SOLAR SKYLIGHT TRANSMITS LIGHT, PRODUCES ELECTRICITY
At the University of Wisconsin's Green Bay campus, a new three-story academic building will feature an opaque solar roof and a semitransparent solar skylight and curtain wall system. The annual electrical output of the three systems is projected to be 17,200, 19,100 and 1,700 kWh, respectively. Designed by St. Louis-based A/E firm HOK and Sommerville Architects of Green Bay, the project represents one of the first US applications of semitransparent thin-film amorphous silicon panels. Using panels as an integrated part of the building allows costs associated with conventional building components to help offset the cost of the photovoltaic system. Thin film panels, which have a single uniform surface punctuated by thin scribe lines, are typically manufactured in 2-ft. by 4-ft. sections. The solar panels used on the UW-GB building's 2,688-square-foot skylight will be etched with computer-controlled lasers to provide 10 percent light transmittance. "We're dancing a fine line between performance in terms of generating electricity and increasing light transmission," says Don McCann of Viracon. Other project participants include Solar Design Associates, Kawneer and BP Solarex. - Building Design & Construction, Oct 99, p 52, by Hugh Cook. [For more information email <bill.odell@hok.com>]

EARTH CRAFT HOUSE PROGRAM LAUNCHED
The Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, with sponsorship from industry, government, and the nonprofit sector, launched the Earth Craft House Program this September. Developed with assistance from Southface Energy Institute and the National Association of Home Builders Research Center, the program offers Earth Craft certification to homes that earn at least 150 points for various energy and environmental features. These points represent about one third of the program's achievable points. While this target might not sound rigorous, Southface's Dennis Creech notes that the goal is to attract mainstream builders. To earn certification, a house must achieve at least 75 points for energy measures. Points are also available for efficient lighting and appliances, resource-efficient materials and design, waste management, indoor air quality, water use, homebuyer education measures, and builder operations. More than 50 bonus points are available for features such as solar-electric systems, proximity to public transit, pedestrian access to business areas, or building on a brownfield site. For more information email <EarthCraft@vivid.net>. - Environmental Building News, Oct 99, p 5.

ARCHITECTS, ACTIVISTS OFFER AMBITIOUS PLAN FOR MEXICO CITY
In Mexico, a group of activists organized by architects Teodoro Gonzalez de Leon and Alberto Kalach have proposed a major public works project to address some of Mexico City's environmental ills. Since the 1970s, the Basin of Mexico, in which the city lies, has been plagued with air pollution, sinking grounds, and chronic water shortages. All these are linked to the deliberate desiccation of the Basin's six lakes. The eradication began five centuries ago, when the Spanish drained the lakes via tunnels to control flooding. Today, a 60-mile network of drainage pipes channels water from the Basin into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 1,500 cubic feet per second. Of the nearly 250,000 acres formerly occupied by Texcoco, the Basin's largest lake, 85 percent is urbanized, with over eight million inhabitants. Gonzalez de Leon and Kalach have proposed using rainwater and treated household water to create a lake in the remaining 15 percent that is controlled by the government. By 2010, Texcoco Lake could be 15 times its current size and provide Mexico City both environmental and economic benefits. It's an ambitious plan, but in Latin America, it's not unusual for architects and engineers in private practice to propose large public works. They tend to be more politically involved than their counterparts in the US, often holding political office. - Architecture, Oct 99, p 133, by Odile Henault. [Full text: <http://www.architecturemag.com/oct99/tp/green/green.asp>]

WORLD SLOWLY MOVING TOWARD NO-CARBON ENERGY
Even as the world's expanding population and economy increase atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide that are warming the earth, the global energy system is moving away from the carbon-rich fuels whose combustion produces the gas. The world's economy today burns less than two-thirds as much carbon per unit of energy produced as it did in 1860. Fuels high in carbon have progressively been replaced by those containing less, first with coal eclipsing wood, then oil displacing coal, and now natural gas poised to become the dominant fuel of the next 50 years. And experts predict that hydrogen may ultimately provide a general carbon-free fuel. Dr. Jesse H. Ausubel, an expert on energy and climate at New York City's Rockefeller University, predicts that this evolution will produce a carbon-free energy system by the end of the 21st century. But this change may not occur rapidly enough to assuage the fears of those most concerned about global warming. As delegates of 150 governments now meet in Bonn in the latest round of talks on measures to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, many energy analysts agree that the ultimate goal should be a carbon-free economy based largely on hydrogen. - The New York Times, 31 Oct 99, p A1, by William K. Stevens.

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US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings The Havasupai Tribe, a Native American Tribe that has lived at the bottom of  the Grand Canyon for over 500 years, will learn how to improve the energy  efficiency of their buildings through DOE's Rebuild America program. At a training session this month, Rebuild representatives will demonstrate the  practices of home and commercial property energy audits, monitoring,  retrofits, and weatherization. Using a model from a Rebuild America  partnership, the Tribe may learn to perform energy upgrades, weatherize  buildings, and develop a business plan to take these skills into the  marketplace. Rebuild America is managed by DOE's Office of Building  Technology, State and Community Programs. For more information, please see  DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network website <http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings> or call 800 363 3732.

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ABOUT THE PUBLISHER Sustainable design consultant Chris Hammer publishes GreenClips in San Francisco. Ms. Hammer helps her clients with environmentally responsible approaches to urban planning and development, and to building design, construction, and operation. GreenClips is written by Chris Hammer and Jennifer Roberts.

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