My biggest problem with it continues to be the absense of the array of tools that make Google great: images, maps, gmail, etc. I use those more than traditional google, so leaving them out really limits the usefulness.
Also, I think someone actually did the calculations and proved that the energy savings are only really applicable to CRT monitors.
who are the the unsung brains behind sustainable architecture and energy efficiency?
I don't need to know about the big egos like bill mcdonough, or the well publicized efforts of david suzuki or ed mazria- but OGs like pliny fisk or malcolm wells who are wallowing in self-made obscurity of being ahead of their time.
There are a few old school energy consultants that I've come across, like paladino and company (seattle) or the weidt group (minneapolis), that have been calculating energy consumption of buildings since before LEED was born... These are the folks that I'm trying to identify, along with their academic brethrin...
I'm not that fanatical about my garden and the idea of dropping off the grid - it is more of a hobby then a religion, but I do appreciate how everything tastes better. Oh, it may have broken even this summer if I try to calculate the cost of buying the veggies at my local organic co-op - but it's been much more fun and a source of relaxation. Think I spent about $200 on tools, seeds, soil amendments, and plants (including the native flowers) - not the $11000 that manny spent (HOW???) on his adventure. Do chickens and rabbits cost that much??? I'd have thought that his drainage system and 5 tons of top soil would cost maybe one grand total - so what else did he spend money on?????
trekiller, we studied almost ALL of the issues connected to sustainaility and buildings when i was in undergrad, inlcuding energy efficeiency, solar orientation, passive and active pros and cons. we learned how to use psychrometric charts and solar angle calculators, where the condensation would take place in a wall assembly, and how to make buildings less wasteful, etc etc. our prof was a student of bucky fuller, and an interesting man, though i can't recall his name sadly (was more than a decade ago)...but i think that was all standard education even in the early 90's...not so? anyway, my feeling has been that green concepts have been more a communal effort than a star project, with mcdonough just being a more vocal advocate (sadly, because his buildings are terrible as architecture in their own right)...
it is simply put a form of sprawl that includes urban characterisitcs; that is low density inhabitation, but with mixed use, lack of social segregation, etc etc...
it is a real form in asia, long known about and measured...i have been studying it as a starting point for sustainable planning patterns in japan and recently came across a paper where the author says that western theorists of sustainability are in the end overly focused on imposing order on the world, which is why they are unable to deal with suburbia in a meaningful way in the west. is also why sustainable planning in asia should not involve western theories; essentially the story goes that western values are incompatible with reality here on the ground.
my question is, how do you feel about control and the need for micromanagement (evident say in new urbanist plans for sustainability) to achieve goals of green cities? is there room for chaos or must it all be placed well under thumb?
j- most concepts for sustainable architecture are 30-100 years old. from bucky, to solari, malcolm wells and pliny fisk. the difference today is that we have computers to effectively monitor and automate the environmental controls. we also seem to have better modeling tools to predict energy use. everything else is old.
I agree that mcdonough's architecture is lame, and ed mazria's isn't that much better. not sure if mayne's or foster's architeture is really that sustainable, but their architecture rocks. so who is finding the balance between provocative and beautiful architecture and deep green architecture? not ray kappe or cecil balmond..
Deskota is a very provocative concept.
I'd write more but gotta get working. thanks for kicking off my morning with some good ideas!
hm, yeh, i get ya treekiller. i was surprised to find myself impressed with the work of rafael pelli and cook and fox, at least with the work displayed in pitt's series, e2:design. not my favorite architects, but for skyskrapers the architecture is not bad and the tech is intelligently high, as opposed to probably decorative, as with the brits...
i also have some respect for ingenhoven, mostly for his work at the stuttgart station with structural collaboration with frei otto. amazing amazing building that works literally on every level, from social to technical, to urban. or at least it looks like it may. he gave a levture last year at my uni and absolutely blew me away with that project.
if anyone else has comments about overcontrol amongst environmental architecturions i would be glad to hear it, pro or con. i did not buy it first time i read it, but am beginning to think the western world may in fact be very much into control as solution to env. issues, when ugly chaos may work as well...or not?
