"Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal." --John F. Kennedy
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Now I see the secret of making the best person: it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth." -- Walt Whitman
Jim Sensenbrenner (R - WI): Full of Opinion and Hyperbole on Climate Change Legislation but Very Few Facts
Alaska's Changing Climate
How Fast Can Carbon Capture and Storage Fix Climate Change?
Cuts In Greenhouse Gas Emissions Would Save Arctic Ice, Reduce Sea Level Rise
Webcor and Climate Earth Team to Measure Carbon in Building Materials
Energy Bill Includes Amendment for Green Training at Community Colleges
Education, Ease are Keys to Sustainable Behavior
Study finds environmental education programs lead to cleaner air
BIM 401: Model-Based Scheduling
BIM 501: Model-Based Estimating
Fridays with Vico Presents BIM Webinars (Archive)
Cracking the USACE BIM Code
Engineering and Commissioning High-Tech Green Buildings
Los Angeles Building Retrofit Designed to Boost Green Jobs
LEED-EB Lowers Operating Costs, Report Finds
Portland (Maine) Buildings Coming Up Green
Good News for Our Environment. - Natural Resources Council of Maine
Surveyor PC Energy Manager
How the Supreme Court broke Clean Water Act and why Congress must fix it
Drinking water from the sea
US looks to electricity super-highways
Jim Sensenbrenner (R - WI): Full of Opinion and Hyperbole on Climate Change Legislation but Very Few Facts
Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin is the ranking Republican on the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
Voters will be pleased to know that as a member of that committee, Sensenbrenner continues to live up to the accolades bestowed upon him by Rolling Stone Magazine which named him as one of the ten worst members of the 109th congress.
"I think that the science is inconclusive on this. What I do say very emphatically with these massive increases in utility costs through the cap and tax scheme, we shouldn't be doing this as long as the science is inconclusive."
"What the science says is that temperatures peaked out globally in 1998. So we've gone for 10 plus years where the temperatures have gone down."
"I personally believe that the solar flares are more responsible for climatic cycles than anything that human beings do and our lunar, our rovers on Mars have indicated that there has been a slight warming in the atmosphere of Mars and that certainly was not caused by the internal combustion engine."
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Alaska's Changing Climate
CURWOOD: Compared to the relatively gradual pace of warming in the Antarctic, the Arctic is warming rapidly - faster than any other place on earth.
As part of our observance of Earth Day this month, we revisit some memorable stories from the Living on Earth archives, and check out what's happened since. Today - a report from 20 miles south of the Arctic Circle - Shishmaref on Alaska's north-west coast. Inupiat families have lived in the region for at least a thousand years - but visitors can only get in by boat or small plane. Both the Native Alaskan way of life, and Shishmaref itself are now threatened. And now no ice protects the island from erosion caused by fall storms and vicious waves.
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How Fast Can Carbon Capture and Storage Fix Climate Change?
Human activity results in the emission of some 30 billion metric tons of climate change-causing carbon dioxide (CO2) per year. About half of the greenhouse gas is absorbed by the world's oceans and plants, among other natural processes, but the rest lingers in the atmosphere for a century or more, driving up annual CO2 concentrations by around two parts per million (ppm).
Those atmospheric concentrations have climbed from roughly 280 ppm in the 18th century before the widespread burning of fossil fuels to 386 ppm today--and continue to rise.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the coal-fired power plants built or planned since the turn of the 21st century will emit more carbon dioxide than all human coal-burning since the dawn of the Industrial Age: 660 billion metric tons over the next 25 years versus 524 billion metric tons emitted between 1751 and 2000.
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Cuts In Greenhouse Gas Emissions Would Save Arctic Ice, Reduce Sea Level Rise
ScienceDaily (Apr. 15, 2009) -- The threat of global warming can still be greatly diminished if nations cut emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases by 70 percent this century, according to a new analysis. While global temperatures would rise, the most dangerous potential aspects of climate change, including massive losses of Arctic sea ice and permafrost and significant sea level rise, could be partially avoided.
The study was led by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). "This research indicates that we can no longer avoid significant warming during this century," says NCAR scientist Warren Washington, the lead author. "But if the world were to implement this level of emission cuts, we could stabilize the threat of climate change and avoid catastrophe."
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Webcor and Climate Earth Team to Measure Carbon in Building Materials
Webcor Builders, one of the largest contractors in California, and Climate Earth, a greenhouse gas accounting firm, are joining forces to develop a database of the greenhouse gas emissions embedded in construction materials to help design buildings with smaller carbon footprints.
