Have you explored all of you local options for vacation? You may have a short drive to a local oasis. …
… “for an environmentally conscious weekend away or an extended family vacation …” …
See these options for a short drive from the Chicago area.
GreenBuild 2010 " is in Chicago this Nov 17 - 19. It is a great chance to hear from industry experts about what is new in the greenspace for green buildings.
Did you know that Chicago was : ... one of the first cities to adopt LEED for public buildings and ... is home to more LEED-certified buildings than any other...
Check out the Video Link to see what collect students are doing in the green space.
Via: GreenBuild LINK
Chicago's ConEd is conducting an experiment to determine how consumers manage their energy use when they have metrics on use, cost and use patterns. Home will be outfitted with solar panels and some homes will be allowed to sell back to the grid and others will not.
" ... will install smart electric meters and price the homes’ electric use by the hour. Half of the homes will be able to gain credits by sending stored solar power back to the grid. The other half won’t be able to store their energy."
" ... whether consumers have the ability, with this technology, to become little utilities. They will be able to buy and sell electricity at a real-time hourly price, which is very close to the wholesale price, from their homes."
Via: SmartPlanet LINK
... "Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have found a way to boost biofuel production from tobacco leaves. If the research pans out, tobacco could prove extremely useful since it’s not a food crop. " ...Via Medill Reports: http://bit.ly/cpNJGn
... "According to Vyacheslav Andrianov, Ph.D., assistant professor of Cancer Biology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, tobacco can generate biofuelVia TJU: Engineered Tobacco Plants Have More Potential as a Biofuelmore efficiently than other agricultural crops. " ...
... "the only visible sign of what the owners hope to be an environmental model for the world is a pallet of dirt and sedum on the tower's 90th floor roof, the beginnings of a green roof so high that only mountain vegetation can grow there. " ...Via Chicago Tribune: Willis Tower
Wired Magazine has created their Smart Home .. which is Green + Wired. The design uses green materials and techniques along with tools to allow you to be GREEN with energy.
" ... high-design demonstration homes ... technologies we present aren't stuck in beta, but are available now. Trends driving the developments? Environmentally smart architecture, affordable automation systems, and real-time energy monitoring."
" ... use prefab construction ... automation systems we use are affordable, and upgradeable ... same access to energy data as the latest car dashboards, showing daily and weekly electricity and water consumption, as well as up-to-the-minute electricity pricing to help homeowners make smart decisions."
The Wired Home is open from March 19th, 2009 through January 3red, 2010. If you are in Chicago and want to tour the home ... CLICK FOR DETAILS.
Via: Wired Link
The 2nd Annual Good and Green conference is in Chicago on DEc 3 - 4, 2008.
Some info ...
Continue reading "Green Marketing Conference - Dec 3 -4, 2008" »
Want to learn more about green building? Want to meet others who share this desire and learn what is new in the industry?
>>>> Then check out greenbuild in Chicago on Nov 7 - 9, 2007 in Chicago!
"... Come join 18,000 other people who agree that green building is a good idea and good for business at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. ... will take place in Chicago at the new McCormick Place West Building."
"At Greenbuild 2007 we'll explore "Accelerating Green Communities" with outstanding educational sessions, exciting speakers, special events and tours, and our largest exhibit hall ever."
" ... is an unparalleled opportunity to connect with peers, industry experts, and influential leaders as they share insights on the green building movement and its diverse specialties."
Via: greenbuild Link
Continue reading "Greenbuild Conference - Nov 7 - 9, 2007 in Chicago" »
"The four-story 250,000 SF, Green Exchange, ... 2545 West Diversey Avenue, is to be converted in accordance with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, with an aspiration to achieve a Silver certification. ... creating an epicenter for green businesses and organizations in the Midwest U.S."
" ... the Green Exchange when it (hopefully) ... tenants ... currently on board include an eco-freindly printer, a sustainable furniture store, an eco-clothing store, a car sharing service, and a bike shop. ..."
Among the Features:
Yahoo picked 10 Cities that "in no particular order -- ... putting residents first. That means they're obsessed with clean air and clean water, renewable energy, reliable city buses, trams, streetcars and subways, a growing number of parks and greenbelts, farmer's markets and, very important, opportunities for community involvement."
"Portland, Oregon - ... More than 30 years ago, ... tore down a six-lane expressway to make room for a waterfront park. ... set an urban growth boundary to protect 25 million acres of forest and farmland, started a solid-waste program that recycles more than half of the city's trash and erected more than 50 public buildings that meet tough standards set by the United States Green Building Council. ..."
"Austin, Texas - Home to the first Whole Foods Market ... 205 parks, 14 nature preserves, and 25 greenbelts. ... plans to meet 20 percent of its energy needs with renewable energy and energy efficiency by 2020. ... a recycling center that dates back to 1970, a dozen outdoor farmer's markets, city buses that offer free rides on 'high ozone' days and an innovative "pay-as-you-throw" trash collection program that rewards residents for being less wasteful ..."