TK - No doubt you've come across Steve Baer. He's one of the baddest of the old school bad asses. Though he's less an advocate now than a tinkerer, his book Sunspots blew my mind when I first read it.
My footprint according to that site says 20 acres. But I live in a small townhouse. That makes sense considering half the population of Africa and Asia have no food or electricity. I guess there is no grist mill factor included since half the babies born there die. Now if we could just kill off all these baby boomer sons of bitches
steve baer is a new one to me - my undergrad education at knowlton ignored teaching us about the OGs (thanks to kipnis) and I was too busy during grad school to remedy this deficiency... keep the names of original greensters coming!
jump, some great discussion you are bringing up. I tend to agree on a basic level that those of us in the west try to order things and overemphasize urbanism as the most sustainable way. However, I don't think they (we) do it on purpose. I'd say it's our nature to try to order things since that's how we've been brought up, or taught. But I would agree that not all sprawl is bad sprawl.....I think that it's impractical to implore the world's population to grow upward instead of outward.
My analogy here may be flawed, but we don't force all new birds to take up residence in a single tree....so how can we force humans to live that way? I think as the population grows, it's got to be about how we can live in harmony with our environment, whatever that may be....
~~~~~
On a side note, I used my first FlexCar yesterday. It was so easy! I think that I am going to be fine out here without a permanent car. Every time I get a little discouraged and think it might be easier to have one, I remember what a hassle they are....and how much insurance is....and I do the math in my head and realize it's just not worth it for the worry. And FlexCar is all I need, really.
I heard the other day on the news that in the past year, we lost an amount of polar ice equal to the states of California and Texas combined. The scientists said that they were expecting the amount of polar ice to drop, but even THEY did not expect us to lose that much ice, that quickly.
I am paraphrasing and they may have said that the time frame was longer than a year.....however, they did mention that at this rate, the polar ice will disappear very rapidly. Within our lifetimes.
I realize that this really isn't new news, it's just reiterating what we already know. But I will admit that I'm starting to feel as if we're doomed and I'm wondering if I shouldn't shift my focus from "green design" to "how to build after the ice melts".
so, i don't know where else to put this, and it sure doesn't need its own thread. and GTC is all about anti-establishmentarianism anyways, right? well, sort of.
anyway, it's called the delocator, and it helps you find (by zipcode) independently owned coffee shops, book stores, and cinemas. i thought it was pretty cool...thoughts?
anyone seen it before?
it's a wiki, also, so user generated content is expected and required for it to work...
Seems cool mighty, but I think it still has some kinks to work out.....like I asked for coffee shops in my zip code and it gave me some in Pasadena, which it claims were 0 miles away (it's actually about 14). Great idea though, and its logo looks vaguely familiar ;o)
that's surprising, given that the zip code i used for my nearly-forgettable* town of residence showed 30 cafes within 1/2mi. most all of them were not within a 1/2 mile, but were all reasonably close.
maybe it's lamer than i thought.
love the logo...can't figure out why it's so familiar...!
i was wondering if some of you could help me find places in brooklyn that sell green materials. i've found a few online, but i want to make sure that they're not just capitalizing on the green movement and have a good reputation in the community. thanks!
there are lots of old school industrial suppliers scattered around the better borough. just cause they aren't greenwashing, doesn't mean that they can't sell you chlorine free plastic pipes, or old growth lumber. If you know what you want, just ask.
Stay in your cars, don't walk or cycle but drive. It has been proven and it was in the times so that means it's true (isn't it?) anyways check it yourselves: link
For some nice alternative designs on 'green' design etc. go to SUPERUSE, register and submit comments or your own designs or links whatever just check it out and get inspired: link
well there is a knife discussion or multiple threads about booze, but I have more fun here discussing eco-cities as my cad file flattens (its been 20 minutes since it started).
dubK-
a book to read (in your copious spare time) is Engler's Designing America's Waste Landscape that looks at how trash has shaped our urban fabric, homes and more. good read.
