Green Building Blog - Jetson Green

Recycled Buildings, Lax Energy Star, Green Downturn, + Green Incentives

• We recycle cans and bottles, why not buildings?
• Skeptics turn up heat on LEED "green" ratings.
• Consumer Reports: Energy Star standards are lax.
• AIA calls for extension of green commercial buildings incentives.
• Is it possible to be green in a downturn.
• College students work to certify city building.
• Q&A on green buildings with Rick Fedrizzi.

Blogs worth readings: Slow Home & Green Wombat.

Opting for Green Globes, Biomimicry, Low Impact Homes, + Ugly Green Design

• NRDC Report: Green investment now = 2 million jobs.
• Demand is growing for low-impact "green" homes.
• Building integrated solar cells could make solar more attractive.
• Nature is inspiring green design for pretty much everything!
• Eco-friendly loft project reuses industrial site.
• Green buildings gaining steam, albeit slowly.
• Sustainable buildings are virtuous, but they can be ugly.
• Oregon building opts for Green Globes instead of LEED.
• Can a building be LEED certified without being green?

Blogs worth reading: The Greeniest, designTURF + GroovyGreen.

Eco-friendly EcoTimber, Green Realtors, Solar Phoenix Suns, + Cost of LEED

• Green cement may set CO2 fate in concrete.
• NAR establishes new green designation for realtors.
• EcoTimber benefits in eco-friendly wood flooring market. 
• Eight strategies to improve the performance of existing building stock.
• Size matters when you go for green bragging rights.
• Phoenix Suns install 1,125 solar panels on parking garage.
• Cost of LEED is debatable, but savings are significant.
• "Zero-energy" pilot homes planned for Fort Campell military base.
• The environmental cost of a pizza joint.

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

Home Wind Power, Eco-rentals, Green Equity Office, + Solar Power's Future

• How To: Demystifying residential wind power.
• Businesses find gold in green design.
• Taking it easy on the planet with eco-rentals.
• Is prefab housing ready for the primetime?
• Boston's biggest property owner going all green.
• New geothermal technology could tap 120,000 MW of energy.
• Have you ever thought about living in the trees?
• New rays of hope for solar power's future.
• Eight steps to building a green roof.

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

Building Organisms, Green Collar Boom, Eco Roof Research + Skyscraper Turbines

• LEED-ing the way to sustainability.
• Building industry to deliver green collar worker boom.
• D.C. schools offer "green collar" classes for next gen workers.
• Eco-friendly roof coverings being poorly installed due to research gap.
• SFC considers whether bike lanes cause pollution.
• We need to apply information technology to the energy grid.
• New wave of structures are like organisms and give back.
• Single family houses are getting a green seal of approval.
• Consider these green home heating alternatives for the winter.
• NYC Mayor calls for wind turbines atop skyscrapers.

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

Home Solar, Green Church, Changing American Dream, + Eco Factory Homes

• Solar power hits home.
• Factory-homes might be greener.
• Giant retailers look to sun for energy savings.
• NREL solar cells set efficiency record of 40.8%.
• The American dream is changing.
• Furniture makers want LEED consideration for movable walls.
• Green roofs differ in building cooling, water handling capabilities.
• Orange County cities consider ban on fake grass.
• Green church has 71 energy-saving items.

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

Greener Hotel Rooms, Deconstruction, Banking Solar Energy, + Pollution Tech

• Top 5 American green buildings.
• Will Americans accept greener hotel rooms?
• Cheap or green: poverty and greenery collide.
• Beijing leads in race for most polluted Olympics.
• Seattle urges deconstruction as means for building demo.
• MIT develops way to bank solar energy at home.
• A new process stores carbon dioxide in precast concrete.
• Dutch town tests 'air-purifying' concrete to fight pollution.
• 'Green' building codes sprout up across US, SF the strictest.

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

Fixing Power Hogs, Carb Heavy Buildings, Green Colleges, + Green USA

• Building a greener America.
  
• Make Freddie and Fannie go green.
• How many carbs does your building have?
• Study finds benefits to walkable neighborhoods.
• Find and fix your home's power hogs.
• The future of plug-in hybrids.
• Colleges taking steps to go greener.
• Gas prices drive push to reinvent suburbs.

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

More California Codes, Home Trends, Saving Rainwater, + Our Electric Future

• California adopts innovative solar loan law.
• LA bans plastic bags in stores starting July 2010.
• How big a deal is green building?
• Going green a growing trend with homeowners.
• Saving rainwater: when it becomes illegal.
• The plan behind our electric future. 
• California building is first hotel to get LEED-EB certification.
• What's lurking in your granite countertops?

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

Sky Farms, Green Fire Stations, Carbon Neutral Goals, + Zero Waste Lifestyle

• Shipping containers become distinctive housing. 
• New fire stations are becoming green.
• Danish island of Samsø chases carbon neutrality.
• Kamikatsu Japan illustrates the zero waste lifestyle.
• Vertical sky farms gain new interest. 
• How to decide if wind power is right for you. 
• How not to greenwash your building product.
• When building green harms the environment.

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