GreenClips.67 03.12.97 RENEWABLE ENERGY HANGS ON The renewable energy industry is fighting to keep a foothold in the United States. Instead of fossil fuels, the industry produces energy from wind, waste, wood, geothermal, photovoltaic, and solar thermal sources. Today the industry generates about two-tenths percent of total US energy production, only about half its 1987 peak. In 1994 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled that states can't force utilities to use renewable energy sources instead of lower-cost ones. A budget-conscious Congress has also cut federal renewable energy research funds. And now competitive pressures of deregulation have distracted many utility companies from developing other energy sources, focusing their attention instead on cutting costs, merging with other energy companies, and expanding overseas. But while green power production falls, it still enjoys widespread public support. Customers are willing to pay $5 to $7 more a month to have solar or other alternatives supply part of their energy, said most of them at recent town meetings held by the Central and South West Corporation, an electric and natural gas utility in the Southwest. So as states begin deregulating electricity to give consumers a choice of providers, offering some form of green power is a selling point. California, home to many renewable energy companies, wrote its deregulation law to help them stay alive. Its law dedicates almost one percent of every Californian's electric bill — likely to total $540 million by 2002 — to support research and programs for green power. — The New York Times, March 9, 1997, Section 4, p. 5, by Agis Salpukas. PLAY IT AGAIN SAM DesignTex Inc. makes a new fabric for office system panels called Play it Again Sam from Wellman Inc.'s Fortrel Ecospun, a yarn made from recycled plastic soda bottles. "When we learned more about this fiber, its environmental aspects, performance characteristics and versatility, it seemed an obvious next step for DesignTex," says its vice president Susan Lyons. Besides panel fabrics, DesignTex makes upholstery, wallcoverings, and window treatments. The company introduced an environmentally sensitive faux leather called Watershed in 1993 and the William McDonough fabric collection in 1995. To make its patented Ecospun yarn, Wellman crushes, chops, and liquefies PET containers, then extrudes fibers and spins them into yarn. Weaving a linear yard of Play it Again Sam uses about ten two-liter bottles. DesignTex has priced Play it Again Sam in line with other panel fabrics. It works with most major manufacturer's panel systems and meets all standards of the Association for Contract Textiles. For more information call DesignTex, 800.221.1540. — The Green Business Letter, March 1997, and DesignTex product literature. BUILDING THE DREAM A tree hugger's pipe dream and too revolutionary to be built. That's what they said in 1991 when the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation named architects Martin Liefhebber and Myrna Moore's Riverdale project one of two national winners of its Healthy House design competition. But last fall on a Toronto infill site, builders completed the 1,700 square-foot demonstration home without connections to municipal water, hydroelectric power, sewage, or natural gas. For water, the house relies entirely on rainwater and melted snow. It reuses the collected water four or five times for non-potable use like the clothes washer and toilet by recycling it through sand filters, ultraviolet light, and biodegradable treatment. The sinks and the dishwasher draw treated rainwater from a separate potable system. The non-potable recycling system cost $15,000 Cdn, including tanks. The potable system cost $10,000 Cdn. Innovative energy-saving measures include a custom-built refrigerator with compressors and condensers on the exterior of the house to take advantage of cold winter temperatures and reduce summer heat gain inside. Among many environmentally responsible materials, Liefhebber finished the concrete floors with recycled glass mixed with cement mortar, smoothly ground to expose the glass and sand aggregate. The Healthy House will use about 3,600 kwh a year. A normal house its size with three or four residents would consume 8,000 kwh a year. — Canadian Architect, February 1997, p. 29, by Bronwen Ledger, and Architectural Record, March 1997, p. 28, by Albert Warson. TWO TREES DELIVERS SMARTWOOD The Rainforest Alliance recently certified Two Trees Forestry of Coopers Mills, Maine under its SmartWood program. Two Trees is one of only a few consulting firms in the US that offers certified forestry services to smaller landowners. Founded in 1984, Two Trees manages about 22,000 acres of forest land in 200 parcels in central and midcoast Maine. Forest products harvested from lands it manages can now bear the Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood seal of approval. The Northeast regional office of the National Wildlife Federation audited Two Trees for certification. Its audit showed that Two Trees' operations prevent forest overcutting, reduce damage to remaining trees, protect watersheds and biological diversity, and help local communities economically and socially. — Bangor Daily News, February 15-16, 1997, p. B1, by Andrew Kekacs. MAPPING GREEN PROGRESS Wendy E. Brawer's Green Apple Map highlights nearly 700 ecological attractions and environmental resources in New York City from biking paths and ferry routes to gardens and green businesses — toxic sites, too. And Brawer isn't the only one making green maps. Besides New York, dozens of cities around the world have started green maps — San Francisco; Chicago; Berlin; Madison, Wisconsin; Powys, Wales; Kyoto, Japan; and Nairobi, Kenya among them. Brawer created her map in 1992 to help visitors to the United Nations Earth Summit celebrate New York's environmental successes, to recognize good efforts, and to encourage personal involvement. "I decided to make a map: a direct, universally understood, resource-efficient tool that could make the city's ecological sites, human resources, and activities more accessible." Her Green Apple Map identifies attractions and resources with 100 easily understood icons — a duck stands for a pond, an apple for an organic produce vendor, and footprints for outdoor walks. Brawer believes there's no universal standard for what's green. She looks for places and businesses showing environmental progress. Or ones highlighting elements of sustainability like a museum that regularly features environmental programs and shows. Visit Brawer's website at http://www.greenmap.com where mapmakers can download information to create their own maps and link with other efforts. — Metropolis, March 1997, p. 40, by Diana Friedman. TURNER'S ENVIRONMENTAL GIVING EXPANDS The Turner Foundation will nearly triple the money it gives away each year. Last year the environmental philanthropic arm of media mogul Ted Turner gave $8.9 million to 380 organizations. By 1998 that will jump to $25 million. With its new granting power, the Turner Foundation will focus on urban sprawl, addressing issues of inner city development, transportation, air quality, and land use. "We have to figure out how we make the city itself a more livable place," the foundation's executive director Peter Bahouth says about Atlanta where the foundation intends to support efforts to develop sustainable inner city housing. The foundation's priorities also include limiting population growth and protecting water resources, forests, and other habitats. — The Atlanta Constitution, March 5, 1997, p. F3, by Maria Saporta.