Might as well make the announcement now, since its less then 30 days away:
I will be making daily posts from Chicago on behalf of Archinect. With my press pass, i will have access to the speakers and more - so please let me know what you, as a dedicated readers of GTC want, to me to check out about and I'll do my best to oblige.
Currently, I'm planning on attending education session on sustainable landscapes/ecology, international practices, and education. Trying to find the hip/cutting edge, and sniff out hypocrisies on the trade show floor. Maybe I'll even document all the shwag that gets handed out- but pics of bowls of candy is really boring, so I'll only do this if there is good free stuff.
Sweet! Very exciting. I actually was offered a free pass - which I would have taken had it still been in LA! - but since it's in Chicago, and I have this whole grad school thing going on, it's just not a good idea for me to go. Like I have the money anyway :-/
bl, thanks for the book lead. I'm collecting titles for thesis research right now!
Yet another "green game" has popped up which allows us to calculate how much we are damaging the Earth with our behavior and lifestyles. Except this one is from APM's Marketplace, and it's kind of fun...it lets you create your own character and the graphics are very well done. Have a look:
I watched a three hour marathon on climate change and energy last night on the discovery channel and cnn. the last was about the end of oil (due to a hypothetical hurricane taking out the houston ship channel's refinery capacity plus a terrorist attack in saudi arabia). This got me thinking that even though the economic impact and human impact would be catastrophic, this scenario might just be enough to reverse climate change. No more crude oil= much less carbon emissions. This is very fatalistic/pessimistic view, but might be the best way to save the polar bears.
not as much fun as Wk's game, but the US Senate now has a carbon footprint calculator that just looks at travel and home energy use... at least there is some nuanced ability to include any renewable energy you're buying...
Inspired by my post and then barry's post, I wrote a blog entry yesterday on all of the different footprint calculators I know of, and how useful I think they are. Boy was I in for a surprise....today it was linked to on a conservative blog - of all places! - and my unique page views have shot up over 1000 in one day. The web is amazing!
And I must say I'm glad....everyone should be calculating their carbon footprint. Not just us treehuggers/killers...
just sat through a painful 90 minute webinare from the USGBC on carbon emission calculations. WTF is with the multiple choice questions asking the audience to do simple arithmatic??? Not that the subject matter could be any dryer or the presenters any duller- but I expect much better from the USGBC!!!!
the best part was the local-organic-electric-car delivered pizza that I ordered for the office.
has a theme of Water and Sustainable Development. How can an event that pulls tourists from around the world and is build out of temporary pavilions be considered sustainable???
OK, so what happened here, anyway? I know I went off to grad school and got a bit quiet, but where did everyone else go? (besides tk, and Orhan and rationalist.....you guys are always here :o)
I would like to update you with a couple of little experiments that you might find interesting....I will use color to highlight the discussion, and also because it's fun.
Several pages ago I was debating the merits of getting a couple of large ticket items, which would become key to my transition to "urban student in Los Angeles". One of these was the Dahon Espresso Bike, which has turned out to be a great success. Darcy and I (as I like to call her) have gone about 300 miles together so far, almost entirely on the very busy streets of Los Angeles, and I have put all sorts of crap on there and carried it around with me as well. I think I may have to get new tires soon, but I'll save that for the bike thread.
Another thing that I got was this solar panel bag from Reware. It's a good bag and it carries a lot - my computer, plus a binder, plus a change of clothes and sometimes even lunch - but unfortunately the solar panel has stopped working, or at least it's stopped working with my phone charger. I'm not sure what happened....I didn't kink the panel and wiring is still intact. I think that maybe the panel technology on this version of the bag just isn't refined yet. I think if I were to do it over, I would just get a fold-up panel and use it when picnicking outside or at home in the window.
