Update 12/17/2009: Honeywell Wind Turbine Coming Soon!

Last week, we mentioned that the small wind market is growing like crazy, and if things go as planned, there could be another turbine company to watch.  The Honeywell Wind Turbine from EarthTronics, according to Martin LaMonica of CNET, will be sold in participating Ace Hardware Stores starting this October.  EarthTronics claims the turbine can generate power at wind speeds as low as 2 mph.  With Class 4 winds, the turbine can generate about 2,000 kWh per year, which is roughly 15-20% of an average home’s electricity needs.

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Green building detractors often point to the lack of hard numbers on how green buildings actually perform in the real world.  As time goes on we'll have a better information as to how all LEED Platinum buildings perform, but for now, we have this success story.  Ohlone College's Newark Center for Health Sciences and Technology is celebrating a year of energy conservation and has the numbers to back it up.  The 128,000 square-foot facility was completed in early 2008, and received LEED Platinum in August of 2008.  It's the first community college to receive such a high certification, and after operating for one year, here's what the numbers tell us:

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• Futurehaus.
• Can you fit inside?
• Rethinking the mall.
• It's a landfill — and an ecopark!
• New economic reality for green home builders.
• Cities rush to use $3.2 B worth of federal green.
• Green building sector must pool knowledge.
• Energy management is next green apartment amenity.
• The LEED Platinum guarantee.

Follow @jetsongreen on Twitter for more news, links, and commentary.

If you're anywhere near Menlo Park, California this weekend, you should head over to Celebration Weekend held by Sunset Magazine.  This year, Sunset is featuring a Modern Cottage built by Modern Cabana as one of the magazine's idea houses.  I guess the official name is something like the Sunset Modern Cottage Idea House.  Made with two modular living spaces, 300 square feet and 120 square feet, respectively, this MC Studio Home is a striking combination of style, efficiency, and small living.

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This whole thing started when Urban Re:Vision teamed up with the City of Dallas to create a sustainable city block.  The location was announced last December, and thereafter, teams from all across the world participated in a competition to design the greenest city block in the country.  Now, three winners have been announced (see below), and of these three, one will be chosen for construction.  Groundbreaking is set for Fall 2010.

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