Archive for the ‘Government’ category

The Real Deal : Miami’s First True Green House

May 13th, 2010

Last weekend I spent an afternoon at Albert Harum-Alvarez’s home.  He’s running for County Commissioner in District 8 in Miami-Dade County.  His home is known as the Green House in these neck of the woods for it’s truly sustainable building practices.   It’s generated so much buzz that he now hosts weekly open houses for residents to see how anyone of us can make a home sustainable and economical it we just think a little bit more about our surroundings.

The home took one year to build and 7 YEARS TO PERMIT!  The fundamental idea was to ‘plant’ a house and integrate it with the natural surroundings.  However, when you try to do things slightly different, even if different means logical and responsible, it’s an uphill battle from the beginning.  I won’t go into the tragic details of that ordeal, suffice to say there is still a lot of work to be done with our building codes.    I will however highlight some of the more compelling aspects of this beautiful home and show you how everyone can have a sustainable domicile.

The house was build east to west length wise so the south side is pretty open & the east and west sides are shaded.  This way the house is full of light for the bulk of the day – rises southeast, sets southwest.  It’s also built out of concrete with reduced their windstorm insurance dramatically.  Where would we be without our Florida hurricanes???

The following photos are only a fraction of the work and planning that went into building this home.  All in all his energy bills are a fraction of the average condo, let alone house.

7 types of grass were planted on the premises. Yes, that’s right, SEVEN.  The logic was to let them fight it out until the strongest, or perhaps a few of the stronger ones survive in different areas depending on sunlight and moisture.  That way they won’t have to be nursed year round and drain water supplies or require fertilizer.

The pool!  Heated with solar panels and a manageable size that doesn’t require huge amounts of energy to heat.

This is a computer powered toilet.  Why you might ask…low flow water to start and it’s also the shoot to a compost under the house that collects the waste and makes it useful fertilizer!

The pump house where all the water comes from typically hold water around  80-86 degrees because to the heat that is removed from the house.  The well is roughly 85 ft below ground.

Stunning cypress tree (I believe) that towered over everyone and probably has equally as impressive roots.  Provides great shade and absorbs a lot of water through the trunk and branches.  There are maple lychee, and cherry trees in the back yard.

A gargoyle in the ‘basement’ is area under the house…..just because.

Following the ‘cracker’ style of building (really, that’s what it’s called), vents are placed at the top of the rooms to ventilate the hot air out.  Air stacks up at 3 different levels, so even the windows are tall to let the hot air our and cool air in.  Very popular design from Key West and other areas that didn’t have ac back in the day.

East side of the house with a lovely patio and a path into the garden and pool. Delightful!

Wonderful afternoon with some truly remarkable people.  If he is this consciousnesses  about his home imagine what he’d be like as a commissioner!

Please check out his website and help Albert fight the good fight against over development and wasteful building/living practices that drain our very, very limited natural resources.

http://facebook.com/electAlbert
http://electAlbert.com

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Posted in Activism, Building, Government, Living, Renewable Energy, Sustainability, energy

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NUCLEAR POWER NEEDS STRONGER REGULATION

March 1st, 2010

Recently, the issue of nuclear power has come back into the forefront with the election of President Obama. The US is the largest producer of nuclear power with 104 reactors producing more than 20% of the entire electrical output in America. http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf41.html In reality, nuclear power has only come back to the forefront because for the most part no new reactors have been built during the last 30 years. However, it is now widely expected that 4 to 8 new nuclear reactors will be built by 2018.

The US Nuclear Energy Regulatory Commission (NRC) is a commission appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for 5 years. http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commfuncdesc.html

It is more than common knowledge that the biggest controversy surrounding nuclear power is the safety of the reactors and their effect on the communities surrounding them. Yet the commission appointed by the government to regulate these issues has passed off some of the more important industry decisions to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), which is essentially a global industry appointed governance. Their website boasts of 48 board members and includes representatives from 26 of the nation’s nuclear facilities. http://www.nei.org/aboutnei/governanceandleadership/

There are many industries that are regulated by government but maintain an internal commission to ensure the industry standards are beyond that requested by the people through government laws. It’s the NRC’s failure to hold companies responsible for unmonitored leaks and passing that responsibility off to the NEI that forced President Obama to introduce the Nuclear Release Notice Act http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:S.2348.RS: in an attempt to force the NRC to take a stronger stand in 2006. Unfortunately the bill never became law and now Obama is tackling the national issue of power conservation knowing the solution is nuclear power but unable to promise the American people that radiation will not contaminate their communities.

