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Which came first, the chicken or the egg?  In the case of St. Thomas 7-Hot Pepper Sauce, it was definitely the chicken.  Without the chicken, there wouldn’t be the fertilizer to grow the hot peppers to make the hot sauce that the sent kids from the St. Thomas projects in New Orleans Lower Garden District off to college.

And without the chickens, Derek Hoeferlin and his architectural students from Washington University would not have had reason to take interest in this little community garden which has begun to harbor interest for it’s uniquely designed “urban chicken coop”, the story of its recovery post-Katrina and the sustainability recipe it holds for other communities across America.

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This new column highlights the top economic stories of the week.

At the outset of this week, it looked like the Swine flu might be the largest influenza epidemic since the virus that wiped out a significant portion of the world’s population at the end of the first World War. Local economies everywhere have been affected given that people have stopped going out for fear of “The SuperFlu.”

Not to mention the fact that pork sales are down even though it’s common knowledge that the virus cannot be attained through food. Although, new cases of the flu have been spotted in Europe and Latin America, it looks as though things are easing up, and that the worst is over.

Jazzfest kicked off its 40th year anniversary last weekend under beautiful breezy blue skies.   Despite the global economic mood, the festival goers seemed more  upbeat this year as programs to rebuild the New Orleans economy are slowly taking root and beginning to yield visible results.

And there has been much talk about clean coal. West Virginia Mountain Top Removal coal protests heated up this week. Also, CNN Money interviewed George Soros this week. The billionaire says sometimes his firm’s investments conflict with his personal views. But that coal is a viable source of energy once you take the carbon out.

But the automobile industry definitely seemed to top the economic news this week. GE showed the way forward with advanced hybrids and EVs just as Chrysler’s woes have left the world wondering as to the future of GM. While Fiat’s proposed acquisition of GM’s European group signified hope for Chrysler, NPR is of the view that convincing consumers to buy cars from a bankrupt company would seem to be a Sisyphean task. Can Chrysler do it — or to be more precise, can Fiat, which never had much success in the American market, do it?

And what can we expect next week?

Well, for starters, President Barack Obama plans to roll out a set of proposals on international tax policies on Monday, in an announcement with potential implications for U.S. multinational firms. Let’s see what happens.

Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/inspiredeconomy

How would you design your ultimate green home? My green home is one that incorporates Earth, Wind, and Fire!

Think of what technology might make possible in the next few decades and how we can use it to build homes that have a positive impact on the environment.

The growing awareness of the fact that buildings are responsible for 39% of our energy consumption, helps explain why green building and energy efficiency at home is one of the most pervasive trends in the construction industry — even as the economy struggles and home-building is at its lowest level in a generation.

Lets take a journey through our imagination and envision the green homes of tomorrow.

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The world suppliers can do better for us. The latest technology, smart grids or “SmartGrids”, provides a far more attractive 60% efficiency. How it works? “A smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability,” explains Wikipedia.

My state, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is theoretically on board. MA electricity providers responded to Governer Deval Patrick’s request for smart grid proposals. The Boston Globe’s interview with Stephen Connors, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Energy Initiative, explains the attraction. Environmentalists and others have been pushing for smart-grid technology for over a decade because it will enable consumers to use less electricity and benefit the environment. “Eventually, smart grids will also incorporate renewable energy - such as wind and solar power, and even electric cars - and feature software applications that reduce consumption during peak-demand times, as well as help power companies identify outages.” For example, the technology will note when you are not home and shut down nonessential components.

The two specific Massachusetts electricity service providers serving the highly populated eastern MA region have proposed the following pilot programs:

1. National Grid’s two-year pilot proposal installs approximately 15,000 meters that read energy consumption almost in real-time. “Customers could access the information via the Internet, by a thermostat readout, or through text messaging, and use the data to change their consumption patterns,” reports the Boston Globe. The cost of the program for the 1.3 million customers would be approximately $ 57 million dollars, which represents less than a dollar per month cost to customers, but an approximate savings of $70 dollars per year.

