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  • We’ve Got the Power – Bummmm…Bumpa…Bumm

    Feature image: 
    Mayor of Johannesburg, Mayor Bloomberg, Mayor Paes of Rio and the Mayor of Seoul

    Cities Arrive in Force at Rio+20

    I don’t know if that 1992 pop song “We Got the Power” was meant for cities. But it should have been. It certainly would have been apropos during Rio+20, where cities arrived in force.

    Bumpa…Bumm

    Recognized widely as the driving force behind many of the most significant actions taken to combat climate change, mayors from around the world came to Rio with a simple message: We’ve got the power.

    Bumpa…Bumm

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  • Existing Buildings = The 99%

    Feature image: 
    National Geographic Headquarters in Washingington, D.C.

    It’s hard to overstate the potential (and necessity) of greening our existing building stock. Buildings account for 73% of electricity consumption in the U.S. and 38% of CO2 emissions. Can you imagine the dent we can make with added efficiency in this sector – environmentally and economically? Plus, existing buildings are all around us. Chances are, you’re inside of a building (an existing one) as you read this blog entry – talk about an accessible opportunity.

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  • Project Green Brings $5 Million to Sacramento Schools

    One of the many reasons Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) was selected as one of two districts to receive a Center for Green Schools UTC Fellow was the development of Project Green. The District needed support to develop, manage and implement the program, and I was brought on to help. During the Earth Day celebrations in April 2011, Superintendent Raymond announced Project Green with little more than a rough outline. The idea consisted of student-led audits, presenting recommendations to a blue-ribbon panel, and implementing the projects.

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  • Where We Learn Matters… Add a Little Nature!

    Over time, a recognizable pattern has developed in youth that has begun to alter their behavior, health and consciousness. Today, American children are spending more time indoors and less time engaging with nature compared to recent history. In author Richard Louv’s book, “Last Child in the Woods,” he presents a persuasive case for the importance of nature to a child’s physical and emotional well-being, while also describing youth’s disconnect today as a ‘nature-deficit disorder.’ Though not a disorder in the traditional sense, there are very real, measureable affects to be noted.

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  • The Brilliance of Green Building is Shining at Rio+20

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    Slideshow images: 

    “It is time that we steered by the stars, not the lights of each passing ship.”
    — General Omar Bradley

    The green building world knows the following statistic all too well. On average, we spend 90 percent of our time indoors. That’s 21.6 hours out of every day. That’s 328 and a half days every year. Inside a building.

    And we certainly take this to heart because, while we’re spending all this time inside, the quality of air we’re breathing is on average 3-5 times more polluted than outside, according to the EPA.

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  • Voices from Greenbuild: Eva Blake

    When I arrived at the 2011 Greenbuild Conference & Expo in Toronto, Canada, I flipped through the program to find that the Greenbuild Social Equity Scholarship Program page contained photos and quotes from YouthBuild’s participation in the 2010 Greenbuild in Chicago. What an honor! That was the first year YouthBuild attended Greenbuild as an organized team of scholars and volunteers.

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  • Green Homes Continue to Grow Across the U.S

    LEED for Homes surpasses 20,000 certified home milestone

    Washington, DC – (June 13, 2012) – The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today announced that more than 20,000 homes across the U.S. have earned certification through the LEED for Homes program. LEED for Homes is a national voluntary certification system that provides guidance and verification that homes are designed and built to be energy- and resource-efficient and healthy for occupants.

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