I don’t think there are many people anymore who argue that nuclear power is the energy of the future but its history is littered with terrible stories of the years of pain it has caused. What makes it worse is that all of these terrible stories are usually linked to mistakes that could have been prevented or minimized if reported. There have been a dozen or so operators that have voluntarily reported contamination since the national attention the industry received in 2006 but just like with steroids in baseball, I don’t think anyone believes everyone has come clean. If we are to really be able to move forward with nuclear energy the NRC needs regulate with a firmer hand and minimize the mistakes of the industry.

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USA needs to catch-up with Mexico in Biodegradable

February 26th, 2010

In August 2009, non-biodegradable plastic shopping bags were banned in Mexico City. Any yet we in the US are so behind the times, most people have to idea what what is going on with using biodegradable plastic products. San Francisco is ahead of the curve, but not too many other places. On company trying to make a difference is Wal-Mart. They set targets of reducing plastic bags in Mexican stores by 50 percent by 2013. Wal-Mart translates this into 237 million less bags per year. This would be 33 percent less bags by 2013.  Some other notable advancements outside the US include Montenegro imposing a tax on 1st January 2010 of 100 Euros per tonne on products made from ordinary plastic, but only 1 Euro per tonne on products made from biodegradable plastic tested according to ASTM D6954-04 or ASTM D6400-04 or EN 13432. Other countries having similar changes in their environmental laws include Argentina, Brazil, Mauritius, Slovenia, Romania, Hungary, Barbados and the United Arab Emirates.

So what is the real cost of using a biodegradable shopping bag? It may be more expensive that a normal plastic bag. But is the cost for an environmentally friendly bag not work a few extra cents? That’s all we are really talking, pennies.

There are some obvious facts that should help make the decision
* Biodegradable plastic bags are better for the environment
* Plastic will be in a landfill 300 years from now
* Plastics are clogging up our sewers and drains

What are the top reasons for using biodegradable bags?
1. Biodegradable bags return to the environment
As the bag breakdown, they turn into a mulch that can be asorbed back into a landfill. This is obviously better than sitting around for a couple hundred years. By breaking down, the bags will not enter the oceans and affect fish.

2. Biodegradable bags Break Down Faster
It will take only 1-3 years approximately for the bags to breakdown. If a plastic bags is not recycled, it will be here when your great great great great great great great grandchildren are build condos on top of landfills.

3. Biodegradable bags Are More Environmentally Friendly
The will be methane and mulch release back into the environment that can be used if properly handled in landfills.

4. Biodegradable bags are also Recyclable
This means that they can be reused if not turned over to a landfill.

5. Biodegradable bags will help third world countries clean up
many third world countries do not have the landfill and compost capabilities of developed countries. If the plastic bags are degradable, they not cause as much damage to the environment outside of landfills.

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Is Obama the Hero We Thought?

November 4th, 2009

Picture 6

I saw this article just a little while ago on my favorite HuffPo and can’t help but wonder what’s in store for the next few years.  Pretty sure it’s better than the past 8 and he’d definitely put together and superstar team, but are all the other economic and political woes too big?  The Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, has a Nobel Prize in Physics, so that can’t be anything less than a great start, right?

He’s created a President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, as depicted in this throwback pic ;)  and passed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 (need to do more research on that!).  My only question is of his appointee Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture who is in favor of locally grown foods (yea!), bet also favors GMOs (booo ;( )   But who can argue with the First Lady and her green thumb…and who can possibly look as cool as her gardening ?!?!!!  Not I.  Her garden cost only $180 and has produced 740 pounds of produce!  Best of all, the EPA is now regulating CO2 as a pollutant- woo hoo!

However, now deforestation (aka logging) and drilling are allowed in Alaska.  I’m not a fan of the drilling at all b/c it threatens nearby whales in the Beaufont Sea which migrate there twice a year.  You will soon come to realize GDB is a big, big fan of whales- more on that to come…

So the jury is out on whether Obama is a hero, but he is human, so he’s still got my vote for good intentions.

Peace Out!

GDB

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