image credit: todaysfacilitymanager.com
We have written a lot about LEED here over the years, as it is a big part of Greensburg's identity as a model community. For those of you new to the lingo, LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is a "green" building certification process created by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1998, and there are over 7,000 buildings in the U.S. that have been certified under the program. LEED was designed to provide a framework for architects, engineers, builders, and building owners to identify and implement sustainable practices into the construction and operation of new and renovated buildings. Various aspects of the design, structure, and grounds are awarded points; the more points earned, the higher the certification level; in ascending order these are Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
Greensburg is fortunate to have the distinction of being home of the most LEED certified buildings per capita of any city. The following are Platinum: BTI-Greensburg (John Deere Dealership), SunChips/City of Greensburg Business Incubator, Kiowa County Schools, Kiowa County Memorial Hospital, and 5.4.7 Arts Center. Gold certified projects are the City of Greensburg Public Works Facility and the Kiowa County Courthouse remodel. For Silver we have the Kiowa County Maintenance Facility. And within the Certified category is Centera Bank. Completed projects awaiting certification are Kiowa County Commons and Greensburg City Hall, build to LEED Platinum specifications, and the Kiowa County Sheriff's Office which is registered and aiming for Silver certification.
We don't often see articles written that address what happens with LEED buildings post-certification, except perhaps in industry trade publications. Once you have a well-planned, energy efficient structure - then what? How do you ensure that the people who occupy the square footage are good stewards of the project? While folks in Greensburg are doing a great job of saving resources in our new buildings - to the tune of $200,000 annually for 13 of our biggest projects - there is always room for new and better ideas.
Last month we received an article by Ashley Halligan that offers five suggestions for how to keep a building performing well once the LEED certification process is completed. In Occupant Behavior: Five Keys to Meeting Environmental Performance Goals, Ashley offers great insights about how building owners can work with tenants to ensure that maximum benefit is realized. Even if you don't own or work in a LEED certified building, you can draw some good ideas from this piece. For example,
Energy usage and measurements can seem abstract. And a lack of understanding often results in a lack of interest. By making things clear, polished and simple, occupants are more likely to embrace the idea of energy conservation . . . Encourage engagement by providing tenants with the actual costs stemmed from energy use and charts demonstrating usage patterns. Demonstrate exactly how their habits affect overall consumption-and how changes in behavior can make a positive impact.
Raising awareness is just one of the great suggestions in the article - we invite you to read Ashley's article in its entirety. If you have additional ideas, we hope you will pass them on to us at info(at)greensburgreentown.org.
Ashley Halligan is facility management software analyst.
The link wasn't available when we went to press last week with our interview with NREL's Shanti Pless. Here's where you can find the full report: Rebuilding It Better: Greensburg, Kansas - High Performance Buildings Meeting Energy Savings Goals. Great job, everybody!
credit: Mother Earth NewsHere's a great opportunity for anyone who wants to learn about solar energy, from one of the most respected people in the field. Dan Chiras will present at an event on March 12 in St. Louis. National Electric Codes for Photovoltaic Systems is designed for energy professionals, educators, and everyday folks interested in installing a solar energy system. The workshop is co-sponsored by the Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association (MOSEIA) and Dan's company, The Evergreen Institute.
Dan and his team have been very helpful to GreenTown over the years since the tornado, and their advice has helped Greensburg residents save big on utility bills. We are impressed with his breadth and depth of knowledge. He has been working in the solar energy field since the 1970s, and is the author of dozens of great books on all aspects of energy efficiency and green building. On this website in 2009 we reviewed his book, The Natural House, and highly recommend it. When Dan lived in Boulder, the house he designed and built was so efficient that he didn't have to buy energy!
GreenTown Joplin made its public debut at this week's Expo sponsored by the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce. We shared booth space with Suzanne's Natural Foods; owner Suzanne Nelson is Co-Chair of the GreenTown Joplin committee. Staffing the booth and walking the floor of the Convention Center made it possible for us to visit with hundreds of people during the two-day event. It was very poignant and emotional to connect with folks 8 months after the tornado. We also encountered much optimism about the city's comeback.
