Southern California Industrial Real Estate Blog

A GLOSSARY OF GREEN LIVING TERMS

A GLOSSARY OF GREEN LIVING TERMS

A glossary of green living terms. Be green + grow:

· 2000-watt society — The 2000-watt society (2,000-Watt Society) is a vision, originated by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich at the end of 1998, in which each person in the developed world would cut their over-all rate of energy use to an average of no more than 2,000 watts (i.e. 17,520 kilowatt-hours per year of all energy use, not only electrical) by the year 2050, without lowering their standard of living.

· Carbon Diet — A carbon diet refers to reducing the impact on climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (principally CO2) production.

· Carbon Footprint — A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact that human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels for our everyday living.

· Carbon Intensity — The ratio of Carbon Dioxide to energy: a measure of the “greenness” of different fuels.

· Chief Green Officer — A Chief Green Officer (CGO), or Chief Environmental Commitment Officer (CECO), is a corporate officer responsible for implementing and managing the corporation’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and protecting the environment.

· Dual-flush toilet — A type of water-conserving toilet that is relatively common in the commercial sphere but is only now becoming available for the home. After each use you have a choice of low flush (using as little as 0.8 gallon) or a more powerful flush (about 1.8 gallons).

· Earthcheck – An adaptable environmental benchmarking tool that measures an organizations environmental output. This is done across a variety of areas, including energy consumption, waste production and resource conservation for the core areas of an organizations operation.

· Ecological Footprint — a measure of human demand on the Earth’s ecosystems. It compares human demand with planet Earth’s ecological capacity to regenerate it. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area needed to regenerate the resources a human population consumes and to absorb and render harmless the corresponding waste, given prevailing technology and resource management practice. Using this assessment, it is possible to estimate how many planet Earths it would take to support humanity if everybody lived a given lifestyle.

· Ecosharing – is an environmental ethic for people to live by: that their own impact on the Earth’s biosphere be limited to no more than their own fair ecoshare.

· Energy Neutral Design - an Energy Neutral Design is a design of any type (Website, Multi-media, Architecture, Art, Music, Entertainment, etc) that has the environment and low energy consumption practices in mind during all stages of planning and production.

· Energy Policy – The manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy production, distribution and consumption. The attributes of energy policy may include legislation, international treaties, incentives to investment, guidelines for energy conservation, taxation and other public policy techniques.

· Energy Star (www.energy star.gov) — An energy-efficiency rating system sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency. A high Energy Star rating means that the product — from small household appliances to entire homes — is designed to minimize its energy consumption. The theory being, using as little energy as possible helps protect the environment, conserves fossil fuels and saves you money on the electric bill.

· Forest Stewardship Council (www.fsc.org) — A third-party certification for wood, wood products and forests. The FSC tracks the wood from its forest of origin all the way through the chain of custody to where the product is sold. If a product is FSC certified, you can count on its having been harvested and produced in a stringently eco-sensitive manner.

· Formaldehyde — A toxin found in many adhesives, such as those in plywood and panel board; it also can be found in paints, caulks and other building materials. The World Health Organization recently upgraded it from a possible carcinogen to a known one. When present in the home, it tends to “off-gas” and pollute the indoor environment.

• Global Warming — The increase in the average measured temperature of the Earth’s near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century, and its projected continuation. In media, it is synonymous with the term “climate change.”

· Greenhouse Debt - The measure to which an individual person, incorporated association, business enterprise, government instrumentality or geographic community exceeds its permitted greenhouse footprint and contributes greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming and climate change.

· Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (www.usgbc.org/leed) — Developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, the LEED rating is the most widely known and accepted green certification program.

· Life Cycle Analysis — The process of tracing a product, material or practice from its origin through its final disposal or reuse, from factory to landfill or recycling plant.

· Linoleum – A natural and eco-sensitive alternative to petrochemical-based vinyl. Linoleum is typically made from the renewable materials jute (used for backing), linseed oil, pine resin and sawdust. Eclipsed by vinyl in the 1960s and ’70s, it’s now experiencing a revival; it comes in both sheets and tiles, in a wide variety of colors.

· Low Carbon Diet — A low carbon diet refers to making lifestyle choices to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from energy use.[1] More specifically, a low carbon diet refers to making choices about eating that reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) as a response to estimates that the U.S. food system is responsible for at least 20 percent of U.S. greenhouse gases.

· Low-flow faucets and shower heads – Installing low-flow fixtures is a simple and cheap way to conserve water. If you’re in love with your current faucets and shower heads, you can instead choose to amend them by installing aerators, which slow the flow and disperse water. These simple steps can reduce water use by about 10%.

