Grist | Topics | 127 Results

RESULTS		Results 1 – 25 of 127
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Headline	Author	Published	Section
Southern exposure The hybrid solar home, part 2	biodiversivist	14 Aug 2008	Gristmill
My thoughts have turned lately to the challenge of heating and powering residential homes in the Pacific Northwest with renewable energy. My goal was not to just find a way to reduce fossil fuel use, but to eliminate it. When I started this exercise I wasn't at all sure it could be done (in an affordable manner). Here in the Seattle area we average a little more than two clear days a month for six months of the year! Back in January, I mulled over the concept of a ...
Topics: green building, green living, hybrids, Seattle, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

No icebergs required Smart economic development policy for the 21st century	David Roberts	23 Jul 2008	Gristmill
The following is an elaborated version of the brief talk I gave at my Netroots Nation panel. The U.S. economy is in serious trouble, mired in a period of slow growth and high prices -- i.e., stagflation. Worse, high prices can largely be traced to escalating fossil fuel costs that are almost certain to continue rising for the foreseeable future. Our trade debt is enormous, as we, in Gore's words, borrow money from China to buy oil from Saudi Arabia. We're shedding ...
Topics: business, climate, economy, green building, green jobs (all these topics)

I Wish They All Could Build California First statewide green-building standards adopted by California, natch		17 Jul 2008	News
Posted at 5:19 PM on 17 Jul 2008 Photo: Patrick Dirden California has adopted the nation's first statewide green-building standards in what is, according to ever-punny Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, "literally a groundbreaking move." The new California Green Buildings Standards Code requires builders to reduce energy use by 15 percent beyond current standards, target a 50 percent ...
Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, green building, news, placemaking (all these topics)

Ferrocementally speaking, green building just got easier RoofKrete makes thin flexible ferrocement that is also vapor barrier	Gar Lipow	16 Jul 2008	Gristmill
I recently stumbled across a green builders' discussion of a product called RoofKrete, which claims to be a form of semi-flexible ferrocement that can be sturdy and self-supporting in shells as thin as a quarter inch. An additive to the cement makes it a vapor barrier as well, rated to last over 100 years and expected to last much longer than that. The obvious use for RoofKrete, and the major market at which it is currently aimed, is repairing failed flat roofs and c ...
Topics: green building, placemaking, United Kingdom (all these topics)

New definition of green Cabins are not 'earth-friendly'	biodiversivist	15 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Green: A marketing scheme used to sell environmentally destructive crap to unthinking dupes. Here's an eco-fantasy article crafted to sell second homes. Scaling from the French doors in one picture I calculate that this 'cabin' is twice the size of my own two-story, two-bath, four-bedroom home in Seattle. Half of this visible wall is window, having half the insulation value of a typical wall:Located 50 feet from the house are two solar-tracking arrays with a total ...
Topics: advertising, green building, green living, greenwashing (all these topics)

If You Build It, They Will Green Insurance co. offers green-rebuilding coverage		09 Jul 2008	News
Posted at 10:58 AM on 09 Jul 2008 Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. has rolled out a home-insurance policy that covers the cost of rebuilding a home to green standards. The new coverage -- which can only be added to Fireman's top-tier insurance policy -- covers the cost of reconstruction with sustainably harvested wood, efficient lighting and plumbing, nontoxic paints and carpeting, and more. The coverage runs an addition ...
Topics: business, green building, news, placemaking (all these topics)

Your city council could save the world How local building codes can be adapted to meet the 2030 Challenge right now	Edward Mazria	09 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Compared to cutting-edge technologies -- nanotechnology, coal with carbon capture and sequestration, biomimicry -- building codes seem downright stodgy and, dare I say it?, boring. Yet, much to the surprise of many, building codes are fast becoming the Titans in the battle against climate change. Able to fell with a single blow the giants on the other side of the battlefield -- out-of-control greenhouse-gas emissions, thoughtless energy consumption, and gross energy in ...
Topics: energy, green building, legislation, placemaking, urban planning (all these topics)

