The Edith Green Wendell Wyatt Building is being rededicated today after a $141 million renovation that should cut energy and water use in half. You can tour the building from 1-4 pm today and check out this video tour.

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Filed under: Environment, Sustainability, Green building

I got a chance to tour the Edith Green Wendell Wyatt Building in downtown Portland, where the federal government is finishing up a $141 million green building renovation.

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Filed under: Environment, Sustainability, Green building

The Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. homes built since 2000 are only using 2 percent more energy than older homes despite being 30 percent larger on average. How is that possible? Continue reading →

Filed under: Land, Energy efficiency, Green building, Small homes

How did a group of retired women raise the money to turn a contaminated gas station into the greenest of green buildings? Continue reading →

Filed under: Land, Green building, Outside The Box Stars

Laura Master and Michael Draper have a 2,800-square-foot home in southeast Portland. Until recently, they were using their garage to store a vintage car that needed work. But they decided they'd rather use the space as an art studio. So they sold the car and spent $130,000 to turn their garage into 480-square-foot green home.

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Filed under: Land use, Accessory Dwelling Units, Green building

I went on a small home tour in Portland last week and met Jordan Palmeri, a Oregon Department of Environmental Quality waste prevention specialist who oversaw this study about the environmental benefits of smaller homes.

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Filed under: Land use, Sustainability, Green building

So, I have a lot to learn about green homes...and how to tour more than one of them in a Saturday. I went on the Portland Build it Green! Home Tour this weekend. And when I say "home" tour I mean it. I only made it to one home – out of 21! (I also visited the June Key Delta Community Center, which was part of the tour and is taking the elite Living Building Challenge, but it's not technically a home.) Continue reading →

Filed under: Sustainability, Earth Advantage, Energy efficiency, Green building

Another Grist find. Earthbags offer a way of building "hobbit-hole" homes without cement: Continue reading →

Filed under: Sustainability, Green building

Well, well. Look who's adding a touch of green to mainstream home-building. Continue reading →

Filed under: Sustainability, Green building

Oregon State University's new Energy Center in Corvallis just hit two green-building firsts: It's is the first power plant in the nation and the first building on campus to receive a LEED platinum certification – the highest mark in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green-building rating system. Continue reading →

Filed under: Energy, Green building, LEED certification, Oregon State University