So, what’s does it take to get a bowling alley certified as a green building?

Bamboo lanes? Organic cotton bowling shirts? Low-VOC antiseptic spray for the rented shoes? Nope… Brooklyn Bowl took practical steps to create a chic entertainment venue with a low impact.

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This facility is PSEG Solar Source’s first large-scale solar project. It is one of the largest solar projects in the state of New Jersey, which is already 2nd only to California in its amount of installed solar capacity. The MARS headquarters adjacent to the solar garden is the workplace of about 1,200 employees and is where M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies are manufactured.

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Have you ever done the math on commuting to work? Telecommuting saves money, it’s a fact. Yet most folks are fearful of stepping out of the in-person environment. Luckily the barriers have been broken by Adobe as their new Acrobat Connect Pro software has video, audio, and interactivity that create an almost in-person experience for meeting attendees.

In addition, Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro online meeting software is now offering a free trial and every time someone signs up they donate twenty-five dollars to help a school go green. In fact, Adobe has partnered with the U.S. Green Building Council and the mayors of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco to help schools go green in their communities. Each city will receive up to $100,000 to create classrooms that foster learning alongside smart environmental practices.

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In the quest to create new green jobs, we have the opportunity to take existing jobs and make them green.

Every city has architects, engineers and construction divisions. In conventional circumstances the activities these employees undertake can burn considerable natural resources. But in San Francisco, we’re working to turn these traditional municipal positions into environmental champions.

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In a stark contrast with how construction used to be thought of, the green building movement has been a shift away from the traditional concerns about money and time. The betterment of our planet, as it turns out, is quickly becoming a bigger priority. Since March of this year, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program has seen around 20,852 new LEED registered and certified projects.

Most of this can be attributed to the fact that builders view green buildings as more economical in the long run, and recent incentives on the part of the government have added an extra encouragement.  But while these positives have been talked about pretty often, there are some risks associated with going green that still leave many builders wary.

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In recent posts on Planetsave and EcoWorldy about moratoria on soya and cattle products related to Amazon destruction, it was mentioned that McDonald’s is helping to save the Amazon. With the company also delving into green building, progressive energy saving software, and charging stations for electric vehicles, is McDonald’s a green company?

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NASA claims it’s currently planning what would be the greenest building in the federal government. To be called the Sustainability Base, this is slated to be one of NASA’s most ambitious eco-friendly projects.

The $20.6 million building will utilize current alternative energy technologies such as water recycling systems, fuel cells and solar panels to achieve a LEED-certified edifice. NASA will even use some of its technologies developed specifically for space exploration. The aim is to build a self-sustaining structure that consumes no net energy and 90 percent less potable water than other buildings its size. According to Steve Zornetzer, Associate Center Director at NASA Ames, the name Sustainable Base is an homage to Apollo 11’s Tranquility Base.

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Energy Secretary Steven Chu was recently on the Daily Show, with a carbon reduction strategy that is readily applicable: cool off our roofs.

Your home or office building has to endure the solar radiation it receives from the sun on a daily basis.  Much of this radiation gets transferred through conduction into the building, placing a further burden on your air conditioning system.  Painting the roofs of buildings white and laying softer colors of roofs on homes will reflect that heat energy back into space.

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A model of clean technology and green building, a rail center planned for Anaheim, CA in 2013 will also provide a link to Disneyland. Taking design cues from NYC’s Grand Central Station, the building will also be a centerpiece of Anaheim and a site to see in itself.

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I can’t believe I’m writing an article about Justin Timberlake. On Saturday, the 27-year-old actor and singer opened the first LEED Platinum certified golf course in the United States.

The multi-talented Timberlake’s latest business venture, Mirimichi Lakes golf club in North Shelby County, Tennessee, opened Saturday after Timberlake christened the course with a 291-yard drive crushed down the middle of the fairway, after which, the singer and actor grinned and said, “nobody’s happier about this course.”

