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This Year’s Super Bowl Will Be “Super Green”

Lennar — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:19:54 +0000

For the past 18 years, the NFL has been working to decrease the environmental footprint of the largest annual sporting event in the U.S. – the Super Bowl. This year, the NFL is trying to outdo itself yet again to make Super Bowl XLVI the greenest yet. As you can imagine, the Super Bowl with it’s jumbotrons, dazzling half time show, and NFL Experience theme park, uses a lot of electricity. To help reduce the impact of that energy consumption, the National Football League and the Indianapolis Super Bowl XLVI Host Committee are partnering with Green Mountain Energy to purchase 15,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy certificates (RECs) generated at wind farms in North Dakota to offset the power associated with the event. To engage fans and the Indianapolis community in these greening efforts and help address impacts outside Super Bowl operations, the NFL also organized the 1st & Green Environmental Challenge. Participants can track their carbon and water savings on the website and the winner of the challenge will be recognized on stage at the Super Bowl village. [Read this article]

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City of Houston Joins Better Buildings Challenge, Partners with Energy Department to Reduce Energy Waste and Boost Efficiency

Lennar — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:17:39 +0000

Building on President Obama’s call in the State of the Union address for a new era for American energy, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu joined with Houston Mayor Annise Parker to announce that Houston, Texas is joining the Better Buildings Challenge. Houston is the latest community to join the Challenge, a public-private partnership that seeks to improve energy efficiency 20 percent by 2020 in commercial, government, and school buildings across the country. As the newest Challenge community partner, the City of Houston is committing to improve energy efficiency across 30 million square feet of public and private buildings throughout the city. “Through the Better Buildings Challenge, the city of Houston is helping to boost manufacturing, create U.S. jobs, reduce pollution, and build an American economy that lasts,” said Secretary Chu. [Read this article]

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The National Mall Gets More Efficient LED Lighting

Lennar — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:15:14 +0000

The historic bronze streetlamps that line America’s front yard, the National Mall in Washington, D.C., are casting a new, more efficient glow. This week, they were retrofitted with LEDs (light emitting diodes), donated by lighting manufacturer Osram Sylvania and installed pro bono by the city’s electric utility Pepco. The bulbs replace the Mall’s high intensity discharge and CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) lighting. They’re expected to use up to 65% less energy and last up to 25 years. “Using energy-efficient LED light bulbs is an important way Americans can save money by saving energy,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in switching on the lights for the first time. [Read this article]

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Solar Decathlon Will Move To Orange County In 2013

Lennar — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:46:58 +0000

The U.S. Department of Energy’s worldwide competition to build solar-powered, highly energy-efficient homes will move to Orange County in 2013. The biennial Solar Decathlon had been held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., since its inception in 2002. “We wanted to find a way to extend the competition’s reach beyond D.C. and showcase energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies across the country,” DOE spokeswoman Jen Stutsman said. By moving it to Orange County Great Park, in Irvine, “we’ll be able to reach millions of Southern Californians and demonstrate for a new audience the benefits that come with energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.” The DOE selected Orange County Great Park through a national competition. The site was chosen for its ability to accommodate 20 houses, its visitor parking and easy freeway access, as well as favorable weather conditions. For the Solar Decathlon, 20 teams from colleges and universities across the United States and the world spend two years designing, constructing and testing home designs that combine affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence. [Read this article]

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Sustainable Cities Take Center Stage

Lennar — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:44:45 +0000

While national governments grapple with economic issues and policy gridlocks, pushing sustainability measures to the side, cities are picking up the mantle. Some of the world’s largest cities are emerging as laboratories of innovative technologies, business models, and efficiency measures, many of them with salutary environmental and social outcomes. To the extent that the green economy flourishes, it is becoming clearer that it will likely be a bottom-up, grassroots evolution. It makes sense. Cities are where more than half the global population lives. During 2011, the role of cities in sustainability became increasingly evident. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former President Bill Clinton merged their respective sustainable city initiatives to create the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a network of large cities around the world committed to implementing climate-related actions at the local level. The combined group, in turn, formed a partnership with the World Bank to help cities accelerate actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [Read this article]

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Ranking California Cities By Their Solar Footprint