Climate Earth will focus on providing the emissions data on various building materials, such as steel or concrete. Webcor will use the emissions data with its own software and technical expertise with cost and structural integrity factors to construct safe and cost-effective buildings with materials that generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions during their production.
"We believe we can save 30 to 40 percent of the energy embedded in that building by using better materials and systems," said Phil Williams, Webcor's vice president of technical assistance and sustainability.
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Energy Bill Includes Amendment for Green Training at Community Colleges
A new amendment to the 2009 energy bill is designed to fund job training at community colleges in renewable and alternative energy fields.
This amendment, sponsored by Senator Wyden (D-Ore.) would authorize $500 million ($100 million per year for five years) to ensure that workers are ready to create, install and maintain wind, solar, biomass and geothermal projects. Once passed, the bill authorizes the Department of Energy to fund programs at 1,200 American community colleges, with half of the funds going towards schools who already have strong programs in place.
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Education, Ease are Keys to Sustainable Behavior
Many universities are working hard to reduce their institutional carbon footprint. However, convincing and assisting individuals to take effective actions can prove challenging. University personnel must overcome key barriers, including apathy, physical obstacles and ignorance.
"People don't have to pay that gas or electric bill, so they begin to separate themselves from the need to control the heat because it's not their financial responsibility," says Don Erb, residential facilities manager at SUNY-Buffalo. "We remind them that it's part of the room rental and the right thing to do is to control the temperature by first closing the window, then turning on the heat." Erb notes that each year he sees a reduction in the number of instances of students running the heat in their dorm rooms while windows are open.
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Study finds environmental education programs lead to cleaner air
A first of its kind study funded by EPA shows that environmental education programs are an effective tool in helping to improve air quality in North America. 'This study shows a valuable connection between better environmental education and cleaner air in our communities,' said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. 'With the right information, people can make a real difference in the places where they live, work, play and learn.'
Nearly half of the surveyed institutions hosting education programs reported an improvement in air quality at their facilities due to actions taken by students, including doing service-learning projects and fostering community partnerships. Examples include decreased levels of carbon monoxide and mold, and enactment of a policy that decreased car or bus idling. An additional 43 percent of the surveyed programs reported some kind of action was taken to improve the environment.
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BIM 401: Model-Based Scheduling
Friday, May 1, 2009 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT
Webinar Registration
Expanding upon our curriculum from the BIM 101, 201, and 301 Workshops, Vico presents BIM 401: Model-Based Scheduling 4D Scheduling. Model-based scheduling involves the optimal sequencing of tasks and trades, procurement and lead times, consumption rates and crew efficiency rates. The theory of flowline scheduling describes the optimization process with a model-based schedule. It forces the optimal sequence and flow of trades through the various locations of the building project. As you can image, framing needs to occur before drywall before painting. A flowline schedule lets you visualize the crews by location by productivity rate.
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BIM 501: Model-Based Estimating
Friday, May 15, 2009 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT
Webinar Registration
Expanding upon our curriculum from the BIM 101, 201, 301, and 401 Workshops, Vico presents BIM 501: Model-Based Estimating 5D Estimating. 5D estimating starts with a robust construction quantity takeoff. With these construction quantities, you can drive a precise estimate and schedule. And with the easy visualization of the model, you can quickly see which elements have been costed already, and which elements still need attention. And it also allows Owners to see which/how areas of the building are contributing to the total cost of the building.
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Fridays with Vico Presents BIM Webinars (Archive)
In the BIM 101 Workshop, we examined the evolution of building information modeling from 2D drawing sets to 3D models to 4D schedules to 5D estimates and even layouting solutions. In the BIM 201 Workshop, we examined 3D/4D Coordination efforts in-depth, with the understanding that "clashes" happen in both space and time. And now for the BIM 301 Workshop, we'll turn our attention to BIM Contracts.
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Cracking the USACE BIM Code
The USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) is currently on a very aggressive roadmap for the adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for its projects. The specific contract requirements for these projects are causing much confusion and forcing many firms to rethink their own BIM adoption. The purpose of this article is to bring to light some of these issues and how they will affect BIM purchases and workflows.
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Engineering and Commissioning High-Tech Green Buildings
High-tech buildings, which include data centers, research laboratories, and clean rooms are energy intensive, uptime critical, and very specialized in terms of materials that can be used for construction. These parameters present very difficult decisions regarding sustainability. How green can these buildings really go?