The theme of this year's Expo was Remember.Rebuild.Rejoice. and many businesses incorporated this sentiment into their booth displays. GreenTown representatives distributed our new brochure (which summarizes the info on the Joplin website) to a lot of people and introduced the organization and its mission as we went from booth to booth. Our aim is to reach as many people as possible with information about sustainable rebuilding resources and options.
Traveling to Joplin from Greensburg for the Expo were Sarah Thyparambil and Barbara Summers, AmeriCorps interns who are working for Greensburg GreenTown for a year, and Catherine Hart, who is managing the GreenTown Joplin project. Joplin Committee Co-Chair Andrew Whitehead was on hand for both days of the Expo, and with his local connections he was able to get the word out to many interested people.
We are planning educational events for the spring and will keep readers here and on the GreenTown Joplin website posted as details are set.
Regular readers of this website know that we have been working with a group of sustainability-minded folks in Joplin since the end of last summer. We've convened a committee that meets monthly, which is hard at work implementing projects to help that community realize its sustainable potential.
Toward that end, we are delighted to share the new GreenTown Joplin website with you. No matter where you live, you'll find resources aplenty related to green building, energy savings, healthful living, and much more.
GreenTown Joplin is also "going public" in a big way this coming week through having a presence at the Expo sponsored by the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce. This year's theme is Remember. Rebuild. Rejoice. Greensburg GreenTown staff members will be on hand, alongside Joplin committee representatives, to introduce the new organization and offer resources to residents and business owners. It has long been a GreenTown goal to share what we have learned in Greensburg with other communities who are recovering from disaster. We are grateful and humbled to see this vision start to come to fruition in Joplin.
Image courtesy of Inhabitat.com
We thought we would start off the new year with a positive note with an blog series entitled Living Green Around the Globe. The articles will highlight sustainable communities around the world and what has made them successful. The first community we have chosen to highlight is the completely energy self-sufficient Samso Island.
Samso Island is located nine miles off mainland Denmark and has a population of approximately 4,000 people. In 1997, Samso won a national contest sponsored by the Danish Energy Agency to select the off-shore island with the best plan to become 100 percent energy-sustainable within a 10-year time frame. The island has gone from being 100 percent reliant on petroleum and coal in 1997 to being energy self-sufficient, utilizing only renewable sources, in 2003. The island is powered by 11 on-shore and 10 off-shore wind turbines. The turbines are either privately or cooperatively owned by Samso residents, or by the municipal government. The turbines make enough energy to meet the community's electricity demands, supply the island's entire public transportation system, and have a surplus to sell to other regions of Denmark.
It's not that the Samso residents have given up their cars and other usual modes of transport. The three ferries that connect the island with the mainland, for example, consume large sums of petroleum every day. But Samso sells more clean energy to the continent than it purchases in fossil fuels. Some farmers have adapted their tractors and other vehicles to consume ethanol or other fuels distilled from locally grown plants.
Samso also has four generators that run on the combustion of hay, which is abundant on the island. The generators are especially efficient because they produce both heat and electricity. Many homes have installed solar panels, geothermal heating, and boilers fuelled with biomass to eliminate carbon emissions. Some dairy farmers have gone as far as to connect a heat transfer mechanism to their collection tanks to prevent the warmth from the milk from dissipating into the air, and harnessing it instead to help heat their homes.
The residents of Samso who were initially hesitant to embrace the renewable energy and eco-friendly trend, have embraced the lifestyle and the positive changes that it has brought their community. They have found that it has boosted their local economy; in fact one in ten residents own a share in a wind turbine. Samso has become an eco-tourism hotspot and the Samso Energy Academy serves as a visitor and educational center for the many tourists. For more information on Samso and its sustainability initiatives please check out this article by Scientific American.
Readers may find it significant that a resident of Samso Island traveled all the way to Greensburg not long after the tornado in 2007 to offer support, share information about their projects, and check out the local Green Initiative.
Image courtesy of LeaveDebtBehind.com
Winter can mean expensive gas and energy bills, but that does not need to be the case. By following the simple tips below, you can reduce your energy use and better manage your heating bills. These tips will improve your home's comfort and save energy and money while doing the right thing for the environment.
