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May 16, 2008
Ten defining principles for a true green community
There's a ton of buzz on green communities sprouting up everywhere, and while the US Green Building Council provides LEED standards for neighborhoods, it's not nearly the benchmark that the BioRegional Development Group provides. Their ten One Planet Living Communities principles start at zero net carbon and go from there:
Zero Carbon - Zero net CO2 commissions via on-site renewable energy, supplemented by off-site renewable energy if needed.
Zero Waste - Eliminate need for landfill or incineration, emphasize recycling and composting.
Sustainable Transport - Provide infrastructure not requiring private vehicles, offset air and car travel.
Local and Sustainable Materials - Use local, reclaimed, renewable and recycled materials in construction and products resulting in a net positive impact on the environment and local economy.
Local and Sustainable Food - Support local and low impact food production resulting in a net positive impact on the environment and local economy.
Sustainable Water - Reduce, re-use and recycle resulting in a net positive supply.
Natural Habitats and Wildlife - Protect or regenerate existing natural environments, create new habitats, resulting in a net positive impact.
Culture and Heritage - Preserve local and regional identity (ie local independent businesses, events, culture)
Equity and Fair Trade - Ensure that the community's impact on other communities is positive.
Health and Happiness - Promote healthy lifestyles and physical, mental and spiritual. See Copenhagen for an example.
As the map shows, only three modern-day communities qualify, and they don't even exist yet. Of course, the designations are a bit hypocritical in that these communities are built on farm land or wilderness, but achieving the ten principles despite that is nothing short of monumental.
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May 15, 2008
The first zero-energy community in North America?
Being that a zero-energy community means 100% renewable energy, that's no small claim to make. However, the renowned zero-energy development firm in the UK, Bioregional Development Group (profiled in the previous entry), is working with U.S. firm Codding Enterprises to build just that in Northern California, the first ever in Northern America.
The hypocrisy with these eco-villages are that they're built on greenfields - either farm land or wilderness, so in essence it's more urban sprawl. However, the 200-acre project, Sonoma Mountain Village, commencing in 2009 and ending in 2021 with zero-energy status, still provides a landmark model of sustainability that no other community can match.
With 1900 homes, more than half being multi-family, it doesn't look like a greenfield development either, but rather something you'd expect with urban infill. It's green features include:
- 35 units/acre residential density equals that of historic walkable urban neighborhoods.
- Roof-mounted solar panels will provide hot water, passive solar design will collect heat in the walls and floors during the day for distribution at night.
- Community-wide grid of geothermal heat pumps.
- Cisterns throughout will collect rain.
- Homes made with steel framing recycled from auto parts.
Read more in this Washington Post article.
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May 14, 2008
Zero-energy community in the UK
There's a lot of talk of zero-energy (100% renewable energy) urban communities, but not a lot of built examples. The Beddington Zero Energy Development, or BedZED as it's better known, is a rare exception, developed by the BioRegional Development Group, probably the world's leading sustainable development firm.
OK, so it may resemble a chicken farm on the surface, but it's a monumental achievement in sustainability. Completed in Wallington, South London in 2002, BedZED consists of 100 homes, and 15,000 s.f. of work space with major green features including:
- Five minutes' walk of a train station.
- 8000 s.f. of solar panels (pictured on roof).
- Wind-driven ventilation system (see colored wind cowls on roof).
- Green roofs.
- South-facing homes to take advantage of solar gain through triple-glazed windows.
- Rainwater catchment system.
- 40 electric cars with car sharing program.
- More details here.
The results compared to the UK average:
- 88% less space-heating requirements.
- 57% less hot-water consumption.
- 25% less electricity used, 11% produced by solar.
- 50% less mains-water consumption.
- 65% less residents' vehicle miles traveled.
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May 13, 2008
The first 100% fully wind-powered town in the U.S.
Rock Port, Missouri may only have a population of 1300, but it claims a title that no other community in the U.S. can - all of its energy is generated by a renewable resource. In fact, its four $90 million 1.25 MW wind turbines producing 16 million kilowatt hours annually leaves 3 million kilowatt hours in excess.
How was it financed?
That can best be explained via this CNN Money example involving five windmills, five farmers, and a total project cost of $10 million:
A creditor, like John Deere (extensive capital, farmer friendly) puts up $4,950,000. The farmers contribute just $10,000 each. The remaining $5 million comes from a bank loan.
The farmers' cooperative secures a contract to sell power to a local utility, then puts up the wind turbines. The projects are usually fairly small in scale, say 5 to 10 turbines producing 7.5 to 15 megawatts of power in total, or enough to power about 5,000 to 10,000 homes.
Deere gets the federal production tax credit of about 2 cents per kilowatt hour and just about all of the proceeds from selling the power for the first 10 years.
The farmers get a maintenance fee of about $20,000 a year each for managing the turbines - keeping the access roads plowed, calling technicians for repairs, handling the paper work with the utility.
After 10 years, when the loan is paid off and Deere has recouped its investment plus profit, the ownership structure flips, with the farmers becoming majority owners.
What's holding up other towns? The factories to build the huge wind turbines need subsidies to get off the ground, no different than our road system. Once the government extends a wind energy tax credit program for such production look for thousands of towns to join Rock Port.
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May 12, 2008
A third place for bicyclists
You may have heard about the cafe for bike commuters, but what about a hangout for casual riders? That's what two native local entrepreneurs had in mind when they opened the Little Red Bike Cafe in Portland, OR last year.
What makes it a bicyclist's third place?
- The bike-thru - Little Red Bike Cafe's version of the drive-thru (pictured behind the kids). Plus a 50 cent discount on your coffee if you bike.
- Lots of bike parking.
- A very well written and illustrated blog all about the kinds of food, events and culture bikers enjoy.
- Sandwiches called "Paperboy Special," "The Messenger" and the "Tandem Sandwich", with coffee delivered by Courier Coffee Roasters, "a Portland entrepreneur who brews a highly regarded roast and delivers his goods via his bicycle."
- On-site bicycle pumps.
- Bicycle repair kits for sale.
- Affordable prices.
- Bicyclists tend to be conscientious of the environment, thus the emphasis on local and organic produce whenever possible; homone, antibiotic and nitrate free meats; and cafe-free vegetarian fed eggs.
- Bike art everywhere!
Thanks to Luke Graven for the reference.
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