• Last updated 5/31/08 by nitedreamer

How can you reclaim green land, reduce heating and cooling costs, and control the amount of rainwater going into the sewer system?  With a green roof!    Green roofs consist of low-maintenance grass or plants like sedum.  Because the soil depth is kept below 4 inches, most weeds cannot survive on a green roof’s shallow soil conditions.   Green roofs work best on flat or low incline roofs, and retrofitting a green roof onto an existing house may not be possible because of the extra weight added by the vegetation.  But if you are building a new house, this is a great way... read more

• Last updated 4/9/08 by alanwells

Designing for Disassembly "What's the best future we can imagine for our disused stuff? We can design things to be disassembled, but the ultimate strategy would use excellent materials, easy to recover - and ward the landfill off in perpetuity. The goal is the closed loop, in which objects are continuously remade, spiraling upward in quality and harmlessness. This is the trash of the finest ingredients, reflecting the fact that things can't last forever, and that fashions, in fact, change frequently... Making things easy to take apart also makes them easy to repair."... read more

• Last updated 4/9/08 by alanwells

Design for reuse and a second life   Museum exhibitions are usually one-shot deals, with components custom designed and fabricated for use in only one exhibition. Few designers consider what will happen to the components when that exhibition has run its course. For example, what happens to traveling exhibitions, which often are designed and built for a three- to six-year life, when they complete their tour? Sometimes, museums will take them as semi-permanent exhibitions. Sometimes no one wants them. And what happens to their crates? They, too, are usually custom built.... read more

• Last updated 4/9/08 by alanwells

Introduction "The way a product is manufactured may be as important as the product itself, especially when considering its environmental impact and potential health risks. When wood products carry the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certification label, consumers can be confident that the product's chain of custody (all stages of production, distribution and sales) have been independently evaluated and held to standards that protect not only forest ecology but the rights of workers and indigenous peoples as well. And with regard to personal health, the issue is less... read more

• Last updated 5/17/11 by teej

Background Information Steel Recycling Steel is the world most recycled material, with almost 76 million tons of steel recycled in the U.S. in 2006. Every ton of steel that is recycled saves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone. New steel made with recycled material uses as little as 26 percent of the energy required to make steel from raw materials extracted from nature. (For more information, see Steel Takes LEED With Recycled Content at www.recycle-steel.org.) Aluminum Recycling Aluminum is also recycled extensively... read more

• Last updated 2/1/11 by teej

Why Products Containing Formaldehyde Should be Avoided Pressed wood products (hardwood plywood wall paneling, particleboard, fiberboard) commonly contain formaldehyde resins. "Formaldehyde, a colorless, pungent-smelling gas, can cause watery eyes, burning sensations in the eyes and throat, nausea, and difficulty in breathing in some humans exposed at elevated levels (above 0.1 parts per million). High concentrations may trigger attacks in people with asthma. There is evidence that some people can develop a sensitivity to formaldehyde. It has also been shown to cause... read more

• Last updated 4/9/08 by alanwells

"No material brings nature indoors better than wood. At the same time, almost half of the world's original forests have been cut down (approximately 7.4 billion acres), and an average of 39.5 million acres are added to the loss column each year. The destruction of forests releases tons of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas and culprit behind global climate change, into the Earth's atmosphere. Deforestation also reduces the diversity of plant and animal species in these rich habitats.   "The U.S. leads the way in wood consumption, representing almost one third of the... read more

• Last updated 4/20/08 by vegipowrd

The following principles of sustainable design were penned by William McDonough, author of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. These guidelines serve as an excellent place to start on the path to understanding sustainable design in any field. 1. Insist on rights of humanity and nature to co-exist in a healthy, supportive, diverse and sustainable condition. 2. Recognize interdependence. The elements of human design interact with and depend upon the natural world, with broad and diverse implications at every scale. Expand design considerations... read more

• Last updated 4/9/08 by stins

Basic tenents of sustainable design, as outlined in Sustainable Exhibit Design: Guidelines for designers for small scale interactive and traveling exhibits "In the simplest terms sustainable design should adhere to two main principles: 1. Minimising resource consumption 2. Reducing pollution.   Minimising resource consumption "Resources or raw materials can be classified as ‘renewable’ and ‘non- renewable’. Increasing the use of renewable resources over non- renewable ones is imperative. But even more important is the reduction in consumption as a whole.... read more

• Last updated 1/17/11 by teej

The Bold, the Beautiful, the Rich, the Famous, the Green, and the otherwise Eco-licious   Some of them have captured our hearts by way of the silver screen. Some have charmed us with their music. And even others have wowed us by their feats of strength. Yet all have taken a stand for the environment. And for that, we are even more impressed.    Leonardo DiCaprio may have made a big splash with Titanic but now he’s making waves in the environmental arena. If you’re lucky, you may see him around town driving his hybrid Toyota Prius and if you’re really lucky,... read more