Anyway, since my backpack stopped working (correctly) I am now in the market for another bag. I'd like to get a proper messenger bag, since I think they just work better for me and will be good for biking as well. Unless I find a highly functional, high volume recycled bag that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, I'm probably going with the Timbuk2. I love the Freitag bags but with the value of the dollar plummeting, the one I want costs about $400 :o(
it's nice to see my favorite thread back up on the first page. Just too busy posting elsewhere and all my green thoughts have been expunged on the greenbuild thread.
Outside of archinect, I've been bouncing emails back and forth with Phil Henshaw (invoked earlier on on gtc) about him bringing his 'anti-growth to save the planet' thesis where he links dollars to btus to start a thread on archinect. Still waiting to see if he registers and becomes another per or a valued member of our happy community.
So who wants to help propose an education session for greenbuild-2008?
WK- I wish I could afford a solar bag, but since I didn't win one at the AIA expo, it is a hole in my closet that has yet to be filled.
I found this article on London banning plastic bags and especially like the last paragraph: that a local woman convinced the local stores in her town to switch to reusable cloth bags.
So here's what I want to see happen: every store has on hand a supply of plain cloth bags, and they work like a lending library or a shared bike program - if you bring one in, you can take one home. This would solve the problem with which I was faced yesterday (and constantly): my reusable Trader Joe's bags were in the family car from the weekend, and I forgot to transfer them to my car before going to pick up a couple things on Monday.
There are probably sanitation concerns with this, like if my yogurt container opened and I returned a grody bag to the store, but I for one would rather share and run a slight risk of non-community behavior/germs than have to take home more and ever more damn bags from the store.
speaking of solar panels...I was marvelling at a friend's solar lighting collection. Since she's off island for most of the year she turns off all the utilities. The lights are on a dimmer so they come on after sunset, and have a solar recharger built in.
hey dubK check out alchemy goods for recycled messenger bags made here in the USA. No first hand experience, but a friend told me about them and I remembered your question.
Speaking of bikes and efficiency, get some of these stickers!
either a postopolis style green on the internet/blogosphere discussion, or something to engage bigger social/environmental issues. I'm heavy into discussing the environmental impact of all that alternate energy infrastructure (from windfarms to mass transit reshaping communities).
There have been very few abstracts submitted past two years aimed at emerging professional/students that are fun, hip and engage that generation. So bringing postopolis to the OGs that dominate conference circuit would be great. Anything with Cameron is ensured approval by the program committee. Nothing keeps us from submitting multiple abstracts, so a social justice and the environment panel, a [b]regenerative generation/postopolis panel[b/], and [b] infrastructure of the void[b] panel could all be in the works.
Green Thread Central
My biggest problem with it continues to be the absense of the array of tools that make Google great: images, maps, gmail, etc. I use those more than traditional google, so leaving them out really limits the usefulness.
Also, I think someone actually did the calculations and proved that the energy savings are only really applicable to CRT monitors.
got a question for GTC-
who are the the unsung brains behind sustainable architecture and energy efficiency?
I don't need to know about the big egos like bill mcdonough, or the well publicized efforts of david suzuki or ed mazria- but OGs like pliny fisk or malcolm wells who are wallowing in self-made obscurity of being ahead of their time.
There are a few old school energy consultants that I've come across, like paladino and company (seattle) or the weidt group (minneapolis), that have been calculating energy consumption of buildings since before LEED was born... These are the folks that I'm trying to identify, along with their academic brethrin...
thanks- tk
Anyone catch this article about an extreme locavore:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070916/hl_nm/locavore_dc
Sorry, but as much as I love locally and organically grown food, the furthest I'm willing to go is supporting CSA's (community supported agriculture).
There's probably one close to you, if aren't yet aware.
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
that article was published in new york magazine last week. here are his urban farming tips.