2. “NStar’s plan, meanwhile, calls for partnering with Tendril Networks Inc., a Colorado energy-efficiency company, to provide nearly 3,000 customers in Newton and Hopkinton [Boston area cities] with energy-consumption information - accessible on the Web - gathered from electricity meters every 15 seconds. Two-way communication between NStar and consumers will also allow the company to eventually ask customers to help reduce electricity consumption during peak-demand periods.”

Obviously, the application of smart grid technology is sustainable on several levels, so we can hope that it is adopted in MA and worldwide pronto. For faster progress, call or email your local legislator to encourage this positive corporate behavior.

We are back to the days of civil disobedience.

Starting today, 10,000 students and young people will converge upon Washington D.C. to demand immediate action on green jobs and climate change. It’s like being back in the Vietnam War protests all over again.

The protest is timely given President Obama’s release of his new budget which allocates funds for various aspects of climate change with a view to creating green jobs in the bargain. Labeled the Power Shift ’09 (www.powershift09.org)  summit will last until Monday, March 2.

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A visit to his Lucky Ranch reveals a very special looking barn, built out of trash. He used scrap plastic for the foundation blocks, then erected walls of baled trash paper. The wall materials were inexpensive and provided excellent insulating quality, says Eichelberger.

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President Obama has come under the radar. Publications like the Huffington Post and the Financial Times are questioning whether he has failed already. Why? Because Tim Geithner has proposed a bailout plan for zombie banks that capitalists believe should be allowed to fail.

The writing is on the wall. Critics and journalists are pointing fingers at Geithner’s plan.  Martin Wolf of the FT goes as far as to say that if the plan fails then so will Obama’s credibility. Arianna Huffington says that Time Geithner is on the wrong side of the issue and that much like his predecessor Hank Paulson, he is more concerned about saving certain banks rather than saving the banking industry.

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A US example of how businesses are responding to the new realities is the Southeastern Texas company GreenPointe Holdings LLC. The company was launched a few months back by Ed Burr, a seasoned real estate developer. He plans to develop financially feasible eco-friendly communities throughout the Southeast and Texas. Burr is aiming to coordinate with public/private partnerships to get infrastructure projects going.
“Our company is unique because we are fusing the concepts of green building and sustainability, and the interlocking function of public/private partnerships,” Burr was quoted as saying in a US newspaper.

The company’s Jacksonville offices are a live testimony to this business strategy. Energy saving air conditioners are placed on the roof, climate neutral carpets line the floors, the bathrooms have been fitted with double flushing toilets, appliances in the kitchen are Energy Star rated and the walls sport eco friendly paint.  Oh, and there’s the lighting – all energy saving compact fluorescent bulbs. Everything has been thought of.

The company aims to build residential developments in much the same style. But it’s not only housing that Burr is going to focus on; he’s all about infrastructure. And that means roads, sewage systems and other structural public developments are going to emerge under his supervision.

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Cash, that most basic element of our economy, can be in abysmally short supply for new young families scraping by on marginal jobs.

Sustainable housebuilding may not be foremost in their minds.

But one young couple in Wales managing on an annual income of just $10,000 went ahead and built their own cheap home anyway, sustainably, mostly out of materials from “a rubbish pile somewhere.”

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Wells Fargo has passed the $2 billion mark in lending for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certified buildings. Maybe not too surprising, the bank was one of the first to be LEED pre-certified for New Construction.

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If you are from Colorado and have made the drive along I-25 over the last five years from Denver to Fort Collins or Denver to Colorado Springs, you have undoubtedly noticed it.  The irony of vast corn fields and pastures surrounded by construction sites and tract housing.  Productive pastures once grazed by livestock replaced by bulldozers clearing the way for development and progress in the form of roads, houses, and malls.  As one farmer put it, “we’ve gone from growin’ corn to growin’ houses.”  Colorado is not the only state facing this issue, consider these facts from the American Farmland Trust,

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Disposable Cups

Starbucks stores use billions of cups annually. This requires enormous quantities of natural resources and energy before finding their way to landfills. Starbucks does however use cups that contain 10% post consumer recycled content.

