GreenClips.226 10.22.03 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GOOD GREEN HOMES... NOW IN BOOKSTORES NATIONWIDE Written by GreenClips editor Jennifer Roberts, Good Green Homes: Creating Better Homes for a Healthier Planet (Gibbs Smith, Oct. 2003) offers real-world ideas and inspiration for creating environmentally friendly homes that are affordable, comfortable and stylish. Illustrated with 160 color photos. Look for "Good Green Homes" in local bookstores or visit http://www.goodgreenhomes.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PRAIRIE CROSSING NEARS COMPLETION AFTER 10 YEARS Launched 10 years ago, the community of Prairie Crossing is situated in the rapidly suburbanizing former farmlands northwest of Chicago. Of its 677 acres, only about one-fifth of the land is developed. Prairie Crossing's planning might be called New Urbanist, and its residents tend to be conservation minded. Its workings include farmland preservation, prairie and wetland restoration, an organic farm, and onsite stormwater treatment. Prairie Crossing will be an hour by train from Chicago's Loop when a new train station is completed. Along with the new station comes additional development: Station Village, a cluster of 103 new houses, and Station Square, which will be the community's last constructed piece. Calthorpe Associates helped conceptualize the plans for Station Square's 100,0000-square-foot, mixed-use development of condominiums, offices and retail space. When these two sections are complete in 18 months, Prairie Crossing will be fully built at 362 housing units. For all its ecologically responsive planning, Prairie Crossing hasn't escaped criticism. Some say it isn't as dense as it should be for efficient use of the land. And its high home prices -- about 20 to 30 percent higher than comparable ones in the surrounding community -- make economic and racial diversity a challenge. Landscape Architecture, Oct 2003, p 122, by Rene C. Kane. [More: http://www.prairiecrossing.com ] ENVIRONMENTAL RULES OUTWEIGH COSTS, WHITE HOUSE STUDY SAYS The White House office in charge of reviewing federal regulations has reported that the benefits of some major environmental rules appear to exceed the costs by several times. The Office of Management and Budget examined a sampling of major rules and found that the total benefits -- to the extent they can be measured -- were at least triple the costs. The 233-page report counted the costs and benefits of only a handful of the 4,135 final rules published in the Federal Register during the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, 2002. The principal focus this year was on three rules issued during that year by the Energy Department, the Transportation Department, and the EPA. They imposed estimated annual costs of $1.6 billion to $2 billion but produced estimated annual benefits of $2.4 billion to $6.5 billion. Looking back at 107 major regulations issued from 1992 to 2002, the budget office calculated that estimated annual costs were $36.6 billion to $42.8 billion, and annual benefits were $146.8 billion to $230.9 billion. For every dollar spent complying with these regulations, the public got at least three to eight dollars in benefits. The New York Times, 28 Sept 2003. [To download report: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/regpol-reports_congress.html ] EIGHT INC. WINS DESIGN COMPETITION FOR OAHU LEARNING CENTER The winning design for the new Malama Learning Center at Kapolei High School on Oahu, Hawaii, lifts the center's buildings off the ground to naturally incorporate light, tradewinds and shade. Chosen from 236 submissions, the remarkably original, green design by Eight Inc. of San Francisco and Honolulu, epitomizes conservation. Its bridge-like buildings rise organically out of the landscape, arching over a descending garden path that culminates in a natural amphitheater. The energy-efficient design draws in the tradewinds and uses sod roofs to insulate the facility from the sun. Lifting the buildings off the ground creates light and space, "light for the gardens and shade areas for people to walk," said Eight Inc. architect Tim Kobe, principal in charge. The competition, with nearly $40,000 in prizes, was funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and donations from others. Now the Malama Learning Center, a joint project of the Nature Conservancy and the high school, must raise up to $6 million for construction, and is seeking partners. The 25,000-square-foot center will house The Nature Conservancy's field operations and function as a living laboratory for scientists, artists, students and community members. To view Eight Inc.'s design and other award winners, visit http://www.malamalearningcenter.org . Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 12 Oct 2003, by Susan Essoyan. QUESTIONS LINGER ABOUT GREENGUARD'S PRODUCT EMISSIONS TESTING GreenGuard, the registry of low-emitting products, got a huge boost when the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Commercial Interiors Rating System (LEED-CI) referenced GreenGuard for its Materials and Resources Credit 4.5, which requires low-emitting furniture. But GreenGuard's certification program has been criticized, most aggressively by a group in California that has developed a slightly different testing protocol that is now included in the Section 01350 Environmental Specification for state projects. Advocates of Section 01350 complain that GreenGuard's standards are somewhat arbitrary and are not based on current information about the health effects of pollutants at various concentrations. Others question the cozy -- and exclusive -- relationship between GreenGuard as the certifier and the testing lab that started GreenGuard, Air Quality Sciences, Inc. (AQS). For manufacturers, there is little doubt that GreenGuard teaches companies new things about their products and what they can do to reduce