I'm not that fanatical about my garden and the idea of dropping off the grid - it is more of a hobby then a religion, but I do appreciate how everything tastes better. Oh, it may have broken even this summer if I try to calculate the cost of buying the veggies at my local organic co-op - but it's been much more fun and a source of relaxation. Think I spent about $200 on tools, seeds, soil amendments, and plants (including the native flowers) - not the $11000 that manny spent (HOW???) on his adventure. Do chickens and rabbits cost that much??? I'd have thought that his drainage system and 5 tons of top soil would cost maybe one grand total - so what else did he spend money on?????
trekiller, we studied almost ALL of the issues connected to sustainaility and buildings when i was in undergrad, inlcuding energy efficeiency, solar orientation, passive and active pros and cons. we learned how to use psychrometric charts and solar angle calculators, where the condensation would take place in a wall assembly, and how to make buildings less wasteful, etc etc. our prof was a student of bucky fuller, and an interesting man, though i can't recall his name sadly (was more than a decade ago)...but i think that was all standard education even in the early 90's...not so? anyway, my feeling has been that green concepts have been more a communal effort than a star project, with mcdonough just being a more vocal advocate (sadly, because his buildings are terrible as architecture in their own right)...
i have a question for you guys.
have you heard of something called deskota?
it is simply put a form of sprawl that includes urban characterisitcs; that is low density inhabitation, but with mixed use, lack of social segregation, etc etc...
it is a real form in asia, long known about and measured...i have been studying it as a starting point for sustainable planning patterns in japan and recently came across a paper where the author says that western theorists of sustainability are in the end overly focused on imposing order on the world, which is why they are unable to deal with suburbia in a meaningful way in the west. is also why sustainable planning in asia should not involve western theories; essentially the story goes that western values are incompatible with reality here on the ground.
my question is, how do you feel about control and the need for micromanagement (evident say in new urbanist plans for sustainability) to achieve goals of green cities? is there room for chaos or must it all be placed well under thumb?
j- most concepts for sustainable architecture are 30-100 years old. from bucky, to solari, malcolm wells and pliny fisk. the difference today is that we have computers to effectively monitor and automate the environmental controls. we also seem to have better modeling tools to predict energy use. everything else is old.
I agree that mcdonough's architecture is lame, and ed mazria's isn't that much better. not sure if mayne's or foster's architeture is really that sustainable, but their architecture rocks. so who is finding the balance between provocative and beautiful architecture and deep green architecture? not ray kappe or cecil balmond..
Deskota is a very provocative concept.
I'd write more but gotta get working. thanks for kicking off my morning with some good ideas!
hm, yeh, i get ya treekiller. i was surprised to find myself impressed with the work of rafael pelli and cook and fox, at least with the work displayed in pitt's series, e2:design. not my favorite architects, but for skyskrapers the architecture is not bad and the tech is intelligently high, as opposed to probably decorative, as with the brits...
i also have some respect for ingenhoven, mostly for his work at the stuttgart station with structural collaboration with frei otto. amazing amazing building that works literally on every level, from social to technical, to urban. or at least it looks like it may. he gave a levture last year at my uni and absolutely blew me away with that project.
if anyone else has comments about overcontrol amongst environmental architecturions i would be glad to hear it, pro or con. i did not buy it first time i read it, but am beginning to think the western world may in fact be very much into control as solution to env. issues, when ugly chaos may work as well...or not?
western philosophy is all about control and domination- ie imperial might and subjugation. nature included.
isn't it getting a little late to be posting to archinect? my office's clock says its midnight in seoul, isn't tokyo in the same time zone?
TK - No doubt you've come across Steve Baer. He's one of the baddest of the old school bad asses. Though he's less an advocate now than a tinkerer, his book Sunspots blew my mind when I first read it.
