Preston Koerner is a Green Options writer focusing on green building, sustainable development, and environmental architecture. Currently in his last year of graduate work at SMU in Dallas, Texas, Preston also writes for his own blog called Jetson Green.
If there's such a thing as a conservative environmentalist, that's what Preston is. Dispensing with the traditional approach to all things green, he focuses not only on the environmental benefits but the business and economic aspects of a given strategy. There is a strong case for being successful and being green.
Source: EcoManor.comFirst, you have the National Association of Home Builders sponsoring a 4,700+ sf urban loft home, the 2007 New American Home, for their annual International Builders Show in Orlando, Florida. The New American Home is certified green by the Florida Green Building Coalition and uses 73% less energy for heating and cooling and 54% less energy for water heating, compared to a comparable house in a similar climate. Did I [...]
Today, the huge homebuilder Lennar Corporation announced a deal with Sacramento Municipality Utility District (SMUD) to build the largest solar homes development in the United States. According to the deal, Lennar will build 1,254 energy-efficient homes with solar power systems as a standard feature in 11 communities in the Sacramento area. Under SMUD's part of the deal, it will provide a maximum of $10.9 million in incentives and Lennar will receive the [...]
Every now and then, I see comments like the following, "That home is 2,200 sf. There's no way it can be green, such a monstrosity! People need to live in smaller houses." I disagree with that blanket statement. No house is too big, it's just the number of people in the house is too small. But I've heard equally judgmental comments with respect to second homes and vacation homes. [...]
Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) just announced an ambitious plan to build a new green resort development in North America. Ever Vail will be a $1B, 9.5 acre, multi-use resort village on the current site known as West Lionshead. If approved for development, Ever Vail will be the largest LEED-certified project for resort use in North America and one of the earliest developments to come under the LEED Neighborhood Development certification [...]
There's a reason GreenBuild 2007, the green building industry's major conference and expo, is going to be in Chicago. The city is just busting at the seams with progressive thinkers and eco-entrepreneurs. Recently, I noticed a news report about Baum Development rehabbing the old Cooper Lamp Factory in Logan Square into a one-stop, live-work, shopping center of green businesses and activities. It's going to be called the Green Exchange. [...]
Going into this, please understand that I don't intend to be crass, but this is a topic that needs to some attention. Admit it, when people talk about low-flow toilets, you laugh thinking, "It won't work…believe me…you don't know my _____ (insert favorite male of your choice)." The fact is, green toilets have come a long way and are pretty effective at what they do. Water is a precious, scarce resource that [...]
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) can now hold itself out as an example of what green building is all about. The USGBC has a 22,000 square-foot office suite in the LEED Gold for New Construction (LEED-NC) Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Building. What's more incredible is that the USGBC's office suite just obtained LEED Platinum for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI). So the building is gold on the outside and platinum on [...]
SolarCity is going from one city to another, helping California residents make the investment in solar power. They've developed a program called the "Collective Power Program," which leverages economies of scale to provide lower prices for solar panels.
Technology adoption amazes me. Sometimes it's quick and sometimes it's not. Take TiVO, for example. Back in the day, people couldn't figure out what the hell a TiVo was! It was (and still is) an innovative product, but it was complicated to explain. Once you used it, however, you were hooked.
McGraw-Hill Construction, one of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), just released its market research findings on green building in the education sector and guess what?
