I've been spending more and more time in China since 2007, when I was first asked to help the China Entrepreneur Club develop standards for green companies. This year I spent Earth in Chengdu, an area that was hit very hard by a devastating 8.0 magnitude earthquake in May 2008. Here I'm pictured with Chinese mothers and grandmothers who lost their homes to that quake, and are now in new housing built by the Sichuan provincial goverment. You can see more photos from my trip by checking out my Flickr stream. And you can read a full report of the work I've been doing in China by clicking here.
Friday, May 7, 2010
My work in China is Greener than Ever!
I've been spending more and more time in China since 2007, when I was first asked to help the China Entrepreneur Club develop standards for green companies. This year I spent Earth in Chengdu, an area that was hit very hard by a devastating 8.0 magnitude earthquake in May 2008. Here I'm pictured with Chinese mothers and grandmothers who lost their homes to that quake, and are now in new housing built by the Sichuan provincial goverment. You can see more photos from my trip by checking out my Flickr stream. And you can read a full report of the work I've been doing in China by clicking here.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Get Green Video Contest
By guest blogger, David Lanham, National Enviornmental Education FoundationAmericans account for roughly five percent of the world’s population, but use around twenty five percent of the world’s energy. With a majority of our energy resources coming from the use of fossil fuels, that’s a particularly substantial carbon footprint! If the rest of the world consumed as much per capita, we would need over five Earths to support the world’s current population.
Since the beginning of industrialization, worldwide energy consumption per capita has increased nine-fold. During the same time period, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by about 36%.
As a result of these factors, scientists are now pushing for a worldwide decrease in carbon emissions. Reducing your carbon footprint not only conserves energy and natural resources, it decreases the negative impacts that traditional behaviors have on the environment. In essence, your actions leave behind a cleaner and more sustainable Earth.
As the next generation of leaders, teens today have a better understanding of the environment and its importance than any other generation. Planet Connect is hoping to help teens become more aware of how they can make a lasting impact.
Planet Connect has just announced the Get Green Video Contest. We want you to make a creative video that shows how you are reducing your carbon footprint – whether it’s biking, using less water, walking more, etc. Prizes include an Apple MacBook, an iPad and more!
We know you can make a difference. Here’s your chance to inspire others. You can watch our video commercial at youtube.com/pcgetgreen and read the contest rules at planet-connect.org/getgreen
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Gardens in Gotham…GrowNYC® celebrates 40 Years!
Ever tasted an apple grown in the Big Apple? If not, talk to this week's Go Green Radio guest, Marcel Van Ooyen, the Executive Director of GrowNYC - formerly the Council on the Environment of New York City. The NYC Greenmarket is the largest and most successful open-air farmers markets program in the country. Since 1970, this organization has been improving New York City's quality of life through environmental programs that transform communities block by block, and empower all New Yorkers to secure a clean and healthy environment for future generations. GrowNYC rolls up its sleeves alongside NYC residents to provide access to healthy, fresh, local food for all New Yorkers; grow and maintain vibrant green spaces and community gardens; help New Yorkers recycle more and reduce waste; and create the next generation of environmental leaders through hands-on education programs. If a city of 10 million people can make a community garden and farmers market program work, so can yours! Check out their website at www.cenyc.org.Marcel joins Go Green Radio live on Friday, March 19 from 9-10 a.m. Pacific/ noon-1 p.m. Eastern on www.VoiceAmerica.com.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
CALGREEN …Public Policy the Way it Should Be
On October 14, 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger defied some of the most powerful environmental interest groups in California and the nation by vetoing AB 888, sponsored by Assemblyman Lieu. The subject matter of the bill was to create statute requiring green building standards, relying heavily upon the standards outlined in the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. The USGBC holds annual conferences that draw over 20,000 people to one venue for a week...I daresay that's a few more people than I've seen at any political party conventions. My point is, the USGBC is big and powerful. It was no small thing that this bill was vetoed, and the Governor deserves a lot of credit for doing that. His veto paved the way for a regulatory policy process that is far better than what could have been achieved through this legislation, and I believe the end result of that process will be very good for California and our business community.