My footprint according to that site says 20 acres. But I live in a small townhouse. That makes sense considering half the population of Africa and Asia have no food or electricity. I guess there is no grist mill factor included since half the babies born there die. Now if we could just kill off all these baby boomer sons of bitches
steve baer is a new one to me - my undergrad education at knowlton ignored teaching us about the OGs (thanks to kipnis) and I was too busy during grad school to remedy this deficiency... keep the names of original greensters coming!
jump, some great discussion you are bringing up. I tend to agree on a basic level that those of us in the west try to order things and overemphasize urbanism as the most sustainable way. However, I don't think they (we) do it on purpose. I'd say it's our nature to try to order things since that's how we've been brought up, or taught. But I would agree that not all sprawl is bad sprawl.....I think that it's impractical to implore the world's population to grow upward instead of outward.
My analogy here may be flawed, but we don't force all new birds to take up residence in a single tree....so how can we force humans to live that way? I think as the population grows, it's got to be about how we can live in harmony with our environment, whatever that may be....
~~~~~
On a side note, I used my first FlexCar yesterday. It was so easy! I think that I am going to be fine out here without a permanent car. Every time I get a little discouraged and think it might be easier to have one, I remember what a hassle they are....and how much insurance is....and I do the math in my head and realize it's just not worth it for the worry. And FlexCar is all I need, really.
I still want a scooter though! ;o)
I heard the other day on the news that in the past year, we lost an amount of polar ice equal to the states of California and Texas combined. The scientists said that they were expecting the amount of polar ice to drop, but even THEY did not expect us to lose that much ice, that quickly.
I am paraphrasing and they may have said that the time frame was longer than a year.....however, they did mention that at this rate, the polar ice will disappear very rapidly. Within our lifetimes.
I realize that this really isn't new news, it's just reiterating what we already know. But I will admit that I'm starting to feel as if we're doomed and I'm wondering if I shouldn't shift my focus from "green design" to "how to build after the ice melts".
Kidding. Sort of.
major in both.
so, i don't know where else to put this, and it sure doesn't need its own thread. and GTC is all about anti-establishmentarianism anyways, right? well, sort of.
anyway, it's called the delocator, and it helps you find (by zipcode) independently owned coffee shops, book stores, and cinemas. i thought it was pretty cool...thoughts?
anyone seen it before?
it's a wiki, also, so user generated content is expected and required for it to work...
Check it out yo'.
Seems cool mighty, but I think it still has some kinks to work out.....like I asked for coffee shops in my zip code and it gave me some in Pasadena, which it claims were 0 miles away (it's actually about 14). Great idea though, and its logo looks vaguely familiar ;o)
that's surprising, given that the zip code i used for my nearly-forgettable* town of residence showed 30 cafes within 1/2mi. most all of them were not within a 1/2 mile, but were all reasonably close.
maybe it's lamer than i thought.
love the logo...can't figure out why it's so familiar...!
i was wondering if some of you could help me find places in brooklyn that sell green materials. i've found a few online, but i want to make sure that they're not just capitalizing on the green movement and have a good reputation in the community. thanks!
there are lots of old school industrial suppliers scattered around the better borough. just cause they aren't greenwashing, doesn't mean that they can't sell you chlorine free plastic pipes, or old growth lumber. If you know what you want, just ask.
[[[Green thread or green threat?]]]
Stay in your cars, don't walk or cycle but drive. It has been proven and it was in the times so that means it's true (isn't it?) anyways check it yourselves:
link
For some nice alternative designs on 'green' design etc. go to SUPERUSE, register and submit comments or your own designs or links whatever just check it out and get inspired: link
hi ivo... welcome to the party.
thanks it's great to be here, the real party's in the kitchen I suppose?
well there is a knife discussion or multiple threads about booze, but I have more fun here discussing eco-cities as my cad file flattens (its been 20 minutes since it started).
thanks for the link. Where are you located?
I study in Delft, but at the moment I am in NY until January
And I just got a job at a architecture firm.
If any of you fellow greenophiles are interested, I get to study trash, and I'm pretty excited about it.
