GreenBuildIndiana

Green Construction Discussion and Networking Event June 11 in Indy

"Organizing is what you do before you do something so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up." --A.A. Milne

There are few things more difficult than organizing a green building effort: out-of-date building codes, conflicting community priorities, arcane state laws, politics, budget constraints, and old habits are just a few of the obstructions one must overcome. That's why I was thrilled to hear from Lena Lucas, founder of My Home Green Pages and Green Business Network in Indianapolis, about the event she is organizing on June 11th to bring several of the key players in Indiana to the table for a discussion of green building. Here are the details:

Date: June 11th, 5PM-9PM
Location: Indianapolis Columbia Club
Registration fee: Early bird - $25 till May 15th; $35 online preregister; $40 at the door (includes light dinner catering).
Registration web site

In Lena's words: "We are bringing together a panel of governmental officials from the Indiana office of energy, Indiana Housing & Community development authority (IHCDA), representatives from non-profit organizations such as the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and Central Indiana Clean Cities Alliance  to inform the local business community about available stimulus funds for Indiana weatherization and energy efficiency programs. This meeting is very important and will translate into new green jobs for local green construction professionals."

I plan to register for this myself (great that it's after business hours) and hope all green building professionals that want a place at the table will also register.  Thanks to Lena for organizing this emportant effort.

Art, Performance and Cars: Park(ing) Day Celebrated Nationwide

 

National Park(ing) Day, an occasion when parking spaces are taken over, blanketed with sod, and turned into "parks" and living spaces for a day,  was celebrated across the nation on September 19th.   It's a mix of performance art, public event, and block party that goes a long way to illustrate how much of our land is devoted to the automobile, and how much could be reclaimed.  The history of Parking Day began nearly concurrently in San Francisco and NYC, but Brooklyn claims the honor as the originator:

"On October 29th, 2005, Transportation Alternatives took over a parking spot on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Using basic materials, they created their first "parking spot squat", offering free bike parking and a place to sit and talk to friends and strangers alike. It was an immediate success, drawing crowds and attention from the press. Most importantly, it got people thinking about whether $.50 an hour was a fair price for such a useful piece of public space, and whether that space should be occupied by cars at all."

More great history of Parking Day is at the National Park(ing) Day website.  Thanks to Inhabitat for the news story and for picture shown here.

 

Green Earth Fair this Sunday in Naperville, IL

The 5th Annual Green Earth Fair is scheduled for Sunday, May 4, 2008 from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM at the Green Earth Institute's organic vegetable farm at 10S404 Knoch Knolls Road, Naperville, Illinois. Bring the family: activities, entertainment and education centered on earth-friendly practices in gardening and farming, tours of the organic farm and organic vegetable seedlings and native prairie plants will be available for sale.  Plus musicians!  exhibits!  A free event. The organic farm endures due to the generous donation of  Mrs. Lenore McDonald, "the stubborn farm owner on the south side of Naperville who—in the face of suburban development on all sides—declared that her land would remain in              agriculture."  Thank God for stubborn landowners.

 

Restoration

Whooping cranes have been spotted in a Kane County wetland, according to today's Chicago Tribune . 
Especially exciting is that the wetland was restored on the site of a former farm, and yet the birds read it as a wild space.   The whooping crane is an endangered species  and only about 200 exist in the wild.

"They obviously saw something they liked and they saw that it was isolated," said Ken Anderson, wetlands project manager for the county's Environmental Management Department. "There are no trails or anything around [the wetland] that would cause them to have some hesitation in stopping there.  It's almost an 'If you build it they will come' kind of thing," Anderson  said.

Photograph courtesy Luther Goldman/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Historic Bungalow Show and Green Home Expo coming up

Conscious Choice magazine notes the Historic Bungalow Show and Green Home Expo will be held at the Merchandise Mart on October 27 from 10am-4pm.  I worked the Illinois Solar Energy Association booth there last year, and it is a terrific event, just swarming with bungalow owners eager to know how to green up their homes:

"This free event draws thousands of Bungalow owners and green building enthusiasts to learn about buying, restoring and renovating Historic Chicago Bungalows. But it’s not just limited to Bungalow owners — attendees can learn about innovative green products and design techniques from the leaders of these industries. There will be more than 150 vendors and 15 seminars focused both on home restoration and green building technology — plus information on loans and grants for home purchase and rehab through the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association (HCBA) and the Department of Housing."   ---Conscious Choice

National Solar Tour Scheduled for October 6

Mark your calendars now for the National Solar Tour on Saturday, October 6.   

"The ASES National Solar Tour is the largest sustainable energy event in the U.S.  Now in its 12^th year, some 100,000 people across the nation will see how neighbors are using clean sources of energy to save on energy bills and protect the environment. Through a series of open-houses and informative tours participants learn about renewable energy options, energy efficient design, real-world costs, current rebates available, and other valuable insights." --American Solar Energy Society

2nd Annual North American Passive House Conference

The 2nd Annual North American Passive House Conference will be held in Urbana, Illinois on November 2-4, 2007, hosted by the folks at the E-coLab.  The PassivHaus is based on a design that originated in Germany, where over 6,000 of the homes have been built.  PassivHaus homes use a tiny fraction of the energy of conventional homes, while achieving outstanding indoor air quality.

Chicago Green Home Fair

Chicago's Department of the Environment is launching a series of events to introduce their new Chicago Green Home Program, a voluntary green home certification program.  This will no doubt help homeowners who add legitimate green features to their homes to increase their resale value.  This Saturday, July 21,    you can attend FREE seminars from 9:30 - 3:30, at the Chicago Center for Green Technology, at 445 N. Sacramento Blvd.   The DOE flyer promises "educational seminars from the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association and the Green Greystone initiative, guided tours of the Center for Green Technology, and [an] exhibitor floor of city agencies, products, manufacturers, retailers, and other homeowner resources designed to help green your residence!" 

We'll be there at the Illinois Solar Energy Association booth.

Zero Emission House

^{(1) Wind Catcher for summer ventilation (2) Solar Array for electricity and hot water (3) High Level of Insulation (4) Biomass Boiler}

The Offsite 2007 Exhibition is unveiling homes this week, designed to conform to Britain's new Code for Sustainable Homes.   Actual homes are being built to demonstrate that sustainability is commercially viable, while demonstrating:

• Leading-edge design
• Highest energy efficiency
• Renewable energy technologies
• Use of superior insulation
• Super-fast building process

Building progress of the model homes can be seen at the exhibition's Photo Blog.  Pictured here is the Kingspan Lighthouse.

Happy Earth Day Weekend from the Green Festival

We will be at the Green Festival
today and tomorrow, in the Illinois Solar Energy Association booth, #1401.