of us and can tear up the social contract
even further than they already have."
Why Green Architecture is a Sham
HTML http://ow.ly/wsAlL
Some of you may have heard of the green building certification
system known as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a private
organization that even though it calls itself non-profit,
functions as en effective cash cow for its founders. LEED is
essentially greenwashing for the one percent to feel good about
themselves even as they tear the fabric society apart. It’s yet
another meaningless credential so that we can pretend our system
is sustainable. What’s my evidence?
Well, here are my two favorite “green” projects, both LEED
certified so they must be sustainable right? One is a new
terminal at San Jose International airport built exclusively for
the private jets of Silicon Valley executives to fly around the
world (Designboom does not use caps):
HTML http://www.designboom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/mineta-san-jose-airport-designboom04.jpg
Your private jet to Dubai awaits at this "green" airport
extension
a new development at the mineta san josé international airport
(SJC) will break ground in january, where private aviation firm
signature flight support has been granted rights to build and
operate a $82 million private development on 29 acres on the
airport’s west side. the company will service and provide a new
site for the personal aircraft of the principals at google, as
well as other clients in the silicon valley such as hewlett
packard. designed by gensler architects, the 270,000 square foot
LEED gold-certified facility will feature an executive terminal,
hangars, aircraft servicing resources and ramp space for
accommodating large business jets such as the boeing’s 737
business jet and boeing B767. in addition, the airport extension
will create economic stimulation to the region by opening up 150
to 200 construction jobs and offering the SJC $2.6 million in
annual rent.
HTML http://www.designboom.com/architecture/googles-82-million-corporate-jet-facility-in-san-jose-to-break-ground-12-20-2013/
Almost 200 jobs constructing a private jet facility for Google
executives, eh? Someone call Tom Friedman! I guess the wealth is
finally trickling down after all.
The other is the Virgin galactic spaceport for the one percent
to blast off into space for a vacation (even as NASA’s budget is
perennially cut):
HTML http://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/10/dezeen_Spaceport-America-by-Foster-and-Partners-22.jpg
Does it get more "green" than a spaceport for the one percent in
the middle of the desert?
The Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space, a combined terminal and
hangar facility, will support up to two WhiteKnightTwo and five
SpaceShipTwo vehicles. The 120,000 square-foot building has been
designed by Foster + Partners, working with URS Corporation and
New Mexico architects SMPC.The Gateway will also house all
astronaut preparation and celebration facilities, a mission
control centre and a friends and family area...With minimal
embodied carbon and few additional energy requirements, the
scheme has been designed to achieve LEED Gold
accreditation....Built using local materials and construction
techniques, it aims to be both sustainable and sensitive to its
surroundings.
HTML http://www.dezeen.com/2011/10/19/spaceport-america-by-foster-partners/
"Sensitive to it's surroundings," huh? Note that the space port
is in THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT! So where is the water for this
“sustainable” facility coming from? Oddly, the press release
doesn't say, but now Richard Branson can tout his “environmental
stewardship”
Do these projects seems like environmentally responsible green
building projects designed for a world with less energy and a
changing climate to you?
So now you can see what constitutes “green” building today.
There has been a lot of criticism of LEED, but these two
projects make that criticism better than anything I could say.
Thanks to LEED, the one percenters can purchase a fancy and
expensive credential to show all the world how environmentally
sustainable their pleasure domes are to ease their guilty
consciences. After all, it’s not like private jets and spaceship
use fuel, right? Here’s another one from the architect’s
playground from the appropriately named MAD architects:
HTML http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/24226_4_aoyangParkPlaza4.jpg
Yet another LEED-certified glass skyscraper in the world's most
polluted country
The team explains: “Like the tall mountain cliffs and river
landscapes of China, a pair of asymmetrical towers creates a
dramatic skyline in front of the park. Ridges and valleys define
the shape of the exterior glass façade, as if the natural forces
of erosion wore down the tower into a few thin lines. Flowing
down the façade, the lines emphasise the smoothness of the
towers and its verticality.”
An additional benefit of this fluid design approach is that the
ridges draw a natural breeze indoors, providing an energy
efficient cooling system for building users. The development has
received LEED Gold certification for its employment of natural
lighting and air purification systems, as well as intelligent
building design.
This perception of the elements eroding natural forms is
continued to the four smaller buildings found south of the two
main towers. These office blocks have been shaped to resemble
river stones, washed smooth and rounded over a long period of
time.