Minneapolis, Minnesota - ... more than 60 percent of downtown workers use public or alternative transportation ... Free parking for registered van and car pools, an extensive bike path and bike lane system and employer-sponsored showers ... Minnesota State Department of Commerce nudging businesses and residents to hook solar systems up to the city's grid, ..."
"Boulder, Colorado - ... city planners started preserving parkland in 1898. ... more than 90 percent of residents recycle, where new water meters are not allowed above certain elevation, thus protecting ridgelines and peaks, and where, when recent federal tax cuts gutted city budgets, residents voted themselves a third sales-tax hike to raise $51 million to buy and protect even more open land."
"Burlington, Vermont - ... More than one-third of all energy used in the city comes from renewable resources, ... laws don't allow the use of pesticides on public parks, land or waterways. ... residents formed an extensive network of citizen-based groups that take on everything from environmental programs to clean up toxic sites to watchdog groups to monitor pollution in Lake Champlain. ..."
"Madison, Wisconsin - ... first city in the United States to offer curbside recycling ... 15,000 acres of lakes and 6,000 acres of parkland ... recycling program gets a whopping 97 percent participation, with 265 tons of material... collected each week.... bike-friendly city with more than 100 miles of bike paths ...a place where there are three bikes for every car."
"New York, New York - ... More than 80 percent of NYC residents use public transportation,... New Yorkers burn gasoline at the rate the U.S. did in the 1920s. ... ... Per capita, New Yorkers use fewer resources and put less pressure on their surroundings than any other city of its size. ..."S
"San Francisco, California - ... bus, subway and ferry services that reach throughout the Bay Area, .. . more than half the city's residents use public or alternative transportation to get to work. ... Prevailing winds ... help keep pollution at bay. ... leader in green building, with more than 20 building projects registered for official green certification. And city residents are willing to tax themselves. Voters said yes to allowing the city to sell $100 million in revenue bonds to support renewable energy."
"Santa Monica, California - ... Three of every four of the city's public works vehicles run on alternative fuel, ... among the largest such fleets in the country. All public buildings use renewable energy. ... the city has cut greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 10 percent, ... an urban runoff facility catches 3.5 million gallons of water each week that would otherwise flow into the bay. ..."
"Chicago, Illinois - ... has 42 green-certified building projects, with more to come. ... city's nine museums and the Art Institute ... converted to run partially on solar power. ... one-third of all residents use public transportation to get to work. ...energy goals, likely to be met, is buying 20 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources this year. ... give tax incentives to homeowners who invest in Chicago's many historic homes and retrofit them with energy efficient heating and cooling systems, as well as water-saving plumbing. ..."
Via: Yahoo.com Link
Chicago Illinois' City Hall has a GREEN ROOF.
"As part of an EPA study and initiative to combat the urban heat island effect and to improve urban air quality, ... City of Chicago began construction of a 38,800 square foot (total roof area) semi-extensive greenroof in April 2000. It was completed at the end of 2001 at a cost $2.5 million, funded by a settlement with ComEd."
"Encompassing one square block and twelve stories high, ... serves as a demonstration project and test greenroof. ... will monitored for plant survival as well as other environmental features. Chicago City Hall's greenroof saves $5,000 a year on utility bills, according to Michael Berkshire."
""This is unique to Chicago," ... "No one else has looked at rooftop gardens to mitigate urban heat island effect, which is a process whereby highly urbanized areas with hard surfaces tend to be degrees hotter than green areas," (ENN.com, May 2000)."
"According to a March 1, 2002 article in The Wall Street Journal, "The garden's origins can be traced back ten years, ... to support Chicago mayor Richard Daley's vow to make Chicago "the greenest city in America."
"The 20,300 square foot ... garden has over 20,000 herbaceous plants installed as plugs of more than 150 varieties including 100 woody shrubs, 40 vines and 2 trees - a Cockspur Hawthorn and Prairie Crabapple. Although rainwater will be collected and saved from the 7,700 square foot penthouse, a supplemental irrigation system will aid in establishing the plants as well as provide supplemental water during extreme periods of drought (Landscape Architecture Magazine, September, 2000; John Beaudry, June, 2000)."
"Due to the very high visibility factor ... numerous articles have been presented to the public, a few of which can be accessed from NEWS LINKS and Archives. Click the following to link to read more about monitoring the project from thee City of Chicago's site and learn more about the urban heat island effect problem and how they are creatively dealing with this subject of global importance. You may also view a PDF booklet prepared by the City of Chicago entitled "Chicago's Green Rooftops: A Guide to Rooftop Gardening" under How To's.".
Via: GreenRoofs.com Link