On July 11, 2012 the USGBC Orange County (USGBC OC) Chapter in California proudly announced that the green school renovation project is under construction! After nine months of design, planning approvals and fundraising, our local design and construction community has successfully achieved ’liftoff’ to pilot a blueprint for all Orange County schools to improve their learning environments and grow their environmental curriculum.
Blog
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A Renewed Commitment to Buildings and their Social Benefits
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As the dust settles from Rio+20, I finally have a moment to reflect upon the outcomes of the historic Earth Summit Conference. The non-committal nature of the Rio text was a surprise to no one, yet the identification of buildings as an important strategy for the development of sustainable cities and urban infrastructure was still a “win” for the green building movement. Energy efficiency was also recognized as a strategy for combating climate change within both the developed and developing world.
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How Students See Sustainability
The Center for Green Schools was recently invited to present on LEED v4 at the Society for College and University Planners’ (SCUP) annual conference. With my colleague Chrissy Macken, manager of LEED technical development, we provided an overview of what changes are coming, suggestions for how to implement these changes into campus planning now and a sense of timing for the release of the new rating system.
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USGBC To Co-Host National Affordable Green Homes & Sustainable Communities Summit at Greenbuild with Institute for Professional and Executive Development, and Enterprise Community Partners
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Washington, DC – (Jul. 31, 2012) – The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today announced it will co-host the National Affordable Green Homes & Sustainable Communities Summit with the Institute for Professional and Executive Development (IPED) – an affiliate of Nixon Peabody LLP and Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (Enterprise). The two-day summit will take place Nov. 13 – 14, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif. at the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building.
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Transforming the Way We Think About Schools
For the last four years I have been able to see the green schools movement grow out of the communities USGBC represents. The Green Schools Committee volunteers and the chapter staff that support them are working around the clock, every day of the year to improve learning environments in their communities. The people I have the privilege of working with over email, phone and webcast are making real change happen at the local, state and national level.
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Benefits of Green Homebuilding
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Benefits of LEED-Certified Homes: Savings, Value, Well-Being, Trusted
Savings: Reducing Energy & Water Consumption
The typical household spends about $2,150 a year on residential energy bills1.
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Two Billion or Bust: LEED Square Footage Tips the Scales
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Ever been to New York, NY? Picture the island of Manhattan in your mind (or Google’s). Now multiply that by three. Or, picture the entire District of Columbia.
