GreenClips

Issue No. 261 | Mar 30, 2005

GOODBYE JENNIFER, HELLO SUSAN!
A very belated thank you to Jennifer Roberts for her five years of GreenClips writing. Welcome Susan Vogt!

PLASTICS, ELECTRICITY COULD MAKE STEELMAKING 'GREEN'

To Veena Sahajwalla, plastic castoffs represent a potentially "green" solution to some environmental problems that result when today's scrap metal is converted into tomorrow's girders. Her research is part of a broader global effort to align steelmaking with 21st-century goals of sustainable development. Over the past three decades, steelmakers in industrial countries have made significant strides in building more energy-efficient plants and capturing pollutants. But today's technologies still rely on coal—and in a few cases natural gas—as a source of carbon to purify iron ore or scrap metal. In Asia, North America, and Europe, scientists are looking at replacing coal with biomass and hydrogen. They even see ways to eliminate additives altogether for some steps in the steelmaking process. But Sahajwalla, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, has her eye on plastics. She explains that in their most basic form, plastics are made of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. And it's the carbon that she is interested in when she considers the use of plastics in electric steelmaking furnaces. In the lab, she and her research team have found that a 50/50 mixture of coke and plastic works just as well as a furnace filled with coke. At the other end of the scale for "greening" steel production sits Donald Sadoway, a professor of materials science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. He and his colleagues are devising ways to draw the oxygen out of iron ore using electricity. The approach, called electrolysis, already is used to make aluminum.
The Christian Science Monitor, 31 Mar 05, by Peter N. Spotts
www.materials.unsw.edu.au/people/vs.html

DUMPSTER DIVING FOR BUILDING MATERIALS

In a surprising twist on continuing education, residents of the Gowanus section of Brooklyn paid $20 to take Dumpster Diving 301, a course on fishing for free home-improvement materials—things like scratched doors and mismatched kitchen cupboards—from construction waste bins. Students in the seminar, sponsored by an "art combine" called the Madagascar Institute, were do-it-yourselfers trying to cut construction costs by sorting through nail- and-grime-ridden rejectamenta. Their leaders were two seasoned teachers, Omar Freilla and Maureen Flaherty. Like a lot of other Dumpster divers, Ms. Flaherty and Mr. Freilla—who said he and his wife plan to buy and restore a home in the South Bronx using found materials—practice the sport not only to conserve cash but also to decrease Earth-clogging waste. One of Ms. Flaherty's biggest tips was to watch for building permits and construction-size dumpsters. Meanwhile, Build It Green! NYC, a 17,500-square-foot low-end 'Lowe's,' opened last month in Astoria, Queens, with stacks of reclaimed kitchen cabinets, mismatched doors and carefully mined wood molding, along with sinks, radiators, handrails—even a few new Andersen windows.
The New York Times, 24 Mar 05, p. D10, by Carole Braden

www.madagascarinstitute.com/

CHINESE WOOD FURNITURE THREATEN FORESTS

Much of the timber milled in Chinese sawmills is smuggled from countries where illegal logging is rampant. Environmental groups say the trade in illegal timber encourages the devastation of some of the globe's most fragile regions and is having a dramatic impact on places such as Indonesia, which has the last big undisturbed forest wilderness in the Asia-Pacific region. The issue reaches to U.S. retail showrooms, where cheap Chinese bedroom furniture has made inroads. In November, the Bush administration slapped tariffs on China, charging that wooden furniture is being "dumped"—sold below cost—on the U.S. market. Chinese officials insist that timber coming into the country is checked by customs officials to make certain it is legal. They add that timber-exporting countries should take responsibility for safeguarding their forests. Most of the illegal timber is merbau, a luxurious and valuable hardwood, taken from Indonesia's Papua province. Merbau wood flooring, manufactured in China, is widely available in the United States, and consumers rarely ask about the source of wood products. "Our clients are concerned about the type and quality of wood that is used. But nobody has ever asked us if the source of the wood is legal or illegal," said Zhang Enjiu, president of Jiusheng Flooring Co., one of China's largest wood-flooring producers.
Philadelphia Inquirer, 2 Mar 05, by Tim Johnson