Also I thought I'd gently bump GTC, since it's been a while.
:-D
dubK-
a book to read (in your copious spare time) is Engler's Designing America's Waste Landscape that looks at how trash has shaped our urban fabric, homes and more. good read.
Might as well make the announcement now, since its less then 30 days away:
ARCHINECT is going to GREENBUILD!
I will be making daily posts from Chicago on behalf of Archinect. With my press pass, i will have access to the speakers and more - so please let me know what you, as a dedicated readers of GTC want, to me to check out about and I'll do my best to oblige.
Currently, I'm planning on attending education session on sustainable landscapes/ecology, international practices, and education. Trying to find the hip/cutting edge, and sniff out hypocrisies on the trade show floor. Maybe I'll even document all the shwag that gets handed out- but pics of bowls of candy is really boring, so I'll only do this if there is good free stuff.
Sweet! Very exciting. I actually was offered a free pass - which I would have taken had it still been in LA! - but since it's in Chicago, and I have this whole grad school thing going on, it's just not a good idea for me to go. Like I have the money anyway :-/
bl, thanks for the book lead. I'm collecting titles for thesis research right now!
Yet another "green game" has popped up which allows us to calculate how much we are damaging the Earth with our behavior and lifestyles. Except this one is from APM's Marketplace, and it's kind of fun...it lets you create your own character and the graphics are very well done. Have a look:
Consumer Consequences
I watched a three hour marathon on climate change and energy last night on the discovery channel and cnn. the last was about the end of oil (due to a hypothetical hurricane taking out the houston ship channel's refinery capacity plus a terrorist attack in saudi arabia). This got me thinking that even though the economic impact and human impact would be catastrophic, this scenario might just be enough to reverse climate change. No more crude oil= much less carbon emissions. This is very fatalistic/pessimistic view, but might be the best way to save the polar bears.
not as much fun as Wk's game, but the US Senate now has a carbon footprint calculator that just looks at travel and home energy use... at least there is some nuanced ability to include any renewable energy you're buying...
Inspired by my post and then barry's post, I wrote a blog entry yesterday on all of the different footprint calculators I know of, and how useful I think they are. Boy was I in for a surprise....today it was linked to on a conservative blog - of all places! - and my unique page views have shot up over 1000 in one day. The web is amazing!
And I must say I'm glad....everyone should be calculating their carbon footprint. Not just us treehuggers/killers...
congrats wk on seducing the dark side! have you compared all the carbon calculators results? aren't there more calculators available?
I need to start a treekilling blog if I ever have the time. I too can be an 'environmental designer extraordinaire'...
just sat through a painful 90 minute webinare from the USGBC on carbon emission calculations. WTF is with the multiple choice questions asking the audience to do simple arithmatic??? Not that the subject matter could be any dryer or the presenters any duller- but I expect much better from the USGBC!!!!
the best part was the local-organic-electric-car delivered pizza that I ordered for the office.
It's been a while since I've done a GTC "green link roundup", but I just stumbled on a thread that has inspired me to do so:
Here is a thread about how sustainable of a material concrete is. Um, duh.
Here is a news item about the wildfires and sustainable growth....also discussed at length on this thread....
Here is another news item about the Global environmental outlook, and let's also talk about how green France is.....
PS. Don't forget about Greenbuild!
Gosh I hope I didn't mess up any of those links....
Yay, points for me. :o)
has a theme of Water and Sustainable Development. How can an event that pulls tourists from around the world and is build out of temporary pavilions be considered sustainable???
wK- double points for bringing up greenbuild :-)
OK, so what happened here, anyway? I know I went off to grad school and got a bit quiet, but where did everyone else go? (besides tk, and Orhan and rationalist.....you guys are always here :o)
I would like to update you with a couple of little experiments that you might find interesting....I will use color to highlight the discussion, and also because it's fun.
