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GreenClips.108 11.18.98
UNITED STATES SIGNS KYOTO PROTOCOL The Clinton Administration has signed the international agreement to fight global warming, affirming a crucial American role in a long environmental crusade. But the Administration will not yet submit the Kyoto Protocol for approval by the Senate where it faces substantial opposition from critics who say the cost to industry would damage the economy. The White House has said all along that the US would sign the pact before the deadline next March, but would not ratify it unless it includes key American provisos. To fulfill the accord, over the next 10 to 15 years the US would have to cut its emissions from burning coal, oil, wood, and natural gas by about 7 percent from the 1990 level - an ambitious target considering that emissions have steadily increased since then. The intent of the US conditions is to hold down the cost of compliance and to increase the chance that the Senate will eventually approve. One condition is a system of trading "emissions credits", effectively allowing the US to reduce its emissions less by paying other countries to reduce theirs more. And the US wants developed nations to get emissions credits in exchange for financial assistance that would help developing nations cut emissions. Both ideas face strong resistance from some countries that say industrial nations like the US - which emits about a quarter of all greenhouse gases - must take the first steps. - The New York Times, 13 Nov 98, p 1, by John H. Cushman, Jr. SAUERBRUCH HUTTON: FORM FOLLOWS ECOLOGY Sauerbruch Hutton's striking serpentine design for the new German Federal Environment Agency declares that ecological building principles in all their complex permutations have as much to do with form as aesthetics do. The firm [based in Berlin and London] has quickly risen to prominence with its design of the GSW Headquarters and the Photonics Centre, both in Berlin. Since Berlin native Mathias Sauerbruch joined forces with fellow Architectural Association graduate Louisa Hutton, their work has focused on cutting-edge design and innovation in ecological building technology. Earlier this year, the firm won a competition for the Federal Environment Agency, a building which will demonstrate a full range of environmental technologies. Like the earlier work, this latest project in Dessau will rely on form-giving narrow floor plates to enhance natural lighting and on thermal flues to promote natural air flow through the building. The snaking plan encloses a covered interior court which provides fresh air - drawn through underground ducts for pre-cooling or warming - to the surrounding offices through operable windows and hollow-core concrete floors. Ground water will cool the building. Roof-mounted photovoltaic cells and wind turbines will power it. - Canadian Architect, Oct 98, p 30, by John McMinn. MASSACHUSETTS' CLEAN AIR CONSTRUCTION INITIATIVE In a unique attempt to reduce diesel fumes and other air pollution at a major construction site, the Massachusetts Highway Department will clean up smoke- belching heavy construction equipment on the Big Dig project in Boston. Under the recently announced Clean Air Construction Initiative, the state will pay about $11,000 per vehicle to install catalytic converters and particulate filters on 70 contractor-owned backhoes, cranes, and other equipment on the Central Artery-Third Harbor Tunnel project. All told, the state will retrofit 25 percent of the equipment on the Big Dig, eliminating pollution equivalent to that from 1,300 diesel buses. "This is a model for other major construction projects across the country," says the US Environmental Protection Agency's John DeVillars. Off-road construction vehicles - numbering 200,000 in New England alone - aren't subject to emission standards like other vehicles. The state's farsighted voluntary action, says an air pollution policy advisor, could help it comply with federal air pollution standards which are likely to toughen soon. - The Boston Globe, 11 Nov 98, p B6, by Scott Allen. ECOSYSTEM PURIFIES INDOOR AIR Research experiments on a "breathing wall" air purification system that the Canada Life Assurance Company built four years ago show that it successfully eliminates or dramatically reduces airborne contaminants. Wolfgang Amelung of Genetron Systems developed the lava rock breathing wall and a flora and fauna ecosystem in a 210-square-meter room in Canada Life's downtown Toronto offices. Water flows continuously over the porous lava rock, through which air is drawn. The water carries away airborne impurities that the ecosystem then breaks down and absorbs. The high-order ecosystem includes about 8,000 plants of more than 250 species as well as insects, mollusks, fish, frogs, and other amphibians. Guelph University researchers have conducted indoor air quality experiments on site involving low levels of chemicals like formaldehyde, toluene, and trichloroethylene (TCE) typically found in building and finish materials. Following the success of this first large-scale trial, other versions of the breathing wall ecosystem