REPORT TALLIES HIDDEN COSTS OF HUMAN ASSAULT ON NATURE

For decades, scientists have warned that human activities were extinguishing species, altering the climate and degrading landscapes. Now 1,300 ecologists and researchers from 95 countries have reframed the issue, releasing a report that measures damage not to nature itself, but to the things nature does for people. The study considered various kinds of "ecosystem services": simple provisioning, like supplying water and protein; regulatory functions, including a forest's ability to store and filter water and to cool and humidify the air; cultural services, like providing a place for recreation; and life-support services, including photosynthesis and soil formation. The report is part of a continuing project called the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, which was commissioned five years ago by the United Nations. Some ecologists not involved with the project credited the authors for avoiding old arguments that set people against nature. "We have to start thinking about nature as a design issue," said Dr. Daniel B. Botkin, an ecologist and author of several books on ways to mesh human activities and life on earth. "For too long we've been seeing everything people do as a negative. This is a break from that. They're trying to bring people and nature together." The study said the degradation of potentially renewable natural resources was fueled in part by destructive subsidies; uncoordinated policies of government agencies dealing with overlapping activities like forestry, farming and land tenure; lawlessness in frontier regions and the persistent treatment of nature's bounty as free for the taking.
The New York Times, 5 Apr 05, p D2, by Andrew C. Revkin
www.millenniumassessment.org

MARKETING GREEN MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

Lydia Haran, leasing manager for New York City's Solaire—the first residential high-rise to earn LEED Gold—has an explanation for why 293 units were leased within five minutes. "We learned from the leasing process that the green features actually were primary and other factors secondary, that there was a pent-up demand for green luxury high-rises." According to Haran, those units achieved a 10 percent premium in rents, which have risen some 15 percent since the building opened last year. In Portland, Ore., the weak local economy didn't keep people away from the 15-sotory Henry condominium building, designed by Portland GBD Architects. Units sold out nine months ahead of construction and the developers raised the prices five times. At Seattle's Alcyone apartments, when local project architect GIGLO organized a focus group to collect feedback from the residents, it found that while environmentally friendly elements bestow significant competitive advantage to a project, sustainable design alone is not a market differentiator. Residents viewed green elements as a bonus, along with other amenities at Alcyone they singled out—spacious rooms, large storage areas, a convenient, urban location, and a rooftop pea patch. In fact, within five months after leasing started there was a long waiting list for the 200 pea patches.
Urban Land, Feb 05, p 61 by Terry J. Lasser

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ARMSTRONG CEILING SYSTEMS

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; 25 million square feet recycled to date. www.armstrong.com/commceilingsna/article10790.html

BUILDINGGREEN, INC.

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DENVER GREEN BUILDING CONFERENCE

On April 27-29 learn from renowned master developers, architects, building scientists, and technical specialists about innovation techniques and ramping up green building projects for commercial and mixed-use. Tours, keynotes, workshops and exhibits will be held at Belmar, the sustainable downtown in Lakewood, CO. Sponsored by Continuum Partners, McStain Neighborhoods, Intrawest Placemaking, USGBC Colorado and New Belgium Brewing. www.denvergreenbuilding.com

ECOSA INSTITUTE

Ecosa Institute is now enrolling for its summer 2005 Hands-On Workshops in Sustainability. Register early for discounts. Guest speakers are Pliny Fisk and John Todd. Receive a Permaculture Designer Certificate, experience with sustainable building materials, and college credit. This fall Ecosa welcomes Glenn Murcutt and Edward Mazria for its semester immersion program in Sustainable Design. www.ecosainstitute.org

GREEN BUILDING SERVICES

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. www.greenbuildingservices.com

RUMSEY ENGINEERS

Rumsey Engineers, a preeminent leader in sustainable HVAC and Plumbing design, has openings in our Oakland, CA office for mid to senior level articulate and innovative HVAC and/or plumbing engineers with at least 3-5 years of energy efficient design experience. Please e-mail resume: info@rumseyengineers.com
Website at rumseyengineers.com

GREEN BUILDING IN ALAMEDA COUNTY

On May 1st more than 30 Bay Area homeowners will open their doors for the Build It Green Home Tour. The tour covers the spectrum from remodeled bungalows to ultra-modern additions to brand-new houses. Don't miss this chance to meet homeowners and building professionals who have built and remodeled green. Volunteers can attend the tour for FREE! More information at www.stopwaste.org/home/index.asp?page=597

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN RESOURCES

As a Principal of San Francisco-based Sustainable Design Resources, Chris Hammer's sustainable design consulting services include LEED certification, building material recommendations, specifications, developing design tools, and post-occupancy evaluations (POE). www.greenclips.com/SDR

WSU EXTENSION ENERGY PROGRAM

Providing objective research, information and solutions. Washington State University Extension Energy Program in Olympia, Washington. Subscribe to GreenClips and other mailing lists on energy and the environment at listserv.energy.wsu.edu/read/ or visit their website at www.energy.wsu.edu

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. Email or call for more information: chrishammer@greenclips.com; 415.928.7941. GreenClips is edited by Susan Vogt, a Portland, Oregon freelance writer with 25 years of experience in energy-efficient and sustainable buildings.

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