GreenClips.149 08.16.00 MIXED REPORT CARD FOR GREEN OLYMPICS Greenpeace recently unveiled its final report card for the Sydney Olympics, giving the Australian city 6 out of 10 for "greenness." Sydney has fallen short of the environmental goals it set when it used the promise of a "Green Games" to win the right to host the Olympics, Greenpeace says. But the organizers have nonetheless achieved much and are preparing to stage the "greenest" Olympics ever. In the Olympic Athletes Village, for example, 665 homes have solar water heating and grid-connected, one-kilowatt photovoltaic arrays. Following the Games, these homes will be sold and become a village of three New Urbanist neighborhoods. In addition, the Sydney Olympics will be almost entirely car-free, with athletes and spectators using public transport, including new train lines built for the Games. Other achievements include protecting from development the habitat of two threatened frogs and a small virgin forest, and curtailing use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and refrigerants that deplete ozone or contribute to global warming (CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs). But Sydney failed to achieve some of its environmental goals; for example, cleanup of toxins in Homebush Bay, near the Olympic Village, hasn't progressed to the extent hoped for. Financial Times, 15 Aug 00, by Shawn Donnan, and Environmental Building News, p 7, Jul-Aug 00, by Alex Wilson. [More: http://www.greenpeace.org.au/index.php3] PERFORMANCE-BASED ENERGY EFFICIENCY BILL INTRODUCED On June 13, Senator Bob Smith (Republican-NH) introduced the Energy Efficiency Buildings Incentive Act (S.2718) to Congress. The bill would provide performance-based tax deductions for the following residential and commercial energy efficiency improvements: whole-building performance, photovoltaic systems, certified solar hot water systems, and rated high-performance water heaters, heat pumps, and central air conditioners. The maximum tax deduction would be $2.75 per square foot for commercial buildings, $2,000 for principal residences that are 50 percent more energy efficient than the standard design reference house, and from $500 to $6,000 for specific equipment. The bill, which requires third-party certification of equipment and verification of building performance, has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is working to obtain Democratic co-sponsorship of the Smith bill. For a summary and full text of S.2718, see http://floridagreenbuilding.org/s2718. Environmental Building News, Jul-Aug 00, p 5, by Peter Yost. CLASSIFYING GREEN BUILDING ASSESSMENT TOOLS Canada's ATHENA Sustainable Materials Institute has developed a three-level classification system that provides a framework for assessing and comparing green building and life-cycle analysis (LCA) tools. The scheme's Level 1 includes product comparison tools and information sources such as BEES, Environmental Resource Guide, LCExplorer, SimaPro and TEAM. These tools, which are used primarily at the procurement stage, may include economic, environmental or other data, and may have LCA in the background (e.g., BEES), or may be used to construct LCAs (e.g., SimaPro). Level 2 encompasses whole-building decision support tools, such as ATHENA, EcoQuantum, Envest, DOE2, E10 and Radiance. Level 2 tools are typically intended for use by design team members early in the design phase and usually focus on a specific area, such as life-cycle costs, life-cycle environmental effects, lighting, or operating energy; a few combine more than one of these areas. Level 2 tools are data-oriented and objective, and usually adhere to ISO, ASTM, ASHRAE or other standards. Level 3 tools consist of whole-building assessment frameworks, such as BREEAM (Canada/UK), GBTool (international), EcoEffect (Sweden), ECOPROFILE (Norway), ESCALE (France) and LEED (US). Level 3 tools provide broad coverage of environmental, economic, social and other issues relevant to sustainability, and use both objective and subjective data, often leaning on Level 2 tools for the objective data. For more information, email Wayne Trusty: wbtrusty@fox.nstn.ca. Advanced Buildings Newsletter, July 00, p 18, by Wayne B. Trusty. LOWE'S TO STOP SELLING WOOD FROM ENDANGERED FORESTS Lowe's Companies, the nation's second largest home-improvement retailer, will stop selling wood products from endangered forests over the next three years. The Wilkesboro, North Carolina company also will give preference to wood that is independently certified as having come from forests managed in an environmentally responsible way. Lowe's officials say growing customer demand for environmentally friendly wood products prompted the changes, not pressure from competitor Home Depot, which vowed last August to stop buying wood from "environmentally sensitive areas" by 2002. Lowe's is going further than Home Depot in specifying which forests will be classified as "endangered." Lowe's will immediately end purchases of lumber and finished products coming from British Columbia's Great Bear Rain Forest, one of the world's largest old-growth temperate rain forests. Also banned under the new policy are wood dowels made of ramin from Indonesia, where illegal logging has led to a decline in the population of orangutans. Meanwhile, growing interest in environmentally certified wood was recently demonstrated by an exhibit at San Francisco International Airport, where the world's largest sustainable-wood veneer wall--670 by 38 feet--was displayed at the airport's new international terminal along with a collection of products made from eco-friendly lumber. [The exhibit is on display until February 2001.] The Wall Street Journal, 9 Aug 00, p A4, by Rick Brooks, and The San Francisco Chronicle, 9 Aug 00, p C1, by Glen Martin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GreenClips is free of charge thanks to individual members and these sponsors: ALAMEDA COUNTY WASTE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY http://.stopwaste.org The Alameda County Waste Management Authority and the Alameda County Source Reduction and Recycling Board is accepting applications for Program Manager I/II (half-time; average 20 hours per week). This position requires knowledge of green building materials and practices, grant management, business outreach and assistance as well as experience working with the building and design industry professionals. Current full time salary ranges are: Program Manager I or II (depending upon experience) $3,864 - $6,182. For more information/applications contact the Agency 510.614.1699, 777 Davis Street #100, San Leandro, CA 94577, or visit www.stopwaste.org. Application deadline is 5:00 p.m. September 15, 2000. The agency is an integrated public agency whose mission is to provide the most environmentally sound waste management program for the people of Alameda County. The agency is charged with providing programs to reduce the amount of material flowing into landfills. ENERGY RESOURCE CENTER http://www.socalgas.com/erc The quality of the water in your boiler system makes a big difference in the lifespan of your equipment. Find out about the many ways to maximize efficiency, and save as much as 40 % on energy costs. This seminar will address how to reduce chemical costs while protecting a boiler system from corrosion, scale and biological fouling. Water Treatment for Energy Efficiency, Seminar #4610, is designed as a thorough introduction for commercial and industrial plumbers, engineers, maintenance workers, or anyone new to facility operations. The class will take the mystery out of water treatment and its critical importance to boiler operations. 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