GreenClips.120 05.19.99
BUILDING GREEN NOT SO EASY FOR CALIFORNIA
The California Environmental Protection Agency, charged with enforcing some of the toughest environmental regulations in the nation, is addressing criticism that its new high-rise headquarters under construction in downtown Sacramento doesn't include the latest green technology. When the 25-story, $172 million tower is finished in 2001, it will be more environmentally friendly than first planned, now including, for example, a large photovoltaic array on its roof. "I think they've done what they can considering where the project was (in the process)," says state Senator Debra Bowen of the retrofit green-up, though she still thinks the Cal-EPA building is a significant missed opportunity. Bowen says she's been pushing for a culture change at the state's Department of General Services, overseer of building construction for state tenants, which would focus not only on first cost but also long-run efficiency. And the senator is trying again this year with her legislation, SB 280, which would establish a green architecture standard for state buildings and public schools including energy efficiency, use of recycled materials, and conservation of public resources. Though then-Governor Wilson vetoed her bill last year, Bowen is encouraged by the Davis administration's interest in building environmentally friendly features into the East End Project, a massive state office complex planned for the east end of Capitol Mall. But with the budget for the East End already fixed at $390 million, paying for the environmental technologies will be tricky. The California Energy Commission and Integrated Waste Management Board are considering helping to cover the higher initial cost of environmental features like a highly efficient heating and cooling system. - Sacramento Bee, 11 May 99, by Mary Lynne Vellinga, and California AIA, Apr 99, p 1. [More on SB 280: AIACC Monitored Legislation at <http://www.aiacc.org/gr/index.htm>]
CALL FOR ECO-INDUSTRIAL PARK DESIGNS
The town of Londonderry, New Hampshire and Cornell University's Work and Environment Initiative are holding a national competition for an eco-industrial park site plan and green building design. The aim of eco-industrial parks is to increase business success while reducing pollution and waste by mirroring natural systems. Londonderry has posted $10,000 in prize money for winning entries. Both a professional and student competition are being held. The best entries will be exhibited on the Cornell University campus and at various sustainable design conferences. Participants must register by June 14. Entries are due July 26. For specifics, visit <http://www.cfe.cornell.edu/wei/designcomp/WEI/default.html>. - In Business, Mar-Apr 99, p 6, and the WEI web site.
AQMD TOUGHENS SO CAL PAINT POLLUTION STANDARDS
Its paint pollution standards already the strictest in the US, the South Coast Air Quality Management District has now approved new rules designed to reduce volatile organic compounds emitted by petroleum-based solvents in paint. The new standards for the Los Angeles Basin could influence paint makers across the nation. VOCs react in sunlight with nitrogen oxides to form ozone, a major component of smog. AQMD's new rules, to be phased in over the next seven years, deal with primers and sealers, industrial paint, household quick-dry enamels and glossy paint used on woodwork, stains, and various floor, roof, and rust preventive coatings. Reformulating the paint, most of which is water-based but still with polluting solvents, to meet the new standards will cost the industry more than $800 million, says the AQMD, and will add $6 a gallon to the cost of glossy paint in the region. The reformulations will eliminate emission of nearly 22 tons of VOCs daily in the Los Angeles Basin, the agency says, slightly more than two percent of such compounds produced in the area by all sources, including cars and industry. Opponents say the rules are counterproductive, arguing that home and business owners will need to paint more often because the reformulated paint won't have the same durability under the hot California sun. The technical challenges of meeting AQMD's low limits also concern manufacturers, which to comply fully will have to replace 7,000 formulas. - Los Angeles Times, 15 May 99, p B1, by Bettina Boxall, and The New York Times, 15 May 99, p A10. [More: <http://www.aqmd.gov>]
CARB TAKES ON HOUSTON'S HEAT AND HUMIDITY
Working with the Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings, Beazer Homes has built a 2,500-square-foot experimental home near Houston with the latest in energy-saving construction techniques. The US Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the engineering firm Steven Winter Associates direct the CARB program. Field tests show that the house in the Pines of Atascocita subdivision near Lake Houston will have an energy bill 30 to 50 percent lower than normal. Instead of running air-conditioning ducts through a 140-degree attic, they're routed between the first and second floors where the 70-degree temperature keeps the conditioned air considerably cooler. A small three-ton air conditioner, sized to cycle on and off less often than a larger unit, also lowers the home's energy use. When an air conditioner isn't running, the builder explains, the inside of the house can quickly build up humidity which takes several minutes for the air conditioner to overcome before cooling can begin. A zoning system uses automatic dampers to direct cooled air to the sunny side of the house - in the morning mostly to the east, in the evening west. Atlanta-based Beazer, which builds homes across the South and in California, has included scores of other energy-efficient features in the Houston house and plans to introduce the improvements into its regular production homes. - Houston Chronicle, 8 May 99, p 1 Business, by Ralph Bivins. [More on CARB: <http://www.carb-swa.com>]
SAKS TO IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF STORES
Retailer Saks Incorporated has begun a voluntary [Energy Star Buildings] partnership with the US Environmental Protection Agency that will enhance energy efficiency in 128 US stores. The Birmingham, Alabama-based Saks will upgrade lighting, heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation systems in 18 million square feet of retail and other space, says the company's energy manager Debbie Rachlis. Cutting annual electric use by 65 million kwh, the upgrades will save $4 million a year in energy costs, EPA estimates. Using less electricity also reduces air pollutants that come from its generation. New automatic equipment in the stores will turn off lighting and other systems in unused areas and will reduce lighting levels during costly periods of peak electricity demand. Other equipment will let store managers monitor energy consumption. - Knoxville News-Sentinel, 5 May 99, by Jerry Dean. [More on Saks upgrade: <deborah_rachlis@saksinc.com>] [More on EPA Energy Star Buildings program: <http://www.epa.gov/buildings>]
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