GreenClips.203 10.23.02 ECOCEMETERY OFFERS NATURAL BURIAL IN WOODLAND PRESERVE Conventional burial in the United States bears a resemblance to toxic waste disposal. The Environmental Protection Agency has raised concerns about discharge of embalming fluids from funeral homes into septic and sewage systems. Caskets and vaults may contaminate soil and groundwater by leaching varnishes, preservatives, sealants and metals. Most cemeteries are kept verdant by regular applications of herbicides and pesticides and are "beautified" with turf and invasive exotic species. But in Westminster, South Carolina, Billy and Kimberly Campbell have founded Memorial Ecosystems, the first contemporary cemetery in the nation dedicated to ecosystem preservation while providing a lower-cost burial alternative. At the company's pilot "ecocemetery," unembalmed bodies are buried in biodegradable cardboard cremation boxes or simple pine coffins in a native woodland. Plots are sited close to the trail to avoid visitors' trampling the woodland vegetation. Where topsoil must be removed, it is replaced after burial. Grave markers are simple inscriptions on stones mostly found on the property. The Campbells will allow an average of 30 graves per acre, compared to 1,000 or more per acre in some contemporary cemeteries. While burial requirements differ from state to state, they are less constricting than one might expect. In South Carolina, for example, not even a box is legally required. More: http://www.memorialecosystems.com <http://www.memorialecosystems.com/> . Landscape Architecture, Oct 2002, p 74, by J. William Thompson. MOORE FOUNDATION GIVES EX-MILITARY BUILDING A GREEN MAKEOVER Working with Gensler's San Francisco office, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation set out to see how thoroughly sustainability could be integrated into design decisions for their new office. The foundation, endowed with $5 billion from Intel's cofounder, focuses on biodiversity and wildlife preservation. Their 34,00-square-foot office, designed for 110 employees, occupies four levels of a 1938 building in San Francisco's Presidio, a former military base. The project was, the architects say, a crash course in learning the potential and limits of what is now possible when a company sets out to do the right thing. In a small conference room, for example, walls are made of framed windows from a local salvage operation. "We wanted to get some humor in the building, break up the monotony," says Sherry Barolucci, the foundation's chief administrative officer. "Is the paint on the frames 'good' paint? Probably not. But we're reusing old windows!" One tool Gensler is likely to use again is a "green scorecard" they developed that ranked products in five categories: material source, manufacturing process, transportation impacts, energy consumed in maintenance, and the product's "afterlife." Other green features include a conference room framed with reclaimed bricks, a conference table made of planks from a bay laurel tree that fell naturally, and certified oak from Pennsylvania used for workstation partition veneers. Metropolis, Nov 2002, p 90, by John King. [More, including video tour: http://www.moore.org/stories/08_15/news_story.asp <http:///> ] GREEN TRANSFORMATION UNDERWAY AT FORD'S RIVER ROUGE COMPLEX The Ford Motor Company has created a buzz by installing sedum, a rugged plant used as ground cover, on the roof of a new 1.1-million-square-foot assembly plant in Detroit. Ford's 1,100-acre River Rouge complex, which opened in 1918, is the focus of a 20-year, $2 billion modernization project, including the new assembly factory and updates on some existing buildings. More than 10 acres of sedum is being planted on the world's largest "living" roof. The sedum will help insulate the building, and will also cleanse rainwater flowing off the roof. The entrance to the complex is being transformed into a 1.5-mile-long green boulevard with 22 acres of wetlands, trees and shrubs. To control rainwater and pollutants, the 15-acre parking lot is covered with a porous surface through which water is filtered and then stored in underground basins to be slowly released into the canals and wetlands. This approach is designed to save Ford $35 million compared with installing a conventional water-treatment system. Skylights will provide so much natural light that Ford engineers anticipate turning off half the interior lights during the day, saving nearly $50,000 annually. Environmental leaders admire what Ford is doing at the Rouge plant but call for the same pollution-reducing principles to be applied across the company's policies and product line. The New York Times, 23 Oct 2002, by Keith Schneider. [More: http://www.ford.com/en/ourCompany/environmentalInitiatives/cleanerManufacturing/rougeTurningAMonument.htm <http:///> ] TEACHING SUSTAINABILITY TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF DESIGNERS For "Teaching Green," a conference held last May in New York, Metropolis magazine brought together 26 speakers, panelists and respondents to focus on sustainability and design education. Contrary to reports that sustainability is poorly understood in America's architecture and design schools, there are stellar programs at several universities, such as the Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture. Vivian Loftness, who leads the department, said that schools of architecture, interior design and engineering should rewrite their mission statements, hire and tenure environmental professionals as teachers, adopt LEED for campus facilities, and promote and fund multidisciplinary research. Georgia Tech is undertaking a $650 million construction project that they expect to be LEED certified and to serve as a case study for teaching green principles. But they don't offer a specialized degree in sustainable engineering. "It's like safety. It should just be there," said Georgia Tech engineering professor Annie Pearce. With the belief that there is power in numbers, the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) has joined forces with the Interior Design Education Council (IDEC), the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and Metropolis magazine to develop and publicize the Green Design Education Initiative. The initiative will include the development of a website for educators, interior designers and facility managers looking for hard-to-find information on the subject. Metropolis, "Teaching Green" Special Supplement to Nov 2002 issue, by Kira L. Gould. [More: http://www.metropolismag.com/html/conferences/icff_2002/teachinggreen_survey_2002.html <http:///> ] GREENER OPTIONS FOR COVERING WALLS Today numerous eco-friendly alternatives to vinyl wallcoverings exist. Vinyl alternative wallcoverings are generally made from wood pulp and various recycled or reclaimed materials, including nylon and polyester, and are colored with water-based inks. At Blumenthal Wallcoverings, the best-selling line of green products is Duraprene -- latex-impregnated cellulose fibers made from 50 percent recycled fiber content. Blumenthal also offers the Enigma line, made from gypsum and quartz fibers. Natural fiber products -- sisal, cork and grass cloth, among others -- remain popular. Muraspec makes a rice paper from 100 percent linen fiber, while their parchment paper is a blend of mulberry bark and linen. Blumenthal's natural fiber offerings include grass cloth and woven reed papers, while Innovations' products include cork and sisal wallcoverings. Prices for natural fiber wallcoverings range broadly. Innovations' grass cloth sells for $40 per linear yard; cork and sisal are priced at $29.95 per linear yard. JaDecor, made of cotton colored with silk, mica and glitter, costs $4 to $6 per square foot installed. Green Stone, a decorative molded-stone finish composed of minerals and between 10 and 75 percent recycled material, sells for $6 to $10 per square foot. More: http://www.blumenthalwallcovering.com <http://www.blumenthalwallcovering.com/> ; http://innovationsusa.com <http://innovationsusa.com/> ; http://www.jadecor.com <http://www.jadecor.com/> ; http://www.muraspecna.com <http://www.muraspecna.com/> . Natural Home, Nov-Dec 2002, p 59, by Lori Tobias. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GreenClips is free of charge thanks to individual members and these sponsors: ATHENATM ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ESTIMATOR www.athenaSMI.ca <http://www.athenasmi.ca/> The Athena Sustainable Materials Institute has launched its groundbreaking software a systems model for assessing the life cycle environmental implications of building or assembly designs. The Estimator gives architects, engineers and researchers life-cycle assessment (LCA) answers about conceptual designs of new buildings or renovations to existing buildings, including industrial, institutional, office, and both multi-unit and single family residential designs. The Estimator incorporates the Institute&Mac226;s internationally recognized life cycle inventory databases, covering more than 90 structural and envelope materials. 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