Greening My Life: A Green Building Pioneer Takes on His Most Challenging Project

Editorial Reviews. Review. I couldn't put it down and read it in one day. Very inspiring! --Arthur Greening My Life: A Green Building Pioneer Takes on His Most Challenging Project - Kindle edition by David Gottfried. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks.
Table of contents

Bidets help eliminate the use of toilet paper, reducing sewer traffic and increasing possibilities of re-using water on-site. Point of use water treatment and heating improves both water quality and energy efficiency while reducing the amount of water in circulation. The use of non-sewage and greywater for on-site use such as site-irrigation will minimize demands on the local aquifer. Indoor Air Quality seeks to reduce volatile organic compounds, or VOC's, and other air impurities such as microbial contaminants. Buildings rely on a properly designed HVAC system to provide adequate ventilation and air filtration as well as isolate operations kitchens, dry cleaners, etc.

During the design and construction process choosing construction materials and interior finish products with zero or low emissions will improve IAQ. These gases can have a detrimental impact on occupants' health and productivity as well. Avoiding these products will increase a building's IEQ. Personal temperature and airflow control over the HVAC system coupled with a properly designed building envelope will also aid in increasing a building's thermal quality.

Creating a high performance luminous environment through the careful integration of natural and artificial light sources will improve on the lighting quality of a structure. No matter how sustainable a building may have been in its design and construction, it can only remain so if it is operated responsibly and maintained properly. Green architecture also seeks to reduce waste of energy, water and materials used during construction. Well-designed buildings also help reduce the amount of waste generated by the occupants as well, by providing on-site solutions such as compost bins to reduce matter going to landfills.

To reduce the impact on wells or water treatment plants, several options exist. Rainwater collectors are used for similar purposes.

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Centralized wastewater treatment systems can be costly and use a lot of energy. An alternative to this process is converting waste and wastewater into fertilizer, which avoids these costs and shows other benefits. By collecting human waste at the source and running it to a semi-centralized biogas plant with other biological waste, liquid fertilizer can be produced. This concept was demonstrated by a settlement in Lubeck Germany in the late s. Practices like these provide soil with organic nutrients and create carbon sinks that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, offsetting greenhouse gas emission.

Producing artificial fertilizer is also more costly in energy than this process. The most criticized issue about constructing environmentally friendly buildings is the price.


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Photo-voltaics, new appliances, and modern technologies tend to cost more money. The savings in money come from more efficient use of utilities which result in decreased energy bills. Also, higher worker or student productivity can be factored into savings and cost deductions.

Many countries have developed their own standards for green building or energy efficiency for buildings. Above some examples of building environmental assessment tools currently in use:.

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UNEP and Climate change [31]. UNEP works to facilitate the transition to low-carbon societies, support climate proofing efforts, improve understanding of climate change science, and raise public awareness about this global challenge.

Sustainable projects

Agenda 21 is a programme run by the United Nations UN related to sustainable development. It is a comprehensive blueprint of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the UN, governments, and major groups in every area in which humans impact on the environment. The number 21 refers to the 21st century. The process is also intended to allow the alignment of project goals with local conditions and priorities and to assist those involved in managing projects to measure and verify their progress.

For each individual Sub-Theme a core project indicator is defined along with guidance as to the relevance of that issue in the context of an individual project. Honest and yet always conscious of the nature of the relatively new Green Design frontier, this film weaves a narrative that makes you feel like you've witnessed the ups and downs of a beloved character growing up before your eyes. It is a great look at a pioneering event for those familiar with sustainable design as well as those who don't recycle. Build Green David Suzuki reports on a wide range of green buildings, from large community developments to mini-homes.

Norman Foster: Building on the green agenda

Biophilic Design A design revolution that connects buildings to the natural world, buildings where people feel and perform better. Designing A Great Neighborhood A model co-housing project, where future residents participate in the design of their own neighborhood. Aboriginal Architecture New structures in seven North American Native communities that reinterpret traditional forms for contemporary purposes.

Edens Lost and Found 4-part series that highlights models for urban transformation in the effort to make Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Seattle into sustainable cities.

Everything's Cool Examines the media strategies, on both sides, that have resulted in the US government's failure to take decisive action on global warming. The Ecological Footprint Dr. Mathis Wackernagel introduces the Ecological Footprint, a resource accounting tool that measures human demand on the Earth.

Build a Greener Adirondacks (Thrive) | Wild Center

Community by Design Good design of houses and neighborhoods builds community. Planet Neighborhood The latest in energy saving technology and good design. Design with the Sun Take a tour of passive solar homes and buildings. Building the Brookhaven House D.

Greening My Life – Book Review

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