This report includes a fan letter from someone who believes that the housing crisis will have a positive outcome: buyers are more aware of the importance of home durability and energy-efficiency. Click the video to play.

Help this project become an American Express Members Project and further its impact on the green rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina with $2.5 M in funding from American Express. Vote here .

We voted for Rebuilding New Orleans Green because I think that it has a substantial amount of influence on the US as a whole in regards to how Americans look at green building. The decision to build something that is sub par simply because it is affordable is very tempting, especially in the case of New Orleans, where many are still displaced as an effect of this natural disaster. To put such a strong effort into assuring that the rebuilding of the city is done in a smart way that responds to the climate is not only the right decision: it’s one that will reach the news channels and websites of more people that are skeptical of green design and prove benefits of going green as well as the ability of green building to be affordable/accessible to everyone if we work for the right solutions.

To help the people of New Orleans rebuild their city with healthy, energy efficient homes and schools. My goal: help 10,000 or more residents rebuild their homes with energy efficient, healthy materials that lower monthly bills; create green schools where students have higher test scores and lower asthma rates; and adopt a neighborhood in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans by creating a ‘green village’ with affordable homes, community services and solar power.

New Orleans still needs urgent help to rebuild as we approach the 3rd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Rising energy costs are increasingly hurting families, schools and businesses. And global warming and resulting sea level rise threaten all coastal cities. We can and must rebuild healthy, energy efficient homes for low-income families; create schools that improve learning and are partly powered by the sun; and help New Orleans be a national model for fighting climate change.

Help improve lives: Green schools and homes will improve the lives of thousands of children and families and help cash strapped schools and communities save money.

After Hurricane Katrina, I like most Americans watched in horror at the lack of government response to this terrible disaster. I was resolved to do something and I knew that from the ashes of tragedy could rise hope. I believe that by rebuilding New Orleans as a truly green city we can make a lasting difference to the lives of the people of New Orleans and create a city that can meet the challenges of climate change."

-quoted directly from site

Vote !

To further help “re-green” the city of Greensburg, Kansas, - 95 percent of the city was destroyed in a tornado - SunChips is taking another small step and encouraging others to join them in this cause.  For each person who adds the new SunChips Greensburg app to their Facebook profile, SunChips will donate $1 towards replanting the tree canopy destroyed in the tornado. With the goal to raise $50,000, every small step can make a big difference.

Visit www.SunChips.com to get the application and watch Greensburg on Planet Green.

Raise your hand if public transportation is not available along your commute.

Maybe you live really far from your office or maybe you live AND work in the suburbs… not so shocking. Or maybe public transportation is available and the thought of taking the bus to work makes you cringe. It is of growing awareness that some people’s standards argue that comfortable sterile air-conditioned car rides are the only way to get to and from work. Since this IS the United States of America and people CAN make their own decisions about the way they WANT to get to work and back home again… there is luckily a comfortable alternative to public transportation out there. It’s nothing new.

It’s called car-pooling. It’s what you used to do back when you needed a DD to get to the bar and back, for cub scout field trips, family camping voyages, vacations, etc. That, of course, was when driving to your vacation five states away was less expensive than flying. Anyway, today, this service is being organized on a much larger scale. Check out these sites that offer searches for carpools along your route. You can also start your own pool so others can join in later. Not only will you be reducing your carbon footprint, you will be saving mucho dinero (a lot of money, for the non-Spanish speakers) on gas. And who knows, you might make a friend or two as well.

eRideShare

carpool connect

iCarpool

Divide the Ride

Carpool Hub

Ride Search

High winds can destroy windmills, I guess… This one in Denmark emphasizes the strength of the energy of wind. Wow. Windmill Explosion

This SLO MO version has some cool discussion going on underneathe. Slo Mo

That’s right. I had to say something about this. (LOL) Check it out. http://asfaltsdjungelnsindianer.wordpress.com/in-english/

Having been a Bostonian for the past six years, and a native Massachusetts resident for life, I cannot help but notice the increase of people wearing green in the past few weeks. One group of teenagers went careening through an intersection waving their hats and shouting, “Go Celtics!” to the people waiting to cross the street and beeping their horn. People standing nearby cheered and pumped their fists in the air. Beyond the Celtics winning the NBA Championship, there is another green wave hitting the streets. We are all aware that the way we live effects how green we are. What Americans are only now beginning to seriously contemplate is that where we live effects how green we are.

In Los Angeles, where I’m sure green shirts and hats are banned for at least another few months, a green monsoon is ready to break through the skies. Maybe I should say, ‘Especially in LA’, where people are no stranger to the frequent brown-outs or occasional black-outs as an effect of over-consumption of energy. The dependency upon cars is also astounding in this city. The freeways stretch from the suburbs into the center of the city, meeting in a messy knot of overlapping off-ramps. The reason for the need for automobiles is simple: LA was built with the idea that you could drive in and out of the city and park at each building. Each building is surrounded by parking lots. The density of the city is greatly affected by the fact that each single building has a huge buffer for parking around it. Because buildings are so far apart, it is not feasible to walk or bike around. Walking across fields of asphalt in 90 + degree weather is like trying to exercise in a sauna. The population of LA has occupied an area many times larger than it should, and as a result, is working overtime to cure symptoms like 3 hour commutes to work… each way.