Lennar — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:42:26 +0000

Which California city currently has more solar power installations within its boundaries and generates more solar energy than any other? Here’s a hint: it’s not Los Angeles. San Diego is the California leader when it comes to solar power, according to a new statewide analysis that will be unveiled by the Environment California Research and Policy Center. In 2011, San Diego had 4,507 solar power installations, generating almost 36.7 megawatts of power from the sun. To put that in perspective, Environment California said that would be enough to rank San Diego among the top 25 nations in the world. Los Angeles was second in the rankings, with 4,018 installations and a little less than 36.2 megawatts. San Jose was third, with more than 2,700 installations and 31MW. The report focuses on solar photovoltaic installations that are mostly owned by ratepayers or by third-party financing companies, as opposed to electric utilities. The report highlights just how far the state has come in utilizing the sun’s energy, but it also warns that it has much farther to go. [Read this article]

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Historic Buildings May Be Greener Than You Think

Lennar — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:40:22 +0000

In New York City, a conflict has long been perceived between historic preservation and urban sustainability goals. Older buildings are often seen as outdated energy hogs that can’t pull their weight, efficiency-wise. About 55 percent of the city’s 838,337 buildings were constructed before 1940, half a century before the notion of green LEED building certification was even dreamed up. Estimating that the building sector is responsible for 75 percent of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, PlaNYC 2030, Mayor Bloomberg’s sustainability plan, made improving the performance of older buildings a top priority. To help get the process started, the Municipal Art Society announced last week that it is working on a “greening” manual for owners of historic buildings protected by landmark status. Despite prevailing conceptions, said Lisa Kersavage, the senior director for preservation and sustainability at the society, many historic buildings actually already incorporate energy-efficient design features – a legacy of having been built before the advent of cheap energy and modern mechanical systems. In those days, natural ventilation and light and the collection of water in cisterns were standard in quality construction. [Read this article]

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Swap-O-Matic: A Vending Machine That Promotes Sustainability

Lennar — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:34:21 +0000

If you thought that vending machines that dispense nothing but baby carrots are the latest green innovation in this field, we’ve got news for you. There’s a vending machine that is far more progressive and innovative. It provides you with a “fun way to save the earth” and doesn’t even want any money in return. Intrigued? Welcome to the world of Swap-O-Matic. The Swap-O-Matic is not a regular vending machine. While a conventional vending machine helps us to buy stuff in places and times where other alternatives are out of reach, the Swap-O-Matic offers a swapping experience, enabling users to donate and receive items, instantly and for free. The machine has a touch screen with three options: swap, donate or receive. It works on a point/credit system, where you earn a credit for every item you donate and ‘pay’ a credit for every item you take. New users receive 3 credits to start after entering their email address. [Read this article]

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Washington, D.C., Is The LEED Capital Of The U.S.

Lennar — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:11:53 +0000

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced the top 10 states for LEED-certified building space per capita in 2011, but none of the top 10 states is even close to the amount of LEED-certified space in the nation’s capital. According to the USGBC, Washington, D.C., had 31.50 square feet of LEED-certified property per capita last year, putting it well ahead of the top 10 states. “Although Washington, D.C., is a very small geographic area compared to U.S. states, the District packs in a substantial amount of green buildings due in part to the tremendous leadership from the federal government (nearly 30 percent of all LEED projects are government-owned or occupied LEED buildings, and the federal government alone owns and operates some 500,000 buildings). After removing D.C. from the data, the state of Colorado came out on top with 13.8 million square feet of LEED-certified space in 2011. [Read this article]

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U.S.: Nation Will Be More Energy Independent By 2035

Lennar — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:09:59 +0000

The nation will be more energy independent in the future as it boosts its production of oil, natural gas and renewable power such as solar and wind, the U.S. government predicted. Domestic crude oil production is expected to jump more than 20% in the coming decade, from 5.5 million barrels per day in 2010 to 6.7 million barrels per day in 2020 – a level not seen since 1994, according to an annual forecast released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Also, U.S. production of natural gas is projected to increase so much that it will exceed consumption early in the next decade. Renewables will take off, too, accounting for 16% of the U.S. electric supply in 2025 – up from 10% today. As a result, the U.S. will import less energy. Net imports will account for 13% of total energy consumption in 2035, down from 22% in 2010. “These projections reflect increased energy efficiency throughout the economy…and projected slow economic growth,” EIA’s Acting Administrator Howard Gruenspecht said. [Read this article]

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