Did you know that transportation and construction and operation of buildings account for two-thirds of our country’s climate pollution?
Since the early 90s, we’ve had LEED (the U.S. Green Building Council’s “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design”) to set best practices to tackle the buildings side of this problem. LEED certification has transformed regular construction projects into the new energy-efficient standard for a sustainable future.
What about transportation? We impact our environment not only in the buildings where we live, work and play, but in the choices we make when we travel to those buildings. A recent study, “Driving to Green Buildings,” showed that driving to and from a typical office building consumes far more energy than heating, cooling and lighting that building. How do we cut back on all that wasted energy and climate pollution? And how do we make sure people have better access to safe, convenient and affordable travel choices?
Introducing STARS, a voluntary points-based rating system inspired by LEED, which will allow transportation professionals to plan and compare their projects using a national sustainability standard. The framework is being developed by experienced public and private sector transportation professionals from Oregon and Washington.
What do the masterminds behind STARS hope to achieve? It’s simple, really. They hope to change the way we think about transportation by emphasizing access, climate, energy and cost, to ensure higher performance in areas where transportation has the greatest impacts.
And those aren’t the only benefits. This approach encourages transportation planners to work together with local residents and businesses to determine which travel options are most appropriate for an area and to combine all methods of transit to provide users a multitude of choices.
More choices equal more savings for the average transportation user. Did you know that transportation is the second biggest expense in most households? But when people have access to less expensive travel options, such as riding the bus rather than purchasing, maintaining and fueling a car, they are able to invest the savings in their families and their community.
Transportation projects will see savings as well. STARS will reward planners who develop smarter projects that incorporate more efficient ways of moving people and goods. “We’ll be able to serve more people for less money,” says Peter Hurley of the Portland Bureau of Transportation, one of the developers.
STARS could follow in LEED’s footsteps, becoming an economic driving force and generating jobs. “Developing STARS could create green jobs for local STARS-certified professionals, just as the region’s ‘early adopters’ of LEED still frequently win green building design and construction jobs, both locally and nationally,” Peter says.
David Pessada, of Portland design firm, GBD, feels LEED accreditation has had positive effects on his company. “It’s really changed the way we do business and think about design. Three-fourths of our projects are now LEED. It’s really helped us stay current in the developing marketplace.”
Similarly, the Portland and Vancouver region could ensure jobs for a pool of trained sustainable transportation professionals. In addition to having a variety of local projects to work on, they could have the skills and know-how to consult on projects in other parts of the U.S. and Canada.
Already, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission is working with the STARS team to apply STARS to their Highway 1 HOV and Auxiliary Lanes project. That work is currently supporting eight part-time local jobs.
STARS encourages planners to ask a number of questions: How long should a standard trip take? What is the best mode of transit for a trip? What are the options of transit? When transportation professionals tackle these questions, riders get more options.
STARS Project Scoreboard
Click here for an overview of STARS and for more information on STARS, please contact Peter Hurley at the Portland Bureau of Transportation: Peter.T.Hurley@portlandoregon.gov.
The new PS20 solar tower at the Solucar Platform in Sanlucar la Mayor, southern Spain, seen on Sept. 23, 2009.
PS20, one of the most powerful commercial solar tower in the world, consists of a solar field made up of 1,255 mirrored heliostats aimed at the tower, producing steam which is converted into electricity generation by a turbine.
Now that is brilliant! Rent an X-mas Tree!The Living Christmas Company provides a service that arranges to have a potted tree delivered to your home. When the holiday spirit has dissipated send it back, watch it grow and have it delivered again next year!
From $50-$150, you can score a great lil tree and even order ornaments. A quick-style 6-step ordering process and you can feel good about your sustainable Xmas. They also have an Eco-Holiday store with recycled wrap, LED lights and eco-ornaments! I mean c’mon— I would write more but I have to put my Charlie Brown Christmas in motion!
Click the link below for a video on the dude who delivers your tree.
Posted by: Eric Raymond on November 20, 2009, at 10:32 am
This story in the New York Times may have you thinking twice.
“Buying offsets is a nice idea, just like giving money to a soup kitchen is a nice idea, but that doesn’t end world hunger,” said Anja Kollmuss, a staff scientist for the Stockholm Environment Institute who is based at a branch at Tufts University.
“Buying offsets won’t solve the problem because flying around the way we do is simply unsustainable,” said Ms. Kollmuss, who has researched airline offsets.
Check out this presentation on sustainable architecture over at TED. It’s not only impressive, it’s entertaining, as Bjarke Ingles, the Danish designer giving the talk, has a great sense of humor.
