LeedUser

The Answer is Blowing in the Wind

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NOT FOR EVERY SITE. Wind power doesn't make sense everywhere. Fortunately this site is consistently breezy enough to generate the 6,000 kWh of electricity that David Pill's family demands each year. Here, a gin pole -- an old-fashioned but effective winch-and-mast system -- is used to hoist the wind turbine into position.

Over the past few weeks, we've looked at a few power-generation technologies: pumped hydro, landfill gas, and nuclear. This week, we'll examine another option that's been in the news a lot over the past few years: wind power.

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At the 2008 "Summer Camp" in the Adirondacks.Photo: Mike Cox

The green building industry lost one of its pillars this week. Less than two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2007, Gail Lindsey, FAIA, of Wake Forest, North Carolina, passed away on February 2nd. She had been recovering from a third round of chemotherapy when a sudden recurrence of liver cancer was discovered late last week. Gail has been a key part of the green building movement since its earliest formative days.

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Over 18 years and more than 160 issues of Environmental Building News, I've written quite a few articles — I hesitate to think about how many — but out of all of those, I think I had more fun and learned more in writing my most recent than ever before.

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Last week I described why some environmentalists have shifted their position and now support nuclear power, and I described how we might be able to store nuclear waste more safely and cheaply than in the Yucca Mountain facility. So what's wrong with nuclear power? Why not move full-steam-ahead with this much more climate-friendly power generation option?

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What's so funny about green building? Email me and let me know, or comment below. Here's my latest contribution to the genre of green building jokes:

A LEED-certified building walks into a bar around closing time. It orders a drink, throws it back, and leaves. The next night, it comes in again, asks the bartender for a shot, throws it back, and leaves.

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The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA), a Washington D.C. bicycle advocacy organization, along with America Bikes, the D.C.

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The reactor at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, Vermont..

Continuing in the recent thread of examining various power generation technologies, this week I'll weigh in on nuclear power. I do this against my wife's better judgment, and perhaps out of concern that my columns haven't been generating enough controversy.

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The reactor at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, Vermont..

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Isn't lobbying in Washington something that less-reputable industries do -- tobacco, casinos, and other "heavy hitters"? Doing some research on OpenSecrets.org, I was interested to learn the extent to which the building materials and equipment industry engaged in lobbying in 2008. The industry paid lobbyists a total of $11,676,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Here's the breakdown, by company.

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The Answer is Blowing in the Wind

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Remembering Gail Lindsey

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BuildingGreen Bulletin: Farming on Green Buildings — February EBN

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Growing Greener

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Thoughts on Nuclear Power – Part 2

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A LEED-certified building walks into a bar...

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2,000 Bikes at the Inauguration

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Thoughts on Nuclear Power

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Thoughts on Nuclear Power

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Building materials industry lobbying in 2008

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