Friday, April 17, 2009
More on Energy Star
Today's newsletter made mention of the Missouri Energy Star tax holiday. Here's a fun little calculator from Energy Star that can help you look at how much you could be saving if got rid of your old fridge (by recycling it on Craigslist or Freecycle =) ) and bought a new Energy Star model. Per the calculator, Missouri's average kWh is $0.0745 (For you hard core number crunchers, AmerenUE's quoted prices are .0792/kWh for their summer rate, with winter pricing on your 1st 750 hours at .0548/kWh and .0348/kWh for each additional).
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Growing Green Awards Gala - STL-USGBC
The St. Louis Regional Chapter of the USGBC held their first annual "Growing Green Awards" March 31st, and it was an absolutely wonderful event. The setting, the Coronado, was gorgeous and the food and drink delightful -- and it was green as could be.
From the program...
"All communication (in creating the event) has been electrionic rather than printed.
We wanted to provide this printed program as a momento of this occasion. It was printed with an ink-saving font on recycled paper. However, when you no longer have a use for it, please recycle it.
Awards are made from FSC wood and recycled paper.
The food is locally grown and/or organic.
The Coronado uses only eco-friendly cleaning products and recycles.
The wine is from Trinity Oaks, which plant a tree for each bottle sold.
The centerpieces are made frmo all natural and/or local materials.
The soy candles are locally made. Their containers are returned and reused.
The power for the event is being off-set with wind energy through Ameren/UEs Pure Power Program."
We were thrilled to be nominated twice, and to have one of our homeowners nominated (Dale and Sharon Becker, whose home took Platinum in the green category of St. Louis Homes and Lifestyles magazine awards).
The list of nominees was a who's who of the people who are taking going green as far as they can. The nominees for Residential were:
Dale and Sharon Becker
Matt Belcher, Belcher Homes
Champion Floor Company
Beth Gellman, Lewisites Landscape Architecture
Habitat for Humanity
James Holtzman Architects
Home Eco
Laclede Gas Company
Jim and Deb Matush
Tim Montgomery, TMA Architects
Tim O'Hallearn Smilin'O'Associates
Greg Polanik, Polanik Architects
Red Brick Community and Trust
Sage Homebuilders
Jason Stone, Sage Homebuilders
Trout & Co.
Tim and Christina Williamson
Habitat for Humanity came away the winner, and the award was well deserved. 27 homes - LEED Platinum! Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.
From the program...
"All communication (in creating the event) has been electrionic rather than printed.
We wanted to provide this printed program as a momento of this occasion. It was printed with an ink-saving font on recycled paper. However, when you no longer have a use for it, please recycle it.
Awards are made from FSC wood and recycled paper.
The food is locally grown and/or organic.
The Coronado uses only eco-friendly cleaning products and recycles.
The wine is from Trinity Oaks, which plant a tree for each bottle sold.
The centerpieces are made frmo all natural and/or local materials.
The soy candles are locally made. Their containers are returned and reused.
The power for the event is being off-set with wind energy through Ameren/UEs Pure Power Program."
We were thrilled to be nominated twice, and to have one of our homeowners nominated (Dale and Sharon Becker, whose home took Platinum in the green category of St. Louis Homes and Lifestyles magazine awards).
The list of nominees was a who's who of the people who are taking going green as far as they can. The nominees for Residential were:
Dale and Sharon Becker
Matt Belcher, Belcher Homes
Champion Floor Company
Beth Gellman, Lewisites Landscape Architecture
Habitat for Humanity
James Holtzman Architects
Home Eco
Laclede Gas Company
Jim and Deb Matush
Tim Montgomery, TMA Architects
Tim O'Hallearn Smilin'O'Associates
Greg Polanik, Polanik Architects
Red Brick Community and Trust
Sage Homebuilders
Jason Stone, Sage Homebuilders
Trout & Co.
Tim and Christina Williamson
Habitat for Humanity came away the winner, and the award was well deserved. 27 homes - LEED Platinum! Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Reclaimed Lumber
Once in a while you have something on a project that just comes out so good that you just want to share it with everyone. I think this photo was taken on a cell phone, so it doesn't do the work justice (I'm still having technical issues loading my own photos so I'm stealing this one from our clients' blog =) ). Major kudos go to Bill Newberry (newberryfurniture.com) for the custom-made newel posts that he made from reclaimed lumber (from an old school house, I'm told). These are quarter-sawn oak, and if I may so, they are beautiful.
New-Home Construction Logs Unexpected Gain
New-Home Construction Logs Unexpected Gain- AP
The government says construction of new homes rose sharply in February, defying economists' forecasts for yet another drop in activity. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that construction of new homes and apartments jumped 22.2 percent from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units. Economists were expecting construction to drop to a pace of around 450,000 units.
The government says construction of new homes rose sharply in February, defying economists' forecasts for yet another drop in activity. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that construction of new homes and apartments jumped 22.2 percent from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units. Economists were expecting construction to drop to a pace of around 450,000 units.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
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