Only the best engineering practices can make a substantial dent toward greening these facilities, and commissioning will obviously play a key role in ensuring that good designs are followed by good construction practices and that operators will be equipped and trained for high performance.
This webcast presents design and commissioning tips covering design features of energy efficiency, fire protection, and water conservation over the life of the building.
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Los Angeles Building Retrofit Designed to Boost Green Jobs
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- A new law on the books in the city of Los Angeles offers big hope for both the green building and green jobs movements.
The L.A. City Council yesterday unanimously passed a "Green Building Retrofit Ordinance" that will retrofit all city-owned buildings larger than 7,500 square feet or built before 1978 with a target of hitting LEED Silver-level certification.
The green jobs element of the project involves putting highest priority on retrofitting buildings that are located in low-income communities, as well as buildings that directly benefit those communities, like libraries and recreation centers.
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LEED-EB Lowers Operating Costs, Report Finds
The LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) rating system has become an important benchmark of sustainable building operations and maintenance. As facility executives consider implementing LEED-EB certification for their buildings, what can they expect the cost of certification to be?
A recent survey shows that the cost of LEED-EB implementation may not be a barrier to beginning an organization wide LEED-EB initiative. Not only is the cost of certification less than many facility executives may think, also operating costs for LEED certified buildings are on average lower than traditional buildings. Many low and no cost credits can serve as a starting point for facility executives to begin the journey to LEED-EB certification.
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Portland (Maine) Buildings Coming Up Green
This week, the Portland City Council unanimously approved a green building resolution, requiring all municipally owned new construction and major renovations building projects to be built to LEED Silver standard with additional energy credits to meet the energy and carbon reduction goals of the Architecture 2030 Challenge.
"The climate is changing faster now than any time in the past 500,000 years.
The public wants change - is demanding change - and cities must take the lead to make it happen," stated Mayor Jill Duson.
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Good News for Our Environment. - Natural Resources Council of Maine
Our advocacy is paying off! The bill to ban the use of toxic lead in wheel weights used to balance tires (LD 986) just received a unanimous vote from the Natural Resources Committee! These lead wheel weights fall off tires regularly, contaminating waters, soil, and wildlife. Assuming the bill prevails in the House and Senate, Maine will be the first state to pass such a ban. In other good news, by a 9-3 vote, the bill to protect Maine rivers (LD 330) was supported by the committee too. Next it proceeds to the House and Senate.
Surveyor PC Energy Manager
Verdiem Surveyor software reduces power consumption when computers are not in use, by either turning them off or lowering the power settings. This software allows company IT departments to monitor PC energy consumption in office settings. Computers often remain in a high-power state, called "insomnia," if applications are running or there is CPU or disc activity, but surveyor shuts down this consumption and manages power use in a central location, so corporate energy policies can be enacted efficiently and detailed power consumption data can be gathered.
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How the Supreme Court broke Clean Water Act and why Congress must fix it
For decades, the Clean Water Act has broadly protected America's lakes, rivers, streams, and drinking water sources from unregulated pollution and destruction, rescuing them from the dire straits they were in during the late 1960s and early 1970s. But because of a concerted effort by polluters and developers, and muddied rulings from the U.S.
Supreme Court, up to 60 percent (at least 15,000 important waters) have lost these vital protections and countless other waters (including more than 50 percent of our streams and 20 million acres of wetlands) are at risk of losing protections.
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Drinking water from the sea
In some regions of the world, the lack of a primary source such as water, could become a determining factor for economic and political instability whereas nearly 40% of the world's population relies on river systems that cross two or more countries.
The increasing awareness towards the issue of water, as a precious and irreplaceable wealth, encourages some countries to make enormous investments to increase its availability of drinking water. The fact that the largest source of available water lies in the sea favours the research and investment in the realisation of efficient desalination plants.
In this period of impending crisis it's up to technology to propose solutions that are reliable, feasible, with low environmental impact and with sustainable costs for the economies of the poorest areas of the globe.
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US looks to electricity super-highways
Chicago might be know as the 'Windy City' but it appears it is not quite breezy enough. US regulators have agreed financial incentives for a green project which aims to deliver energy generated from windy areas in America's Midwest to densely populated cities such as Chicago.
In a statement released this week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved rate incentives for the proposed 3,000-mile 'green power superhighway' designed by the Green Power Express group.
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