August 29, 2011 – 5:47 pm
It’s been three weeks. I remember pausing on August 8 for several moments to note that I felt a real sense of loss and sadness when I read that he had passed. I even talked with my family about it at dinner – a time when we share important happenings of the day. The huge [...]
Posted in building design professionals, BuildingGreen, environment, Environment and Human Health, green building products, green products, green schools, Greenbuild, greenwashing, Interface Carpet, interior design, interior finishes, Ray Anderson, sustainable building products
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Tagged building design professionals, BuildingGreen, environment, Environment and Human Health, green building products, Greenbuild, greenwashing, Interface Carpet, interior design, interior finishes, Ray Anderson, sustainable, sustainable building products, teaching sustainability, toxic building products
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During a lively discussion at the last SUN Group meeting (Sustainable Upstate Network), the topic turned to understanding the “why” behind clients’ resistance to making green and sustainable choices. One member said (to paraphrase) that LEED® is the problem. Clients are just chasing points without making informed and sensible decisions. If you’re chasing points, you’re missing [...]
Posted in building design professionals, BuildingGreen, economy, energy, environment, Environment and Human Health, green building products, green products, greenwashing, interior design, interior finishes, LEED Rating System, sustainable building products, sustainable communities, teaching sustainability, toxic building products
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Tagged building design professionals, economy, energy, environment, Environment and Human Health, green building products, greenwashing, interior design, interior finishes, LEED, LEED Rating System, sustainable, sustainable building products, sustainable communities, teaching sustainability, toxic building products
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A new green product certification? I was duped. When I received an email from a product manufacturer with this logo at the bottom, I thought, “Wow – am I missing something? Is LEED approving products now?” So, I spent the next half hour scouring the LEED web site, only to find that the term “LEED [...]
Posted in building design professionals, environment, Environment and Human Health, green building products, green products, greenwashing, interior design, interior finishes, LEED Compliant, LEED Rating System, sustainable building products, Uncategorized
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Tagged building design professionals, environment, Environment and Human Health, green building products, greenwashing, interior design, interior finishes, LEED Compliant, LEED Rating System, sustainable, sustainable building products
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Musing in Alaska I thought I was getting a break from sustainable musing when we went to Alaska on vacation recently. But, it wasn’t long before it kicked in. (Silly me – like I’m not going to think about climate change in the company of rapidly melting glaciers.) We were sitting in the theater at [...]
Reality Check I’m still haunted by the CNN report about Mossville, Louisiana. Here’s the bullet: A small economically-challenged town is surrounded by 14 chemical manufacturers – mostly chemicals used to manufacture plastics. To say that this is a cancer cluster is to put it mildly. In this report, a chemist reports her findings, verified by [...]
Posted in building design professionals, environment, greenwashing, Inc., interior design, interior finishes, Louisiana, PVC, sustainable building products, toxic building products, U.S. Green Building Council New York Upstate Chapter, Uncategorized, vinyl
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Tagged building design professionals, environment, Environment and Human Health, greenwashing, Inc., interior design, interior finishes, LEED, Louisiana, Mossville, PVC, sustainable building products, toxic building products, U.S. Green Building Council New York Upstate Chapter, vinyl
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“Sustainable” – a word that’s been overused in the last decade. And, what about “sustainable community”? What does it mean? How do you measure that? Many are trying to figure this out. Have you seen “America’s 50 Greenest Cities” according to Popular Science Magazine? The criteria? Energy from renewable resources, public transportation, air quality, number [...]
Posted in 12 Traits of Sustainable Communities, building design professionals, BuildingGreen, community engagement, economy, energy, environment, GreeningUSA, greenwashing, land use planning, social equity, sustainable building products, sustainable communities, sustainable schools, Syracuse NY, teaching sustainability, transportation, waste management, water
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Tagged 12 Traits of Sustainable Communities, building design professionals, BuildingGreen, community engagement, economy, energy, environment, GreeningUSA, greenwashing, land use planning, social equity, sustainable, sustainable communities, sustainable schools, teaching sustainability, transportation, waste management, water
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Building to be LEED-CertifiaBULL Let’s be clear – it’s not LEED if it’s not certified. That’s what I’ve been saying for quite some time now, in light of all the projects out there being “designed to LEED standards” or being designed to be “LEED certifiable”. At best, these terms are misleading – and at worst [...]
Posted in building design professionals, environment, greenwashing, interior design, interior finishes, sustainable building products, U.S. Green Building Council New York Upstate Chapter
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Tagged building design professionals, interior design, interior finishes, LEED, sustainable building products, U.S. Green Building Council New York Upstate Chapter
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time to revisit this conversation The only good thing to come from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a re-energized conversation about ending our addiction to oil. And, while Paul Roberts, author of The End of Oil warns environmental advocates about exploiting the Gulf oil spill, I disagree. It’s not exploitation. It’s [...]
Posted in building design professionals, environment, greenwashing, interior design, interior finishes, oil, petroleum production, PVC, sustainable building products, vinyl
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Tagged building design professionals, environment, greenwashing, interior design, interior finishes, oil, petroleum production, PVC, sustainable building products, vinyl
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Every day is “Earth Respect Day” I missed the opportunity to wish everyone a “Happy Earth Day” last week. But, then I remembered a poster I photographed at the Tarkington School of Excellence in southwest Chicago. It was being proudly displayed on a corridor wall. My visit to this school was part of a “green [...]
Posted in green schools, Greenbuild, interior design, interior finishes, Joint Schools Construction Board, sustainable schools, Syracuse NY, Syracuse Schools, Tarkington School of Excellence
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Tagged green schools, Greenbuild, interior design, interior finishes, Joint Schools Construction Board, LEED, sustainable schools, Syracuse Schools, Tarkington School of Excellence
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April 15, 2010 – 10:03 pm
What’s more important – our health or our wallet? It’s back in the news again. I recently saw it on a morning news show and in the newspaper. The scope and magnitude of this encounter with Chinese-manufactured products leaves me breathless – literally. Background In case this story has not yet found its way into [...]
