The Bright Future of Green Business

by Sustainable Nikos on June 27, 2011 · 0 comments

in Sustainable Building Materials

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I have hope that flying cars will exist in the future. I have hope that there are actual people reading this blog. I have hope that ‘World Peace’ never changes his name back to Ron Artest. I can hope that these ideas come to fruition. But I don’t have to simply rely on hope when I think about the future of green construction.

On Wednesday, SRELP made a field trip to PCBC, a trade show at the Moscone center that showcased construction materials from around the nation. The vast number of green options was exciting and inspiring to behold. As is the case with many companies, there were a few people that used the word green a bit too freely to describe products that weren’t exactly green, but for the most part, the booths offered a variety of green options for building materials and construction. Some favorites:

Matrix Viribright LED Light bulbs: Whereas fluorescent light bulbs are indeed sustainable, LED lights are even better!  This is due to the fact that LED lights do not use mercury, making them easier to dispose of; and use a greater portion of the electricity they consume for generating light– meaning that they are more efficient.  In addition, Viribright’s light bulbs are cheaper than most LED bulbs.   The one downside I noticed to Viribright’s LED lights is that they are only manufactured in China and Vietnam.

Trunano Counter Top Sealant: This sealant is unique for– supposedly– using no VOCs (a fancy word for dangerous chemicals like formaldehyde or acetone), being biodegradable, and using covalent bonds instead of using an adhesive to repel the liquid.  This means that the counter tops only need to be resealed every 3 or 4 years, rather than every 6 months.  The downside to this product is the price, but over time, having to buy this product once every few years ensures that the costs even out.

Enerflex Radiant Barrier:  A layer of foil with a net of wire built inside, the enerflex barrier can be placed in one’s attic to reflect the heat waves that come from the sun outward, lowering the temperature of one’s attic.  This means that the air conditioning unit can reduce its energy usage by up to 20%.

All in all it was a wonderful event, and I am glad to know that green business is still important to homeowners of the Pacific Coast.

Until next time,

Malachi

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Kyle’s Kitchen: PCBC

by Sustainable Kyle on June 24, 2011 · 0 comments

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On Wednesday I got the opportunity to check out the Pacific Coast Builders Conference, PCBC, for the first time.  The Moscone Center was jam-packed with an impressive variety of tradespeople advertising their product.  Despite this, Sir Helmut was tripping pretty hard about how few people there were (and sober, no less!).  Apparently, PCBC has been struggling with attendance for the past couple years since the economy went south.  The numbers aren’t out for this year’s conference, but this article discusses past attendance issues the conference has had in previous years.  Nevertheless, I was introduced to a lot of new, innovative products at PCBC that I’d like to share with you:

  • Cabinets: Executive Cabinetry has come out with a line of cabinets, “EcoFriendly.”  This product is certified to the highest GreenGaurd standard: Children & Schools.  The cabinet is made with FSC certified wood, and finished with water-based products that emit zero Formaldehyde.
  • Insulation: Owens Corning has released a new insulation product that is also GreenGaurd Children & Schools certified.  Their pink EcoTouch insulation also helps prevent indoor air pollution by being Formaldehyde free.
  • Solar water hearing: The Velux solar water heater was something I found particularly innovative.  This is an Energy Star qualified system that should drop energy consumption for heating your water by 50-80%.  I really liked this system because it could be installed in conjunction to a skylight you could use for your bathroom.
  • Roofing: I’ve never really thought to use recycled rubber and plastic to roof a home, but EcoStar has provided us this service of sustainable roofing with a line of tiles made out of 80% post-industrial recycled materials.  I saw for myself at PCBC that these products look almost exactly like the tiles or wood shake they emulate.  This roofing is warrantied to last 50 years.  This product is recyclable, so once that time is up just toss them in the blue bin.

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Kyle’s Kitchen: Green Building Bucket List

by Sustainable Kyle on June 23, 2011 · 0 comments

in Miscellaneous Schmidt,Sustainable Building Materials

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I’ve been busy at the office researching/googling a host of different aspects to green building–in the hopes of gathering research for my sustainable apartment kitchen project.  I have stumbled across a good amount of interesting websites and articles, and thought it would be a good idea to share it with you all.  My first “green building bucket list” goes as follows:

