http://www.enn.com/ ENN RSS News http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/36136 Undertaking a home building project? Sustainable, eco-friendly materials are the only way to go — they’re better for you, as well as the planet. According to GreenBuilding.com, “the US EPA ranks indoor pollution among top five environmental risks, and unhealthy air is found in up to 30% of new and renovated buildings.”� http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/35701 Many people enjoy using tropical hardwoods as garden furniture and parquet floors, but few consumers make the link with global warming. But the link is there, because some products are made from timber from areas like the Amazon and Southeast Asia that contain vast quantities of trees that absorb carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, but where the overall number of trees is diminishing under pressure from unscrupulous loggers. http://www.enn.com/green_building/article/35649 The Proximity Hotel is proof that a hotel can be very green without sacrificing the comfort of its guests. The hotel is located in Greensboro, North Carolina, and it achieved a Gold LEED certification this year from the U.S. Green Building Council. The Proximity uses 36.5% less energy and 30% less water than a conventional hotel. It gets 60% of its hot water from 100 solar thermal panels on the roof. The hotel also boasts the first regenerative drive elevator, which recaptures energy as the elevator moves down. The guest rooms take advantage of abundant natural lighting with large energy-efficient “operable”� windows that measure 7’4”� square. http://www.enn.com/green_building/article/35189 The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) has announced its Top Ten Green Projects for 2008. 1. Aldo Leopold Legacy Center (Baraboo, Wisconsin; The Kubala Washatko Architects)—The LEED Platinum headquarters for the Aldo Leopold Foundation uses 70% less energy than a conventional building and achieves net-zero-energy performance. Extensive daylighting and passive ventilation contribute to the energy savings. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/35036 The pathogen responsible for Sudden Oak Death first got its grip in California's forests outside a nursery in Santa Cruz and at Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County before spreading out to eventually kill millions of oaks and tanoaks along the Pacific Coast, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. It provides, for the first time, evidence of how the epidemic unfolded in this state. "In this paper, we actually reconstruct the Sudden Oak Death epidemic," said Matteo Garbelotto, UC Berkeley associate extension specialist and adjunct professor, and principal investigator of the study. "We point to where the disease was introduced in the wild and where it spread from those introduction points." http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/35028 It all begins with education. Consumer awareness on green building is murky. To put it succinctly it is as clear as mud to most. If you ask anybody what going green means to them, they will likely respond, "environmentally friendly, using clean energy, conserving resources." But if you ask somebody how to build a green home you will generally find yourself confronting a blank stare. http://www.enn.com/business/article/33991 DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh has begun producing environmentally friendly yarn from cotton waste to save foreign currency on imports, a local company said on Wednesday. "We have set up the factory to produce cotton yarn by using waste from ready-made garment products to export to foreign markets," said Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, managing director of Evitex Polycot Limited (EPL). http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/33855 In an ambitious move, a Californian utility plans to create a massive, distributed “powerplant”� by installing a total of 2 square miles of solar cells on the roofs of businesses. Southern California Edison plans to install 250 megawatts’ worth of solar power, generating enough electricity to power 162,000 homes. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/33594 Wind power is breaking new records in Spain, accounting for just over 40 percent of all electricity consumed during a brief period last weekend. As heavy winds lashed Spain on Saturday evening wind parks generated 9,862 megawatts of power which translated to 40.8 percent of total consumption. Between Friday and Sunday wind power accounted for an average of 28 percent of all electricity demand in Spain. Spain’s wind power generation equaled that of hydropower for the first time in 2007. http://www.enn.com/business/article/33508 An organization led by North America's top environmental officials has issued a new report calling for greater international collaboration to build green. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), formed to address environmental concerns within North America's free-trading nations, stated the need for "a lasting and achievable vision" of green buildings. The vision for Canada, the United States, and Mexico includes the creation of stakeholder task forces in each country, targets to build net zero-energy buildings, and the promotion of private sector financing. http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/33458 Fantasizing about building a bamboo home, but not sure if you’d like living in it? Here’s a place that you can try before you buy. Take a much needed vaca to a Maui resort (swim to the island if you must), and rent a bamboo jungalow to experience what it would be like to live in a bamboo home. Bamboo Living Technologies offers building code certified pre-fab homes in the USA, built for any climate. So, you can practically grow your own home. http://www.enn.com/green_building/article/33246 There hasn’t been a lot of good news in the general economy lately; from a complete collapse of sub-prime mortgage loans, to slumping property values, whip-sawing stock markets, $110+ barrels of oil and colossal brokerage houses that suddenly run out of cash — it isn’t pretty. At first blush, it might appear that this is no time for green builders to forecast increased orders through 2008. But that’s exactly what Rob Moody is doing. Owner of The EcoBuilders based in Asheville, North Carolina, Moody started the business in 2003 and states in a recent Newsweek article that he expects orders to double this year, after doing the same last year. http://www.enn.com/green_building/article/32913 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "Green" construction could cut North America's climate-warming emissions faster and more cheaply than any other measure, environmental experts from Canada, Mexico and the United States reported on Thursday. Besides energy efficiency and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, environmentally-conscious buildings are healthier for the people who use them, the report's authors said. http://www.enn.com/sci-tech/article/32374 What’s next in home design and decor? Greenness and gadgetry, that’s what. Local design experts say that technology and ecology are shaping the way homeowners build, renovate and otherwise outfit their homes, and they see energy savings and electronics as fuels for the fire. “I think that laptops — and I’m not quite sure where it’s going to go — are going to change the way we use our spaces,”� says licensed interior designer Davia Gallup of Davenport, Iowa, owner of HomeFront Interior design. Gallup uses a computer-aided drafting program like the one seen on the HGTV network’s “Hidden Spaces”� program to show her clients what their dream spaces will look like before they’re renovated or built from the ground up. http://www.enn.com/business/article/32200 NATIONAL REPORT—In meeting rooms, back of house and other areas of your hotel, chances are great that you are using T-12 fluorescent lamps or the more efficient T-8s to illuminate large spaces. At least two companies—ilumisys, Inc. in Troy, Mich., and LEDdynamics, Inc. in Randolph, Vt.