Landmark solar bill in Hawaii All new homes to sport solar hot water	Adam Browning	26 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Hawai'i is highly dependent on imported oil for its electricity needs -- I've heard Jeff Mikaluna, Director of the Hawai'i chapter of the Sierra Club, quip that the state is one supertanker accident away from becoming Amish. Which makes this press release great news:Every new home to have solar Landmark Solar Roofs law -- the first of its type in the nation -- escapes veto list Honolulu -- Hawai'i will become the first state in the nation to make solar water ...
Topics: energy, green building, Hawaii, legislation, renewable energy, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Climate change ideas for On Day One Day four of the UN Dispatch-Grist collaboration	Ideas for On Day One	26 Jun 2008	Gristmill
The UN Dispatch-Grist collaboration rolls on today with a discussion prompt submitted by On Day One user teiki: A key to the massive use of fossil fuels in the U.S. is gross overconsumption. We use way more than necessary, through a combined dependence on the automobile and an infatuation with big, gas-hungry cars, trucks and SUVs., through wasted energy consumption in our homes and offices in everything from their construction to ...
Topics: climate, energy, energy efficiency, green building, green living (all these topics)

Keeping tabs on Tampa Florida city takes another smart(ish) step	Katharine Wroth	13 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Yesterday, the Tampa city council gave preliminary approval to a plan that offers incentives for green building; they're expected to formally approve it later this month. We mentioned in our rockin' Smart(ish) Cities series that this was in the works -- nice to see it pursued, and heartening to see such places taking green(ish) steps.
Topics: Florida, green building, placemaking, urban planning (all these topics)

Grandma wins green home HGTV sets her up in sweet South Carolina digs	Katharine Wroth	10 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Back in January, I mentioned that HGTV was giving away a green home in Hilton Head, S.C. Well, that 2,000-square-foot home done been given away (along with a hybrid GMC Yukon). The winner is a grandmother and medical billing clerk now living in Florida. Marsha Coulthard hasn't decided whether to live in or sell the $850,000 house -- which boasts solar panels, rainwater collection, energy-efficient appliances, and more -- but says she's leaning toward the former: ' ...
Topics: energy at home, green building, green living (all these topics)

For all the world to see California launches database of green state buildings	Katharine Wroth	06 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Some day I'll stop being surprised at the eco-dreaminess of California. But for now, I'm still tickled by even relatively minor developments -- say, the creation of the country's first statewide map of government-run green buildings. Sites are color-coded (and searchable) by whether they've achieved LEED certification, are pursuing it, or are being 'retro-commissioned.' And yeah, OK, it's basically a Google map and a self-delivered pat on the back, but it represents ...
Topics: California, green building, placemaking (all these topics)

Bright lights, big energy Hybrid solar lighting: a solar retrofit for hot climates	Gar Lipow	03 Jun 2008	Gristmill
A fascinating commercial application for solar energy in clear (or semi-clear) hot climates seems to not be getting the attention it deserves: hybrid solar lighting. You take a parabolic concentrator and focus some sunlight, optically split with plastic fiber into visible light and heat. Pipe the visible light through diffusers throughout the building. It saves lighting electricity, of course, but unlike skylights or conventional T8s, it adds almost no heat to the buil ...
Topics: energy, green building, renewable energy, solar thermal power (all these topics)

Your Cities, Yourselves Smart-growth advocates offer tips for changing your neck of the woods		16 May 2008	Grist Feature
This week we've profiled several cities that are changing the way their residents live, work, and get around -- all with an eye toward fighting climate change and building a more sustainable future. So what can you do if your community hasn't seen the light? We asked our sources for advice, and here's what they had to say. Kimber Lanning. "Buy local whenever possible. Whether you're hir ...
Topics: advice, grassroots activism, green building, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, urban planning (all these topics)

Urban Legends Smart(ish) Cities series ends, sustainability efforts march on	Lisa Selin Davis	16 May 2008	Grist Feature
By now, you may have forgotten that Portland was ever crowned the Miss Universe of Sustainability, and have started packing up your bicycles and solar panels for the big move to Syracuse or Tampa. OK, maybe you're not thinking of uprooting yourself and your family. More likely, you're evaluating your own city to figure out what green things it's got going for it, where it lags behind, ...
Topics: environmental justice, green building, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, sprawl, urban planning (all these topics)

Hulk smash ... inefficiency! Ed Norton goes to the Hill to talk up green building	Kate Sheppard	15 May 2008	Gristmill
Ed Norton will go green -- literally -- next month when he hits the big screen as The Incredible Hulk. But on Wednesday he was on the Hill talking up the virtues of going green figuratively, in our building practices. Ed Norton on the Hill. Norton appeared before the House Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming, along with experts in the green-building field, to talk about why building green is better for the planet and your wallet. ...
Topics: celebrity, green building, Muckraker, news, politics (all these topics)

