GreenClips.222 08.27.03 USING EARTHWORKS TO CREATE WATER-HARVESTING LANDSCAPES In places like Tucson, Arizona, which has an average annual rainfall of 12 inches, water-harvesting structures can be used to put stormwater to good use and improve the site. Stormwater can be intercepted by shaped earthworks where it directly infiltrates the soil at the site, or it can be harvested in tanks and stored for later use. Earthworks, which are the least expensive strategy, include basins, swales, French drains, and gabions. BASINS intercept and use water in a discrete area. They can be small enough to support a single plant or large enough to support a grove of trees. They typically receive water from overland flow, not from channels. SWALES harvest rainwater in linear depressions placed in the broad landscape. Contoured swales intercept water from large watershed areas, so they often need overflow spillways constructed periodically along their length to discharge excess water during large storms. FRENCH DRAINS are rectangular trenches backfilled with gravel. Rainwater quickly fills the pore spaces in the gravel and comes in contact with the sides and bottom of the trench, where it infiltrates into the soil. GABIONS are "leaky" rock dams that slow the flow of water while trapping detritus and soil just upstream of the gabion. The trapped material creates a spongy mat that repairs erosion damage and holds water for nearby plants. Landscape Architecture, Aug 2003, p 44, by Ann Phillips. [To download the City of Tucson Water Harvesting Guidance Manual, go to http://www.cityoftucson.org/planning ] WOOD RECYCLING REDUCES CONSTRUCTION WASTE BY 40 PERCENT IN PILOT STUDY In northern Colorado, high growth rates in new construction combined with low landfill tipping rates ($18/ton) mean that large volumes of wood waste end up in landfills. Wood comprises 20 percent (approximately 200,000 cubic yards) of the waste entering landfills in Larimer County, where the city of Fort Collins (population 120,000) is located. In 2000, the city recruited eight building contractors to participate in a six-month pilot wood recycling program. The contractors collected wood waste at 13 active construction sites, with the city covering the costs of removing and grinding the wood to produce landscaping mulch. During the six-month project, 78,145 lbs of wood or approximately 330 cubic yards (cy) were collected. This represents about 1.72 lbs of wood waste per square foot of new construction, or slightly more than 7.2 cy/1,000 sq ft of floor area. On average, the program resulted in a 40 percent reduction of wood waste going to landfills. Within a few years, Fort Collins plans to investigate options for adopting municipal green building policies. Their experience in piloting wood recycling is likely to have an influence on that process. BioCycle, Aug 2003, p 51, by Susie Gordon, Chris Jennings and Henry Jeanes. [Download city's report: http://www.ci.fort-collins.co.us/recycling ] BREAKING THROUGH THE BARRIERS TO GREEN PROCUREMENT For many companies, green procurement is still a tough sell. Getting procurement managers to change their purchase specifications, vendor relationships, and value propositions to embrace environmental considerations remains a formidable barrier for most large organizations. Making the business case for green purchasing is difficult, and few buying agents are rewarded on the basis of anything outside of price, quality and logistics. Despite obstacles, a recent report by Worldwatch Institute points to trends that green procurement practices are advancing into the mainstream. One important development is the move toward making such programs a core part of decision-making processes in corporations and institutions. Warner Brothers, for example, has adopted a green building standard for interior remodels. Energy-efficient retrofits, including lighting, occupancy sensors, and solar electric systems, saved the company more than 4 million kWh of electricity in 2002. Organizations committed to green procurement are also seeking allies among suppliers committed to improving their own environmental performance. And increasing globalization will continue to effect green procurement, as environmentally aware consumers and organizations in one region influence the production and supply in other parts of the world. Green purchasing resources: http://www.greenbiz.com/resources/procurement; http://worldwatch.org/press/news/2003/07/25/ . The Green Business Letter, Aug 2003, p 1. HOMEY RAG RUGS REUSE WASTE, BUT NOT ALL ARE CREATED EQUAL Rag rugs are often made from industrial fabric waste, making them popular with ecologically minded people. But not all rag rugs are created equal. If you want a fair-trade, recycled rag rug, ask the artisan or retailer whether recycled fabric was used, how the rug was made, and how the workers who made the rug were treated. If an artisan hesitates to provide information, says Birgitta Nostring of All Strings Considered in Pennsylvania, he or she might be reselling sweatshop rugs. If shopping at a major retailer, ask store managers what they know about the vendor. Chris Gustin of Homestead Weaving Studio in Indiana buys about a ton of industrial waste a year for her rag rugs, and has experimented with weaving rugs from plastic grocery bags and paper yarn. In Fairbanks, the Alaska Rag Company serves as a vocational training center for a local mental health center. The nonprofit company receives as much as 600 pounds of donated used clothes a week, and about a third of it is cut up for rugs. More: http://www.allstringsconsidered.com ; http://www.homesteadweaver.com . Meanwhile, in New York, the Rug Company sells Perde Patchworks, a line of floorcoverings stitched together from Turkish flat weaves that were originally used to cover the floors of nomads' tents. More: click on Contemporary Collection at http://www.therugcompany.info . Natural Home, Sep-Oct 2003, p 63, by Leslie Petrovski (rag rugs); Metropolitan Home, Sep-Oct 2003, p 48 (Perde Patchworks). INTEGRATING SUSTAINABLE DESIGN AT THE PENTAGON With nearly 25,000 people working in 6.63 million square feet, the Pentagon is the world's largest office building. The mammoth building is currently undergoing an exhaustive renovation that incorporates sustainable design. For the 1.3 million-square-foot renovation of one section (Wedge 2), a sustainable-design team made up of more than 20 firms set out to integrate sustainability in the plans of all disciplines. The team has learned valuable lessons in three areas: integrating sustainability, benchmarking beyond LEED, and materials selection. INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY: Over time, the team learned the importance of firmly establishing sustainable design on the agenda of every team meeting, making certain that the topic was part of daily team member discussions, and adding sustainable design experts to the electrical and mechanical meetings. BENCHMARKING: For the design team, LEED is not the only benchmarking criteria. For example, the Pentagon has specific goals for eliminating polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and ozone-depleting substances (ODS). LEED has ODS limits for mechanical refrigeration, but the substances are present in other areas, such as building insulation. MATERIALS PROCUREMENT: Sustainable materials alternatives recommended early in project planning don't always survive the purchasing process. Educating all team members who are involved in the procurement process can help assure that sustainable materials are procured. Green at Work, Jul-Aug 2003, p 44, by Michaella Wright. [More: http://renovation.pentagon.mil/sustainabledesign.htm ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GreenClips is free of charge thanks to individual members and these sponsors: BUILDINGGREEN, INC. Providing authoritative, unbiased information to help you improve the environmental performance of buildings and the surrounding landscapes. The newly updated EBN Archives is an extensive green building research tool with than 1500 pages of searchable green building information. Learn more at: http://www.buildinggreen.com/ecommerce/ C&A FLOORCOVERINGS We choose not to just make carpet but to also make a difference. http://www.powerbond.com EPA'S ENVIRONMENTALLY-PREFERABLE PURCHASING PROGRAM Greening the government, one purchase at a time. http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/epp GREEN BUILDING SERVICES http://www.greenbuildingservices.com Green Building Services offers environmental design and energy efficient consulting services to help you design, build and market high-performance commercial buildings, through design charrettes, energy analyses and the entire LEED certification process. WSU ENERGY PROGRAM http://www.energy.wsu.edu Providing objective research, information and solutions. Washington State University Cooperative Extension Energy Program in Olympia, Washington. 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