GreenClips.82 10.22.97 MCDONALD'S WILL TEST GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM When it opens in December, a McDonald's restaurant in the Detroit suburb of Westland will be the first in the chain to use a geothermal heating and cooling system. If the prototype is successful, the company could roll out the system chain-wide. Instead of a furnace, air-conditioner, and water heater, the system will use the earth's constant temperature to heat, cool, and provide hot water for the 3,600-square-foot restaurant without flame or fossil fuels. A solution of water and environmentally friendly antifreeze in an underground pipe absorbs the heat of the earth. The temperature in the pipe remains steady at about 50 degrees F. Pressurizing the solution raises its temperature to over 180 degrees. Reversing the process cools the solution, returning its heat to the earth. McDonald's decided to try the system to save money on its utility bills, says director of operations Dave Daniels. — Detroit Free Press, October 17, 1997, by Deborah Solomon. COLORADO RESIDENTS PUT GROWTH TO A VOTE Across the West, citizens are telling local governments to slow the rapid pace of urban development in their communities. But activists in Colorado have gone a step further, sidestepping growth-friendly governments by putting the issue to a public vote. In Brighton, a group called Nelms's Neighbors for Responsible Growth gathered signatures for a referendum on the November 4 ballot asking voters to reverse the city council's approval of Deerfield Farms, a proposed 293-home subdivision. Residents in Golden and Lafayette recently approved citizen's initiatives to restrict the number of building permits. In Montrose, residents petitioned a referendum onto the November ballot barring superstores. And an Arvada resident proposes an amendment to the state's constitution that would cap the annual rate of residential construction at the national average, currently about 1.1 percent. The Brighton group doesn't want to halt development, just manage it more closely. Job growth in Colorado declined slightly last year, these critics say, while home building reached a 13-year high. Home developers point to the simple law of supply and demand — when people don't want more homes they'll stop buying. Right now, they're buying. New home sales in the first half of 1997 exceeded the pace set during the first half of 1996 by nearly eight percent. Some experts say growth caps aren't necessarily the most effective growth management strategy and prefer other measures like imposing impact fees on developers. Others say growth control measures of any kind raise housing costs. — The Christian Science Monitor, October 15, 1997, by Jillian Lloyd. IT'S SMALL, BUT IT'S A HEALTHY HOME The Carters are living without amenities like whirlpool bathtubs and marble counter tops in the Minneapolis house they built last year. But the house does have features intended to improve its indoor air quality that few new homes have — whole-house mechanical ventilation, an air infiltration system, sealed-combustion appliances (including a gas fireplace), a central vacuum system, and sealed ducts. Its two-car garage is detached to distance carbon monoxide fumes from the house. Rick Carter, vice president of LHB Engineers and Architects, says these features added 2 to 3 percent to his home's cost. To stay within their $150,000 budget, the Carters made choices about the size and features of the house. At 1,750 finished square feet, it's smaller and costs less than the average new home. But it's built to the American Lung Association's Health House guidelines. The Health House program is a national consumer education project to improve indoor air quality in new homes. It promotes building tight, well-ventilated homes that surpass the requirements of most state building codes. Without all the features that attract buyers, Carter acknowledges their house may be difficult to sell. No matter — they don't plan to sell any time soon. [The American Lung Association's Minneapolis Affiliate offers the Health House Consumer Workbook: A Practical Guide to Building a Healthier Home. To order, call 612.885.0338.] — Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 12, 1997. EPA TO CURB CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT EMISSIONS The US Environmental Protection Agency is proposing stricter controls on nitrogen oxides and particulates emitted from diesel engines in bulldozers, fork lifts, and other off-road construction equipment. The proposed rule announced October 7 phases in progressively tighter standards between 1999 and 2008. When fully implemented, the rule will cut engine emissions by up to two-thirds from current standards and reduce pollution by 2.7 million tons per year, says the EPA — the equivalent of taking six million heavy trucks off the road. The EPA says the new standard will add about two percent or less to the purchase price of a new diesel-powered truck or off-road machinery. But the Equipment Manufacturers Institute says the proposal also has ramifications for product design and manufacturing. The technology required for the third phase of implementation doesn't exist today, says an EMI engineer. — ENR, October 20, 1997, p. 17. BUILDING BLOCKS FROM CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS Key Block Corporation makes building blocks from a mixture of Portland cement, wood fibers from discarded construction debris and shipping pallets, and recycled polystyrene. A state grant helps the Charlotte, North Carolina company collect wood debris. Rather than paying to landfill two-by-fours and other lumber, contractors put the wood in Key Block's construction-site collection trailers. Key Block builds post-consumer styrofoam into its blocks as pre-insulation. A Florida company supplies the polystyrene beads recycled from sources like McDonald's restaurants. All told, recycled materials make up about 75 percent of the product. Yet the blocks can withstand high seismic activity, says Key Block's president William Juhas. Targeting US, European, and Asian markets, the company will open a plant in the Charlotte area to manufacture the blocks in the next few months. Juhas also plans to sell manufacturing equipment and license the technology. — BioCycle, September 1997, p. 21.