One way we can choose to greatly reduce our carbon footprint is to assess our daily commuting patterns and amount of land we consume. Studies have shown that people living in the city drive less than people who live in the suburbs. What’s even more interesting is that the more near the center of the city one lives, the less they drive. When I am visiting my parents, we drive to grocery store, the video rental store, restaurants, to get coffee, etc. It is not feasible to walk to any of those locations because it would take over an hour (and over 2 in some cases) to walk there and back. When I am at home, I walk to all of those locations with an occasional car trip to a superstore. The truth is that people who live far from the center of a city take an average of four times more car trips than those that live in the city. Their carbon footprint is also up to five times greater.

If you live in the… you produce use an average of this many BTUs/yr…

Suburbs 200-250

Suburbs with green living standards 150

Urban area 100

Urban area with green living standards 50

BTUs are British Thermal Units is a unit of energy used in the power, steam generation, and heating and air conditioning industries.

These differences are mostly due to the typical dwelling type of suburban and urban dwellers: the single-family detached home of the suburbs vs. the apartment. While single-families have to fend for themselves when it comes to heating and cooling, some of that effort is shared in a large apartment building, where hot air from the first floor can rise to help heat the above stories. The square footage of homes in the city are smaller per person, too, allowing the amount of energy used to heat and cool the space a person occupies to be substantially less than in the suburbs.

Not all hope is lost. In the past decade, land consumption has gone down 50%. Even still, the amount of land per person in the suburbs is far greater than in the city. One city person’s lifestyle effects only a small fraction of the land a suburban person effects.

All the while, American’s health and diet issues become of greater importance. The urban community sees far more activities like biking and walking to get to and from their daily destinations. As our recreational and mandatory activities become far more sedentary (watching television, working at a computer) we should reassess the situations we put ourselves in. If it is easier to walk to the grocery than drive and fight for parking on the street, we are more likely to choose to walk. If it is impossible to walk or just as easy to drive, we are more likely to choose to drive, based on our processes of finding the path of least resistance. But city living is not only about being forced to walk places. It is becoming more and more each day about enjoying the stroll through a nicely lit, café lined street in the evening, meeting people, community events and gatherings. Once cities were a great place to live… then they weren’t (industrial revolution)… but they are once again returning to the ways of the past: a strong sense of community with street-life culture that promotes a sustainable way of life.

The type of model LA followed when undergoing rapid development did not consider the walkability of the city. Heck, LA had only 3530 people in 1850 and in 158 years grew to a population of 1 million! I’m not sure growth like that could have been anticipated. Today, only 11% of LA commuters use public transit, in comparison to 53% in NYC. When buildings become strictly for one use (such as office, commercial, residential) they put a stress on the surrounding area to travel to get to it. By incorporating multi-use buildings, people can live, work and play in the same area. Our world that has become one that embraces traveling for work, vacations, weekend trips, family visits or even a night out on the town is becoming one that actually discourages the need to go the distance for such things. Cities need to review their structure and plan for better transportation options and revitalization/densification of certain areas in need of a cultural, social, and economic boost. The same methods can and should be applied to towns, even small ones. Are you involved in your town committies that review these options? If you can think of one part of town that has the potential to do more, maybe bringing street life back with multi-use facilities and safely lit sidewalks could do more than you hoped: revitalizing burnt-out economies and cutting neighborhood carbon footprints.

These guys are super cool. No doubt. I’ve watched several of their blogumentary videos so far, and not only are they funny, they are very informative about different environment-related issues and happenings on their one year trek around the US. This is their description of the project:

“YERT is an eco-blogumentary exploring America’s unique approach to sustainability. With camera in hand and tongue in cheek, we bring inspiring stories of the nation’s best (and weirdest) environmental progress. Visit www.yert.com to watch our videos.”

This is some great, green, educating entertainment.

There was no greater time I felt as connected to the ocean than while I lived in Hawai’i. Every year, Jack Johnson, a native of O’ahu, puts on a concert to benefit the Kokua Foundation, which he founded to help support educate children in Hawai’i’s school system about sustainability. Message in the Waves is a video by BBC Hawaii. Check it out for information on how all the trash we throw away winds up harming our oceans and all the animals that live there. There are a number of shocking facts you will find out about plastic shopping bags and other items that may have you thinking twice about those reusable canvas bags your local grocery now sells. Yes, you have to pay for them. But they aren’t going to kill turtles and seals while you are using them to bring groceries home week after week.

If you don’t want to buy them, an alternative is just bringing bags you currently own. I know I must have four canvas bags laying in the back of my closet that go unused. If you do, dust them off. You’ll feel better about checking out at the grocer next time. An afterthought: it’s always good to get your kids involved in as many meaningful projects as you can. What if you asked them to devise a replacement for plastic bags? Maybe they find the old canvas bags and decorate them in ’save the earth’ spirit.

Global Warming is a threat to us all. This goes into detail about what is in the near future for these cities and geographic monuments if we keep contributing pollution at our present rate. Wow, it is shocking. NYC, Death Valley, Tokyo, Virgin Islands, London, and on and on. London will most likely be under water within 100 years. Maybe learning about how your home will be affected will make you think twice about putting extra effort into living more green.

Not mentioned here is my dear old home of Waikiki. It’s going to be far under water after the ocean rises only one meter.