  • GreenPoint Rated: If you think you own a “green” home or are considering building one, try putting that “green”-ness to the test with the systemized rating system from The Green Building Council.  This GreenPoint Rated system certifies that the property you own or plan to build is more comfortable and healthier, while simultaneously lessening your impact on the environment.
  • PG&E sham(?): An interesting article from SFGate exposed a PG&E carbon offset program to be more marketing sham than sustainable function.  This “ClimateSmart program highlights the complex and murky relationships among big business, state regulators and conservation groups working on climate change – a relatively new and untested system in which a huge amount of money is traded without much public scrutiny.”
  • Noise Abatement: If you are looking for some way to muffle your neighbor’s noise next door, Keene Building has a line of products called Quiet Qurl that are made out of 40% recycled content and are designed to absorb sound in apartment or dormitory complexes.  This polymer matrix that you apply between walls or under flooring in conjunction with gypsum concrete can also help if you are looking for LEED certification.
  • Alternative Countertops: On the subject of kitchen countertops, few consider using butcher block.  ”Butcher block countertops are natural, beautiful, practical, renewable, economical, and, contrary to popular belief, one of the safest, most sanitary kitchen work surfaces available.” Helmut has also noted other cool alternative countertops to the traditional laminate or granite.

That is all I got for now. More soon.

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Apps to Save Our Planet

by Sustainable Nikos on June 21, 2011 · 0 comments

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Hi guys,

Today I sidetracked from my normal garbage duties and did some research to help make saving the environment a little more convenient… For Android and Apple users, that is. I searched through various websites, the Android App Market, and the App Store to find “green” applications for phones with the Android or Apple operating system. The point of this research was to inform you all about the various apps that can help one save the environment, as well as to learn more about the app market, with the hope of releasing an SRELP app. Here are my findings:

The vast majority of applications can be divided into 3 categories: 1) Apps that provide simple daily tips for one to help make one’s life more green; 2) Locator apps, or apps which help one locate environmentally friendly businesses; and 3) Calculator apps, which help one calculate ___ (water, carbon, power, etc.) usage– and in so doing, inform one as to the ways he or she may be using resources excessively. The vast majority of these applications focused upon carbon footprints, food sustainability, and phone energy optimization. As you may have guessed, there are many applications that provide the same exact services– services which, more often than not, are pretty useless. The lack of ingenuity in this fascinating field seems almost pathetic.

Despite the multitude of similar applications, a few stood out for providing more useful and unique information.

3rd Whale’s application Findgreen is a Locator app that helps the user find various green businesses in their area, provides an address, and notes whether the user can walk or ride a bike to get to said business. This application is available for Android and iPhone for $1.99.

Locavore is an application that lists what produce is in season, updating this list on a weekly basis, as well as telling you which businesses provide locally grown produce. This application is FREE for Android and iPhone.

Android provides an application called the Compost Calculator, an application which calculates the Carbon:Nitrogen ratio and moisture percentage in the user’s compost bin– helping the user create a compost mix that is most healthy and fertile for soil. This app costs $1.99.

The Goodguide available for both the Android and Apple operating systems, lists sustainable food and health products and includes the ability to take a picture of an item’s bar code and search the item’s sustainability or lack thereof. This application is FREE.

Smartmeter, which is available for the iPhone, is an app that allows one to search one’s energy usage, as well as the energy bill breakdown. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smartmeter/id332471201?mt=8

Granted, these applications are only as useful as the user, use– not simple ownership– of these apps, is really what helps one save the environment.

Enjoy your first day of summer!

Malachi

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Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything

by Sustainable Nikos on June 21, 2011 · 0 comments

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15.44. Percent, that is. The ultimate answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything (pertaining to garbage) is 15.44%.

As promised, I have finished my task of toiling through the records to find the rate of change for garbage prices at SRELP’s buildings! I have written these values into a handy xcel spreadsheet, and can now look through to find the rate at which our waste management prices have increased! The big number is: 15.44%. After sifting through old and rusty SRELP profit and loss ledgers, I have found the necessary data to find the percent change over the course of SRELP’s existence. I cataloged the data with columns ordered by location and rows ordered by year– and then took the percent change for each location, and logged it at the bottom of each column. I then averaged these percentages to come to the final percent change of 15.44%. The price of garbage management for SRELP has increased 15.44% since 2000. This number may not seem extremely large, but in reality, a 15.44% increase on many thousands of dollars is actually quite sizable. Hopefully, by the end of summer, I will be able to set up the garbage system at SRELP so that the 11 year increase will be tempered over the next 11 years.

Enough math jargon, lets get to some exciting news. First of all, it’s friday! Enjoy your weekend, turn off your energy sucking light bulbs and soak up the sun. Secondly, you no longer have to read my ramblings about accounting! And last but not least, I have called Golden Gate Disposal and Recycling Company, and set up a delivery date for a compost bin at our Bush street building! I will be meeting Steven from the Department of the Environment, and going to our building to distribute apartment-sized compost pails to the tenants, and to raise awareness about composting.

Until next time,

Malachi

(AKA Nikos)

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