May 23
2011
Earth Hour is in its 5th year and is the largest environmental event in human history with over 1 billion people from 128 countries participating in 2010.
This year’s Earth Hour switch-off will take place from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on March 26.
- Ways you and your city can support Earth Hour:
- Turning off your lights at 8.30PM on March 26 2011 wherever you are in the world and sign up to say your taking part.
- Run your own Earth Hour event, street or house party with friends and family.
- Take Earth Hour beyond the Hour by taking action for the planet and telling all about it.
- Tell the world through social media, or add tools and downloads to your blogs and websites.
- Encourage your local government or community groups to run earth Hour in your region.
- Rally your office or business to get involved.
- Make a Lantern and send it your friends
May 23
2011
The upcoming free webinar: The Reality of Implementing Green Building Programs in Your City now has over 200 registrants and there is still time to sign up. The webinar date is February 23. Click here to register.
BasicGov has teamed up with Chris Cheatham and Bob Kobet to present this free webinar that will cover the following topics:
- The basics of IGCC
- Best practices for implementation of green building codes
- Problems that have arisen in jurisdictions that have adopted green building codes
Previous blog posts have talked about IGCC and LEED and recently Chris Cheatham wrote about CALGreen in his blog …
In California, January 1, 2011 marked the introduction of CALGreen, the California green building code. The California government has produced a guide to CalGreen, which I found informative:
“The 2010 California Green Building Standards Code is a code with mandatory requirements for new residential and nonresidential buildings (including buildings for retail, office, public schools and hospitals) throughout California beginning on January 1, 2011. The code is Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations and is also known as the CALGreen Code.”
If you are interested in a more thorough review of CALGreen, I would recommend Imad Naffa’s post on the subject. Here are some quick thoughts I have on CALGreen:
- Whenever I read about new building codes, I always wonder whether code officials will be prepared to enforce them. This question is specifically addressed in the guide: “Chapter 7 of the CALGreen Code provides a guideline for minimum inspector qualification criteria.”
- I noted that CALGreen requires commissioning of new buildings. Commissioning involves calibrating the building’s systems to make sure they are running as designed. Commissioning is often cited as one of the more expensive aspects of a green building; but it can also ensure a green building works properly. It will be interesting to see how the California real estate industry responds to mandatory commissioning.
- California is often a bell-weather state for new green building trends. Will statewide building codes become more common?
Remember to register for the webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/674916328
