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specialmaggic's comments:
on Green Buildings
To the OPB staff-
Thank you thak you thank you. Your efforts are making our world a more sustainable each and every day. I hope i can make as much of a positive contribution with my own work. Lets here more about -The Shift-
May I recommend you talk to Doug Boleyn, Cascade Solar Consulting, (Green Home Guru Carbon trader)
Sandra Walden Real Energy Management (Solar for Schools)
John Patterson Mr Sun Solar (oldest solar installer owns Oregons first commercial net zero building)
Stuart Cowan, Apoiesis (founder of EcoTrust)
Robert Preus Abundant Renewable Energy (oregons only small wind manufacturer)
contact information provided if needed
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Green Buildings
Now this is hat Im talking about. This is exactly the type of thing we need to support as a community. Good job Steve, you have my support and anything I can do to help just drop me a line.
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Green Buildings
yes, green buildings also consider the other life forms we share this planet with. Although I am not aware of any LEED credits for this type of consideration one of the innovative credits we are looking at in a platinum green building we are working on in Clackamas County is certifing a portion of the land as a Backyard Habitat with the national wildlife federation.
http://www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife/
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Green Buildings
Contact me and I can provide you with some options. rjs@rjsholdingsinc.com The upfront cost of all this wonderful stuff has always been a thorn in my side but there are now solutions based on your needs and situations.
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Green Buildings
Amen!!
Energy Improvement mortgages allow for home and business owners to include 100% of the cost of energy efficiency upgrades (including onsite generation) into refiancing a green home.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=bldrs_lenders_raters.energy_efficient_mortgage
I think we need a program that resembles the efforts of sanomo county in California http://www.sonomacountyenergy.org/
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Green Buildings
tell them about Energy Star. They have an online area for a lighting calculator to demonstrate how much profit they are loosing with these wasteful activities.
also send them to the earth advantage center http://www.earthadvantage.org/ a few hours with those folks and I bet you'll be able to see the stars when you drive by LOL.
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Green Buildings
Please contact me rjs@rjsholdingsinc.com I may be in a position to help you develop your local source.
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Green Buildings
Awesome keep up the good work your an inspiration to us all
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Green Buildings
A: Q 1-3 http://www.b-e-f.org/index.php
A: B contact me rjs@rjsholdingsinc.com
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Green Buildings
Energystar.gov everything you need for your home, information and tools are free.
Contact me and I will help how I can robert@arkpdx.org
Depending on where you live their is information you can get from your local soil and water conservation districts. http://www.emswcd.org/
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Green Buildings
I agree. I think it would have been a more "sustainable" move if he built it in downtown Portland, but even just three years ago selling all these elements to a developer and building commission in Portland was alot to sale and I sure he did th best he could with what he had. I think he should lease out the building to the salem politicians as they all take the sustainable building advisor program class so they can understand how to implement policies which really reflect the values and principlies of a sustainable society.
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Green Buildings
i can help call or email me
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Green Buildings
1) The PDC has before them the concept of a 25 story urban vertical farm I designed based on the Vertical Farm project http://www.verticalfarm.com/. This concept is part of the plan for the Portland Sustainable Living Center. A project which I am pushing to be the beating heart of a living city. For details on how and why this is a crtical goal should check out http://www.thevenusproject.com/
2) I heard this morning about a movement in Troutdale to help feed the homeless. They should really consider doing thier own vertical farm project.
3) We have one problem in the world. We built a global civilization based on the artificial myth of superabundance, and this cannot be sustained. This is made clear in the www.storyofstuff.org. The science of sustainability gives us the principles, processes, and technologies to build an ecologically sustainable industrialized world.
4) The world is changing. We must act now to implement these principles into the very building codes and policies, which drive development, before living beyond our natural carrying capacity catches up with us and change happens without us being involved.
I am here to help in any way I can
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Green Buildings
1) We have also been working to help expand the garden at Concord Elementary (volunteers needed) and working to bring the programs and resources of the Oregon Green Schools program http://www.oregongreenschools.org/ and the Bonneville Environmental Foundations solar for schools program http://www.b-e-f.org/programs to develop a model that will turn all of our schools into lving building clean power plants.
2) If anyone gets out to the Sellwood neighborhood the Alliance for Reason and Knowledge has launched a campaign there called the buzz about climate change. An educational kiosk inside the Twin Paradox coffee shop on 17th ave, which provides information on what climate change is and practical tools on how people can make
For anyone interested my contact information is 503 875 5590
For social education and empowerment robert@arkpdx.org
For bringing homes and businesses to life or turning them into small power plants rjs@rjsholdingsinc.com
Please note the websites are under construction
You can also find me on Linked In and Facebook
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Green Buildings
Thanks for the moment on the soapbox.
1) Energy Star is the first step that leads to the Living Building Challenge. Energystar.gov has tons of practical and low cost tools for every household and has free training and a online portfolio manager for commercical buildings.
2) http://www.sustainlane.com/us-city-rankings/ describes what constitutes a sustainable city. Portland ranked first in the nation at 85% "there". I believe we have the social will to manifest as the worlds first fully sustainable city as a template for other cities and an example of how America can prosper as leaders of the fossil free world.
