| GreenClips.255 01.05.05 SHOULD BIODIESEL BE PART OF YOUR COMPANY'S ENERGY FUTURE? The search for alternatives to petroleum has led a small number of companies to pursue biodiesel for their fleets. For example, Google, Inc. recently inaugurated a shuttle service for its employees, between San Francisco and Mountain View, about 40 miles, using a bus running on pure biodiesel. The most promising source of biodiesel for companies is waste oil from restaurants or food processing plants. Biodiesel also can be made from oils in plant seed or waste products rich in carbon. For large-scale use, it is generally blended into regular diesel, though it can, after minimal treatment, be used unblended. Biodiesel requires only minimal treatment to burn in diesel engines, and it produces significantly less air pollution (except for NOx) when blended with diesel fuel. The cost is competitive when made from waste oils. On the down side, relatively little waste oil is available, and biodiesel made from plant seeds is much more expensive than conventional diesel. It isn't clear that there is enough raw material to address more than 10% of total diesel demand without a major technological breakthrough, such as producing biodiesel from algae ponds. More: http://bioenergy.ornl.gov/. The Green Business Letter, Dec 04, p 1. BUILDINGGREEN'S TOP 10 GREEN BUILDING PRODUCTS OF 2004 BuildingGreen, Inc. selected the top 10 green building products of 2004. This third annual award recognizes the most exciting products added to BuildingGreen's GreenSpec Directory during the past year (some products may have been on the market longer). The products are: 1. ECO Paver from F.P. Henry; 2. TimberSIL nontoxic pressure-treated wood from Timber Treatment Technologies, LLC; 3. FSC Certified Framing Lumber and Plywood from Potlatch Corporation; 4. Ethos Carpet-Cushion Backing from Tandus C&A Floorcoverings; 5. EcoVeil TPO Interior Shade Screening from MechoShade Systems, Inc.; 6. Photovol Glass PV Glazing Panels from MSK Corporation;7. Winston Series CPC Solar Water Heating Collector from Solargenix; 8. EcoSpace Elevator from Kone; 9. Flushmate Pressure-Assist Toilet Flush Mechanism from Sloan Valve Company; 10. Cold Climate Heat Pump from Nyle Special Products, LLC. Environmental Design + Construction, Dec 04, p 15. [More: http://www.buildinggreen.com/press/topten2004/announcement.cfm] LOOOLO TEXTILES OFFERS BIODEGRADEABLE BLANKETS AND CUSHIONS Toronto-based Looolo Textiles, which has been using manual knitting machines to make biodegradable blankets and cushions, will begin manufacturing this year to bring its products to a wider market. All Looolo products are made with Swiss company Rommers Climatex Lifecycle yarns, developed by William McDonough with Susan Lyons. Looolo eschews so-called natural dyes because heavy metals are required to make the pigments adhere to fibers. Looolo founder Joanna Notkin has short-term plans to find a source of Canadian wool and therefore reduce the amount of energy used in shipping, since Climatex wools travel from Australia to Switzerland before arriving in Canada. Notkin also embraces the prospect of incorporating into future lines nonharmful synthetics made in closed-loop processes. [More: www.looolo.ca] Metropolis, Jan 05, p 90, by Kristi Cameron. FREE OCCUPANCY SURVEYS AVAILABLE FOR LEED® BUILDINGS The Center for the Built Environment (CBE) at the University of California, Berkeley offers an online occupant survey tool with automated reporting and analysis options. In order to increase the number of LEED-certified buildings in its database, CBE is currently waiving the standard $1,000 per building fee for LEED buildings. For details, e-mail cbe-survey@berkeley.edu or view the online demo at www.cbe.berkeley.edu/RESEARCH/survey.htm Environmental Building News, Dec 05, p 13. SUPPORTING A FLOATING HEDGE WITH OFF-THE-SHELF TRELLIS SYSTEMS The green façade, a practical if clichéd element of environmentally oriented design, is hardly in widespread use. Reasons run from the costs of procuring and installing wire-rope frameworks or metal lattices, to nagging questions about how to best maintain the systems. But, new off-the shelf trellis systems now guarantee workable, inexpensive support structures, if not always top-notch aesthetics. At the low-cost end of the spectrum is Webnet,a retrofit-friendly solution by Jakob (www.jakobstainlesssteel.com) of Delray Beach, Florida. On the higher end, Jakob has hardware and cable for column greening, freestanding barriers to hide unsightly areas and anchors for brick façades. The modularized trellising system by Los Angeles-based Greenscreen (www.greenscreen.com) adapts to both wall-mounted and cantilevered installations. Another easy-to-install product is from QMH in Chino, California (www.qmharchitectural.com). In addition to local climate and building orientation, critical design factors for the vegetation supports include façade coverage area and plant species. Architecture, Dec 04, p 97. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GreenClips is free of charge thanks to individual members and these sponsors: ARMSTRONG CEILING SYSTEMS http://www.armstrong.com/commceilingsna/article10790.html Armstrong offers an expanding portfolio of sustainable ceiling products. Through the Ceiling Recycling Program, an industry first and only one of its kind, old tiles are shipped to an Armstrong plant, not a landfill; 20 million square feet recycled to date. BALL STATE UNIVERSITY http://www.bsu.edu/greening/ Call for papers! Abstracts for Greening of the Campus 6: Extending Connections are due February 11, 2005! This interdisciplinary conference allows people representing diverse areas in university communities to share information on environmental issues. 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