Green Options

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Tuesday, April 22 is Earth Day, and we thought that a couple special posts would be appropriate on this date.  Building has an enormous impact on the Earth, and green building offers the opportunity to lessen or eliminate many of those effects. Today, in a series of articles titled Elements of Building, we take a look at how Water, Energy and Materials each factor in to building operation and building design.

In addition to discussing green building, let us also take this opportunity to remind you of all the other Green Options blogs in the network and invite you to take a minute to look at some of the other writers and their Earth Day thoughts:

Over in the TalkClimateChange section of the new Green Options Discussion Forums, my colleague Mark Seall recently wrapped-up a “Live Debate” on the merits of nuclear power. In addition to the excellent and informed discussion with nuclear experts and environmentalists, there was also a reader poll that concluded with some rather unexpected results. Nearly 75 percent of the respondents believe that nuclear power is good because it is a source of “abundant carbon free energy.”

Yes, this is a reader poll, and it is not a statistical representation of the public attitude of any country in particular. But it is striking that the 133 readers who did vote, were all doing so from a blog network called Green Options. Get it? Simply put, the public attitude towards nuclear power has undergone a seismic shift in recent years. This evidence indicates that this is not the same environmental movement that emerged in the early 1970’s.

But as consumed as I am with energy issues and the politics that surround them, I remain somewhat agnostic about nuclear power. Why is that? There’s no simple answer. Part of it is not wanting to reconcile the tensions between nuclear power as a low-carbon alternative with the ecological dangers of mining uranium and the big issue of transporting and storing nuclear waste. [If you want to know more about the specific dangers and problems facing nuclear power, Judith Lewis has written an excellent article in the most recent issue of Mother Jones addressing these issues in great depth.]

I would also argue that the reason I (and many other greens my age) are not particularly averse to nuclear power is because the pressing environmental issues that were building blocks to my own environmentalism were generally not related to nukes.

As the lead writer of this exciting new endeavor, let me be the first to officially welcome you to Red, Green, and Blue, the newest addition to the Green Options family of environmentally-themed blogs. I cannot think of a better time to be launching a niche blog that is focused on environmental politics — let me briefly explain why.

In terms of the political component, and without belaboring the obvious, we are in the midst of a presidential campaign that has gotten people excited about politics again. Record numbers of people (especially young people) have already turned out to vote in their state’s primaries and caucuses. And after Hillary Clinton took Ohio and Texas this week, it looks like the Dems will have to wait a few more months before they can coronate their candidate, while the GOP has already settled on John McCain as their presidential candidate. We are also involved in a war that is raising the hackles of people across the political spectrum. One thing Democrats and Republicans both seem to want is resolution to this drawn-out war/occupation. We are all tired of seeing our troops being taken out by IEDs and suicide bombs, only to be sent home to underfunded VA hospitals, or even worse, to be sent home in a flag-draped coffin. Finally, the economy has slowed its pace of growth, and this too has gotten people more interested in politics. We are certainly living in interesting times, and as a direct result of that, politics are re-emerging into the popular consciousness.

The Green Options Media Network that Green Building Elements belongs to started out as a group blog called Green Options a year ago today. I was one of the green building writers on board when it started. In the course of that first year, and all the changes we’ve gone through, Green Options has become a network of related blogs, and I’ve moved to now be the lead writer for an entire blog devoted to green building and sustainable design. (It’s perhaps also appropriate that Green Building Elements got its new look just in time for this anniversary.) It’s a big enough field and there’s enough interest that we have four people (so far) writing about green building.

Writing about green building gives me a chance to explore and find out about new developments and new products. When I went to the Greenbuild 2007 Conference, I walked through the exhibition hall and saw numerous manufacturers whose products I had already written about and who I was familiar with. In some cases, I got to ask more detailed questions, or to see products in person that I had only read about on websites up until then. There were a number of instances, though, when I could tell the rep in the product booth, “I’ve written about your product.” Nothing else has given me as strong a sense of being in the forefront of something much larger.

When I got bored one summer and decided to start a blog about renewable energy and private sector leadership, I never imagined it would open up such a wider world of blogging and lead me down this wonderful road to Green Options. This site has allowed me to explore the online world as much as the energy world, and that’s been just as exciting (I’m finally getting into del.icio.us).

My background is in energy policy, so what I’ve learned over these past 12 months is not so much a broader understanding of energy solutions but a better understanding of what people around the world think about solutions. Almost everyone wants a new, cleaner, more efficient energy system. And while we may differ as to whether that will include more wind power, less nuclear power, or research into ocean energy, I believe the agreement and willingness for change is there. This has translated into my posts in which - for the post part - I haven’t been as intent on getting out my opinion as trying to foster a conversation about the best routes to take and the larger questions about reaching that ultimate point.

A year ago today, Greenoptions.com went live to the public for the first time. Jeff remembers those first exciting hours of our launch, but I trace the most important moments back to the start of a parallel timeline.

In the early days of our little startup, it was sometimes hard to tell exactly where we were going. We knew that Treehugger had built a successful content model by catering to the significant number of people who self-identify with that term. We wondered if it was possible to do the same, but with a brand and content focus that would help draw ordinary people towards a more conscious mindset, by meeting them where they are.

With that in mind and no funding secured, I attended the 2006 SF Green Festival as just another festival-goer, passing out user surveys to help nail down our demographics. Without a booth, I was quickly asked to stop or leave, but I vowed to be back next year, with both a booth and a greater sense of purpose.

What do you do when your website marks it’s first anniversary? Celebrate, of course, and that’s what’s happening here at Green Options. It was on February 5, 2007, the GO site flickered on and the Internet had a brand new, exciting portal for dissemination of all things sustainable.

To mark this occasion, we asked two of its founders, Publisher David Anderson and Senior Editor Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, to talk about the genesis, growth and plans for [...]

I can still remember the moment of Green Options’ public launch like it happened today: I was watching a Skype chat window as the lead of our contract development team started counting down. “Three… two… one…” … then nothing. Then “Sh*t.”

We laughed, and then got the site up about two minutes later. Three executives and ten writers had started a journey to empower a mainstream audience with green news, guidance and community. The rest of the day went swimmingly… we even managed to get all of those first posts on the front page of Hugg (ok, not a huge accomplishment at the time, but we felt great about it!).

In the year since, we’ve had a number of moments like that first one: I’d imagine all startups have their share of stories illustrating efforts that didn’t go quite as smoothly as planned. Despite those hiccups, I’m feeling a lot of pride and gratitude as we reflect on our first year online.

It’s tempting to go into details about our development over the year, or to even a brag a bit about our accomplishments, but I’m most interested at this point in saying “thank you” to the many people who’ve contributed to Green Options, and the Green Options Media blog network.

If this region of the US were its own country, it would be the fifth largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the world. With 71% electricity generation from coal and a large manufacturing base, change is needed.

The seeds of change were planted last week when Midwest governors signed an accord designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy conservation, utilize more renewable energy, and slow climate change. The specifics of [...]

You’ve probably already noticed some differences this morning at Green Options, and will be seeing more here in the very near future. Last night, our tech team took a major step forward for us by migrating the site to the Wordpress platform. Don’t fear, though: while you may experience some glitches here and there, they’re addressing these matters. In no time, you should be browsing around smoothly.

Members should’ve received an email noting that their user names may

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As Noel pointed out last week, Green Options now provides all registered users with a blog. If starting a green blog has been on your to-do list, now you’re only a mouse-click away from adding your voice to the "green blogosphere."

We’re pleased to see that a number of members have already started using their blogs, and we hope you’ll give it a shot, also. We’ve made sure that GO

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