These are my links for May 12th through May 15th:
- Blueprint for green stores | Forum For The Future – "Stephen Heal, the company’s director of climate change programmes, says that the Cheetham Hill store’s carbon emissions should be 70% less than those of an average store of its size in 2006. The sixth Tesco supermarket with the ‘eco-store’ tag, it boasts a natural refrigeration system, a combined heat and power (CHP) plant, a timber frame and cladding, rooflights to allow natural daylight inside – and a ‘very good’ rating for the building on the BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) system. Investment costs were around 10% higher than a typical store – but fuel bills are predicted to be 48% lower."
- Burn the trees to save the world? | Forum For The Future – Great overview of biochar – pros and cons: "Today, many climatologists are as excited as agronomists about biochar. Professor Tim Lenton, from the UK’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, believes that, of all the large-scale solutions under discussion, biochar and reforestation stand out as the most viable options. Professor Johannes Lehmann, an eminent soil specialist from Cornell University, goes so far as to suggest that it is theoretically possible, by the end of this century, that we could capture 9.5 billion tonnes of carbon each year through biochar production in tropical agricultural systems. If we achieved that level of reduction, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide would actually be falling. It’s no wonder that, in January, Gaia hypothesist James Lovelock told New Scientist that “There is one way we could save ourselves, and that is through the massive burial of charcoal”. "
- Objectives – www.cecop.org.uk – via Guy Battle:
The Construction Emissions Community of Practice has the following objectives:
1. To support the propagation of carbon emissions reporting in building procurement.
2. To provide an accessible knowledge resource.
3. To advance theoretical discussion in techniques and methodology.
4. To support emissions prediction, monitoring and analysis for the reduction of emissions from the construction industry.
5. To establish protocols for building whole life emissions reporting towards comparability of case studies.
6. To utilise existing calculation tools, standards and widely available software wherever possible to support widespread adaptability of protocols within the construction industry.
7. To identify and promote best practice in data collection.
8. To accumulate and disseminate case studies to a broad construction audience
9. To demonstrate improvements to sustainability achieved through case studies
- David MacKay, energy star: “How many light bulbs?” « lightbucket – Another great post from Lightbucket, this time analysing what SDC have to say about David McKay: "Trying to read between the lines, I guess Rebecca Willis was trying to make a case against nuclear energy, but somehow ended up arguing against arithmetic instead. David MacKay remarks in a BBC article that “I am not pro-wind or pro-nuclear: I am just pro-arithmetic.” [10]. If I had to speculate about what she’d meant to say, my guess is that Rebecca Willis set out to make an anti-nuclear case, but just came across as anti-arithmetic."
- Planning Portal – Draft single policy for economic growth published – Consultation closes 28 July 2009: "The new PPS will, in its final form, replace PPG 4, PPG 5, PPS 6, and PPS 7 in relation to economic development and paragraphs 53, 54 and Annex D of PPG 13."
admin News agriculture, biochar, BREEAM, carbon, case_study, construction, costs, developing_world, development, economic, embodied, Energy, fuel, nuclear, planning, renewables, retail, rural, SDC, Tesco, UK, urban
These are my links for July 18th through July 21st:
- Cost Analysis of The Code for Sustainable Homes: Final Report – Planning, building and the environment – Communities and Local Government – Revisions to Cyril Sweett's initial cost analysis for specific credits in light of the finalised technical guidance on the Code
- Open the Floodgates: The Era of Green Building Litigation – Column | GreenerBuildings – July 3 – a new era of environmental litigation began. A group of HVAC and water heating equipment trade organizations, contractors and distributors sued the City of Albuquerque in federal district court to stop parts of the city's high performance buildin
- BuildingGreen.com – EBN: 17:7 – Counting Carbon: Understanding Carbon Footprints of Buildings – Lengthy but useful article on carbon footprinting of buildings (US oriented)
- » Green giant Free 2d-3d AutoCAD & 3DS Max object: architecture block detail for autocad & 3ds max Models – How M&S's Plan A translates to new store design.
- The Top 200 International Design Firms – ENR | McGraw-Hill Construction – Construction Industry, News Articles, Business Conditions & Analysis, Markets, Finance, Costs, Legislation, Government, Management, Labor, Construction Methods, Equipment & Material – Is it that time of the year again, again?
mel starrs News 100, analysis, BREEAM, buildings, carbon_footprint, cost, CSH, design, firms, green, legal, lists, M&S, retail, statistics, Top, US
What I’ve been reading about:
- NYREJ – What works there, can work here: “Green” lessons from around the world – Architects and engineers sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture by focusing too intently on individual (certification) programs. Architects should focus on some of the universal themes found to be successful abroad, pull appropriate concepts and apply
- BREEAM goes to Europe – Property Week – BREEAM Retail Europe will be launched in July and reviewed 12 months later. It will initially cover new and refurbished buildings, but will be extended to older shopping centres at a later date.
- Best Green Companies tables – The Times 50 Best Green Companies venture has both a robust methodology to measure environmental performance and a survey of each company’s staff to find out whether the green sheen is more than skin-deep.
- Departmental Energy: 19 May 2008: Written answers (TheyWorkForYou.com) – Want to know what the energy spend in UK prisons was for the past couple of years? TheyWorkForYou has the answer.
- BREEAM raises stakes – Property Week – ‘Outstanding’ will require an 85%-plus score, whereas ‘excellent’ requires 70%. The new category will set minimum requirements for water and energy consumption in developments. Occupiers will also be able to view compulsory post-construction certi
- Free guide to alternatives to uPVC windows – The guide makes the various cases for alternatives, especially timber and goes into the different aspects of each one in terms of environmental impact and energy efficiency. It can be downloaded free from Sustainable Homes website – www.sustainablehomes.c
- Renew or repair existing window units? A best value approach – "decisions of choice based on quality issues as well as capital cost have given rise to problems within the public sector, leading to financial loss for client organisations in instances where they have failed to adhere to statute or regulatory codes requ
mel starrs News awards, BREEAM, decision, domestic, Energy, environmental, Europe, Housing, LEED, making, models, outstanding, prisons, retail, spend, timber, times, UK, uPvc, windows
Recent Comments