BL02 iGreen: How the Web Empowers Designers to Build Sustainably

Panelists:
Jill Fehrenbacher www.Inhabitat.com
Emily Kemper LEED-AP www.GreenDesignCollective.com
Quilian Riano www.Archinect.com
Cameron Sinclair www.OpenArchitectureNetwork.org

Anchor: Joel McKeller LEED-AP www.RealLifeLEED.com
Convened by: Barry Lehrman www.InfrascapeDesign.wordpress.com

Learn how the Internet is being used as a powerful tool for education and collaboration around the world.

Join [us] for a discussion of how the Internet is advancing the practice of green design around the world. We will offer insights into emerging trends, review some of the latest cool web resources, and share how to leverage a presence on the web into community action.

http://bit.ly/1urE2b

This panel was inspired by Postopolis and the disenfranchisement of the Emerging Green Builder track at GB08 in chicago, where Cameron was the keynote speaker, but the sessions were all off site on the Navy Pier, not in McCormick Place.

Our panel is pioneering the use of webcams to bring together the panelists from 4 different locations: San Diego, Portland, New York, and Liverpool in an almost carbon neutral presentation. (Gotta figure the webservers and our computers have a small footprint).

A huge thanks to Joel McKeller for stepping up at the last minute to be our anchor and host in Phoenix.

The “Walled Garden” is an oft-used metaphor to describe an area of the web that is somehow closed off – think AOL in the 90s, or any site that lives behind a paywall. To some, these areas of the net are exclusive avenues to brilliantly curated content. To others “Walled Gardens” are threats to the open nature of the net.

Elizabeth Goodman, a PhD student at the UC Berkeley School of Information and a design researcher with Intel, has taken the metaphor of the Garden back to its roots (so-to-speak), to see if we can’t reimagine web communities through the lens of these physical spaces. Radio Berkman

Uruguay has become the first country to provide a laptop for every child attending primary school. bbc | before + full entry...

Google is launching their version of Sim City today, Google Building Maker. The tool lets you create buildings for Google Earth. Building Maker lets you pick any building and construct a 3D version of it using photos and building blocks provided by Google. Google says that buildings are relatively fast to construct using their tool, taking only a matter of minutes. - TechCrunch

From the Google SketchUp Blog: The team's been working long hours through the summer on projects large and small. I'm proud to announce that Google SketchUp 7.1 is available today for you to download and install. Don't you just love the smell of fresh new software?

The Dispute Finder Firefox Extension highlights disputed claims on web pages you browse and shows you evidence for alternative points of view. Watch the Videos to learn more. Are you being duped?

Decker Yeadon LLC, in New York City, has demonstrated their first working prototype of an automatic shading system that uses smart materials to permit/deny solar heat gain through windows. Their “SmartScreen” system does not use any sensors, motors, processors, or power. nanoarchitecture.net

The "Blue Brain" has been put in a virtual body, and observing it gives the first indications of the molecular and neural basis of thought and memory. bbc

Perkins + Will have created a website that will, ideally, allow architects and builders to bake energy savings goals into construction. 2030 Forecaster | Greentech Media

"Today's events make file-sharing a hot political issue and we're going to take this to the European Parliament." - Rickard Falkvinge, leader of The Pirate Party | bbc

"Google's big surprise: each server has its own 12-volt battery to supply power if there's a problem with the main source of electricity. The company also revealed for the first time that since 2005, its data centers have been composed of standard shipping containers--each with 1,160 servers and a power consumption that can reach 250 kilowatts." cnet

MIT's Fluid Interface's group create an interactive display that can project onto any surface using finger gestures. Wired

the London Times reports on 'do no evil' google's carbon footprint.

Performing two Google searches from a desktop computer can generate about the same amount of carbon dioxide as boiling a kettle for a cup of tea,

google disputes the findings.

I'd rather have a cuppa then use google again.

Computer mouse is 40 y.o. Story & pictured evolution

Time to come up with a new rite of passage in architecture school. SawStop offers a table saw that is designed to stop the moment that the blade comes in contact with skin. Take the jump to watch the incredible video demonstration... + full entry...