Sustainability As A Matter of Survival: 10 Years of Architecture for Humanity

Cameron Sinclair, co-founder of Architecture for Humanity explains how social, cultural and humanitarian design can offer innovative and sustainable solutions to the challenges faced by disadvantaged and devastated communities worldwide.

Duration : 0:45:50

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Technorati Tags: Architecture, Architecture for Humanity, building in disaster zones, Cameron Sinclair, design, humanitarian, humanitarian architecture, humanitarian design, Hurricane Katrina, royal society of arts, rsa, sustainability, sustainable architecture, sustainable building, the rsa

John Talbott, a pioneer of ecological and sustainable building talks about how he sees the Findhorn Ecovillage as a model for human settlements in the 21st century and beyond.

Duration : 0:1:24

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I came across this essay that was posted on the internet… do you think it was written by a 12-year-old? It seems to mature to me… (:
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The crunch of the red maple leaves echo all around you. The fragrance of fresh pine fills your nostrils. You spot a beautiful waterfall and decide to jump in for a splash. The roar of the water pounds on your eardrums and the water tastes like a cool breeze on your tongue. Suddenly, something brushes against your feet. Fish, you realize. In the forest, you are never alone. This picturesque scene describes the richness of Canada’s biodiversity.

Canada is endowed with a remarkable amount of natural assets. This biodiversity enriches and benefits the lives of Canadians in many ways. For example, Canada’s beautiful landscapes attract many tourists every year, and a large part of Canada’s revenues comes from its natural resources, like timber, minerals and fisheries. However, nature has more than just economic value to us. It allows us to understand our role in the Earth.

We are caretakers, not owners, of nature. All of our physical needs are dependent upon nature’s supply. A part of us can only be satisfied with being among trees and animals. The joy of being with nature is unique, it can even be medicinal; looking at trees and animals are natural cures when you are in emotional distress, as opposed to looking at cement buildings and parking lots. Nature makes people complete.

Every animal is part of a chain reaction and all species are interconnected. If even one was lost, the whole world could fall into shambles. If one part of the chain was broken, millions of animals could suffer the consequences.

Imagine you decide to revisit the waterfall after 30 years. You find that the fish are gone, the water has been polluted, and the forest has been cleared out. Who killed the fish? Who polluted the water? Who cut down the forest? We did. We have over-fished for food and for fun. We have over-logged and caused habitat loss, because we wanted the resources. We have polluted the water due to our irresponsible behavior. We have clogged up the waterfall with litter, showing no respect to nature. The original scene was picture perfect, so why did we wreck it? Why are we killing our Earth?

However, there is hope. Canada has converted only six percent of its forests to farms and cities, keeping more than 90 percent of its original forests. Around 140,000 species live in Canada, and the number is still increasing. It is important that we, as Canadians, do not take our nature for granted, but should strive to reduce the loss of biodiversity through conservation and sustainable use. Canada is an amazing place. So it’s possible, with the world’s help, to sustain biodiversity and keep our world-and Canada-as amazing as it is now.

(By Rachel Lin)

I think that a twelve year old could have written that with assistance from her parents.

Washington, D.C. / October 7, 2009
Representatives Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) and Russ Carnahan (D-Missouri) hosted a briefing with Swiss leaders in energy and environmental building design. “The Swiss were among the first to recognize what other countries have come to understand: that climate change is real and it threatens our economy, our environment, and our national security,” said Congresswoman Baldwin a Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Co-Chair of the Congressional Friends of Switzerland Caucus. “The Swiss model for reducing greenhouse gases and the MINERGIE Building Standard are examples we can all learn from and benefit from,” Baldwin said.
Over 300 people gathered for a briefing on Capitol Hill and a following evening event at the Embassy of Switzerland. The briefing was co-sponsored by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI). Key speakers included the Honorable Urs Ziswiler, Ambassador of Switzerland to the United States; Henry Green, President, National Institute of Building Sciences; Nick Beglinger, managing board member, MINERGIE ™ ; and Stephen Tanner, AIA, Intep LLC Minneapolis who is the architect of the first Passive House Standard building in the United States. At the evening event Kevin Morrow, National Green Building Program Manager, National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), joined the panel discussion, which was moderated by Zach Dobelbower, founder and President of the environmental consulting company EcoHouse.

Duration : 0:4:8

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Technorati Tags: energy-efficient buildings, green buildings, Minergie, Switzerland, ThinkSwiss

More information on the conference available at: http://www.sb11.org/
We hope to see many of you in Helsinki October 18-21, 2011.

Duration : 0:1:43

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Technorati Tags: Conference, iiSBE, RIL, sustainability, UNEP-SBCI, VTTCIB

PLEASE answer is you know its correct

1)The main sources of pollution of the Oconee River watershed come from fecal (animal waste) coliform bacteria that gets into the river from stormwater runoff on vast farmlands throughout the watershed. This can be deadly to humans if ingested or acquired through an open wound. Eating fish from the Oconee Basin is fine if it is cooked thoroughly.
The second biggest form of pollution in the river is Fertilizer runoff. This is measured by nitrogen parts per million found in collected samples regularly. The nitrogen from the fertilizers do the same thing to algae that it does to land plants: it causes abundant growth. The effect is two-fold:
1–The water becomes murkier from the algae growing in it. This inhibits sunlight’s path to the bottom of the river and destroys naturally occurring plantlife there, the bottom of the ecosystem.
2–The algae eventually dies and rots in the water, and as it decomposes, it pull oxygen out of the river, killing fish, especially large ones, and applies pressure to other wildlife dependent on the river.
The third largest source of pollution is sedimentation, typically caused by construction and urbanization. Loose dirt washes away with rainwater, clouding the river and eventually settling to the bottom at a faster rate than the river carries it away naturally. The clarity effects are the same as the algae effect, and the depth changes affect the flow and temperature of the river, stressing the ecosystem.

