GreenClips.25 06.21.95 First Anniversary Issue WHO SHOULD PAY FOR RESEARCH-GOVERNMENT OR BUSINESS? Federal technology programs to bridge the gap between America's world-class labs and its struggling industrial base have enjoyed bipartisan support in the past. Cooperative ventures between the US national laboratories and the private sector are now common. Such cooperation enabled US window manufacturers to develop Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's low-emissive glass research into a commercial product, for example. But now Representative Todd Tiahrt (R) of Kansas is proposing a commission to look at closing US Department of Energy labs. Motivated by efforts to cut the deficit and by ideology, Tiahrt believes that the government should not do research that the public sector can appropriately do. Chief executives at many technology-driven companies agree that reducing interest rates by deficit cutting is the best technology program of all. Yet current streamlining of corporate research to increasingly short-term and market-oriented pursuits may threaten long-term global competitiveness. -The Christian Science Monitor, June 7, 1995, p. 4, by Laurent Belsie. GREEN MATERIAL SELECTION PRIORITIES Life cycle evaluations of building materials examine their environmental impact from raw material extraction to reuse-from cradle to cradle. Life cycle analysis helps designers and specifiers select materials with low environmental impact. To determine which material selections are more crucial environmentally, designers should consider the quantities of materials used in the building, their lifespans, and qualities of their environmental impact. Quantity-buildings use some materials, such as concrete and steel, in large quantities and these deserve attention. Lifespan-roofing and interior finishes are replaced frequently during the useful life of a building and are also a high priority. Qualities of environmental impact-materials whose extraction, use, and disposal have intense, extensive, or enduring damage are crucial. -EcoBuilding Times, Summer 1995, by David Rousseau, p. 1. TRANSFERABLE DEVELOPMENT CREDITS The City of Portland, Oregon is trying a transferable development credit (TDC) program to protect the Northwest Hills Natural Area. The City hopes to create compact growth patterns in existing urban areas in exchange for open land preservation. The program allows denser development in designated "receiver areas" and discourages new development in "sender areas". To develop beyond base zoning restrictions in a receiver area, a developer acquires credits from a sender landowner, compensating the sender for giving up development opportunities. The TDC sale dedicates a perpetual conservation easement over the sender's land prohibiting future subdivision or changes to the site. -On The Ground, Winter/Spring, 1995, p. 9. REVAMPED ENERGY MANAGEMENT Energy management control systems (EMCS) are designed to operate mechanical and electrical equipment efficiently. Property manager Peggy Rowland-Sanchez revamped an undermined and under-performing EMCS serving a 150,000 SF office building in Santa Ana, California. The improvements give tenants control of air conditioning and lighting through their touch-tone phones. Larger after-hour tenants can activate only the zones they need. These and other technical changes cut energy consumption and operating costs in half. -Energy & Environmental Management, Spring 1995,by Peggy Rowland-Sanchez, p. 39. RECYCLED GLASS LANDSCAPES Landscape architects can bring recycled glass into mainstream construction and client consciousness by demonstrating its functional and aesthetic applications. Its compatibility and permeability give glass technical advantages over gravel especially for drainage systems, base course, and backfill applications. Designers can use recycled glass, or cullet, aesthetically for pathway and driveway surfaces. One design uses clear glass pavers with subsurface lighting to frame a walkway. –Landscape Architecture, June 1995, p. 25, by Joyce Gagnon. NEW ECOBURBS Ecoburbs are ecologically-sensitive suburban developments. As two of the original ecoburbs-Village Homes in Davis, California and Woodlands in Houston, Texas-approach 25 years of age, two new ecoburbs near Chicago are underway. Prairie Crossing and Tyron Farm respond to existing vegetation and the natural drainage features of the land, and site buildings in response to the sun. They also promote ecologically-sensitive lifestyles by encouraging compact living and less car use. -On The Ground, Winter/Spring 1995, p. 26, by Sally Woodbridge. SAND FILTER WASTEWATER TREATMENT A study of an on-site recirculating sand filter (RSF) wastewater treatment system finds that it treats wastewater more efficiently than conventional septic tanks. The RSF system can also allow construction on land not suitable for septic tanks. The National Association of Home Builders Research Center installed RSF systems at three houses where soil conditions would not permit use of septic tanks. At all three sites, levels of five dangerous pollutants were lower in wastewater from the RSF system than from conventional septic tanks-and the soil accepted RSF-treated wastewater at a much higher rate. To order a copy of "On-site Recirculating Sand Filters" (HUD-6496) write HUD User, P.O. Box 6091, Rockville, MD 20850,or call 1-800-245-2691 or 1-301-251-5154. Cost: $10. -Builder, June 1995, p. 38.