are springing up in places like clothing retailer Club Monaco's Toronto headquarters. And, plagued with air quality problems, the Queens University Department of Education is planning a more extensive version of the system which supplies and returns air to an ecosystem in a rooftop greenhouse. [For more information on Genetron Systems, visit <http://www.gpcomp.com/genetron/genetron.html>.] - Canadian Architect, Oct 98, p 30, by John McMinn. EXPERIMENTS IN SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT DESIGN Stuart Walker tests theories about what sustainability means for product design by designing things. Walker is on the Faculty of Environmental Design at The University of Calgary. One of his design experiments, the Lumiere floor lamp, addresses an important but little explored aspect of sustainable product design (SPD) - scales of production. A sustainable product, Walker says, can be made, repaired, and reused within a local industrial ecology of cyclic resource use. His floor lamp integrates locally produced and found components (reused hardwood for the cross arms and base, a locally made sheet of paper as the shade, a pebble for the base weight) with off-the-shelf mass produced components (lamp socket, bulb, cable, floor switch). The minimal mass produced components Walker uses are appropriately manufactured in large quantities, aren't specific to a particular product design, and can be recovered and reused. Another facet of SPD that Walker explores is aesthetic longevity. If we design long-lasting products made from reused materials and parts, says Walker, then we will have to challenge our preconceptions of aesthetics, to reassess the value and place of the new, the glossy, and the perfect. For the casing of his Cable Radio, Walker uses a coarse particleboard. When polished, it yields a randomly patterned surface which can withstand minor scratches and knocks without detracting from its appearance. - The Journal of Sustainable Product Design, Oct 98, p 41, by Stuart Walker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GreenClips is free of charge thanks to these sponsors - EPA'S ENVIRONMENTALLY-PREFERABLE PURCHASING PROGRAM Working to make the environment a consideration in federal purchasing. http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/epp INTERFACE, INC. More than a carpet company. Much more. http://www.ifsia.com THE SMART GROWTH NETWORK Metropolitan development that serves economy, community, and the environment. http://www.smartgrowth.org ENERGY RESOURCE CENTER http://www.socalgas.com/erc The Energy Resource Center, a unit of the Southern California Gas Company in Downey, California, is a one-stop energy resource and conference center for business and industry. WSU ENERGY PROGRAM http://www.energy.wsu.edu Providing objective research, information and solutions. Washington State University Cooperative Extension Energy Program in Olympia, Washington. To subscribe to GreenClips and/or other mailing lists related to energy and the environment, go to <http://listserv.energy.wsu.edu/guest/RemoteAvailableLists>. US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings There are energy criminals in our homes. Stealing our heating and cooling dollars. Spiriting them away through leaking ducts. Through single-pane windows. Through uninsulated walls. These criminals steal part of the $1,300 that the typical US family spends each year on their home's utility bills. ENERGY SAVERS, a free booklet from the Department of Energy's Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs (BTS), shows you how a few inexpensive steps will stop these energy thieves and reduce home energy bills by 10% to 50%. This practical guide covers insulation and weatherization, heating and cooling, water heating, windows, landscaping, lighting, and appliances. And, it includes a list of resources and references. To download ENERGY SAVERS, see <http://www.eren.doe.gov>. For a printed copy of the booklet, just call 800 DOE 3732. For more information on BTS' efficient building programs and partnerships, see <http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ABOUT THE PUBLISHER Architectural researcher and environmental consultant Chris Hammer of Sustainable Design Resources publishes GreenClips in San Francisco. Ms. Hammer helps planners, developers, building owners, designers, builders, and facility managers practice sustainable planning, development, building design, construction, and operation. GreenClips is written by Chris Hammer and James Richert. To CONTACT THE PUBLISHER Email GreenClips@aol.com or call 415.928.7941. BACK ISSUES Two Internet sites host GreenClips archives for reference and research: http://solstice.crest.org/sustainable/greenclips/info.html (keyword search) http://www.greendesign.net/greenclips (browse contents) REDISTRIBUTION Please do not redistribute or post copies of GreenClips regularly. Encourage readers who receive GreenClips from you to subscribe directly. Continuing sponsorship depends on accurate reader counts. To SUBSCRIBE Address an email message to <GreenClips-request@listserv.energy.wsu.edu>. 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