Green Options

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[There are a number of different approaches to communities and building that serve to support sustainability (and often other aims at the same time; sustainable strategies are almost invariably diverse and multi-faceted in the benefits they offer). Over the next few weeks, I intend to take a look at a number of these types of communities and the ways each of them contribute to improving overall sustainability.]

New Urbanism (sometimes referred to as Traditional Neighborhood Design) is a movement spearheaded by the The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU). Its goals are “promoting walkable, neighborhood-based development as an alternative to sprawl. CNU takes a proactive, multi-disciplinary approach to restoring our communities.” Improving sustainability is one of the Principles of New Urbanism (see below),additionally, New Urbanism advocates a number of benefits. Although there are broad overlaps between using historical, traditional housing forms (or, unfortunately more often, faux-historical looking buildings) and New Urbanist principles, there is nothing magical about gabled roofs and wood siding, and New Urbanism does not require retro-styled throwbacks (although many examples of it do combine visual historical revivalism with the good community principles it supports).

Much of the attention we pay to green building deals with the parts and pieces and how our buildings work. Greener buildings use less energy for thermal comfort (heating and cooling) and less energy for lighting and draw on fewer resources (and less impact from the materials that are used) in their construction. All of these are good and useful steps to take. However, all of this just takes into account the building itself, and perhaps the site it rests upon. With this kind of focus (or lack thereof) one could envision a community of dispersed “green” buildings all individually well designed and well made, but, in the aggregate, contributing hugely to the destruction of habitat, the depletion of resources, and the net degradation of the environment.

An interesting report ran in The Guardian today - offering tips on how your community could become greener by way of the green living awards.

Environmentally friendly scuba diving, a new kind of courier bicycle service, the “scrapmobile” and more. A thoroughly positive and refreshing report as we head into the weekend.

A while ago, I read up on some disturbing impacts of car idling on the environment and decided to join a neighborhood effort to curb unnecessary idling. Our first target was the local school, where parents often idle during pick-up or drop-off time. Sometime, the parents idle up to 10 minutes, emitting car exhaust while other waiting children directly inhale the pollutant.

The group had approached the principal last month and finally she responded last

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If you live near San Francisco or plan to visit the city, you need to know about the Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF). Why? Because on any typical Saturday, joining a free FUF excursion is the most rewarding fun you will find anywhere in the city.

FUF plants trees in San Francisco, and you can plant with them. To date, they’ve planted over 40,000 trees and counting. They’re also the only NGO of their kind in the city. That means no FUF, no trees. Generally, FUF teams meet every other Saturday to plant. Get on FUF’s mailing list to find tree planting locations and times.

You can just show up to one of the plantings with no reservation. There, you’ll meet other volunteers of all ages, some experienced arborists along with many first-time volunteers. These folks are always fun, always friendly, and share an interest in the keeping the environment healthy and beautiful. Come for the chance to plant some trees, stay for the fun potluck lunch that usually follows a planting!

Imagine what cart corals at the supermarket would look like if shopping carts didn’t nest together. Imagine what the entryway of the supermarket would look like if shopping baskets didn’t stack. This would be poor spatial planning on the designers part. Next, image what a parking lot could look like if our cars stacked? We all of the sudden will have a plethora of open [...]

The outlook for the environment is not all doom and gloom. Environmentalists, scientists, and lawmakers have led the way in overcoming significant, even planetary, environmental crises in the past and we will probably continue to do so in the future.

In fact, in many ways, there is more reason for optimism for the fate of our species and the planet now than at any point in the last several centuries. These are the [...]

So many events, so little time. Let’s dive right in…

This first event, the American Democracy Institute’s Empower Change Summit, is a biggie. To be held this Saturday, November 3rd at UCLA’s Royce Hall, the event features Bill Clinton and centers on empowering yourself, your friends and your community to affect change in your everyday lives and thus, the world.

Sponsored by the American Youth Summit, the focus of the discussions has a decidedly

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There are so many beneficial reasons to buy in bulk, so this simple green practice is easy and rewarding to implement. Living an hour away from the nearest grocery store, buying our food and personal products in bulk is a necessity of mountain life. The survivalist in me does not feel comfortable unless my pantry is stocked with staple goods bought in bulk. Not only does buying in bulk make life

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Do you know where your pension coming from? For some US teachers, it’s Chinese coal.

The Chinese coal industry is known for its lucrative returns: the China Shenhua Energy Co. gained 65% from July to September, and many investors claim they can’t afford not to be in China. In fact, 20% of Shenhua’s stock is held by U.S. investors — one of whom is the Teachers Retirement System of Texas.

But China’s coal

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Holiday season fanfare has already begun, and I am reminded of my holiday motto: No more junk toys! Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and/or the Winter Solstice, if you have children, you know what junk toys are. Junk toys are toys that will have little educational value, are usually made of plastic, are overly commercial, and end up in our landfills. Green parents often try to make these toys

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Many green parents (and doctors) have long thought that increased exposure to environmental toxins can lead to childhood diseases such as asthma, cancers, birth defects, and developmental disorders. CNN.com even ran a story last week about industrial chemical buildup in children’s bloodstreams. Now, the Shaklee Foundation and HealthyChild.org have teamed up to produce a new DVD that provides information for parents, teachers, school administrators, and child care professionals on

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