certain emissions. But the standards are still a bit of a black box. "AQS has not described in writing how it does its analysis, and therefore it is not possible to meaningfully interpret their results or compare them with results from other laboratories," says Hal Levin of the Building Ecology Research Group in Santa Cruz, California. More: http://www.greenguard.org Environmental Building News, Oct 2003, p 5, by Nadav Malin. NEW YORK MUSEUM HOSTS GREEN BUILDING EXHIBIT AND TOURS The Museum of the City of New York will offer a series of guided tours to green buildings in New York, in conjunction with the exhibition, "Big and Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century." The exhibition, which runs through Jan. 19, explores issues like energy use, light, waste disposal, construction materials and urbanism. The tours will be led by representatives of the architects at each location. At Stuyvesant Cove, a two-acre park along the East River, the use of sun and water for heating, cooling and lighting will be featured at the Environmental Learning Center, a building proposed for the site (tour Nov.1). The final tour, of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority terminal under construction at Coney Island, will focus on the roof, where 76,000 square feet of photovoltaic panels will be able to produce 200 kilowatts of power in full sunlight (Nov. 8). The New York Times, 16 Oct 2003, p D4. [More: http://www.mcny.org ] CONSERVATION DESIGN CUTS DEVELOPMENT COSTS AND GENERATES PROFITS Conservation design saves money, according to Bob Brownell, CEO of Wisconsin's Bielinski Homes. Brownell is convinced that his company profits by doing good, averaging $400,000 in infrastructure savings per community. Total costs are typically 15 to 25 percent less, despite landscape expenses that can be more than three times conventional development budgets. Conservation design includes clustering communities, designing for water conservation and stormwater management, restoring degraded ecological systems, and building energy-efficient housing. Savings for Bielinksi Home's Laurel Springs (Jackson, Wis.) community are typical, the company says. A low-impact site plan will save the company more than $400,000 over a conventional plan. Grading, for example, will cost $358,500 with the low-impact site plan versus $441,600 for a conventional site plan. Paving will cost $255,760 vs. $335,665 (conventional); concrete (sidewalks and curbs) will cost $259,995 vs. $271,800 (conventional); storm sewers will cost $204,100 vs. $444,300 (conventional); sanitary sewers will cost $385,280 vs. 415,600 (conventional); main water line will cost $384,240 vs. $405,950 (conventional); and landscaping will cost $120,000 vs. $65,000 (conventional). Total low-impact site developments costs will be $1,967,875, compared to $2,379,915 for a conventional site plan, for a savings of $412,040. And not only does site development cost less overall, the resulting communities sell faster and command higher prices, Brownell says. The company finds that the greater "site appeal" of conservation design may garner premiums up to 25 to 30 percent per lot. Builder, Oct 2003, p 244, by Christina B. Farnsworth. [More: http://www.bielinski.com/conservation.htm ] GREEN GROUND ZERO EXTENDS DESIGN COMPETITION DEADLINE Green Ground Zero, described in GreenClips 225 (10.08.03), has extended its deadline for submission of green development schemes for downtown New York to Feb. 16. More: http://www.greengroundzero.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GreenClips is free of charge thanks to individual members and these sponsors: BUILDINGGREEN, INC. Build Your Expertise with BuildingGreen Suite, a revolutionary green building tool from the people who bring you Environmental Building News. Coming November 12. More information at http://www.BuildingGreen.com/go/suite 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. Subscribe to GreenClips and other mailing lists on energy and the environment at http://listserv.energy.wsu.edu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GREENCLIPS NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT! Twice a month GreenClips is distributed electronically to over 10,000 readers interested in sustainable building design. But we can't do it without the financial support of our sponsors and members. If you find GreenClips valuable, please consider becoming a sponsor or voluntary member. Email chrishammer@greenclips.com for details. ABOUT THE PUBLISHER: Sustainable design consultant Chris Hammer publishes GreenClips in San Francisco. Ms. Hammer helps her clients with environmentally responsible approaches to urban planning and development, and to building design, construction, and operation. GreenClips is edited by Jennifer Roberts, author of "Good Green Homes: Creating Better Homes for a Healthier Planet" (http://www.goodgreenhomes.com). To CONTACT THE PUBLISHER: Email chrishammer@greenclips.com or call 415.928.7941. BACK ISSUES Two Internet sites host GreenClips archives for reference and research: http://listserv.energy.wsu.edu/greenclips/visit.html (keyword search) http://www.greenclips.com (browse contents) REDISTRIBUTION Please do not redistribute or post copies of GreenClips regularly. Encourage readers who receive GreenClips from you to subscribe directly. Continuing sponsorship depends on accurate reader counts. SUBSCRIBE / UNSUBSCRIBE To subscribe via e-mail send a blank message to subscribe-greenclips@listserv.energy.wsu.edu To unsubscribe via e-mail send a blank message to unsubscribe-greenclips@listserv.energy.wsu.edu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Copyright 2003 Sustainable Design Resources. All rights reserved. Republishing GreenClips in print or on a web site, in whole or in part, or commercial distribution in any form requires advance permission of the publisher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .