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Trend watching at the Greenbuild Expo in Phoenix
By Kate Nolan
Green Right Now
When Greenbuild Expo 2009 landed in Phoenix Nov. 9 with 30,000 participants, the circus came to town for Mick Dalrymple. He runs a.k.a. Green Building Supply http://akagreen.com , the Phoenix area’s first store of its kind.
Dalrymple also sits on the national board of the U.S. Green Building Council, the organizer of Greenbuild Expo (www.greenbuildexpo.org), which this year–its eighth–has packed 1,800 exhibitors into the recently expanded Phoenix Convention Center.
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Tags: · Buildingease, Cree Lighting, Ecolabelling, Expanko, green flooring, green household improvements, green lighting, Green Seal, Greenbuild 2009, GreenKonnect, Mick Dalrymple, Phoenix, Phoenix Convention Center, RAB Lighting, Smith & Fong Plyboo, Sustainable Flooring, Teragren Flooring, U.S. Green Building Council
Eco-friendly hotel room designs win ‘Sustainable Suite’ competition
Tags: · American Society of Interior Designers, interior designers plan eco-friendly rooms, sustainable hotels, Sustainable Suite Design Competition, The Hospitality Industry Network, U.S. Green Building Council, USGBC
Brad Pitt and Make It Right show the world that going green is Big Easy
September 24th, 2009 · No Comments
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
The US Green Building Council has pronounced New Orleans home to the biggest green neighborhood in the world, thanks to the efforts of Brad Pitt and the group Make It Right who have built 13 LEED Platinum certified, storm-resistant homes and are planning another 150 more in the Lower 9th Ward .
The neighborhood, already impoverished, was among those hardest hit by post-Katrina flooding when New Orleans levees failed after the 2005 hurricane.
Pitt and Make It Right Executive Director Tom Darden accepted an award for their accomplishments at the Clinton Global Iniative meeting in New York on Thursday.
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Tags: · 9th Ward, Brad Pitt, Clinton Global Initiative, green building, Make It Right, New Orleans, Platinum LEED, sustainable homes, U.S. Green Building Council
A green wave coming: Hundreds of hotels finalizing their LEED certification
September 21st, 2009 · No Comments
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
It’s a rare hotel these days that doesn’t offer to not wash your sheets, in the interest of conserving water. A handful of hotels go further, touting their bamboo flooring, low-flow faucets and other flourishes.
But get ready traveler, you ain’t seen nothing yet. There’s an avalanche of green hospitality heading your way as some 700 hotels queue up to complete their LEED certifications with the US Green Building Council over the next year or so, and after their environmental inductions, you can bet they’ll be serving up more than just local greens. In the competitive travel industry, they’ll be competing for eco-kudos, showcasing everything from their fly ash foundations to their roof-top herb gardens.
For the savvy and weary business traveler, as well as the mom-and-pop tourist, this could be a fun new era. You’ll be treated to organic yogurt, natural mattresses and air quality systems. But it also holds perils for both guests and hotel operators.
Guests wanting to go green could quickly be confused by a cacophony of appeals. Travelocity and Orbitz now rate hotels on their eco offerings. AAA is going to stamp entries in its 2010 book with a green symbol denoting the supposed environmentally elite.
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Tags: · eco-friendly hotels, Green Hotels, Green Seal, green travel, LEED hotels, Proximity Hotel, sustainable hotels, U.S. Green Building Council
US Green Building Council sees campuses as leaders in green building
By Ashley Phillips
Green Right Now
The U.S. Green Building Council, started 16 years ago, has 20,200 members and more than 50,000 LEED registered and certified projects around the world (80 percent are in the US).
And the group plans to get even bigger as it turns its attention to college campuses and enlists the help of students.
 The USGBC is helping universities across the country to establish sustainability courses and USGBC student organizations, and of course, to build green. The Washington-based NGO estimates that there will be 4,300 LEED projects registered (underway) and certified (completed) on college campuses at the end of 2009.
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Tags: · air quality, Arizona State University, campuses, colleges, environmental impact, green building, LEED certification, S. Richard Fedrizzi, U.S. Green Building Council
Sheryl Crow will open USGBC’s Greenbuild conference
From Green Right Now Reports
Grammy winner and environmental activist Sheryl Crow will open the U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild 2009 Conference, the organization announced today.
 “Performing at Greenbuild is like being on the international stage of the green movement, celebrating with you the progress we’re making on this important issue,” Crow said in a statement.
The Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, scheduled for Nov. 11 to 13 in Phoenix, has grown to be the leading forum on sustainable buildings and communities. Because of its increasing profile and size, the USGBC decided to open this year’s event at Chase Field, home to Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks.
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Tags: · Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, Sheryl Crow, U.S. Green Building Council
Tiny homes getting to be a big deal
By Harriet Blake
Green Right Now
One or two of the seven dwarfs would enjoy these houses, but certainly not all of them, and forget about Snow White. In Peter Pan, the lost boys made such a house for Wendy. And when Alice landed in Wonderland, she too experienced the tiny house phenomenon.
So, now in 2009, what’s the appeal of a home that ranges 100 to 800 square feet? Is there a market for them? Are people really downsizing to this level?
The economy may be one factor, but most folks who are attracted to these miniature homes are seeking a simpler, scaled down lifestyle –one that is kinder to the environment. Such a home uses less energy and takes advantage of renewable resources.
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Tags: · Austin, Boston, Brad Kittel, California, Carbon footprint, Jay Schafer, PlaceTailor Inc., Pratt House, Texas, Tiny Texas Houses, Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, U.S. Green Building Council
Only the greenest offices will do for nation’s green building experts
By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now
If anyone knows about energy-efficient, environmentally responsible buildings, it’s the U.S. Green Building Council. The booming non-profit wrote the book when it comes to guiding and recognizing those who create the world’s greenest buildings.
It should come as no surprise, then, that the council’s new headquarters in Washington, D.C., has received their own highest rating for environmentally smart buildings – platinum.
Before you assume they’re tooting their own horn, a look at all of the green elements of the council’s new 75,000-square-foot office may allay suspicions. (Besides, if they didn’t build the most energy-efficient and environmentally sound building possible, more than a few fingers would wag.)
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Tags: · energy efficient buildings, green building certification, Green Building Council, Green Building Council green offices, Green Building Council new offices, green construction, platinum LEED rating, sustainable buildings, U.S. Green Building Council, United States Green Building Council, USGBC, Washington DC, Water Conservation
Places of worship get the green message
By Harriet Blake
Green Right Now
Let there be light. Places of worship throughout the world are taking this phrase to heart.
The US Green Building Council counts 43 religious projects registered with them, pending LEED certification. The projects include five Jewish temples, 36 Christian churches, one monastery and one seminary.
Not to be outdone is the epicenter of Catholicism, Vatican City, which has worked since 2006 to become the first carbon neutral state. A rooftop garden of solar panels above the Pope’s audience hall was turned on in November 2008. The panels on the 5,000-square-foot roof produce 300 kilowatt hours of energy, creating enough electricity to heat, cool and light the entire building year-round. The Vatican also is in the process of growing a 37-acre forest in Hungary to offset its annual carbon dioxide emissions.
Here is a look at some of the major projects around the nation:
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Tags: · Congregation Beth David, Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church, Evanston, Houston, Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, San Luis Obispo, St. Gabriel's Catholic Church, Toronto, U.S. Green Building Council
San Francisco’s Orchard Hotel earns LEED certification
Photo: The Orchard Hotel
From Green Right Now Reports
The Orchard Hotel has earned LEED-EB (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification for an existing building by the U.S. Green Building Council. San Francisco’s only hotel to earn this honor, the Orchard Hotel is the second hotel in California and fourth hotel in the world with this certification.
LEED-EB is the USGBC’s rating system for operating high performance buildings dedicated to whole-building cleaning and maintenance issues, recycling programs, exterior maintenance programs and systems upgrades.
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Tags: · Green Hotels, Portfolio Hotels & Resorts, The Orchard Hotel, U.S. Green Building Council
Portland’s Heathman Hotel: A landmark goes green with a waste-not renovation
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
It can be a challenge to update an historic building, let alone transform it into a model of green modernity. Rattling pipes crowd walls that need new duct work; old fixtures adhere stubbornly to aging walls and facades retain character, but heating and cooling – not so much.
Still, the historic Heathman Hotel in downtown Portland has recently undergone two green upgrades, and is determined to become a model of sustainability, while sacrificing none of its landmark historic elegance.
 The 81-year-old Heathman, like most vintage urban hotels, has been through many nips and tucks over the decades. It got its first green redo about three years ago with the renovation of the guest bedrooms and living areas and the addition of a new heating and cooling system. The project, which won financial incentives from the Energy Trust of Oregon, and included switching to CFL light bulbs, proved enlightening: The changes trimmed energy usage by 20 to 30 percent at the 150-room hotel.
“My return on investment, we realized that in less than two years; a year and half for the HVAC investment,” said hotel general manager Chris Erickson. “It was a wise idea and now as we move into the future, it’s all straight to the bottom line.”
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Tags: · Energy Star, Energy Trust of Oregon, FSC wood, Green Hotels, Heathman Hotel, hospitality industry, LEED, Portland, ReBuilding Center, sustainability, sustainable travel, U.S. Green Building Council
EPA lauds 25 U.S. cities with most Energy Star Buildings
By Harriet Blake
Green Right Now
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized 25 U.S. cities for having the most Energy Star buildings in 2008.
The top 10 are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Washington, D.C., Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Atlanta and Seattle.
Los Angeles ranked first with 262 buildings earning the Energy Star rating, which can be applied to rehabbed and new properties. San Francisco had 194 buildings; Houston, 145; Washington D.C., 136 and Dallas, 126.
Energy Star, the EPA’s label for high efficiency, sets standards for everthing from light bulbs and appliances to buildings.
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Tags: · Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Energy Star, Galleria North Tower, Green Valley ELementary, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Houston, J.C. Penney, LEED, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Seatle, U.S. Green Building Council, Washington DC
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