Shinier, Happier People How three Rust Belt cities are changing		15 May 2008	Grist Feature
For more on Rust Belt cities, see our full feature on sustainability initiatives underway in Cleveland. It may not be intuitive to link an area historically associated with steel mills, coal mining, and automobile assembly lines to sustainable development. But green growth is catching on in the Rust Belt, long an economically unendowed area of the country -- and its manufacturing-heavy past is coming in handy in emerging ...
Topics: green building, New York, Pennsylvania, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, urban planning, Wisconsin (all these topics)

Those About to Rock Can Cleveland bring itself back from the brink?	Kristine Hansen	15 May 2008	Grist Feature
Still known for smokestacks and football, Cleveland is turning its ship around. Photo: Craig Hatfield "Most people know Cleveland by the Browns or The Flats," says Marc Lefkowitz. From the roof of his office building, which is dotted with native wildflowers and grasses, he gestures to the downtown skyline -- marked by the iconic Mittal Steel smokestacks that gave The Flats neighborhood it ...
Topics: green building, Ohio, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, urban planning (all these topics)

Outer Limits Sprawling Atlanta seeks new routes to the future	Robert DiGiacomo	14 May 2008	Grist Feature
The City in the Forest hopes to get back to its roots. Despite its reputation as a city of wall-to-wall subdivisions, office complexes, and shopping centers, Atlanta's not a complete stranger to matters of green. At the time of its mid-19th century founding, in the woods at the end of a railroad line, it was called the "City in the Forest." And in the early 20th century, the city created the 1 ...
Topics: Georgia, green building, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, sprawl, urban planning (all these topics)

A Moment in the Sun How three Southeast cities are changing		14 May 2008	Grist Feature
For more on Southeast cities, see our full feature on sustainability initiatives underway in Atlanta. With rapid population growth and increased climate vulnerability, the Southeastern U.S. would seem a prime place for sustainability initiatives. But the area has been slow to cotton on to the greening trend. We chalk it up to the South's shade-shifting toward red in the last fifty years -- aligning with a party that was, unt ...
Topics: climate, Florida, green building, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, Tennessee, urban planning, Virginia (all these topics)

Dry, Dry Again How three Southwestern cities are changing		13 May 2008	Grist Feature
For more on Southwest cities see our full feature on sustainability initiatives underway in Phoenix. Scan any list of "green U.S. cities" for winners from the Southwest, and you'll find a geographical void. Sure, a liberal-leaning place like Austin or Santa Fe or Boulder might sneak onto the list, but in general, there's a dearth of entries from this sun-drenched region. And that's troubling, as Southwest cities tend ...
Topics: green building, Nevada, New Mexico, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, sprawl, Texas, urban planning (all these topics)

Hope for a Desert Delinquent What Phoenix, the poster child for environmental ills, is doing right	Lisa Selin Davis	13 May 2008	Grist Feature
Can Phoenix remake its desert-gobbling ways? In order for Phoenix to truly be a green city, it would have to be brown. Or not brown, exactly, but the sandy shade of the mountains that surround it: the jagged peaks and parched hills that enclose the Valley of the Sun. These days, though, Phoenix is a less-natural shade of brown; a ring of smoggy pollution known locall ...
Topics: Arizona, climate, green building, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, urban planning (all these topics)

Urban Index Fast facts about cities, climate change, and sustainability		12 May 2008	Grist Feature
Less than 1: Percent of the earth's surface covered by cities (1) 75: Percent of global energy consumed by cities (2) 80: Percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions contributed by cities (1) 6.7 billion: World population in 2007 (3) 50: Percent of world population expected to live in urban areas by the end of 2008 (3) 70: Percent of world population expected to live in urban areas by 2050 (3) 840: Mayors who have ...
Topics: climate, green building, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, urban planning (all these topics)

How Smart Is Your City? An urban-dweller's pop quiz		12 May 2008	Grist Feature
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Topics: green building, public lands, public transportation, Smartish Cities, special series, sprawl, urban planning (all these topics)

What's a Sustainable City, Anyway? Green-city ranking group SustainLane explains its methodology	James Elsen	12 May 2008	Grist Feature
With a chart-topping 26,000 people per square mile, New York City has to be smart. Photo: Tom Twigg How smart is your city? Take our quiz to find out. Back in 2004, the news emerged that two-thirds of the world's population might be living in cities by 2030. At SustainLane, we got curious about what cities were doing to handle that growth, and we began taking a closer look ...
Topics: green building, placemaking, public lands, public transportation, Smartish Cities, special series, sprawl, urban planning (all these topics)

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