BrightTALK is hosting a five-day green business summit this week, featuring several free webcasts on green building.  The webcasts run from April 21 to 24.  Each day features a different topic related to green business:

• Tuesday, April 21 - Water Management
• Wednesday, April 22 - Green Building
• Thursday, April 23 - Green IT
• Friday, April 24 - Green Marketing

Some of the highlighted speakers include:

• Peter Williams, CTO of IBM Big Green Innovations - “Water and Information Management” at the Water Management Summit
• Barry Hooper, San Francisco Private Sector Green Building Program - “Building & Operating Green in 2009 - Challenges and Successes in SF” at the Green Building Summit
• Pat Tiernan, Executive Director of Climate Savers Computing Initiative - “The IT Power Problem, simple actions to improve your business” at the Green IT Summit
• Joel Makower, Chairman and Executive Editor of Greener World Media - “Save the Buyosphere! Selling Green in the Age of More, More, MORE” at the Green Marketing Summit

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House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the energy and environment subcommittee, released a draft of a massive 648-page bill that tackles both climate and energy. “This legislation will create millions of clean energy jobs, put America on the path to energy independence, and cut global warming pollution,” Waxman claims.  The “cap and trade” bill seeks to cut carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions in the US, with an ultimate goal of reducing them to 83% of 2005 levels by 2050.  It also requires 25% of electricity to come from renewable sources or energy efficiency measures by 2025.

What is raising eyebrows, however, are not the goals of the bill, but the fact that it only applies to the United States.  Many opponents believe that without a global plan, US companies will simply pollute in other countries, then bring their products here for sale.  It is also expected to raise energy prices, as power companies will have to purchase more carbon producing permits, and will pass the costs on to consumers.

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MIT is hosting a sustainability summit as a cap to Earth Week.  The summit will be entirely student-organized, and is entitled, “Discovering New Dimensions for Growth.”  The Sustainability Summit will bring together students, business leaders, academics, sustainability activists, and public servants for a day of invited talks, panel discussions and opportunities for informal networking on the subject of how to face the opportunities and challenges of making the transition to a sustainable world.

The theme of the summit, “Discovering New Dimensions for Growth,” explores emerging solutions to the problems of unsustainable development. Current economic, political, and academic institutions, though highly interwoven, mainly work in isolation from each other. Students and practitioners of the field of sustainability are increasingly aware of the opportunities to collaborate to enhance their work on environmental, social, and economic endeavors. The goals are to restore natural systems, create a just and equitable social infrastructure, and revitalize the world’s economies - an incredible challenge that requires collaboration across many previously disparate fields.

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In a recently released corporate responsibility report, the Disney company has set its sites on going green and reducing its carbon footprint.  The report looks at everything from the nutritional content of the meals it serves, to “green standards,” to the working environment of the manufacturer’s that make Disney licensed products.

Disney, which owns theme parks, resorts, a cruise line, and travel tours, has the ability to make a tremendous difference with its sustainability measures.  The recent report laid out immediate goals for the coming year, goals for the next three to five years, and long-term goals for the company and its holdings.

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Homeowners Avrim and Vicki Topel are using their experiences building a LEED Silver home in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania as a chance to educate others on how to do the same.  They have written a book, Green Beginnings: The Story of How We Built Our Green and Sustainable Home, and recently announced the release of a companion video.

The video and book show the process of building a sustainable home from the viewpoint of the homeowners, a different perspective than the normal project case study.  The home, constructed by green builder and timber frame artisan Hugh Lofting, has become the catalyst for a nationwide educational and outreach program started by the owners.

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JELD-WEN, the window manufacturer, set out to find the house with the worst heating bill in the United States last year.  They found it in Maine.  A 119-year old farmhouse that incurred a December bill of $1,100, and had spent over $5,000 during the year in home heating oil.

What could be done to help the poor homeowners stuck with this atrocious energy sucker?  JELD-WEN provided 35 new Energy Star rated windows, two AuraLast wood doors, and some basement insulation - free of charge.  Did it make a difference?  You bet.

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According to an article on the Healthy Building Network, science is coming very close to making a direct link between vinyl chloride and cancer.  Unfortunately, the knowledge comes at the expense of many lives.

In McCollum Lake Village, Illinois, 14 residents out of the population of 1,000 have brain cancer.  This is the largest non-occupational brain cancer cluster ever identified.  Because the community is isolated, the common factor that seems to be causing the cancer is a vinyl food wrap factory near the town.  It is believed that vinyl chloride found its way from the plant to the wells where the residents get their water.

I won’t bore you with all the legal details, because of course there is a lawsuit.  The real news from this article doesn’t have anything to do with the lawsuit.  It has to do with what has been learned about the relationship between vinyl chloride and cancer.

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As part of its well-publicized 2030 plan (reducing the fossil fuel use of buildings by 50% in 2010 and carbon neutrality by 2030), the American Institute of Architects is offering a wonderful guide to 50 strategies for greening up buildings.  The strategies provided in the “50to50″ book range from “Active Solar Thermal Systems” to “Windows and Openings.”

