"The Anti-American Non-Energy Bill"
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Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, swings and swings and swings and misses the point entirely. As do most of the comments — over 2,200 of them so far. So much darkness.
The Carbon Calculator Morass
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In the process of looking into carbon calculators for buildings as a behind-the-scenes assistant for the EBN feature article "Counting Carbon: Understanding Carbon Footprints of Buildings," I took a short detour into the wider carbon calculator world.
BuildingGreen Bulletin: Moisture-Resistant Sheathing Board - June GreenSpec
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Read the current bulletinWhy doesn't USGBC sell a PDF of the LEED Reference Guide?
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7/1/09 Update: If you are looking to learn about the LEED 2009 rating systems, there's no better tool out there than our own LEEDuser.com, which was launched since this post was made.
Trucking, Hunger, and Resilience
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A friend of mine near Barcelona wrote me that truckers in Spain are on strike and are blocking roads. They demand the government set a 35% haulage tariff, which would be in proportion to the increase in fuel costs in the past year. Anticipating the stores will soon be empty, my friend made a trip into town, by train, to get a 50-pound bag of rice and some butane cylinders to run his family's kitchen stove. News reports say perishables are expected to run out within a week. Of course, if people make a run on the stores, perishables and non-perishables alike could be scarce faster.
Climbing against climate change
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French climber Alain Robert, who has taken to climbing skyscrapers instead of cliffs -- so far he has made more than 70 urban ascents -- scaled the New York Times building June 5. Before being arrested, Robert unfurled a banner reading, "Global warming kills more people than 9/11 each week."
Robert targeted the Times building as the perch from which to make his point because of its green qualities.
Beware of CGREPs (it's not THAT easy being green)
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Greasy Socks and Certifications Recently I was doing research for a brief item about green education for "real estate professionals," that is, real estate agents, appraisers, house inspectors, and loan officers. I read about a new course being offered, covering global climate issues, green building, indoor and outdoor air quality, and, last but surely not least, using all this green material in marketing. Those who complete this course are allowed to add CGREP -- for Certified Green Real Estate Professional -- to their collection of post cognomenal letters.
Problems installing cotton insulation
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I bought some Ultratouch cotton fiber insulation a few months ago thinking that it would be a great natural product for the cabin I am building. This is the stuff that comes in blue unfaced batts, and is often said to use recycled blue jeans, although it uses pre-consumer denim from factory waste. I bought it from a (great) Brattleboro, Vermont retailer Renew Building Materials and Salvage for for 88 cents a square foot.