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The letter from Corey Brinkema, president of the FSC-US, to FSC certification holders is reprinted below. The letter is reprinted from the Print Buyers Online Green Content section.

Dear FSC Certificate Holders,

I have important news to share with you. On September 10th, the Forest Stewardship Council – United States (FSC-US) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Government, the first-ever legal action in our 10-year history. I’d like to take a moment to share why we undertook this action and why I believe it matters to all those who value responsible forestry.

Our lawsuit against the U.S. Trade Representative stems from the Canadian Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) between the U.S. and Canada. In September 2006, the SLA settled trade litigation between the two countries related to the 30% duties the U.S. imposed on imported Canadian lumber in 2002. The SLA settlement awarded the U.S. $1 billion. One of the settlement provisions required Canada to “donate” $350 million of this $1 billion to two U.S.-based forestry foundations — the newly created U.S. Endowment for Forests and Communities and the American Forest Foundation. According to the SLA, monies were to go to “meritorious initiatives” in the name of sustainable forestry and forest communities.

FSC-US believes that this enormous disbursement of funds was both illegal and a violation of the American public trust. The law required that these funds be first deposited in the U.S. Treasury and then left to Congress to decide how to spend any funds.

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The founders Christine Thüring and Jörg Breuning are green roof professionals who have collaborated in the past on green roof tours in conjunction with the World Green Roof Congress.

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Crystalline Tower Office Building in Manhattan

BofA’s new 2.1 million square foot, 54 story tower is being heralded as the world’s greenest skyscraper. This $1 billion glass, steel, and aluminum skyscraper will use significantly less water and energy, while providing a healthy indoor environment.

It features a passive solar design, the use of recycled and renewable materials, and work stations with individual climate controls. Natural elements include the use of rain water and a green roof reduces energy use for heating and cooling. A graywater system will reuse waste water from sinks to flush toilets. A 4.6 megawatt cogeneration plant will generate heat and electricity.

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For builders who thought going green was the answer there’s some bad news. While the hype surrounding green building features would make one think this trend would last forever, a recent study by the New York Times reveals some holes in this theory.

Ninety-three percent of all home buyers, both nationally and in the New York metro area, are not willing to pay more for green or energy efficient features when building a home, according to a recent independent study commissioned by The New York Times Customer Insight Group.

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]]> http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/08/14/bad-news-for-green-builders-not-so-fast/feed/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/06/alliance-between-usgbc-and-aia/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/06/alliance-between-usgbc-and-aia/#comments Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:02:06 +0000 Philip Proefrock http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/06/alliance-between-usgbc-and-aia/ There has been a lot of news out of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in the last few weeks, including the draft version of the new LEED standard. But an alliance between the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and USGBC will help bring green building even further into the mainstream.

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/06/alliance-between-usgbc-and-aia/feed/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/04/15/grand-rapids-has-the-first-leed-museum/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/04/15/grand-rapids-has-the-first-leed-museum/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:13:15 +0000 Philip Proefrock http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/04/15/grand-rapids-has-the-first-leed-museum/

Grand Rapids, Michigan is one of the greenest cities in the country, at least if you go by the number of LEED certified buildings it has. And now it adds to its distinction with the first LEED Gold certified art museum in the country.

Grand Rapids is tied with Pittsburgh and Washington at #5 on a list of cities with the most LEED certified buildings, surpassing even cities such as Chicago, San Francisco, New York. Grand Rapids also has embraced renewable energy for the city. A strong regional commitment to green building and support from philanthropist Peter Wege (who serves on the board of the designerly office furniture manufacturer Steelcase as well as the Grand Rapids Art Museum’s board) has helped Grand Rapids But Grand Rapids’ latest claim to green fame is that it is now the home to the first new construction LEED-certified art museum in the country.

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