· Off-gassing – Also known as outgassing, this is the emission of chemicals from building materials, furniture, textiles, bedding or other products in the home. Many of those “new house” smells that we’ve come to enjoy are actually hazardous to our health — they accumulate in the bloodstream and have been linked by some scientists to the increasing rates of asthma and some cancers, particularly in children. The best way to avoid off-gassing is to look for natural products that don’t contain toxins such as formaldehyde.

· Recycled content — Refers to the amount of recycled (reused) material in a given product. There is post-industrial recycled content, which refers to the use of scraps from industrial manufacturing, and post-consumer content, which is the reuse of products that consumers have used and thrown away.

· Solar — Simply put, solar processes harness energy from the sun. The solar panels that most of us associate with solar energy are called photovoltaic panels; they transform the sun’s rays into usable electricity. Solar thermal processes can be used to heat our hot water. Technological advances in recent years have made both photovoltaic and solar thermal systems amazingly effective. And prices are more affordable nowadays, in part because many utility companies and local governments offer rebate programs that lower the initial costs of purchase and installation.

· Water Footprint — an indicator of water use that includes both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business. Water use is measured in water volume consumed (evaporated) and/or polluted per unit of time. A water footprint can be calculated for any well-defined group of consumers (e.g. an individual, family, village, city, province, state or nation) or producers (e.g. a public organization, private enterprise or economic sector). The water footprint is a geographically explicit indicator, not only showing volumes of water use and pollution, but also the locations.

· Weighted Average Cost of Carbon — A term used in finance to measure a firm’s specific cost of carbon. It expresses how much an organization is expending to either reduce carbon emissions internally (abatement) or offsetting externally (carbon offset). As such, the weighted average cost of carbon is the cost a company incurs to balance its carbon liability (carbon footprint).

· Volatile Organic Compounds — The toxic or noxious chemicals that are found in or released from paints, stains, adhesives and sealants. Whenever possible, look for products labeled as having low, no or zero VOCs.

Please help us add to this list.

Info courtesy of:

http://www.globalgreen.org/gbrc/

http://wikipedia.org

THE HISTORY OF THE FINANCIAL BUBBLE

THE HISTORY OF THE FINANCIAL BUBBLE

Allegedly, the first recorded speculative financial bubble occurred in the Netherlands in the 1630s when, according to Wikipedia, tulip contracts sold for 20 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. When tulip prices came crashing down so did the economy, according to reports that have not been sufficiently documented for historians to conclude exactly what occurred.

sources:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimg944/2229214461/

http://www.inman.com/news/2008/10/23/dutch-toughen-downturn

BIG C3-ZONED COMPLEX WITH 8 DOCK HIGH DOORS NEAR LAX

Jodi Summers | Sotheby’s International Realty | 310.260.8269 626 N LA BREA, Inglewood, CA BIG C3-ZONED COMPLEX WITH 8 DOCK HIGH DOORS NEAR LAX Industrial    Make an offer Year Built 1940 Sq Footage 34,000+ Floors 2 Parking Covered spaces Lot Size 50,000+ sqft Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION Location! Location! Location! If you’ve been looking for a large commercial / distribution space in good condition near LAX, this is the property you’ve been searching for. C3 location allows for a variety of commercial / light industrial / distribution warehouse options. This is a great space! Grow your business here.   see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES High ceilings Large spaces 8 truck-high doors LOCATION FEATURES Centrally located on La Brea, south of Centinela OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES So much space, you can uUse it all or lease some out ADDITIONAL PHOTOS Seller contact info: Jodi Summers Sotheby’s International Realty 310.260.8269 For sale by agent/broker   Equal Opportunity Housing Posted: NOV 17, 2008, 4:30am PDT

 

 

 

 

 

INVESTING IN THE DOWNTURN

INVESTING IN THE DOWNTURN

The 2009 Emerging Trends in Real Estate report released by the Urban and Institute and PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP, suggests that real estate investors just sit and wait right now – soon opportunities will surface at big discounts. The first best batch of opportunities may not be in actually property, but in buying discounted loans and recapitalizing distressed borrowers and investing in maturity defaults, construction loans, or taking mezzanine positions and equity stakes in properties.

Other advice includes investing in publicly held REITs that will lead the market’s recovery, focus investments on “global pathway” markets — 24-hour coastal cities like Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Boston.Other quick-hit suggestions from respondents in the ULI/PriceWaterhouseCoopers survey:

· Go green. Cutting energy and other operating cost is likely to be a growing priority for both landlords and tenants.

· Buy or hold multifamily; hold office. Hold hotels, buy residential building lots, but be prepared to hold.

· Purchase distressed condos in urban areas near transit.

· Focus on neighborhood retail centers with strong grocery anchors and chain drugstores.

http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=41A9DE2D4E098EDEFBB56A05FBBB79A3

HOW GREEN RENNOVATIONS PAY OFF

HOW GREEN RENNOVATIONS PAY OFF

Green remodeling can pay off — not only in lowered utility bills, but also in buyer appeal when the property is sold.

