Green Options » Platinum

South Africa Boosts Research into Fuel Cells and Hydrogen

Joshua S Hill — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:45:18 +0000

The South African government has announced plans to increase spending into the research of hydrogen and fuel cell technology over the next three years. They believe that, with the country’s metal rich resources, an increase in research could create more manufacturing and more income for the country.

The government announced to spend ZAR 400 million, which equates to roughly $49 million USD.

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Showing the Green Building Process

Philip Proefrock — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:22:10 +0000

What does it look like to build a house with lots of green features? We see pictures of the finished buildings, and we read about the features that make them green. We know about the importance of good insulation and reducing electrical loads and choosing efficient equipment. But what does it look like while it all goes together?

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Green Building Mandates

Philip Proefrock — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:08:13 +0000

Governments are beginning to mandate green building for some new construction, and that ought to be a cause for celebration. But because of the way these requirements are made, the possibility of problems arising when a building does not meet a required level of green building could lead to legal difficulties and lawsuits.

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Trendy Thieves Eye Used Grease, Metals

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:38:07 +0000

Rising prices for everything from copper and platinum to flour, gas and cooking oil are creating new markets for trend-minded thieves across the U.S.

With gasoline prices in the U.S. breaking new records weekly, for example, law enforcement officials are seeing more cases of cooking grease thefts from fast-food establishments and other restaurants. Why used grease? Because cooking oil can be converted into biodiesel fuel that can be sold at a cool profit.

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New Levels of LEED

Philip Proefrock — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:58:00 +0000

A new top-level LEED classification called Unobtanium is being proposed to replace the currently proposed Protactinium level, leading to a possible schism in the growing green building rating system. Whether Protactinium or Unobtanium becomes the new top-level of the LEED rating system…?

Earlier this year, officials proposed a new level of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) that is higher than the current top-end Platinum rating. The new Protactinium level introduces more stringent requirements to ensure the purity of the design team and to verify their worthiness to obtain such a noble rating for their building.

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