An Upcoming Talk by Nancy Skinner

by energy • Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

On Thursday, December 12, Nancy Skinner will speak on the UC Berkeley campus on state and local efforts to halt climate change. Nancy Skinner is Berkeley’s representative in the California state assembly, and she is a founder of ICLEI. Assemblymember Skinner will also discuss the launching of ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection Program, the national movement of mayors and cities working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

106 Wurster Hall, UC Berkeley campus

5:00 pm – 6:30 pm

More information here.

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Blue Roofs

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by terms, water • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This post is part of our definitions series on “eco-lingo” and technical terms.

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Image: U.S. EPA

“Green roofs”, or roofs that use vegetation to retain stormwater and reduce the ‘heat island effect’ of miles of sun-absorbing rooftops, are more well-known than a related roof-type, the “blue roof”.

Blue roofs use stormwater capture devices rather than vegetation to reduce runoff levels from rooftops. Blue roofs can contribute to sustainable building design and retro-fits in a number of ways. Some blue roofs are designed to temporarily harvest and house stormwater others may divert and infiltrate  or slow-release stormwater. Since areas with large amounts of impervious paved surfaces may be subject to flooding, blue roofs can reduce the risk and associated damage and expense of localized flooding.

Blue roofs can also be employed strategically to avoid over-burdening combined sewage systems that are in danger of overflow and discharge into water bodies during storms.

New York City unveiled a new Green Infrastructure Plan in September that will employ blue roofs among its strategies to reduce sewage overage a target 40% by the year 2030.

Read an article on NYC blue roofs, here. A further definition of blue roofs can be found, here.

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What exactly does “sustainability” mean? How about “green”, “eco” or “environmentally friendly”? The truth is that these terms are just vague enough to mean many different things to many different people. With the staggering array of “green” products, ‘lifestyles’ and concepts being promoted by marketers and environmentalists alike (as well as the necessary coining of new terms to match new ideas) our definition series aims to make sense of the rising tide of “eco-lingo” and technical terms.

Photo – The Elevator

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by Uncategorized •

I recently saw this photo on the outside of the elevator at the City College of San Francisco campus in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco. (Apologies for the blurry cell phone photo.)

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More Tiny Houses!

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by links • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We’ve highlighted tiny houses in the past – here are a few more that we’ve come across lately.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

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Fuyuhito Moriya purchased a parking space in Tokyo, and then had an ultra-small three-story home built on the 30 square meter lot (about 323 square feet). CNN has a video here.

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CNET recently ran an article on Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, which can be as small as 65 square feet. You can read the article here.

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Dwell featured a small house in Toronto, located on a street full of other small houses, due to small lot sizes. You can read the article here. The architect, Andrew Reeves of Linebox, has a blog dedicated to the project.

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Home Energy Improvements

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by energy • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thermal Imaging of a House in Cambodia (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

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Grist recently ran a piece on lessons learned by by shadowing a home energy inspector. The author highlighted a number major lessons, including:

  • It’s a social job.
  • Comfort matters more than pocketbook savings – for some homeowners.
  • It helps to see it and learn firsthand (especially for the blower-door test).
  • Thermal imaging cameras are nifty.
  • Attics should get insulation first, then walls and basements.
  • Most progress depends on the homeowner.
  • Utilities are driving the retrofit industry right now.
  • Renters have split incentives.

You can read the entire article, including the explanations of the lessons learned, on the Grist website here.

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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has a fairly new website called Driving Demand for Home Energy Improvements.

The website lists a number of reports and case studies about how to improve demand for home energy improvements, and findings from utility and government retrofit programs.

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Assorted Links

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A climate skeptic, Representative John Shimkus of Illinois, seeks the House Energy and Commerce Committee chairmanship.

San Francisco transportation officials are facing a shortfall of at least $137 million as they try to move forward with plans for a new subway tunnel for the city’s light-rail service.

Several glazing industry associations successfully appealed changes to ASHRAE Standard 90.1 that would have reduced the amount of glass allowed in commercial building envelopes.

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Upcoming Events

by current events, energy, waste, water • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Daylighted  Marin Creek (Village Creek) as it flows through U.C. Village (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

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Tonight:

Is Urban Stream Restoration Possible?

Ann L. Riley will present case studies from urban stream restoration projects. Riley serves as the advisor on watershed and river restoration for the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and is the Executive Director of the Waterways Restoration Institute.

When: Wednesday, November 17, 7 p.m.

Where: Dimond Library, 3565 Fruitvale Ave. (cross street MacArthur), Oakland, CA

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Net Impact San Francisco: Climate Change Policy Update – Looking forward to the next decade globally and locally

Net Impact SF’s professional chapter’s final meeting of 2010 will focus on the status and trajectories of national, international and local policy around climate change.

When: Tuesday, December 14, 7 – 9 p.m.

Where: TBD – More details here.

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Compostmodern ’11 : Fertile Ground for Designing a Sustainable Future

Compostmodern is a two-day event at the interface of sustainable product design and industry to solve pressing sustainability and ecological  problems.   “Compostmodern engages designers, sustainability professionals, artists and entrepreneurs to collaborate in realizing a more environmentally, culturally and economically sustainable world.”

When: January 22 – 23, 2011

Where:  Day 1 – Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave at McAllister St., San Francisco, CA

Day 2 – The Academy of Art, 79 New Montgomery between Market and Mission Streets, San Francisco, CA

Early bird rates until November 30. More info here.

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New LEED Draft Open for Comment

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by current events, energy, waste, water • Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Image Credit: USGBC

The first public comment draft of LEED is out for review. Comments are due by December 31, 2010.

This review period includes a revision of all of the LEED rating systems together, including New Design & Construction, Operations & Maintenance, Homes, and Neighborhood Development.

The drafts can be downloaded from the USGBC website here.

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BuildingGreen.org has a summary of New Design & Construction changes and highlights major changes in each category:

USGBC released the draft to EBN just before the public comment period was to open. Our analysis of what’s (mostly) the same, what’s different, and what’s totally new follows. We focused our analysis on the LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC) rating system, but readers should see the rating system draft for all the rating systems, including details on LEED-NC that we didn’t have space to discuss.

You can see the changes for each category and read the entire article here.

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For The Truly Nerdy – An ASHRAE Download

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by data sources, energy • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

So, yes, I have to out myself as one of the truly nerdy…

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Image credit: ASHRAE

From the ASHRAE website:

To promote energy efficiency, ASHRAE and the US Department of Energy are making Standard 90.1-2007 (I-P Edition) available for free download.

Standard 90.1 has been a benchmark for commercial building energy codes for over 35 years. It is an indispensable reference for engineers and other professionals involved in the design of buildings and building systems. The 2007 edition serves as the basis of many building codes.

You can download the free pdf document here.

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For those that like to know what acronyms mean, ASHRAE stands for the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers. Their motto is now “Advancing HVAC&R to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world.” A cool bunch of very nerdy engineers – you can find out more about the organization here.

I would also like to add that ASHRAE is very generous with their support of students interested in buildings and energy.

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Assorted Links

by links • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Drivers crossing greater downtown San Francisco and the southern border with San Mateo County could be hit with a new toll costing them as much as $1,560 a year.

Republican governors-elect intend to kill plan for new high-speed rail projects.

Levi’s is introducing a new line of jeans called Water<less, reducing water use in the manufacturing process.

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