 As stated in the introduction:

The 50 strategies … have been selected to provide readily available and effective tools and techniques that will have an effective and immediate impact on architects’ ability to achieve significant carbon reduction. The strategies span a spectrum from broad-based site and planning objectives to specific, building-based concepts.

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With all the attention on energy efficiency in buildings and where all that energy comes from (renewable sources or coal-fired electric plants), there is one resource that seems to be ignored - water.  And the really scary part is that although we can generate more energy from various sources, the water that is on the planet and in the atmosphere is all we have to work with - and we know it.

You may be thinking that there is plenty of water around, but when you get down to the science of the amount that is readily available for human consumption, the picture changes.

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FairGreenTrade.com recently launched its green product and service directory.  The site covers many green topics, from organic foods, green living, and, of course, green building.

Consumers can now get all their green information in one stop.  Even with the newness of the site, there are many resources already listed.  A quick browse of the green construction area led to links for various materials, including flooring, wall coverings, windows, etc.  The book selection, tied in with Amazon, is also quite extensive (as I found many books that I’m sure I can’t live without).

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1. Never block weep holes in windows and doors, as these allow water to drain properly.  Pay particular attention to this when caulking.

2. Don’t block breather holes on dual-sash units.  These holes are necessary for air circulation.

3. Use sealants that allow for movement, contraction, and expansion.  Watch the recommended temperatures for installing sealant, as provided by the manufacturer.

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The Bad News

Yes, you heard it right.  Some climate change is irreversible, according to a report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Earth System Research Laboratory on January 26, 2009.  “People have imagined that if we stopped emitting carbon dioxide the climate would go back to normal in 100 years, 200 years; that’s not true,” climate researcher Susan Solomon said in a teleconference.  The truth is some of the damage is already done, and there isn’t much we can do to change it in our lifetimes.

One of the biggest culprits in the planet’s warm-up is carbon dioxide.  Not only because of the “greenhouse effect,” but because it takes hundreds of years to break down.  Other gases take much less time.  We are currently dealing with not only our own emissions, but possibly the emissions from centuries ago as well.  And our actions today will influence the environment of generations to come.

So what can we do?

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Energy Star challenges all employees to reduce the energy use at their places of work, through its newest promotion, “Bring Your Green to Work.”  The corresponding web site offers employees the chance to register themselves and their company for the challenge and learn more about how to reduce energy use.

The child in me likes the “virtual office” application that offers several tips for lowering energy use.  Ideas include unplugging cell phone chargers when not in use, using window shades to block or allow light and heat into the space as necessary, and, of course, using Energy Star rated equipment.  It is presented in an easy to use interface, in which users click on blue stars placed throughout the “office” to receive the tips.

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I have been reading and seeing a lot recently about whether the green building movement is a fad or is here to stay, whether global warming is a myth, and how builders and owners are considering green measures only if there is a monetary reason for doing so.  There is controversy in other areas outside of green building, including paper or plastic, whether to buy organic food, and what to do with all the environmentally unfriendly stuff we’ve accumulated over the years.  Not to mention what do you do when you want to do the right thing, but you can’t afford it?

I’VE HAD ENOUGH!!!  It is time for a different perspective, one very different from our usual ego-driven, myopic view of what effects ME, and only ME.  Here are some thoughts that I think help put things into perspective (at least for me):

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Here is a brief run-down of the credits available in 2009:

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“With escalating energy prices, a homeowner or small business person has a right to know the energy performance of a home or building they invest in,” reads a draft of the bill provided by the governor’s office.  This quote points out the positive aspects of such a program.  It would provide incentives for new buildings to be built more efficiently, as they would qualify for special funding programs and would be more attractive to potential buyers.

There are some problems with the plan, however.

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Do you dread getting your December electric bill?  Holiday lights and decorations can be a drain on your wallet, as well as the environment.  However, new technology can help you save money and lower your carbon footprint.

LED holiday lights:

• Are safer (they don’t heat up like normal incandescent lights)
• Use less electricity (40 watts for a 100 light incandescent strand, versus approximately 8 watts for a similar LED strand)
• Last longer (average expected life is 25,000 hours)
• Can be strung together in larger amounts (up to 25-75 strands in one long string, versus 3-5 for incandescents)

Sounds great, huh?  But, as I discovered, there may be some hidden issues with LEDs.

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American Honda Motor Company presented its new Micro-sized Combined Heat and Power (MCHP) Deluxe co-generation unit at Greenbuild 2008 in Boston, Massachusets.  The unit has been around for a while (in Japan since 2003, and here in the US since 2007).  The system provides home heating or water heating along with power generation in one package.  It also includes a generator to provide power during an outage.

When installed in combination with a furnace system such as ECR International’s “freewatt,” homeowners can expect to save between $500 and $1,000 per year on their power bills.  This is achieved through the power-generating capabilities of the MCHP, plus the fact that the “freewatt” system provides additional electricity as a by-product of its heating process.

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Here are a few of them:

1. Write out your firm’s position and actions on climate change and include this in RFPs and all your marketing information.

2. Quantify and document the emissions that have been mitigated by your company.

3. Use the many resources available on the internet for energy savings and emissions reduction ideas.

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