National Geographic’s The Green Guide

I served on the advisory board for National Geographic’s recently published book, Green Guide: The Complete Reference for Consuming Wisely. It’s filled with practical advice about greener living, from healthy eating to green remodeling to eco-friendly travel. Check it out on Amazon.com.

Climate Change Solutions from Fiji to Philadelphia

International teams win awards for sustainable community design

In June, I had the honor to serve as a judge for a unique design competition hosted by the California chapter of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)–USA.

The competition, Building a Sustainable World: Life in the Balance, challenged designers from around the globe to develop concepts for healthy, vibrant communities that address climate change and reverse, rather than add to, environmental damage and social injustice.

At a weekend symposium in Los Angeles,

Step It Up

On April 14, 2007, people all across the U.S. will rally in their communities to call for action on climate change. Get involved: stepitup2007.org

Refrigerator Madness

As the average U.S. house size increases, refrigerators seem to be multiplying like rabbits.

Sun Frost’s RF16, a super-efficient refrigerator with a freezer on top, consumes a miserly 254 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. Info: www.sunfrost.com

While it isn’t yet keeping me awake at night, I have to admit that I’m a tad alarmed by all the refrigerators popping up in American homes.

Convenience is king, and as the average house size continues to increase, refrigerators seem to be multiplying like rabbits to fill up all that space.

In luxury homes today, I often see several refrigerators in the kitchen: a large primary refrigerator, a smaller snack and beverage fridge for the kids, and maybe a wine cooler for the adults. If there’s a bar in the great room or living room, there’s likely a compact fridge underneath it. The master suite might have its own mini fridge holding milk for the morning cappuccino, or there might be a refrigerated drawer in the bathroom for medicine and cosmetics.

Peek in the garage or basement and you’re likely to find another full-size refrigerator or freezer.

Getting a Green Life: The 2030 ºChallenge

“We have ten years to get our act together.”
—Edward Mazria quoting James Hansen,
NASA’s leading authority on climate change

 I’m still charged up two months after hearing architect Edward Mazria’s keynote speech at the West Coast Green conference in San Francisco.

His topic? The role of the building community in contributing to global climate change and peak oil. Buildings account for 48 percent of all energy consumed in the United States. Clearly, we can’t reverse trends in greenhouse gas emissions without a revolution in design and construction practices. 

Mazria is the driving force behind the 2030 ºChallenge (architecture2030.org), a call to the architecture and building community to immediately cut fossil fuel energy use by 50% in all new buildings and major renovation projects. The goals escalate to a 90% reduction by 2025 and carbon-neutral by 2030.

While Mazria holds architects’ feet to the global-warming fire, I suggest we broaden the challenge. How low can each of us go with fossil fuel use in our homes? And an equally vital question—how can we accomplish this not in a spirit of fear and reactivity but in a spirit of joy and creativity?

Recommended: EcoBabes calendar

EcoBabes 2007 calendar. Showcasing twelve beautiful, inspiring women who are changing the world. Proceeds benefit Sonoma County, California’s Climate Protection Campaign. ecobabes.org

 

Recommended: Making Better Concrete

Making Better Concrete: Guidelines to Using Fly Ash for Higher Quality, Eco-Friendly Structures, Bruce King, 2006. Everything you ever wanted to know about working with high fly ash concrete. A how-to manual for engineers, builders and architects, although green geeks of all types will find it a good read. greenbuildingpress.com

 

Recommended: Food Not Lawns

Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden and Your Neighborhood into a Community, H. C. Flores, 2006. Activist and urban gardener Heather Flores shares ideas for transforming city backyards and suburban lawns into “paradise gardens” that provide food, increase natural habitat and help us reconnect to the earth and our communities. chelseagreen.com

 

Act now to cut winter energy bills

“Energy, like money, is much more easily saved than generated.”
—Bill Mollison, cofounder of the permaculture design system

UltraTouch insulation is made from 85% post-industrial recycled denim and other cotton textiles (bondedlogic.com).

Now that the crazy days of summer are winding down, it’s a good time to plan for how to manage energy costs this fall and winter. While the escalating price of energy may be out of our control, the amount of energy we use is up to us. Small and large steps to cut energy consumption around the home make a difference not just to our wallets and comfort but to global security and sustainability.

Schedule energy tune-up tasks for a couple of weekend mornings or afternoons over the next few months, and come winter you, your home and your bank account will be better prepared to ride out the chill. If you live in a warm-winter climate, keep in mind that many of these steps will cut cooling or lighting costs year round.

Recommended: An Inconvenient Truth

An Inconvenient Truth. You still haven’t seen this film about Al Gore’s crusade to wake us up to our planetary emergency? What are you waiting for? Info and theater locations at climatecrisis.net.