Green Wednesday - 2008.0924

[Kevin]

Dear Designers, Builders, and Friends,

Green Wednesday, by the editors of ArchitectureWeek, brings you weekly green design and building news from around our planet.

Does the current crash in extreme investment vehicles mean we should use our money protecting the well-dressed financial pirates on Wall Street? Or could it be that there other, farther-sighted options for stimulation of a pillaged economy?

It's been clear for a while that a few hundred billions of dollars in focused investment on environmental transformation could provide a crucial acceleration of our efforts to avert the worst climate disaster. And, as we've documented, that investment should pay off handsomely across the triple bottom line.

At least the EU is saying that financial crisis doesn't pre-empt the need to retool for lower carbon emissions...

"The global financial crisis is no reason to water down the
European Union's flagship plan to fight climate change, the
bloc's environment chief said on Wednesday.

"Even before the current financial meltdown, many EU
companies said the programme, involving cuts in greenhouse
gas emissions, would hurt them by boosting costs.

"Some EU officials now say privately the economic downturn
highlighted by bankruptcies and takeovers in the financial
sector may lead the bloc to adopt a less ambitious plan as
governments feel pressure from slowing economies.

"EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas brushed off the
suggestions.

"'The financial crisis is here one day and it is gone another
day. But the climate crisis will be there always and we must
face it,' Dimas told reporters after a meeting with Polish
Environment Minister Maciej Nowicki."

Crisis No Reason to Dilute Climate Plan - EU - Reuters, 2008.0924
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLO100669

So far so good. Now... what if there's a single response available that can effectively address both at once? Can we remember when the U.S. used the Community Reivestment Act to improve its way out of our last Great Depression?


Green and Sustainable Design and Building News This Week
--------------------------------------------------------
Nuclear Energy: Assessing the Emissions - Nature, 2008.0924
http://www.nature.com/climate/2008/0810/full/climate.2008.99.html

Gulf States Plan for Nuclear Future - Nature, 2008.0924
http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080924/full/455438a.html

Portland, Oregon Named Number One Sustainable City -- Again - Oregon Public Broadcasting, 2008.0923
http://news.opb.org/article/3120-portland-number-one-sustainable-city-again/

Vancouver's Quest for Ecodensity - Canadian Architect, 2008.0922
http://www.canadianarchitect.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?story_id=832300154552&issue=08012008&PC=

National Home Builders Suit to Block Air Pollution Rule Dismissed - Media Newswire, 2008.0922
http://media-newswire.com/release_1073615.html

Chinese Eco-Cities - World Changing (blog), 2008.0922
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008674.html

Army Embracing 'Green' - Leaf Chronicle, 2008.0922
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080922/NEWS01/809220315

Common Birds in Global Decline - The Great Beyond, 2008.0922
http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2008/09/common_birds_in_global_decline.html

Sustainability Strategy: Rebuilt to Last - THOnline, 2008.0922
http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=216765

Ithaca College Building Gets Highest LEED Rating - AZoBuild, 2008.0922
http://www.azobuild.com/news.asp?newsID=5880

'Green' Building on Rise - Leaf Chronicle, 2008.0921
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080921/NEWS01/809210334

A Round House of Straw Bales - Mother Earth News, 2008.0920
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature-Community/1973-01-01/A-Round-House-of-Straw-Bales.aspx

Chicago Unveils Multifaceted Plan to Curb Emissions of Heat-Trapping Gases - New York Times, 2008.0919
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/us/19chicago.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The Home with Very Green Credentials That Takes Just a Fortnight to Build - Times & Star, 2008.0918
http://www.timesandstar.co.uk/news/business/1.242339

Developer Wants to Add Tall Turbine Tower to Portland's Skyline - KGW, 2008.0918
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_091708_news_wind_building.87c818e3.html

Home Depot Smart Home Receives LEED Platinum - Carolina Newswire, 2008.0918
http://carolinanewswire.com/news/News.cgi?database=001news.db&command=viewone&id=2010&op=t

Rammed Earth Stands Test of Time - Victoria Times-Colonist, 2008.0918
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/business/story.html?id=2f1d4a6c-fa9f-45b8-8f81-c9a5fa887154

After Construction, LEED Plaques Pay Off - Finance and Commerce, 2008.0917
http://www.finance-commerce.com/article.cfm/2008/09/18/After-construction-LEED-plaques-pay-off

Berkeley Approves City-Backed Loans for Solar Panels - New York Times, 2008.0917
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/us/18solar.html?adxnnl=1&ref=science&adxnnlx=1221753603-7Y1KTfJf2c9rYZurrkwZjw

Eco Innkeepers - Metropolis, 2008.0917
http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=3488

Green Issues Dominate Election - Nature, 2008.0917
http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080917/full/455268a.html

AIA Healthcare Awards 2008 - ArchitectureWeek, 2008.0917
http://www.archweek.com/2008/0917/news_1-1.html
At the CHA Women & Children's Hospital near Seoul, a
softness of natural light, organic elements, and curving
form tempers a sleek building of glass, aluminum, and
stainless steel. KMD Architects designed the facility, with
associate architect yo2 Architects, to provide uncluttered
respite from the surrounding neighborhood's visual noise.

The Cooper Union Expands Its Green Building Design Courses - Cooper Union press release, 2008.0917
http://www.archweek.com/2008/0917/press_release_1-1.html

California Academy of Sciences - San Jose Mercury News, 2008.0916
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10479930?source=most_emailed

California's New Green Rules Overview - Reed Construction Data, 2008.0915
http://www.acppubs.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6594599&article_prefix=CA&article_id=6594599

Builders Find Modern Inspiration Region's Un-Air-Conditioned Past - Florida Times-Union, 2008.0913
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/091308/lif_331532373.shtml

The New Tech Boom: Helping Buildings Go Green? - GlobeSt, 2008.0912
http://www.globest.com/news/1238_1238/insider/173749-1.html

Choosing the Greenest Building Material - San Francisco Chronicle, 2008.0910
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/05/HOTI12IQM2.DTL


People and Places by Nancy Novitski
Shen Milsom & Wilke in New York, New York - Mesick Coehn Wilson Baker Architects in Orange, Virginia - Peter Zumthor in Tokyo, Japan - Herzog & de Meuron in New York, New York - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Plano, Illinois - Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas - Wilkinson Eyre Architects in Oxford, England, United Kingdom - Kaseman Beckman Advanced Strategies in Arlington, Virginia - Frank Gehry in Princeton, New Jersey - OMA in New York, New York - HOK Sport in Monterrey, Mexico...
... short stories continue online:
http://www.ArchWeek.com/2008/0917/news_2-1.html

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SolidWorks 2009 Released - Dassalt Press Release, 2008.0918
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Bentley Launches Building Performance Group - Bentley Press Release, 2008.0917
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Waybe 3D Unfolding Plug-in Now Available for SketchUp - SketchUp Tips (blog), 2008.0914
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Civil 3D 2009 Extensions Available from Autodesk - ImaginIT, 2008.0912
http://rand.com/imaginit/1/rss/viewitem.asp?feedid=BLOGS_CIVIL_ALL&guid=470
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