Check out the following websites for more tips on reducing your energy bill this winter:
Energy Star Tips to Fight the Frost
Top Ten Tips to Cut Winter Energy Costs
Tips For Saving Money This Winter On Your Heating Bill
Thanks to all who've visited our website this past year. 2011 was a big year for GreenTown, full of transitions and projects and visitors. Rather than run a recap of the year's activities and media coverage, we thought we'd focus on the practical side of things and post links to stories from last year designed to help make day-to-day living more affordable and healthful.
Money-saving tips in and around the home
For those of you who haven't yet visited the Resources section of our website, we invite you to check it out! There is a plethora of information on energy efficiency, organizations devoted to sustainability, green building products, renewable energy, and much more. Readers who live in Kansas may be interested in our Kansas resources page.
This year we will continue to bring to your attention stories about our work related to sustainability in Greensburg and Joplin. Thank you for your ongoing interest and support. Wishing you all the best in 2012!
image credit: newessentialgreenliving.com
Let's take a tip from nature and just spend some time being. You don't have to do anything fancy or call it anything special. Just sit for a few moments and be. Let things be as they are. Ahhh.
The holiday season is unusually busy for many folks. And as beautiful as it might be to connect with family and cook and bake and give gifts, we can't keep up that intensity forever. The body likes to let down and decompress - just like nature. Nature isn't working hard all the time. There is a season for rest and fallowness. This is the body's version of sustainability.
If you need convincing, you can find lots of scientific medical evidence about the importance of slowing down and de-stressing.
Take a moment. Just sit. Just be. That's it.
Last month, GreenTown Project Manager Joah Bussert made a big move - from Greensburg to Denver. Joah had moved to Kansas from Chicago in the summer of 2009 as an AmeriCorps intern. He re-upped after his one year of service was concluded in order to continue his work overseeing the building of the Meadowlark House and contributing to other big projects for the organization.
Joah is an amazingly talented guy who brought a lot to his work in Greensburg. He is one of those people who can do pretty much whatever he puts his mind to. While we miss seeing him day-to-day, we are very grateful to have his continued support from Colorado. In addition to his affiliation with GreenTown, Joah will be also be working to obtain his licensure in architecture.
Given the challenges our country is dealing with, and the concerns that we all have, the willingness of individuals to give deeply of themselves and their lives, as Joah has in Greensburg and with GreenTown, is truly inspirational. We honor this level of selfless generosity and hold it out as an example of personal commitment and risk-taking for the good of the whole - something we can all feel really good about.
Photo credit Greensburg GreenTownHere in Greensburg we all know about the power of the wind. Though the wind can have devastating effects, it can also be harnessed for clean energy, something the town has taken advantage of through turbines. While turbines are great for a rural setting, it is unsafe to operate them in an urban area. In order for urban places to take advantage of the clean energy, the power generated by turbines must travel through power lines. Unfortunately, much of the power is lost during its journey from turbine to urban home.
However, there is a solution for transporting this cleanly generated energy in an efficient way. A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line can provide a way for moving energy generated in rural wind turbines to urban cities. It is the most efficient and cost effective way to move large amounts of electricity over long distances. A HVCD line provides lower electricity losses and a smaller footprint compared to alternating current (AC) lines. HVDC lines do have a downside. The lines require expensive power converters and have higher maintenance needs than AC lines. The costs, though, are balanced by the efficiency of clean energy transportation.
Image from http://www.grainbeltexpresscleanline.com/site/page/location
Clean Line Energy Partners is a company that wishes to utilize HVDC technology and build a line that would travel from western Kansas wind farms to cities in Missouri, Illinois, and farther east. The Houston-based company says the lack of transmission availability has prevented some Kansas wind farms from being further developed. They hope to overcome this by building the Grainbelt Express Clean Line, a 700 mile overhead HVDC line. The company has recently received unanimous approval from the Kansas Corporation Commission to conduct business as a public utility. This brings Clean Line Energy one step closer to construction of their proposed line.
The $2 billion project will be completely privately funded and run off fees from wind farms and those who purchase the energy, so it won't be a burden on Kansas taxpayers. Not only does the Grainbelt Express Clean Line promise to expand the use of clean wind energy, but it also will benefit the economy by providing new jobs. The construction of the line estimates the creation of 5,000 construction jobs and the operation and maintenance will go on to make approximately 500 jobs. The 3,500 megawatts of renewable energy traveling from western Kansas will be able to power up to 1.4 million homes. What an exciting opportunity for clean energy growth!
Dear Reader,
Will you partner with us for a sustainable future?
It is amazing how far we have come. Greensburg continues to impact our country and the world as an inspiring model of sustainability, thanks in large part to GreenTown's collaboration and partnership with the community.
We are now also working in Joplin, Missouri, where we have established our first affiliate with a dynamic vision to help make this city another sustainable showcase for the future. This is the next step toward a long-term vision of developing GreenTown sustainability centers in communities across the country.
Our work would not be possible without the generosity and support of people like you, and we are looking forward to collaborating with you in this exciting stage of our development. Please join with us as a partner in this great adventure. The links below will take you to where you can make a contribution and find more information about our exciting projects.
Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!
Sincerely,
Daniel Wallach, Executive Director & Founder
To invest, or for more information:
Image from Lee's Summit, MO city websiteLet's celebrate our country's dedication to recycling today by pledging to take the extra step and sort out those cans, bottles, and boxes to reduce waste! Since 1997, Americans have been coming together on November 15 to promote education and motivation for recycling. Today is a day to get your community excited for what can be accomplished through cooperation and the benefits we receive socially, environmentally, and economically from recycling. Doreen on Mom Goes Green reminds us of a few great reasons to recycle, including reducing pollution, saving natural resources, and keeping trash out of landfills. She also lists some facts to think about. For example, glass takes over 4,000 years to decompose, but can be recycled forever!
You can learn more about America Recycles Day on their website and you can take a pledge to learn about recycling options in your community as well as to act to reduce your own personal waste by recycling a new material.
photo credit: www.stefanfalke.com
Now here's a unique career opportunity - managing America's Model Green Community. Greensburg will soon be hiring a new city administrator. Here is a link to the Recruitment Profile on the City's website with all the details. Deadline for applications is November 28. Page 10 of this document lists contact information for the position.
Greensburg is a town like no other. It's a fascinating place to work, and the Green Initiative continues to attract visitors from all throughout the world who come to learn and be inspired. The City is seeking candidates who are deeply committed to continuing the sustainable vision that was launched in the wake of the 2007 tornado. Please spread the word to qualified people who could fit the bill.
Readers who follow this website are no doubt familiar with the innovative German wall system used in our second eco-home (currently under construction), the Meadowlark House. The HIB-System's wooden building blocks are a sustainable and environmentally-friendly product, and the Meadowlark is the first project utilizing this cutting-edge technology in the United States. The walls have been tested in a German laboratory to withstand 180 m.p.h. winds and 8.0 earthquakes, and are completely biodegradable.
Last Monday, the Greensburg City Council signed a letter of intent with HIB which outlines the incentives the company will receive should they make Greensburg their North American headquarters. This is a big step for HIB and our community, and we wanted to share the history of this relationship, which has been a long time in the making.
Back in 2008, GreenTown started talking with HIB representatives, who were interested in having us use their product in a demonstration project. After many discussions, and feeling very impressed with their system, we included their product in the building specs as one of three options for the home design contest we sponsored in 2009 in association with FreeGreen.com. GreenTown Executive Director Daniel Wallach says, "We wanted their product because it's new and innovative, and that's what Greensburg is all about." Meadowlark House, designed by Steven Learner Studio and utilizing the HIB blocks, was selected as the winning design by our panels of judges, comprised of both Greensburg residents and renowned building industry professionals.
Rankings for the country's top architecture and design schools were recently announced by DesignIntelligence, a publication focused on emerging trends and best practices within the design industry. The rankings rate university programs around the country based on surveys of industry professionals and includes many different areas of study and expertise. Kansas State University received a number of top five rankings including the number one ranking in educating and preparing students with sustainable design principles (click here to read a press release from the university). K-State also placed second in developing analysis and planning skills, construction methods and materials training, and cross-disciplinary teamwork, third in overall design skills and communication skills, and fourth at computer applications skills. The graduate program in architecture ranked fifth overall in the country.
We want to congratulate the University on their efforts as well as their success at educating the designers of tomorrow. These students will bring much needed vision, optimisim and energy to creating more sustainable buildings, communities and cities for the future.
Students from K-State have used Greensburg as the basis for a number of different projects over the last 4 1/2 years. One undergraduate architecture studio designed and built a series of sustainable demonstration "cubes" for GreenTown and another studio created sustainable house designs (drawings and models of these are on display at our Green Visitors Center) which we were able to use as education tools for the residents and visitors we work with. A landscape architecture studio also created sustainable landscape designs for a previously proposed Big Well Museum design.
On a beautiful sun-drenched day this week, the Kiowa County Commons building held its grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony. There was a great turnout on November 1 for this much-anticipated occasion. The Commons houses the County Library, Historical Society, Media Center, and Kansas State Research and Extension offices. A special treat in the lobby of the building is a re-creation of the soda fountain from Hunter Drugs. While the drugstore was demolished in the tornado, much of the fountain was reclaimed and refurbished. Beloved soda jerk Dick Huckriede, who retired and moved to Pratt after the tornado, was on hand to serve up refreshments after the ribbon cutting.
Master of Ceremonies Matt Christenson announced that the building was completed to LEED Platinum specifications. But, this being Greensburg, home to more LEED buildings per capita than anywhere on the planet, that wasn't the focus as much as acknowledging the many people and companies that made brought the project to fruition. You can read more about the Commons in a piece written by Media Center Board President Jan West. And for the low-down on the building's sustainable features, check out our Sustainable Building Database. Highlights include a green roof, photovoltaics, 48 geothermal wells, and extensive natural daylighting. The building is truly a showpiece.
Standing, L-R: Willy Crane, Crane Home Energy; Bill White, MO State Representative, District 129; Ellen Nichols, M.D.; Suzanne Nelson, Suzanne's Natural Foods (co-chair); Shay Lower (guest); Russ Hopper, MARET Center. Seated, L-R: Ronda Headland, MO Dept. of Conservation; Andrew Whitehead, GreenTown Joplin (co-chair); Rachel McGowan, MSSU Student.
At an organizing meeting held October 27, GreenTown Joplin was officially launched! We have been working with folks from the Joplin community since the end of the summer, gauging interest in forming a local sustainability initiative. We've held several meetings and had much conversation, and have narrowed down the initial projects based on the priorities that have emerged.
Here are the program areas we are starting with:
Much as we have done here in Greensburg, we are setting up a system whereby people who are open to building sustainably can get the unbiased information they need. Information and one-to-one consulting will initially be available in two locations: Suzanne's Natural Foods (centrally located in Joplin), and Crowder College/MARET in Neosho, just south of town. (See the article below for detail about Crowder's long history of commitment to alternative and renewable energy.)
We are in the process of raising money for a sustainability resource center similar in purpose and scope to our Silo Eco-Home here in Kansas (which features a Green Visitors Center and a Bed and Breakfast suite). We have been working with the City of Joplin to secure the property where this facility will be constructed. Representatives from the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce have been enormously helpful as well.
In August, Greensburg welcomed the new high school Spanish teacher, Veronica Alarcon and her husband, Victor Lorente Miralles, to the community. Two weeks after making the move, Victor dropped by the Green Visitors Center to offer his time to GreenTown as a volunteer. As a bilingual speaker, he is opening up a whole new Spanish-speaking audience for us. With his wife's assistance, he got right to work translating some of our documents, including the Silo Eco-Home brochure, our GreenTour book, and a Wikipedia page. (We'll post links to these on the website as they become available.) Victor has also been a tour-guide-in-training, immersing himself in learning about the sustainable features of the local buildings, and shadowing GreenTown staff as we show visitors around town. Thanks to Victor, we are now able to offer guided tours in Spanish!
Greensburg GreenTown is a charitable nonprofit organization working in Greensburg, Kansas to rebuild the town following the devastating tornado in May of 2007.