3) The people who can afford to do sustainable developments needs to make thos investments because that is the only way the people who need sustainability (our low income and sensitive citizens. Umpqua Bank has taken a leadership stance and started providing in cooperation with the Energy Trust www.energtrust.org to provide www.greenstreetloan.com
4) Education is key on this. To make my contribution I started in 2005 a TV program which has become Sustainable Today www.sustainabletoday.org and last year I founded the Allianc for Reason and Knowledge www.arkpdx.org, which among other things is hosting a forum called the Clackamas County Green Drinks. We are holding one from 5:30 -8pm at th Flying Pie Pizza 16691 SE Mcloughlin, Milwaukie. Tonight we are working with Growing Gardens http://growing-gardens.org, to create an outreach program based on their work in Multnomah county to help people start their own gardens.
posted 3 years, 12 months ago
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on Powerful Combination
It still amazes me that in the discussion of building a clean energy grid the thinking is all the same. Build big power plants and shipping power to the urban centers where the power is consumed. Insanity is defined by doing the same thing over again and expecting different results. I fail to see how these big wind farms or the hydro dams are any different than a coal or nuclear plant. Sure the generation is cleaner but certainly not any smarter, and little more sustainable.
Four years ago the city of Portland had a chance to show real leadership in this discussion when they were accepting bids for clean power generation. Instead they followed the pack and made a big investment in a wind farm in Eastern Oregon.
In my opinion the correct answer should have been and still is the agressive investment into onsite generation using a combination of wind, solar, and biofuels systems. We can use hydrogen fuel cells as a way to store energy, but a really smart grid would maximize the balance of supply and demand-ONSITE.
Oniste generations
*does not have the negative environmental impacts,
*does not have the associated costs of transmission,
*does create numerous local jobs
*does provide the experience which drives conservation efforts
*does provide a cost competitve option when transmission costs are added
Only when the onsite production capacities have been fully developed should upgrades in transmission, and consider investing in large wind farms. not very good news to large wind and power companies but a great idea for local sustainable contractors and renewable energy installers which makes up a greater portion of our business community.
Just my two cents
There are three current Linkedin discussion regarding topics related to this issue to follow.
Energy & Utilities Network
Building The 21st Century Smart Clean Energy Grid
Utility Smart Grid to Smart Homes
posted 4 years ago
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on The Efficiency Factor
There are 22 companies around the world manufacturing vertical axis wind turbine. We will be testing one particulatr type here in Portland this summer. More details will be made available as soon as it ironed out.
The costs of turning a typical portland home into a clean power plant is around $100K (estimated for conservation onsite energy, food and water production). Currently the closest program available is Umpqua Banks Green Street Lending program, though the state offers a SELP loan and there are other programs but nothing stamped for "living buildings" which is how this clean power pants would be individually classified.
Cost effectiveness depends on what costs your including. Unfortunately today many financial institutions do not recognize true costs in their loan calculations. The aforementioned are exemptions to the best of my knowledge.
posted 4 years ago
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on The Efficiency Factor
We need a New Way of Thinking About Energy
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-NO NEW TRANSMISSION LINES- Just like energy conservation is the most cost effective because it is energy we do not use, onsite generation of clean renewable energy is the most cost effective because it is the energy we do not send. The technologies exist through a hybrid combination of technologies to build the smart energy grid of the future from clusters of small community centered clean power plants. Imagine how far we could go if we spent all the money they want to spend on new transmission lines on turning our homes, our business, our schools, our government buildings, and even our bridges and highways into clean power plants. Sure we will need transmission lines both those should only be developed after the urban on site potential is maximized.
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-The facts of the matter on vertical axis wind technologies- The first question that might pop up in regards to new transmission is wind farms. Millions have already been spent to develop these remote locations for their clean power but in my humble opinion they where built with the same mind frame of “bigger is always better” that caused the problem which we know does not work. We need a “small is beautiful” frame of mind when envisioning the power grid of the future. The key element is the vertical axis wind technologies. Canadian studies show there is a power source in urban winds and where their big cousins work well on the farm, these machines are designed to augment solar and do so quite well in the urban environment. The technology has developed to the point beyond these being just pretty things to practical investments. In the coming weeks I will make this case in a much more real fashion
posted 4 years ago
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on The Efficiency Factor
- My Two Cents 2 of 2
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-Background- AA in natural resource management in 98 started a sustainable construction company in 2005 www.solutions21st.com; founded a sustainable educational public access TV program www.sustainabletoday.org in 06; I founded a clean tech research and development firm in 08 www.rjsholdingsinc.com; and this year founded a sustainable educational nonprofit www.arkpdx.org
robert@arkpdx.org 503 875 5590
posted 4 years ago
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on The Efficiency Factor
My two cents 1 of 2
- -Appliance Life Cycle- Energy Star says 5 years is old enough to consider a cost effective change although I am unsure whether or not life cycle costing was calculated.
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-Bob- Thanks for your work totally agree with the fact that educating people is a key element and it needs to happen in a fashion which is both positive and empowering yet real enough to bring attention to the fact the by saving every energy you do indeed save everything-including money
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-John- Individual involvement is KEY to addressing climate change. Not in a CO2 reduction capacity but by Bob's sustainable thinking paradigm. It took generations for us to adopt our current way of thinking and that was enforced by bombarding the public with media overexposure. It will take similar tactics and just as much time for us to repair the thinking which caused the problem. This thought adoption process can be artificially accelerated with a monumental project. I would like to propose that project is to transform the Portland/metro region into the worlds first FULLY sustainable city in the next seven years as a profitable example of how America can prosper as leaders of the fossil free world.
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-John- I totally disagree that to be in balance with the planet we have all become cave dwellers. Sustainable frameworks like the Natural Step, LEED, and the Living Building Challenge provide us through the mainstream adoption of the sustainable industry, the framework in which to build an eco-industrialized society, and it is all a matter of scale. Ever hear of micro industry?
posted 4 years ago
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