Southern California Industrial Real Estate Blog

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1. Isn’t it amazing what turn of events can take place? Appreciate you letting your readers know about this.

   Comment by Affordable Health Plans — June 17, 2009 #

2. OC-Based Church Says Greenest Church Building is the One that is Never Built

   Like many companies and households, churches throughout the United States are going green–reusing building materials and using energy-efficient light bulbs–in an effort to care for God’s creation. But one OC-based church has found a way to be even greener.

   When The Well, once a traditional Southern Baptist Church in Orange County, left its building in 2005 to become a community of house churches, they did not do it for environmental reasons. However, Ken Eastburn, pastor of The Well, does believe this model allows the Church to be good stewards of its resources and of the environment.

   “People attend house-church gatherings closer to their homes, so they cut down significantly on miles traveled. And because we have no dedicated building, our carbon footprint is fairly minimal,” says Eastburn.

   And the experts agree. In a May 19 article on BuildingForMinistry.com, Steven P. Fridsma writes, “The greenest building material is the one you never have to use.”

   That theory sits well with Eastburn, who notes: “While we moved to meeting in homes because that is where God led us, the fact that The Well is being a good steward of God’s creation is an added bonus to being a community of house churches.”

   The Well continues to actively learn what it means to be a church body without a building and encourages other churches and individuals to explore with them on their blog: http://www.leavethebuildingblog.com. From going green to maximizing resources, blog participants can dialog about a variety of church and faith-related topics aimed at maximizing the effectiveness of the Church and its members.

   Comment by Earned Media — June 18, 2009 #

3. San Francisco Passes Ordinance to Require Recycling and Composting

   Recycling & Composting in San Francisco The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 to approve Mayor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to require every residence and business in the city to have three separate color-coded bins for waste: blue for recycling, green for compost and black for trash, beginning this fall.

   The recycling ordinance will greatly facilitate the LEED Material & Resources credits for building occupant recycling systems. With recycling required for all buildings, projects seeking LEED will not have to push for recycling areas to be included in a space, and for those seeking a certification under LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, the task of getting occupants to actually recycle may become much easier. Not only will the recycling law hopefully improve the recycling of plastics, glass, metal, paper, and cardboard, but with San Francisco’s innovative compost collection program, the waste stream will be reduced even further. As occupants learn to compost their food waste rather than use a sink disposal system, wastewater will be reduced as well.

   Comment by Liina Laufer — July 11, 2009 #

4. Most of the studies I have seen estimate that as much as 30% to 40% of the energy brought into American buildings, including residences, for space heating, air-conditioning, ventilation, water heating, and operating appliances is never put to its intended use. It is simply wasted. As for water, these waste estimates range from 15% to 35%, and even higher in some parts of the country.

   Comment by John Paul Keenan — July 17, 2009 #

5. Under a plan developed through the William J. Clinton Foundation, participating banks would provide up to $1 billion each in loans that cities or private landlords would use to upgrade energy-hungry heating, cooling and lighting systems in older buildings. The loans and interest would be paid back with savings accrued through reduced energy costs.

   Comment by William J. Clinton Foundation — September 12, 2009 #

6. Saving energy in buildings and other non-transportation initiatives could reduce the nation’s energy consumption by 23 percent by 2020, generating 900,000 jobs, saving the U.S. economy $1.2 trillion and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 1.1 gigatons a year, according to a new study.

   The savings could be done with existing methods and technologies and spending of $50 billion a year over a decade, according to the McKinsey & Co. report, which was sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council and 11 other public and private organizations.

   Comment by Seattle Pi — September 12, 2009 #

7. Global purchasing of green building materials–cement, insulation and wood products- will grow to $571 billion by 2013 from $455.3 billion in 2008, suggests a study by Allied Business Intelligence Research of New York. “Innovation, particularly in wood and insulation, is a key driver behind the growth of green building products,” suggests Larry Fisher, research director of ABI Research’s “next generation” practice.

   http://www.purchasing.com/article/439362-Buying_of_green_building_products_to_increase.php

   Comment by Tom Stundza — December 24, 2009 #

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