Several pages ago I was debating the merits of getting a couple of large ticket items, which would become key to my transition to "urban student in Los Angeles". One of these was the Dahon Espresso Bike, which has turned out to be a great success. Darcy and I (as I like to call her) have gone about 300 miles together so far, almost entirely on the very busy streets of Los Angeles, and I have put all sorts of crap on there and carried it around with me as well. I think I may have to get new tires soon, but I'll save that for the bike thread.
Another thing that I got was this solar panel bag from Reware. It's a good bag and it carries a lot - my computer, plus a binder, plus a change of clothes and sometimes even lunch - but unfortunately the solar panel has stopped working, or at least it's stopped working with my phone charger. I'm not sure what happened....I didn't kink the panel and wiring is still intact. I think that maybe the panel technology on this version of the bag just isn't refined yet. I think if I were to do it over, I would just get a fold-up panel and use it when picnicking outside or at home in the window.
Anyway, since my backpack stopped working (correctly) I am now in the market for another bag. I'd like to get a proper messenger bag, since I think they just work better for me and will be good for biking as well. Unless I find a highly functional, high volume recycled bag that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, I'm probably going with the Timbuk2. I love the Freitag bags but with the value of the dollar plummeting, the one I want costs about $400 :o(
it's nice to see my favorite thread back up on the first page. Just too busy posting elsewhere and all my green thoughts have been expunged on the greenbuild thread.
Outside of archinect, I've been bouncing emails back and forth with Phil Henshaw (invoked earlier on on gtc) about him bringing his 'anti-growth to save the planet' thesis where he links dollars to btus to start a thread on archinect. Still waiting to see if he registers and becomes another per or a valued member of our happy community.
So who wants to help propose an education session for greenbuild-2008?
WK- I wish I could afford a solar bag, but since I didn't win one at the AIA expo, it is a hole in my closet that has yet to be filled.
I found this article on London banning plastic bags and especially like the last paragraph: that a local woman convinced the local stores in her town to switch to reusable cloth bags.
So here's what I want to see happen: every store has on hand a supply of plain cloth bags, and they work like a lending library or a shared bike program - if you bring one in, you can take one home. This would solve the problem with which I was faced yesterday (and constantly): my reusable Trader Joe's bags were in the family car from the weekend, and I forgot to transfer them to my car before going to pick up a couple things on Monday.
There are probably sanitation concerns with this, like if my yogurt container opened and I returned a grody bag to the store, but I for one would rather share and run a slight risk of non-community behavior/germs than have to take home more and ever more damn bags from the store.
Hi GTC.
speaking of solar panels...I was marvelling at a friend's solar lighting collection. Since she's off island for most of the year she turns off all the utilities. The lights are on a dimmer so they come on after sunset, and have a solar recharger built in.
hey dubK check out alchemy goods for recycled messenger bags made here in the USA. No first hand experience, but a friend told me about them and I remembered your question.
Speaking of bikes and efficiency, get some of these stickers!
Thanks FRO....those bags might work for me after all.
BTW, those stickers are awesome. I have the t-shirt version from Threadless:
tk,
what are your thoughts for a greenbuild 08 education session? i wanted to propose one for this year but didn't get my act together.
either a postopolis style green on the internet/blogosphere discussion, or something to engage bigger social/environmental issues. I'm heavy into discussing the environmental impact of all that alternate energy infrastructure (from windfarms to mass transit reshaping communities).
There have been very few abstracts submitted past two years aimed at emerging professional/students that are fun, hip and engage that generation. So bringing postopolis to the OGs that dominate conference circuit would be great. Anything with Cameron is ensured approval by the program committee. Nothing keeps us from submitting multiple abstracts, so a social justice and the environment panel, a [b]regenerative generation/postopolis panel[b/], and [b] infrastructure of the void[b] panel could all be in the works.
Any other suggestions?
opps. gotta get more editorial powers!
one of...
many. centinella blvd. 10;30 am. lights on! not the first time...
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