HTML http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=24226
Look, if you want to make a bunch of glass buildings look like
ancient Chinese cliffs and river-washed stones, I have no
problem with that. Go for it. What bugs me isn't the design
itself, nor the cost, but the dishonesty. If you want to indulge
in design fantasies and stand out from the crowd, that's your
prerogative, but don’t pretend that you’re somehow being
"environmentally friendly" by going for a credential like LEED.
Who are you fooling? And I like the part at the end about air
purification systems – necessary because of China’s infamous air
pollution. So your building can get green credits by screening
out the air caused by the coal-fired power plants fueling all
the economic growth (which generates more building, etc.).
Finally, I’ll outsource this one to Lloyd Alter.
HTML http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2014/04/games.jpg.650x0_q85_crop-smart.jpg
The one percent enjoying their "green" lifestyle
The big European engineering and manufacturing powerhouse, ABB,
is making a push into residential markets with their LivingSpace
program, full of home automation, security and more. They show a
truly lovely piece of architecture on the site (sorry about the
nav button being there), a see-through glass box with some nice
shades too. But somehow it doesn't seem appropriate to use it as
a model for "Reducing the energy consumptions of our homes."
It is a beautiful site with unusual navigation that works well
once you figure it out that things go sideways when you slide
your finger down, but McLuhan said that the medium is the
message, and the medium here is this big honking house. What's
the message? That instead of building a house with walls, ABB
will sell you "heaters, air conditioning, lights and blinds that
automatically work together to create a comfortable atmosphere
while minimizing energy to the max."
Perhaps I just don't understand advertising. I would have
thought that anyone who cared about energy consumption would
immediately ask themselves "why would I consider living in a
place like that?" or "how much do I have to pay ABB to make that
glass box comfortable?"
The title of the post sums it up: How to reduce your energy
consumption: Buy a glass monster home and fill it with green
gizmos (Treehugger)
Actually, the message is clear and is the same as the three LEED
projects above - "green" is a way for the job creators in their
gigantic mansions to feel good about themselves and the
direction society is headed.
Thus, the one percent can live in giant gizmo-filled “green"
homes and jet off into space from their “green” spaceports while
the rest of us are forececlosed upon and living in tarpaper
shacks or under bridges. But I guess our low-impact lifestyle
won't count as "green" will it? Welcome to the “green economy” –
it’s a “green” economy if you have the “green” of money (with
apologies to users of other currencies).
And that brings me to another conclusion that is
counterintuitive. People tend to think that technologies like
wind, solar, on-site water capture, and so on will empower the
average person and local communities and loosen the power of
centralized power structures. But what if the opposite is true?
What if all these technologies hand the one percent even more
power? Under our current socioeconomic system, what if these
technologies allow the one percent to establish their
libertarian utopia where they don’t need the rest of us and can
tear up the social contract even further than they already have.
What brought this to mind was finding this old article from
2009: Inside the Indian Building Hillary Clinton Calls a Green
Taj Mahal (Treehugger):
Located in the satellite city of Gurgaon, the ITC Green Center
is said to reuse all the water that lands on it and recycles all
the water it uses. Its insulated glass keeps out heat and lets
in abundant natural light. Ten percent of its wood is certified,
and its landscaping relies on local plant species. The building
has reduced its energy and water consumption by 51 per cent and
40 per cent, respectively.
When it opened in 2005, it became the world's largest completed
LEED platinum rated green office building. "If all new buildings
were designed in the same standards as the ITC Green Centre, we
could eventually cut global energy use and green house pollution
by more than 20 percent and save money at the same time," she
said.
With lower utility bills, the company will break even on its
investment (given an extra cost of 12 per cent over a typical
building) within five years and then begin to see subsequent
savings.
"The monument is a building to the future. The Green Centre not
only represents the promise of a green economy but also
demonstrates the partnership of India and the US in the 21st
century," she added.
Gurgaon is also home to the LEED platinum rated headquarters for
Wipro. The building has saved the company Rs 1 crore in power
costs annually, or 55 per cent of its energy consumption. The
extra cost of its construction—six to eight per cent over a
normal building—is expected to be recovered in five years.
The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) is targeting 1,000 LEED
certified buildings by 2010, up from 140 last year. Currently,
green buildings covering 67 million sq ft are being constructed
all over the country, up from 20,000 sq ft in 2003.
HTML http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/hillary-clinton-itc-green-center-new-delhi.jpg
Green Building - good for elites like Hilllary, but bad for us?
Keep in mind, this is a country where millions of people still
burn dung for heat and live without electricity or a toilet.
Ever seen Slumdog Millionaire? And what does this company do?
As in China, the green building movement remains mostly
relegated to large corporations, which have more capital to
invest in sustainable practices and a significant interest in
burnishing their reputations both at home and abroad.
