Saving Energy by Recycling

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While our homes and cars get most of the attention relative to energy savings, our materials stream also has a huge impact on energy use. Nationally, the U.S. generates about 236 million tons of municipal solid waste each year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That works out to about 4 pounds of waste for every American every day. Recycling our waste saves a lot of energy. Just how much depends on the material.

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High-Tech Glazing With Phase-Change Material

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GlassX, a new high-tech glazing from Europe with heat-storing phase-change material (PCM) has just been introduced in North America. This remarkable glazing was developed by the Swiss company GlassX AG over the past 15 years and is licensed to the international building products company Saint-Gobain (parent company to CertainTeed), which is manufacturing the product in Austria and Germany.

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Now's the Time to Install Solar

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This summer is a great time to get a good deal on a solar water heating or solar-electric (photovoltaic) system for your home. While I argued a few months ago in this column that the 30% federal solar tax credit has some flaws--key among them being that it's based on the dollar value rather than performance and that there's no cap on the cost of the system (and credit you can earn)--these aren't reasons not to take advantage of it.

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Don't double-count parking spaces

If your project is pursuing both SSc4.3 and SSc4.4, be careful not to double-count preferred parking spaces allotted for those credits. The total number of preferred parking spaces must be equal to those required for SSc4.3, plus those required for SSc4.4. The same parking space cannot count for both credits (although they do not have to be distinguished through signage).

Driving Our SUVs to the BP Protests

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I'm sorry, but the irony is just too thick these days. We Americans are rightly upset with BP for the devastating spill in the Gulf that is wreaking ecological devastation on a mammoth scale. But as I watch the television news and read the daily coverage, I'm not hearing enough outrage at our petroleum-dependent lifestyles and the gas-guzzling vehicles we hop into at a moment's notice to drive to the store for a pint of ice cream. We need to hold a mirror up to ourselves at those protest rallies.

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