In this scenario, sustainability of __________ is/are threatened.
-the Oconee River
-naturally occurring plant and animal life in the Oconee River
-construction and urbanization around the Oconee River
-farmlands in the Oconee River watershed

2)Green building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources — energy, water, and materials — while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment. This is done through better choice of construction sites, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal — the complete building life cycle. Natural building, that can work together with green building, focuses on the use of natural materials that are available locally.
The related concepts of sustainable development and sustainability are necessary to green building. Effective green building can lead to 1–reduced operating costs by increasing productivity and using less energy and water, 2–improved public and occupant health due to improved indoor air quality, and 3–reduced environmental impacts by, for example, lessening storm water runoff and regions of increased heat levels around cities. People who practice green building often seek to achieve not only ecological but visual harmony between a structure and its surrounding environment. However, the appearance and style of sustainable buildings is not necessarily distinguishable from their less sustainable counterparts.

“Green Building” can have an effect on sustainability of earth’s systems by

-streamlining use of energy, water and building materials.
-improving indoor air quality.
-making housing more visually harmonious with the environment.
-building more homes closer together to save space.

3)Improperly handled waste can

-interfere with the succession of abiotic factors in a community.
-decrease the amount of diversity in an ecosystem.
-increase biodiversity in an ecosystem.
-Both a and b are correct.

4)Reuse is to Recycle as

-rainwater is to motor oil.
-motor oil is to computer hard drives.
-plastic grocery bags are to cardboard boxes.
-writing paper is to aluminum cans.

In this scenario sustainability of: naturally occuring plant and animal life is threatened.

3) Both a and b are correct
4) plastic grocery bags are to cardboard boxes

A class movie about how we can be sustainable when building.

Duration : 0:4:27

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Technorati Tags: eco-friendly

(October 7, 2009) Sarah Billington, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford, presents interdisciplinary Environmental Venture Project research on carbon-neutral sustainable bio-based composite building materials and bio-plastics sponsored in part by the Woods Institute for the Environment.

Stanford University
http://www.stanford.edu

Woods Institute for the Environment
http://woods.stanford.edu

Sarah Billington’s Research Page
http://www.stanford.edu/~billingt/Research.html

Woods Institute Environmental Venture Projects
http://woods.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/evp.php

Stanford University Channel on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/stanford

Duration : 0:23:43

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Technorati Tags: bio-based materials, bio-based plastics, carbon neutral materials, composite, ecosystems, environment, environmental venture, Global, interdisciplinary, management, research, Sarah Billington, Stanford, sustainable building, Woods Institute

Hemp Construction Info: http://www.Hempcrete.ca

Green News & PR: http://www.Hempr.com

Duration : 0:3:50

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Technorati Tags: 420, building with hemp, Buildings, carbon footprint, carbon neutral, diy solar panels, eco-friendly, ecologically friendly, everlast, focus diy, Go Green, green building, green building materials, green construction, green homes, green news, grow, grow hemp, hemcrete, hemp, hemp building, hemp canada, hemp gru, hemp homes, hemp house, hemp oil, hemp seeds, hempcrete, herer, house of pain, jack, MARIHUANA, MARIJUANA, NORML, sustainable, treehugger, vancouver hemp, weeds season 5

Produced by buildaroo.com (www.buildaroo.com)

Terramor, a sustainable community in Orange County, is one of the largest sustainable communities in the country. Built on 4000 acres of land, Terramor boasts 1,260 residences in 12 distinctive neighborhoods.

Sustainable features include:

Energy Efficiency and Reduced Carbon Emissions – EnergyStar appliances, photovoltaic panels integrated into the roofing, electric vehicle charging in garages, Live-Work units to bring services to the community and reduce carbon emissions resulting from commuting, architectural shades, natural ventilation, low-voltage outdoor lighting.

Water Efficiency – Irrigation is controlled by a weather-responsive centrally-controlled irrigation system of rain gauges which contributes to reduced water consumption and utility costs for maintaining the common areas, utilization of greywater to irrigate the landscape, use of drip irrigation, low-flow water fixtures.

Renewable Materials – Cocoon® insulation, which consists of at least 80 percent recycled material and is fire retardant

Locally Sourced Materials

Recycling of Construction Waste – Terramor Village builders diverted between 66%-74% of their construction waste from landfills, green waste or landscape clippings used as mulch

Air Quality – low VOC paints and coatings, formaldehyde free insulation and building materials

Landscaping – shade and tree canopies, drought tolerant plants, edible gardens with fruit bearing trees

Terramor’s energy program was aimed at reducing energy by 20%, but in reality, a whooping 30% was realized. In addition, Terramor was designed to save water by 20%, and this goal has also been exceeded.

Thanks to John Lehe from EDAW, a global design & planning firm, for giving us a tour of this amazing development.

Duration : 0:5:16

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Technorati Tags: buildaroo, buildaroo.com, building, cocoon insulation, drip irrigation, EDAW, Energy Efficiency, energystar, formaledehyde free, Green, green building, green community, greywater, locally sourced materials, low VOC, low-flow fixtures, photovoltaic panels, recycled insulation, recycling construction waste, reduced carbon emissions, renewable materials, sustainable building, sustainable community, terramor village, water efficiency