—are trying to replace these linear fluorescents with LED alternatives that are more energy efficient and safer for the environment. Fluorescent tubes include mercury and despite recycling efforts, 500 million to 600 million lamps end up in landfills each year. LED alternatives do not include mercury. http://www.enn.com/sci-tech/article/31817 Guardian Industries, one of the world’s largest architectural and automotive glass manufacturers, with 19,000 employees in 25 countries, has under development a revolutionary vacuum-glazing panel that provides a center-of-glass insulating value of R-12 to R-13. The glass—Guardian VIG (for vacuum-insulated glass)—has a very thin (250-micron or 0.25-mm) space evacuated to 10—4 torr (for reference, thermos bottles typically have a much harder vacuum of around 10—6 torr) between two layers of glass, one of which has a low-emissivity (low-e) coating. Guardian is currently producing the vacuum glazing on a limited basis for testing and hopes to roll it out commercially by the end of 2009. http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/31816 ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO—As consumers embrace ecotourism as “travel with ethics”�, one resort is looking beyond simply reusing towels and installing compact fluorescent light bulbs, to actively investing in its community and strengthening the area’s long-term economic viability. Located on the west coast of Mexico near Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa in the town of Juluchuca, Playa Viva is demonstrating that a truly sustainable resort invests in people, in place, and in principles. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/31808 LONGYEARBYEN, NORWAY (26 FEBRUARY 2008) — The Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened today on a remote island in the Arctic Circle, receiving inaugural shipments of 100 million seeds that originated in over 100 countries. With the deposits ranging from unique varieties of major African and Asian food staples such as maize, rice, wheat, cowpea, and sorghum to European and South American varieties of eggplant, lettuce, barley, and potato, the first deposits into the seed vault represent the most comprehensive and diverse collection of food crop seeds being held anywhere in the world. http://www.enn.com/sci-tech/article/31615 Clay Moulton of Springfield, Va., who received his Master of Science in Architecture with a concentration in industrial design from the College of Architecture and Urban Studies in 2007, created the lamp as a part of this master’s thesis. The LED lamp, named Gravia, has just won second place in the Greener Gadgets Design Competition as part of the Greener Gadgets Conference in New York City. Concept illustrations of Gravia depict an acrylic column a little over four feet high. The entire column glows when activated. The electricity is generated by the slow fall of a mass that spins a rotor. The resulting energy powers 10 high-output LEDs that fire into the acrylic lens, creating a diffuse light. The operation is silent and the housing is elegant and cord free — completely independent of electrical infrastructure. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/31486 The introduction of LED light bulbs into the market has been hindered due to several factors. Namely: lumens (brightness) color (led produce blue radiance vs. white) market promotion and affordability. Although LED bulbs for residential and commercial applications are not quite where they need to be, they are starting to scratch their way into the market this year with more force than ever before. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/30961 Nairobi/Monaco, 11 February 2008 - The biggest gathering of environment ministers to take place since the climate change breakthrough in Bali will be happening in Monaco later this month under the theme "Mobilizing Finance for the Climate Challenge". More than 100 ministers from across the globe are scheduled to attend the Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GMEF) - the world's forum for environment ministers -alongside senior figures from industry and economics; science; local government; civil society, trades unions and intergovernmental bodies. http://www.enn.com/green_building/article/30920 OAKLAND, CALIF.—A new guide offer hotels simple energy-saving tips that can cut costs while increasing aesthetics and comfort. Flex Your Power, California’s energy efficiency marketing and outreach campaign, has released its Hotels Best Practices Guide. Tips come from all aspects of hotel operations, covering lighting, water, HVAC, windows, roofs, restaurants, laundry, vending and ice machines, office equipment, exercise rooms, pools, saunas, hot tubs and demand response programs. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/30787 The gorgeous Greta Garbo was from Sweden. Uma Thurman, Candice Bergen, and the wide-eyed Gyllenhaall sibs all trace their pretty genes back to that icy country, too. We've got to say, as a people, the Swedes are pretty smokin'. And now, the people of Sweden are joining their hot bodies together for a good cause: To help the environment. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/30652 Every two years, the California Energy Commission (CEC) releases an Integrated Energy Policy Report in which it makes recommendations for energy policy in the state, including changes to Title 24, the energy efficiency portion of the building codes. In its 2007 report, CEC recommends adjusting Title 24 to require net-zero-energy performance in residential buildings by 2020 and in commercial buildings by 2030. According to Panama Bartholomy of CEC, the commission does not need new legislation to incorporate these goals and is already moving to put them in place. “The 2008 standards will get us closer to these recommendations,”� he said, referring to the Title 24 update currently moving through the state’s rulemaking process. http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/30461 China is beginning to take advantage of an unusual energy source: cow gas. Cows emit a significant amount of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, when they belch and flatulate. According to People’s Daily, the world’s largest cow-dung methane power plant started operation on January 21 in China’s Inner Mongolia region. With an investment of 45 million RMB (roughly $US5.7 million) from the country’s largest milk producer, Mengniu Dairy, the plant is able to supply 10 million kilowatt-hours of electricity to the national power grid.