Green Central Blog

by Sean Keithly

In recent years, colleges and university campuses have emerged as a market with high potential for integrated, leading-edge sustainable development.  It’s no coincidence that some of the most encouraging trends in sustainability and green building are taking place on college campuses, and that much more fertile ground exists for campus sustainability initiatives. With large land areas, single-ownership, and centralized utility systems, the physical sites of college campuses provide the necessary raw materials for creating innovation in sustainability.  Added to this is the intellectual capital of the campus population and the potential for inter-departmental research, pilot projects, and meaningful relationships with off-campus entities. A surprising number of schools have hired full-time sustainability coordinators who, among other things, provide the link between the intellectual resources of the institution with campus operations, capital projects, and planning. (more…)

The United Nations Climate Change Conference began yesterday. The world is watching to see if this meeting will be more fruitful than some of those past, and to see what President Obama is prepared to say. One thing he did say on Sept. 22nd, 2009 was: “Our generation’s response to this challenge will be judged by history, for if we fail to meet it – boldly, swiftly, and together – we risk consigning future generations to an irreversible catastrophe.” You can follow the US participation in the conference at http://www.cop15.state.gov/

An exciting announcement, made during the Phoenix Greenbuild conference last month, should be a lively topic of discussion. The world’s leading green building organizations have teamed together to adopt a common global language for the measurement of the carbon footprint of buildings. These organizations are the UN Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative (UNEP SBCI), the World Green Building Council, and the Sustainable Building Alliance, which includes USGBC, BREEAM (UK), UNESCO, and several others.

Today there is a side event hosted by the International Union of Architects called “Sustainability by Design” which focuses on architectural strategies to reduce the man-made carbon footrprint. Other side events include permaculture, smart grid, sustainable and low carbon development, renewable energy, bridging the water and climate change agenda, sustainable living, food security, climate neutral cities, and “place-based” decarbonization strategies. The conference runs through Dec. 18th. You can follow the full conference at http://en.cop15.dk

by Paul Spivey

With winter approaching and the flu season upon us, you may find yourself sneezing or coughing.  But don’t be too hasty!  Even though swine flu is pretty exciting, it’s far more likely these symptoms are actually attributed to indoor air pollution, especially during the winter.  And here’s why:

The leading cause of indoor air pollution is insufficient ventilation - Fact.  While the technological trend for construction assemblies is constantly advancing our ability to create tightly sealed and well insulated exterior envelopes, the interior environment consequently sees fewer air exchanges.  And considering most of us spend an average of 85% of our day indoors, even more time is spent inside during the colder winter months – with the windows shut of all things!  (more…)