The highlights:
03:06 Library/Hotel in Copenhagen melts into surrounding architecture
07.50 Bike & Swim in Expo Center in China
12:26 Apartment/Parking Building looks like a mountain
15:35 1st Carbon Neutral Island in SE Asia to the Twins Peaks Theme
Posted by: Eric Raymond on September 11, 2009, at 1:54 pm
Sustainy drops by the Eco House at the Minnesota State Fair
iPhone picture of the gutter/rain garden portion of the eco house
We popped by the eco experience at the Minnesota State fair last week and snapped a couple pictures of the net zero eco house. It was an open walk through design, set up to showcase green technologies and building practices for the home. In sustainy fashion, the materials and design of the house pays for themselves, no operational costs! In addition to the exterior, where you may be able to make out the rain garden (with real running water pouring out of the gutters!), there were a number of materials used in the sustainy construction. A solar façade, green roof, and large, south-facing windows, to start. The set up focused on the relationship between a home and the surrounding lot, gardens, weather, and seasons, specifically for Minnesota climates.
This is a great perk. The newest thing to hit business, according to WSJ (apologies for going back on my word, but this is a nice little article), is the community garden at work. Your company invests the money in the landscaping, the employees help to tend it and get to take home the produce. It’s both a good investment (high yield for a small investment) and good for morale. From the article:
For a small employer, a garden can encourage camaraderie among co-workers and become “a valuable asset the organization is offering,” said Paul Teslak, a professor of organizational behavior and human resource management at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business. It requires relatively few resources, can help in recruiting and differentiate a small business from its competitors, he said.
KILLER NEWS!!! Sustainy has been nominated to receive Nau’s first annual $10,000 Grant for Change, an initiative that supports those who instigate lasting, positive change in their communities.
Moya, Kush & Eric are working hard behind the scenes to bring you eco-news from everywhere they go! With Kush currently in El Salvador with USAID, Eric circling the Minnesota Eco-Experience Exhibit and Moya holding it down in Los Angeles; this has proven to be a very Sustainy-filled Summer!!
We ask that you PLEASE register at the NAU clothing site and then VOTE/RATE for Sustainy to have a chance at this amazing opportunity to broaden our scope and offer our loyal readers more than ever!! Simply click through our nomination page to RATE/VOTE for Sustainy!!!
It’s Summer. The fair’s in town. It’s going green and Minnesota is leading the charge with The Eco Experience Exhibit. Why make a big to-do about a seemingly small feat? Because in one turn-o-the-wheel, nearly 500,000 people will be exposed to a varied and diverse weekend event calendar, addressing everything from alternative energies, personal diet, childrens entertainment, eco-building and greening every aspect of your home. This years theme revolving around Sustainable Jobs will focus on employment and training in green economy. A staple of the Minnesota State Fair since 2006, this type of exhibit is catching on in other major cities such as North Carolina, Iowa and New Jersey. With over 50,000 Green Jobs in Minnesota alone, the time is right to acknowledge the mid-wests’ potential to re-enter the national economy by being pioneers of the prairie once again.
(ironic note: I am always giving grief to Sustainys’ Eric Raymond for being from Minnesota but consistently find great stories from his home state!)
Posted by: Eric Raymond on August 17, 2009, at 6:48 pm
So, I’m a little late in bringing this up, but recently, there was news around a new type of synthetic tree that will capture CO2 and let humans sequester it where ever we find the space. Many people wrote about this magical “tree” that will cheerfully sit in parks around the world (or tucked away in the Australian Outback) and suck up carbon from the atmosphere. I have a few issues with it, first and least important, is the look. This thing is the real “ugly tree.”
An artist rendering of what a synthetic tree "might" look like. Really?
So that’s a tree. Oh wait, it just “acts” like a tree, sucking up Carbon Dioxide as air moves through the round white plastic roof thing. Makes sense, they are calling it a tree because it takes CO2 out of the air like trees do. Except then it compresses it down into a liquid that can be injected into carbon sequestration plots. Sounds a bit like inhaling smoke, scraping the tar off your lungs and then injecting it into your posterior. There’s no more tar in your lungs, but wouldn’t you know it, there it is making your butt look big.
Real trees turn CO2 into carbon and oxygen, two fairly necessary elements for our existance. Now, it may come to a point where we are so desperate to clean CO2 from the air, we are forced to fund something as ridiculous as a “synthetic tree,” but until that point comes, sustainy thinks a more proactive, educational approach is prudent for today. Head over to CNN to read more fuzzy math as to how this would work, or drop your thoughts in the comments.
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