Stanford is progressive in its commitment to the environment, so it’s not surprising that they swapped out 1,827 showerheads in the dorms over Christmas for low-flow, eco-friendly ones.  The retrofit reduces water flow from 2.5 gallons per minute to 1.3 gallons per minute per showerhead, saving Stanford an estimated total of 12 million gallons of water per year.  And California isn’t exactly gushing with surplus water supplies, so it makes sense, right?  Seems like a smart move.

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Here’s my list of links that you should probably read.  No internal link rehashing here.

• America’s 50 greenest cities.
• Amazing green space rejuvenates neighborhood.
• Green building trends, as observed at IBS.
• Special Report – using nature as a design guide.
• Turbines are eyesores, so let’s put them on the high seas.
• Number of buildings earning Energy Star grew 25% in 2008.
• Dept. of Energy chooses teams for 2009 solar decathlon. 

Bonus – Two-Part Series on Green Renovation:

• How to Save with Green Renovation.
• Green Ideas for Your Next Home Renovation.

*WIR = Week in Review; a Saturday showcase of excellent links.

Looking for a another green countertop material?  Here's ecoX, an extreme concrete product offered by Meld USA.  EcoX is made of a blend of 70% post-consumer and post-industrial recycled materials and cement.  The product has the beautiful look of terrazzo and the cool smoothness of concrete, according to Meld.  

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For starters, when complete, Greenbelt will use roughly 40% less energy and 30% less water than a comparable building.  And it looks fantastic, too — another case that living green doesn’t require throwing out your style.  Located at 361 Manhattan Avenue, the eight unit building has one- and two-bedroom condos that range in price from $599k – $815k.  In addition to all the green features listed below, I like how the developers plan to incorporate enhanced sound proofing and insulation in the walls, ceilings, and floors.  People would probably be more willing to live in attached spaces, if they knew the extraneous sounds wouldn’t be a problem.  Nevertheless, it’s clear the developers are setting a good example in that regard because Greenbelt will have the latest technology to minimize noise disruptions. 

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100 Percent is a contertop product from 3form, which is made entirely of old milk and detergent bottles.  Pretty neat.  This means the product is made with 100% post-consumer waste, an impressive feat, even within the green product world.  100 Percent is 1" thick and available in 4 colors:   black with white specks, and white with orange, green, or gray specks (see below). 

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