It's important to note that there is nothing inherently wrong with the USGBC's LEED standards. On the contrary, their guidelines for creating energy efficient, sustainable buildings are very well-researched and are backed by some of the world's top architects. However, there are some shortcomings to the LEED program that would make it inappropriate for statutory purposes in California. First, it's very costly to pay for accreditation; the fees are quite steep. The USGBC is a nonprofit organization, and, besides grants from the government, they fund their staffing and DC offices, in large part, through fees builders pay to be accredited. Second, LEED standards favor building materials that are not locally sourced in California, which means higher costs and greater emissions to transport materials from outside our state. Last, LEED standards do not address California-specific issues that must be incorporated into any responsible CA building code, e.g. seismic conditions, etc. The Governor's veto message on AB888 is worth reading, as it clearly defines his perspective in protecting California interests.
Since that veto, the California Building Standards Commission (BSC) has worked with industry leaders to develop "the most stringent, environmentally friendly building code standards of any state in the nation," writes Marisa Lagos of the SF Chronicle. Anyone who has trod the Sacramento sidewalks looking for campaign donations will recognize the following line up of organizations involved in creating CALGREEN: Cal Chamber; CA Building Industry Association (CBIA); and CA Business Properties Association (CBPA). Essentially, the regulating body, BSC, worked in collaboration with those who would be regulated, CBPA et al, to develop regulations that won't break the bank of our building industry, but will conserve water, energy and other natural resources for future generations.
This week, I interviewed Matthew Hargrove, Sr. VP of Governmental Affairs at CBPA regarding CALGREEN, and I think you'll be enlightened and encouraged by his remarks:
1. How is the BSC's recent adoption of green building standards good for CA businesses?
If you believe that businesses can achieve profitability through sustainability then all sectors of should benefit by the adoption of CALGREEN. Those benefits will mainly be seen in lower electrical bills and lower water bills for new buildings. Done correctly and cost-effectively, not only does it help the environment, it will help the bottom line; as they say, be a "win-win." We have chosen to work closely with the state to ensure that through a consensus-based process with all stakeholders welcome at the table, green building codes are environmentally strict, while remaining cost effective and technologically feasible. Having a clear statewide standard will help our companies avoid unnecessary environmental lawsuits, have more consistent standards across the state so we don't have to deal with a different code in every jurisdiction, and allow us to meet some of the statewide regulatory mandates that are heading our way.
2. There are those who advocate that states and local governments simply adopt the USGBC's LEED standards for green building ordinances. Why didn't the BSC take that route?
The state has a responsibility for writing and maintaining building codes for the state. In a show of "good government" the state is fulfilling its responsibility to keep the code writing process in the public domain as a basic service of government, which maintains transparency, cost-effectiveness, and technological feasibility. Additionally, many have raised Constitutional issues with the notion of public entities delegating such authority to a closed process. Most builders and policymakers I have spoken with do not believe that GALGREEN and LEED standards are in conflict, and in fact believe that they will be very complimentary of one another.
3 . A lot of candidates for office will be coming to your organization and Jobs PAC for campaign funding in 2010. For candidates who want to succeed in getting financial backing, what should they know about the BSC's green building standards?
I cannot speak for Jobs PAC. However, I think the business community generally hopes that policymakers focus on pragmatic policies that will help create jobs by improving California's business climate. CALGREEN is an example of a pragmatic regulatory process that took into account expert opinion from the regulated industry and was critically looked at to make sure it was cost-effective and technologically feasible.
It's important to note that there is nothing inherently wrong with the USGBC's LEED standards. On the contrary, their guidelines for creating energy efficient, sustainable buildings are very well-researched and are backed by some of the world's top architects. However, there are some shortcomings to the LEED program that would make it inappropriate for statutory purposes in California. First, it's very costly to pay for accreditation; the fees are quite steep. The USGBC is a nonprofit organization, and, besides grants from the government, they fund their staffing and DC offices, in large part, through fees builders pay to be accredited. Second, LEED standards favor building materials that are not locally sourced in California, which means higher costs and greater emissions to transport materials from outside our state. Last, LEED standards do not address California-specific issues that must be incorporated into any responsible CA building code, e.g. seismic conditions, etc. The Governor's veto message on AB888 is worth reading, as it clearly defines his perspective in protecting California interests.
