Green Building : Jetson Green

Z-Glass House, 400 sf of Green Modern

You've probably heard of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company ... their houses have been featured in Time, Domino, USA Today, and the New York Times, to name a few publications.  The home pictured above is different from their other homes, which have that traditional, A-frame-esque shape.  All Tumbleweed homes are sufficiently small, but this home is modern.  It's 400 sf of green modern.  The Z-Glass House is a stationary house, meant to be affixed to a foundation.  You buy the plans and find a contractor to build it for you (with costs ranging in the $100 - $200 psf range).  Or you can build it yourself.  Check the layout, too.  Such a great looking home, with a kitchen, bedroom, living room, and bathroom, what else do you need?  Add a little solar on the roof, or maybe even a Skystream, and call it done.

[Video] Recycling On the Job, Deconstruction

There's a new online video show hosted by Alex Pettitt called Mainstream Green.  Their videos are high-quality and super informative.  Sometimes, it helps to see how things work, so I love to show video as often as possible.  The video above is on recycling and deconstruction.  The deconstruction guy says the cost of on-site deconstruction is comparable to waste removal.  That's a good.  Generally, people are self-interested and when it becomes profitable to do the right thing, more and more people will start doing the right thing.  Makes sense doesn't it?

Greenbuild 2007 Living Building Challenge Winners

Green certifications are important, but can you imagine a world where buildings are better than the best Platinum level certification?  Can you imagine a building that lives?  A living building is self-sustaining and off-the-grid in terms of energy and water usage.  A living building goes beyond the paper requirements for certification and seeks true sustainability.  Earlier this month at Greenbuild, the Cascadia Region Green Building Council and the USGBC announced winners of the 2007 Living Building Competition.  Here are the winners:

• OHSU - Center for Health and Healing (Portland, OR)
• Omega Center for Sustainable Living (Rhinebeck, NY)[Pictured Above]
• Seminar II (Olympia, WA)
• Warren Skaaren Environmental Learning Center at Westcave Preserve (Round Mountain, TX)
• Alice Ferguson Foundation (Accokeek, MD)
• Kenton Living Building (Portland, OR)

There's a lot of innovative information on each building, and you can click the links above to read directly about that specific project. 

Cities with Green Building Programs Up 418%

Since 2003, the number of cities with green building programs has risen from 22 to 92, for an increase of 418%.  This figure, as well as others below, comes as a result of a study commissioned by the AIA.  Their newly published report, Local Leaders in Sustainability, analyzed 661 communities’ best practices, strategies, and trends, and provides recommendations for cities that are looking to implement green building programs.

• 1 in 7 cities surveyed currently have green building programs
• Number improves to 1 in 5 by next year with current projections
• 39% of citizens live in cities with green building programs
• 36 cities are in an advanced stage of developing a green building program

Bush Sr. Installs Wind Turbine at Kennebunkport Home

Last week, former President George H. W. Bush installed a 33-foot tall, Skystream 3.7 wind turbine to provide energy for the Bush's Kennebunkport home.  The Bushes were courted by Southwest Windpower, one of the forerunners in small-wind innovation, and after looking at the pros and cons, they decided to take the plunge.  The turbine is connected to the grid and feeds excess power to the system. 

Since the home is their summer home, it will probably have a substantial credit from all the energy they're feeding into the system during the winter.  The Bushes decided to purchase the turbine for financial and environmental reasons, but they're also setting a good example, too.  Via Portland Press Herald. 

Bedrock Industries, A Recycled Glass Company

Bedrock Industries is a very cool green company.  They use 100% recycled glass and are committed to never using any new material.  What they do with this glass is just as cool; they use it for tiles, art projects, glass dinnerware, crushed stone pathways and colored sand, and even sell it to be used as mosaic material or as a substrate in homemade green concrete countertops.  They have a great range of colors ranging from red, yellow and brown to turquoise, pink and purple.  Their tiles are beautiful and come in many shapes, including some very unusual shapes like leafs and flower petals.

Iconic Sears Tower to Get Green Renovation (S2)

Recently, Former President Bill Clinton announced a joint partnership of the Clinton Climate Initiative and the City of Chicago that will give the 1,450 feet tall building a green makeover.  Through the partnership, the Chicago landmark will be retrofitted, making it more cost-effective and energy efficient.  The project is part of Clinton’s message:  going green can save some green.  He said, “This is not a big bottle of castor oil we have to drink.  This is the greatest economic opportunity that our country has had to mobilize and democratize since we mobilized from World War II."  Clinton also predicts that in the next 18 months, there will be a race to build structures that produce energy instead of consuming it.  The move from energy-consuming buildings to energy-producing buildings is intended, at least in part, to wean the country of its coal addiction.  Let's hope this momentum continues beyond 18 months, too.  Via Equity Green + Medill.

(S2) = Skyscraper Sunday, a weekly article on green skyscrapers.

UAE LEEDs World, Greenwashing, Green Second Homes, + Energy Security (WIR)

• UAE Mandates LEED Buildings, Leads the World.
• To spur second home sales, developers tout environmental attributes.
• The Six Sins of Greenwashing (a report by one company accused of, well, greenwashing).
• A deeply green city confronts its energy needs and nuclear worries.

Zody Chair by Haworth, Inexplicable Green Comfort

This is The Zody Chair by Haworth.  It's an incredible chair.  Best chair I've ever used.  It gives you this feeling that's hard to explain.  It's kind of like when you get a new pair of shoes at the age of 8 or 9.  Those shoes make you run faster, jump higher, and do more.  Well, this chair is that for business people.  It helps you do more when you're doing a lot of sitting around.  I feel different in this jet black, super modern, eco-friendly, award-winning chair. 

Today's that big shopping day with all the crowds:  it's Black Friday.  If you're in the market for a quality gift, I honestly think you should just ring in an order for one of these and call your Christmas shopping done.  I'm serious.  I recently toured the offices of a green renovation and they had a room full of Zody chairs.  When they were looking for chairs, they felt the Zody chair was superior in green benefits and had a reasonable price.   

Jetson Green Thankful for Blogosphere

It's' been a long time since I've kicked out the shouts, but it's Thanksgiving and I'm feeling it.  The blogosphere is crazy, fast, and smart as all get out.  For that, I'm thankful.  The blogosphere has an abundance of cool green news.  So much to read and write.  Comments add perspective and flavor, too.  For that, I'm thankful.  I didn't realize it when I first started blogging, but the blogosphere is a small world.  You hear about 72 million blogs, etc., and you think you can do something stupid without getting noticed, but that's not the case.  For that, I'm thankful.  In the ebb and flow of the blogosphere, there are real friends to be made.  Conversations that shouldn't be delayed.  For that, I'm thankful.  Stay safe, enjoy the break, and check out some of my friends in the blogosphere.  In order below, but not in particular.