Here are some green things to consider:

~ Energy-efficient products. Choose Energy Star appliances, double-paned windows, low-flush toilets, and compact fluorescent light bulbs.

~ Spray foam insulation. Seal the home with insulation that doesn’t let the heat or cooled air leak out.

~ Sustainable wood flooring. Select flooring certified by Forest Stewardship Council, which protects forests by managing the amount of wood harvested annually.

~ Locally made products. Buy products made less than 250 miles away to reduce transportation costs. Granite, for instance, is generally imported from afar.

~ Nontoxic paint. Use paint that is low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) — chemicals that evaporate into the atmosphere. Look for Green Seal certified brands.

http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2007123106?OpenDocument

THE EXPERTS SAY BAD MARKETS CREATE GOOD OPPORTUNITY

THE EXPERTS SAY BAD MARKETS CREATE GOOD OPPORTUNITY

Experts say…2009 will bring good values for investors. According to Moody’s/REAL Index, commercial values have declined 12% from their peak in January 2007, and the general consensus is that there is still a ways to go.

“Cap rates are going straight up, with the low end at eight and the high end at 10, depending on the asset class,” noted Thomas Wood Jr., president of Thomas D. Wood and Co., at the recent Urban Land Institute conference. “I think we lose 15% to 20% value in 2009,”

The Jones Lang LaSalle’s Fall 2008 Cross-Sector Survey, which was conducted at the ULI conference, surveyed 100 commercial real estate experts – and optimistically less

than half of those surveyed foresaw a decline of zero to 30% in 2008.

More than two-thirds of respondents predict multifamily investments will decline by zero to 30% in 2009.

“What this tells us is that 2009 will be a prime year for opportunistic investors hoping to procure distressed assets,” says Jack Minter, managing director of investment sales at JLL. When asked when they expect the debt markets to regain equilibrium, 62% of respondents to the survey said it would take at least a year to reach stability.

http://www.globest.com/news/1279_1279/florida/174898-1.html

THE EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABILIZATION ACT HAS A VERY POSITIVE IMPACT ON SOLAR DEVELPMENT

THE EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABILIZATION ACT HAS A VERY POSITIVE IMPACT ON SOLAR DEVELPMENT

Solar is seeing some of the benefits of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (a.k.a. H.R. 1424). In addition to extending the federal solar investment tax credit (ITC) for 8 years, the legislation includes the removal of a prohibition that previously prevented electric utilities from taking advantage of the credit.

Now, the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) is predicting that utilities will become the largest and one of the most important customers for the solar industry, expanding solar markets beyond analysts’ expectations.

“U.S. electric utilities’ engagement with grid-connected solar electricity has increased significantly in 2008, with major photovoltaic and concentrating solar thermal project announcements totaling more than 5,000 megawatts,” said Julia Hamm, SEPA executive director. “Without the ability to take direct advantage of the ITC, the only viable financial option was to have these plants be owned and operated by independent power producers who then in turn sell the electricity to the utility. The change to the tax credit facilitates utility ownership as another option, which will result in additional projects and innovations.”

With the policy change, utilities can own solar generation projects.

“This is a very positive development for the utility industry as it will go a long way to putting solar power within reach of many more Americans,” said Jim Rogers, chairman, president and CEO of Duke Energy. “It is exactly what we need as we explore investing $100 million to install, operate, maintain and dispatch solar panels as a viable option to build a bridge to a low-carbon future.”

“The extension of the tax credit also significantly increases the likelihood that recently announced solar projects will come to fruition,” says Hamm.

For the record, the largest planned photovoltaic projects in history – one for 550 MW and the other for 250 MW – announced as long term contracts with private solar companies in August by Pacific Gas and Electric Company will most likely go forward with the extension of the federal investment tax credit.

The full list of the solar investment tax credit provisions in H.R. 1424 include:

· Extension for 8 years of the 30-percent tax credit for both residential and commercial solar installations

· Elimination of the $2,000 monetary cap for residential solar electric installations, creating a true 30-percent tax credit (effective for property placed in service after December 31, 2008)

· Elimination of the prohibition on utilities from benefiting from the credit;

· Allowance for Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) filers, both businesses and individuals, to take the credit

· Authorization of $800 million for clean energy bonds for renewable energy generating facilities, including solar

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Resources:

SEPA Top Ten Utility Solar Integration Rankings:

http://www.solarelectricpower.org/docs/Aug%204%20Top%20Ten%20Final%20revised.pdf

H.R. 1424 Full Bill Text: http://www.solarelectricpower.org/docs/Fin_Stab_Bill_Text.pdf