Transforming Tradition - Community revitalization through sustainable renovation & historic preservation
The National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior provides guidelines that the Green & Main Pilot Project follows as it merges energy efficient technology with historical preservation. This article provides links to various online resources for these areas.
The Week in Green is a series that highlights green technology, building science and sustainability.
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is an annual event held in Washington, D.C. It is a challenge that pits collegiate teams against one another to design, build and operate solar-powered houses. The winner of the challenge is the team that “best blends affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.”
The Week in Green is a series that highlights green technology, building science and sustainability in the news. SustainableBusiness.com reports that the private sector has invested over $2.4 trillion in green businesses since 2007, according to Ethical Markets Media. The Media group also anticipates a continued investment and commitment of nearly $1 trillion annually through 2020.
This week in Green: SmartPlanet features an article on Hobbit-inspired structures by Sun Joo Kim. The Hobbit House of Montana is a rentable guest house at $245 a night, located in Trout Creek, Montana. The owner of the property, Steve Michaels, was asked the question, “So, what inspired you to do this?”
As Kermit the Frog has said, it’s not easy being green. We at Green & Main are here to make that statement not true. Part of knowing how to make being green easier is to see the vastly different areas that are impacted by sustainable technologies and innovations. This article is a roundup of green technology, building science and sustainability news locally grown and wherever green news happens.
Our Monday postings include information on the integration of green technology and building science. The flavor of today’s posting is marinated with green jobs, the economy and how these jobs are developed for the short and long-term.
Monday, while the heat index was slated to reach 114 degrees, the concrete basement in the Green & Main building at 800 19th Street was poured by Rick Hogan Construction. The construction team brought in the concrete boom truck and positioned it to allow best access to the basement.
The other day I was helping the teenage son of a friend pick weeds out of the backyard brick patio. I took that moment to tell Owen about stormwater management and how, even though we live in a built environment, we are not separate from the world around us. We are responsible for managing and engineering ways that are compatible at the very least – and assistive at the very best – in creating a sustainable way to exist and thrive in tandem with one another.
Des Moines was privileged to host The National Main Streets Conference last week where 1,300 people convened over a four-day period. Events around Des Moines ranged from tours to evening outings. Green & Main was part of the on-site tours for historical and re-purposed buildings. Read how the Main Street Four Point Approach has benefited 45 Iowa communities.
More often than not, when I don’t see Steve Wilke-Shapiro at the Indigo Dawn office, I see him at Mars Café in the Drake neighborhood. When he mentions to me, as he did this morning, that he hasn’t seen me lately, it means he hasn’t seen me at Mars. And today he looks a bit different—he’s growing a beard. In true rehab fashion, Steve takes a seasonal approach to his temperature control needs, adding insulation layers on an as-needed basis.
Each day we have an opportunity to live the life we want to live, to explore, learn and grow. Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, also known as LOHAS, is an ever expanding group – more of a demographic really – that individually and collectively makes choices in our growing world of accountability and impact.
The trick—to reference my blog post of November 13th—is not to be overwhelmed by the enormity of any task. As a friend once said to me years ago, ‘How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.’
Collective visions are tough to come by, particularly in the face of competing needs, cultural and social commitments, economic infrastructures and layers of political policies. The facilitator of the meeting—a focus group on sustainability and the Des Moines region that was hosted by the Greater Des Moines Partnership—began with all things positive as the group members jumped in to the conversation, which flowed without pause.
On Tuesday afternoon (yesterday) I attended a focus group on sustainability and the Des Moines region that was hosted by the Greater Des Moines Partnership. A wide variety of interested people were in attendance, from a regional mayor to small- and medium-sized business owners, architects, city planners and those interested in what green space meant for this region and its inhabitants.