In addition to the hospitality and IT industries, the ITC Group,
the conglomerate behind the center, makes its money through
tobacco.
As with SOM's "zero-energy" tower for the China National Tobacco
Company, talking about health out of one side of your mouth and
smoking with the other is hardly convincing.
Guragon, you may recall, is India’s “Voluntary City” a nice
euphemism for the Neoliberal endgame for all of us. It’s the
Libertarian wet dream. This is a city where there is no common
anything; an area of no taxes or governance where it's every man
for himself. Wealthy corporations pay for everything themselves,
while the unlucky poor live in squalor. Here is the coverage of
Guragon:
Gurgaon has no publicly provided “functioning citywide sewer or
drainage system; reliable electricity or water; public
sidewalks, adequate parking, decent roads or any citywide system
of public transportation.” Yet Gurgaon is a magnet for “India’s
best-educated, English-speaking young professionals,” it has 26
shopping malls, seven golf courses, apartment towers, a sports
stadium, five-star hotels and “a futuristic commercial hub
called Cyber City [that] houses many of the world’s most
respected corporations.” According to one survey, Gurgaon is
India’s best city to work and live. So how does Gurgaon thrive?
It thrives because in the absence of government the private
sector has stepped in to provide transportation, utilities,
security and more...
HTML http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2011/06/indias-voluntary-city.html
So this wealthy tobacco company just buys everything it needs,
trucks in its privileged employees (just like in Silicon Valley)
to a gated Elysium while everything outside the walls goes to
hell and everyone not serving the corporate bottom line is left
to fend for themselves without even basic infrastructure. This
is the world the elites are building all over the globe! Behold
the endgame of anti-government Neoliberalism. It has already
brought about a radical divestment of the U.S. infrastructure,
which is literally crumbling and falling down around us. What if
things like wind and solar allow this situation to get even
worse? Things like sewage systems, public transportation, and
the electrical grid are already derided as “collectivism."
Who cares about making upgrades to the electrical grid we all
use if you can just slap some solar panels on your multi-million
dollar home or office building? Who cares about leaks in the
water system, if you just harvest your own water? Who cares if
the water is safe to drink for people if you can afford to buy
your own private water filer? Who cares whether people can
afford to light and heat their homes if you can just buy your
own private diesel generator or hydrogen fuel cell and have your
personal stash of fuel trucked in? It reminds me of Hurricane
Sandy, when the general public lived without power for weeks
while the rich lived in comfort and ease in their giant
McMansions thanks to their diesel-powered generators and solar
panels. This is the future.
What if what these technologies really do is allow the rich and
powerful to abandon society to an even greater extent than they
already have?
Now that the one percent don’t even need the commons to provide
their power or their food anymore thanks to"green" technology,
what will become of it - public transportation, public sewage
systems, running water, natural gas, public trash collection and
snowplowing, and the common electrical grid we're all hooked up
to?
What will happen to the rest of us unfortunates who find
ourselves on the outside of their gated compounds and office
parks? Will we even have access to electricity and clean
drinking water? If Guragon is humanity’s future then probably
not. As the rich collect ever more of society’s wealth, they
will continue to dismantle the wider society and put it into
private hands, and "green" technology may actually help them do
this – gated communities with all the latest “green” amenities –
solar electricity, solar hot water, on-site water capture and
filtration, air purifiers, locally grown food, etc., while the
rest of us will be eating junk food made from processed corn
while shivering in the dark, dying of cholera, and getting
asthma from the coal-choked air. And the digital panopticon
initiated by governments around the world watching us 24 hours a
day will make sure even the very thought of dissent is strangled
in its crib.So “green technology” may not be the benefit we all
assume it is. It may even end up advancing the Neoliberal
endgame even further.
Now, to be clear, this is a worst-case scenario. For the record,
I’m for these technologies and I think they are a good idea to
cope with an energy descent scenario as well as climate change.
But I just want to highlight the potential dark side to these
technologies and how our current political and social
arrangements may deploy these technologies in a way which is not
to the benefit of most people, and may even be to the detriment
of some, as in Guragon. I think we just assume that these
technologies will make us all better off without thinking
through the deeper questions.
P.S. - Please forgive the title of the post - I know it's a
sweeping overstatement. I should have probably said LEED is a
sham. It's just that in my city, entire swaths of the city are
being bulldozed, people are losing their homes and tent cities
are springing up, even as massive and expensive condominium
towers for the wealthy are popping up downtown like dandelions
in the spring, and most of them have the latest "green"
amenities and LEED certification (and "certification" is
literally all it is - just a plaque in the lobby).
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