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Wyndham Worldwide’s new headquarters in Parsippany, N.J. is all about renewable resources. According to Green Lodging News, the new facility is powered 100% by wind energy. The building opened in 2009 and they expect to receive a LEED Silver award.

According to Environmental Leader,

Faith Taylor, vice president, sustainability and innovation for Wyndham Worldwide, told the news site, “We really wanted to walk our green talk. We took the LEED initiative to heart. It was a collaboration of many groups.”

Picture via Flickr.

On the creatively intriguing side, we walked into the Icynene Inc. display booth only knowing that they create their Icynene LD-R-50 spray foam insulation partially from Castor oil. Honestly, we didn’t exactly know the origin of Castor oil. Castor oil comes from Castor beans (not true beans from Castor plant) and don’t serve a normal food source, so not food for insulation here. Castor crops don’t require pesticides or fungicides or even water to grow and are rapidly renewable. For this insulation, they use 15 percent castor oil (and unfortunately 85 percent polyglycol, which in our eyes is like using B15 biodiesel. Fifteen percent is better than zero percent but still a long way to go. This product helps eliminate dust, pollen and contains no VOCs as it is water blown. Most traditional cellulose insulation comes from 80% newspaper (up to100% post-consumer recycled) and 20% binders and fire-retardants, commonly borax, boric acid, sulfuric acid, ammonium sulfates and/or other chemical compounds. Smell the goodness.

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Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, is taking the green diploma to an even higher degree. University officials are betting a new Living Learning Center will meet the Living Building Challenge, the world’s most stringent green building rating system from the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, a chapter of the USGBC and its Canadian counterpart.

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The Orchard represents San Francisco’s only hotel to earn this honor, the Orchard Hotel is the second hotel in California and fourth hotel in the world with this certification. The inspiration from these green hotels comes from its 85-year-old owner, Mrs. S.C. Huang, who has pushed her environmental agenda and created more environmentally safe and sustainable hotels after the untimely cancer-related deaths of three family members.

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Two years later, they’re not only still in business; they’re profitable.

In a brief interview with the Naples (Florida) Daily News, Snyder and Brinkman note that green cleaning isn’t just about jumping on a bandwagon: Snyder notes that their services can contribute to better indoor air quality (and fewer employee sick days), and can also contribute to LEED certification points. In the end, though, their most effective pitch involves cost savings: the two entrepreneurs have made sure to keep prices affordable while maintaining high green standards for their clients, and in their own operations.

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Green buildings have never been so popular, at least when it comes to public policy. Looking at the stimulus plan you see how a concept that until lately was relatively marginal suddenly becomes a significant policy tool, which is expected to stimulate the economy, lower energy consumption, create jobs and support the environment, all the same time.

But what does a green building or a green home actually means? well, for most of us it would be difficult to get into specifics as so few had the chance to experience it personally, but for Avrim and Vicki Topel know the answers.

They have built a green home (LEED Silver Certified) at Kennett Square, PA and they’re sharing their story in a new book entitled “Green Beginnings: The Story of How We Built Our Green & Sustainable Home“. This book is a valuable book for anyone interested in going green or building a green home. It is also part of a greater effort of the Topel’s experience to share their experience with others, which includes tours in the house and a documentary video. And last but not least, as we reported earlier, Eco-Libris is collaborating with the authors to plant trees for the copies sold of the book.

As we wanted to learn more about the authors’ experience and their book, we asked Avrim Topel to join us for an interview.

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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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If this had been announced before I wrote the Top 10 Dumbest Green Buildings on Earth, it would have easily taken the number one slot.

Yum! Brands has asked the United States Green Building Council to LEED-certify its Northampton, MA Taco Bell/Kentucky Fried Chicken location because the building includes rainwater collection, solar panels, LED lighting, and recycled building materials.

They neglect to mention in their press release that all food will still be packaged (regardless of whether patrons dine in or take out) and that they’ll still be serving lots and lots of factory-farmed meat — the number one known cause of global warming.

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