By Lucille Chi •
November 12, 2009
Have you heard about NRDC’s Smarter Cities?
“When thinking about the urban environment, more often than not problems come first to mind. Less commonly thought about is the potential presented by cities, potential to rethink and reshape their environments responsibly.
Today urban leaders—mayors, businesses and community organizations—are in the environmental vanguard, making upgrades to transportation infrastructure, zoning, building codes, and waste management programs as well as improving access to open space, green jobs, affordable efficient housing and more. If they succeed in making their cities more efficient, responsible and sustainable, what will result will be smarter places for business and healthier places to live.”
Find out what is smart and green near you. Join the team and start reporting the success of your city!
By Daniel Hohler •
August 1, 2009
For years and years, humans considered themselves the one and only makers of tools. Homo sapien literally means “wise man” because we were so intelligent that it was us humans, and us humans alone, who could even have the brain capacity to create a tool. It was considered the key feature of the genus Homo.
Well, that was until people actually decided to carefully look at other animal’s social behavior. It was not until the mid to late 1900’s that people realized “oops us humans are not the only ones to use tools.” Primatologists discovered chimpanzees creating tools for fishing termites out of their mounds, and stones for crushing nuts from their hard shell. Other researchers discovered that gorillas make beds from foliage, as well as sponges out of chewed up leaves.
By Keith Rockmael •
July 10, 2009
Did you know that if you install a Biomass Stove – wood, pellets, etc. that you can nab a 30% tax credit ($1,500 max) up until 2010? Who knows that homeowners can get a 30% tax break for installing Solar Hot Water Heating until 2016? Maybe the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) which was signed into law by President Obama in February 2009 isn’t as complicated as the IRS tax code but does anyone really want to delve into the 400 pages of legislation to figure all the ins and outs about how to qualify for the green tax credits available to homeowners?
In a Cliff’s Notes version of the myriad incentives, rebates, and tax incentives GREENandSAVE has created a Federal Tax Incentive Decoder and condensed the material to 11 bite sized pages. Best of all, this resource does not cost a dime and can be downloaded at: http://www.greenandsave.com/homecheckup/free_federal_tax_incentive_decoder
Last week, at the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in Seoul, Autodesk, Inc., a world leader in 2D and 3D design and engineering software, announced that it will collaborate with the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) and the Microsoft Corporation, to provide visualization technology for Project Two Degrees. Project Two Degrees is an Internet-based application that provides cities with a set of tools to measure, compare, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at a local level.
Autodesk joins forces with the Clinton Foundation to build sustainable cities
Autodesk will provide the technology, initially based on Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise, that will act as the model-based visualization environment used to view, evaluate and compare the results of analysis and monitoring in the C40 city. Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise software is a powerful mapping solution for delivering information more quickly, easily, and cost-effectively via the web.
Green Building Elements had a chance to speak with Brett Smith of Autodesk and Olivia Ross of the Clinton Foundation. Here is what they had to say.
GBE: How does the software track emissions?
Brett Smith (Autodesk): The Project 2° Emissions Tracker is designed to measure as many municipal and corporate activities as possible. Users enter data on emission producing activities such as fuel and electricity consumption, vehicle traffic, waste production, industrial processes and air and sea vessel fuel use. The software then converts the data into greenhouse gases, including tons of CO2 equivalent, taking into consideration the source and type of activity.
By Paul Smith •
April 29, 2009
In today’s rapidly changing sustainable business landscape, it’s becoming increasingly important to be aware of what’s happening, emerging, and yet to be created where you could fill a need. How best to do that?
By Lucille Chi •
January 2, 2009
In full bloom at the National Building Museum this year, is a Green Community exhibition. The interactive show shares detailed information on how the “health of our communities, our planet, and ourselves depend on how we plan, design, and construct the world between our buildings. Green Community explores the origins of our precarious ecological situation and introduces communities large and small where citizens, political leaders, planning and design professionals, developers, and government agencies are working together for a more sustainable future.”
The exhibit poses the question “What makes a community green?” and answers by stating “A green community conserves its land, offers multiple options for transportation, provides open space for recreation and cultivation, and uses its natural and cultural resources wisely.”
By Paul Smith •
October 30, 2008
Ah, the internet, what an amazing tool you are for helping businesses grow. Or even exist. You allow so much more to happen for so many more people than in the past. And yet, there’s only so much you can do online, if you deal in physical products. They need to be stored somewhere. Packed. Shipped. Returned. All necessary, and yet for most entrepreneurs, something they’d rather not deal with. You’ve come up with a product line that more and more people love, and it’s making you more and more hate what fulfilling on that demand has begun to entail.
You find yourself needing a warehouse, or needing a bigger one then you have. Maybe you don’t need a warehouse, but managing all the nittie gritties is extra hassle you’d rather not have. Or perhaps your customers aren’t just local anymore, and your carbon footprint is getting larger because of the shipping. What to do?
By Dawn Killough •
September 22, 2008
GreenandSave.com’s Green Project Return on Investment table offers realistic information to help building owners make decisions on the cost effectiveness of green building measures, remodeling, and tune-ups.
By Julie Sammons •
June 25, 2008
Looking to light a ‘green’ fire under your employees, partners, or potential funders? Need a little eco-inspiration of your own?
If a single picture is worth a thousand words, a compelling or amusing video presentation may be worth a turnaround in your small business culture, increased buy-in from partners, or the flow of funds from sponsors. Entrepreneurs must be well-versed in the art of persuasive presentations, yet finding appropriate images and video content to add to the mix can be challenging.
Enter the latest DVD release from Arnold Creek Productions entitled Naturally Successful: Entrepreneurship That Redefines the Bottom Line. Highlighting some of the sustainability movement’s most compelling speakers, this 78-minute video “features interviews with some of the country’s top business consultants, educators, authors and speakers who are inspiring entrepreneurs worldwide.” Consider emailing clips to your team to kick off a sustainability discussion or launching your next presentation with the words of leaders such as:
View a preview and purchase the full-length feature, browse the Sustainability Shorts clips, and explore the full sustainability video series on Arnold Creek’s website.
Martin Fisher is an enthusiastic rulebreaker. And he’s on his way to making millions. Millions of products that help people in third world countries live a better life. In 1991 he co-founded ApproTEC (now KickStart.org) to develop and market new, appropriate technologies in Africa. He and his group have created over 29,000 new jobs, generating $37 million a year in new profits and wages — transforming subsistence farms into highly [...]
Product Categories for our Topics (next post) follow:
- Essentials – air, water and food… products and processes for human survival.
- Clothing — what to wear!
- Shelter — spaces and places for living and working.
- Energy — a power-full life.
- Health — healing and feeling good.
- Conversion — waste not, want not, have more… from composting to upcycling.
- Materials — elemental building blocks: biological and technical.
- Tools — making things easier.
- Movement — getting there.
- Connection — we are not alone: direct and indirect communication; knowledge; governance.
- Play — having fun along the
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