Since that veto, the California Building Standards Commission (BSC) has worked with industry leaders to develop "the most stringent, environmentally friendly building code standards of any state in the nation," writes Marisa Lagos of the SF Chronicle. Anyone who has trod the Sacramento sidewalks looking for campaign donations will recognize the following line up of organizations involved in creating CALGREEN: Cal Chamber; CA Building Industry Association (CBIA); and CA Business Properties Association (CBPA). Essentially, the regulating body, BSC, worked in collaboration with those who would be regulated, CBPA et al, to develop regulations that won't break the bank of our building industry, but will conserve water, energy and other natural resources for future generations.
This week, I interviewed Matthew Hargrove, Sr. VP of Governmental Affairs at CBPA regarding CALGREEN, and I think you'll be enlightened and encouraged by his remarks:
1. How is the BSC's recent adoption of green building standards good for CA businesses?
If you believe that businesses can achieve profitability through sustainability then all sectors of should benefit by the adoption of CALGREEN. Those benefits will mainly be seen in lower electrical bills and lower water bills for new buildings. Done correctly and cost-effectively, not only does it help the environment, it will help the bottom line; as they say, be a "win-win." We have chosen to work closely with the state to ensure that through a consensus-based process with all stakeholders welcome at the table, green building codes are environmentally strict, while remaining cost effective and technologically feasible. Having a clear statewide standard will help our companies avoid unnecessary environmental lawsuits, have more consistent standards across the state so we don't have to deal with a different code in every jurisdiction, and allow us to meet some of the statewide regulatory mandates that are heading our way.
2. There are those who advocate that states and local governments simply adopt the USGBC's LEED standards for green building ordinances. Why didn't the BSC take that route?
The state has a responsibility for writing and maintaining building codes for the state. In a show of "good government" the state is fulfilling its responsibility to keep the code writing process in the public domain as a basic service of government, which maintains transparency, cost-effectiveness, and technological feasibility. Additionally, many have raised Constitutional issues with the notion of public entities delegating such authority to a closed process. Most builders and policymakers I have spoken with do not believe that GALGREEN and LEED standards are in conflict, and in fact believe that they will be very complimentary of one another.
3 . A lot of candidates for office will be coming to your organization and Jobs PAC for campaign funding in 2010. For candidates who want to succeed in getting financial backing, what should they know about the BSC's green building standards?
I cannot speak for Jobs PAC. However, I think the business community generally hopes that policymakers focus on pragmatic policies that will help create jobs by improving California's business climate. CALGREEN is an example of a pragmatic regulatory process that took into account expert opinion from the regulated industry and was critically looked at to make sure it was cost-effective and technologically feasible.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Killing the H1N1 Virus with PURE Bioscience’s ‘Green’ Antimicrobial
Confused about all the conflicting reports about whether or not to use hand sanitizer this flu season? Wondering how effective non-toxic, “green” cleaners are against the H1N1 virus? Worried about the kinds of cleansers your family and pets are exposed to? Me, too!!! As a mother of three kids in public schools, I am very concerned about making sure my children remain healthy, despite the fact that we haven’t had access to H1N1 vaccines yet. Fortunately, Mike Krall, CEO of PURE Bioscience, has the information we’re all looking for.
Tune in to Go Green Radio this week, when I will ask Mike how his patented product, SDC, may very well be the most significant and environmentally safe answer to many of the public health threats of the 21st century…and most importantly…where we, the consumers, can get it! You can listen to the show live from 9-10 a.m. Pacific time on www.VoiceAmerica.com, or listen to the podcast later at http://tinyurl.com/kwnr9j.
Here's a handy widget to help you keep track of products the FDA says are making fraudulent claims to fight the H1N1 virus. Be a smart shopper!
Helpful links:
FDA information on fraudulent H1N1 Product Claims (includes a widget for your blog): http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm150305.htm#protection
CDC information on Swine Flu: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
PURE Bioscience: http://www.purebio.com/
Tune in to Go Green Radio this week, when I will ask Mike how his patented product, SDC, may very well be the most significant and environmentally safe answer to many of the public health threats of the 21st century…and most importantly…where we, the consumers, can get it! You can listen to the show live from 9-10 a.m. Pacific time on www.VoiceAmerica.com, or listen to the podcast later at http://tinyurl.com/kwnr9j.
Here's a handy widget to help you keep track of products the FDA says are making fraudulent claims to fight the H1N1 virus. Be a smart shopper!
Helpful links:
FDA information on fraudulent H1N1 Product Claims (includes a widget for your blog): http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm150305.htm#protection
CDC information on Swine Flu: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
PURE Bioscience: http://www.purebio.com/
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