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2010 Goldman Prize Recipients Announced

The Goldman Environmental Prize is the world’s largest award for grassroots environmentalists. This is the 21st year that the prize has been awarded. The winners are models of courage, and their stories are inspiring.

This year’s prize recipients are: Lynn Henning of Michigan (USA); Randall Arauz of Costa Rica; Humberto Rios Labrada of Cuba; Malgorzata Gorska of Poland; Thuli Brilliance Makama of Swaziland; and Tuy Sereivathana of Cambodia. Click on the links to read about—or watch a brief video about—each of this year’s recipients.

Last year’s recipient from the U.S. was Maria Gunnoe, who has fought to stop mountaintop-removal mining in West Virginia.

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April 19, 2010
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New Books: Thriving Beyond Sustainability, and Fundamentals of Integrated Design for Sustainable Building

I’d like to let everyone know about these important new books, which were written by a few of my esteemed colleagues. Please click on the links below for more information about each tome:

Thriving Beyond Sustainability: Pathways to a Resilient Society, by Andres Edwards (New Society Publishers) — This book will be available in May (2010), but it can be pre-ordered now. Here’s an excerpt from the publisher’s description of the book: “Thriving Beyond Sustainability draws a collective map of individuals, organizations, and communities from around the world that are committed to building an alternative future—one that strives to restore ecological health; reinvent outmoded institutions; and rejuvenate our environmental, social, and economic systems. The projects and initiatives profiled are meeting the challenges of the day with optimism, hope, and results, leading the way in relocalization, green commerce, ecological design, environmental conservation, and social transformation.” Click here to read reviews of the book, the book’s Foreword (by Bill McKibben), Table of Contents, or an annotated bibliography.

Fundamentals of Integrated Design for Sustainable Building, by Marian Keeler and Bill Burke (John Wiley & Sons, 2009)— This book serves as an in-depth textbook for design students and a comprehensive reference for practitioners. It presents the history, issues, principles, technologies, process, and practice of sustainable building design, as well as case studies of model projects. In addition, it promotes active learning by providing design problems, research exercises, study questions, and discussion topics.

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February 25, 2010
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Sustainable Neighborhoods and Communities: Certifications, developments, organizations, and websites

Several certification programs have emerged to rate the sustainability of mixed-use, neighborhood and community-scale developments—addressing a wider range of issues than previous rating systems for individual buildings have addressed. These broader-scale certification programs include: LEED for Neighborhood Development, and the Living Building Challenge (Update: There is now also a Living Community Challenge program). The programs’ requirements can be used as planning and design guidelines for any project, even if official third-party certification is not the goal. There is also a non-certification framework called One Planet Communities.

1. LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND): LEED ND was developed as a collaboration between the U.S. Green Building Council, the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. LEED ND integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building into neighborhood design. It aims to promote walkable, livable communities that reduce urban sprawl, decrease automobile dependence, provide housing close to jobs and services, and benefit environmental and public health. LEED ND credits are organized into the following categories: Smart Location and Linkage; Neighborhood Pattern and Design; Green Infrastructure and Buildings; Innovation and Design Process; and Regional issues.

LEED ND can be applied to developments of all sizes, and it can be applied to new developments or redevelopment projects. The first official, post-pilot version of the rating system was released at the end of 2009. A project can be recognized at any or all of the following stages, depending on where it is in the development process:

  • Stage 1: Conditional approval of a LEED-ND plan, prior to entitlement. (This can help projects get support from the local government and community.)
  • Stage 2: Pre-certification of a LEED-ND plan for fully-entitled projects. (This can help projects secure financing, expedited permitting, or tenants.)
  • Stage 3: Certification of a project once construction has been completed.

LEED ND pilot developments that have been constructed include: Solea Condominiums in Washington DC (Stage 3 Gold certified); Eliot Tower in Portland, OR (Stage 3 Silver certified); Excelsior and Grand in St. Louis Park, MN (Stage 3 Certified); Whistler Crossing in Riverdale (Chicago area), IL (Stage 3 Certified); and Celadon in Charlotte, NC (Stage 3 Certified). And a couple of notable LEED ND pilot projects that are well underway are: Dockside Green in Victoria, British Columbia (Stage 2 Platinum certified plan), and Tassafaronga Village in Oakland, CA (Stage 2 Gold certified plan).

2. Living Building Challenge: Like One Planet Communities, this is an international program that has developed deep-green standards that go beyond LEED requirements. This certification system can be applied to projects of any scale: from an individual building to a neighborhood or community design project. (Update: A Living Community Challenge program has now been created, as well.)

3. One Planet Communities: This is an international program that is part of the One Planet Living program developed by BioRegional, a UK-based environmental organization. The One Planet Living program is based on 10 principles in the following categories: zero carbon, zero waste, sustainable transport, local and sustainable materials, local and sustainable food, sustainable water, natural habitats and wildlife, culture and heritage, equity and fair trade, and health and happiness.  The first North American project to be endorsed by One Planet Communities is the 200-acre Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park, California. Sonoma Mountain Village is also registered as a LEED ND project. [Newer post, July ’15: One Planet Communities: Greener Villages and Developments]

In addition to these programs, many organizations are working to advance the sustainability of neighborhoods and communities in a variety of ways. Two active organizations that are focused primarily on planning, design, and development include: Partnership for Sustainable Communities (for whom I recently did some research and writing) and Urban Re:Vision. A number of local, grassroots initiatives for community sustainability, resiliency, and energy independence—such as Transition initiatives—are also gaining steam around the country and the world. Update (added 4/21/10): For a searchable database of “ecovillages” around the U.S. and the world, see the Global Ecovillage Network website.

Click here to download a more comprehensive listing of organizations and websites focused on sustainable communities (4-page, 80 KB PDF file – updated June 2010). The listing includes national, California-based, and San Francisco Bay Area resources.

For other good info on sustainable communities, smart growth, and green neighborhood design and development, check out Kaid Benfield’s NRDC blog.

In a later post, I’ll be covering larger-scale, municipal-level sustainable planning initiatives for entire cities and regions. Stay tuned.

Related Post: LEED ND Developments in the U.S., Canada, and China [August 2010]

NEW Post: One Planet Communities: Greener Villages and Developments [July 2015]

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February 22, 2010
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Recommended Film: The Cove

If you haven’t seen it already, I’d recommend watching The Cove.  I’m not the only one who thinks it’s a good film. It has won dozens of film awards, and it was recently nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary. (You can get it on Netflix, iTunes, or On Demand cable, or buy the DVD.)

The Cove is suspenseful and riveting—reminiscent of a spy flick like Ocean’s Eleven—but it’s a documentary about real events: the authorized but carefully concealed killing of more than 20,000 dolphins (each year) in Taiji, a small town in Japan. The film has a brief segment of disturbing footage, but it is not overdone; and there’s beautiful and humorous footage, as well, to balance out the drama and tension.  For more information about the dolphin slaughter, or to take action against this practice, go to TakePart.com/TheCove. (Note: Mass dolphin killings also happen in Denmark’s Faeroe Islands.)

The film also tells the compelling story of the personal, moral transformation of Ric O’Barry, the man who captured and trained the dolphins who were featured in the 1960s TV show Flipper, the popularity of which spurred the more widespread capture of dolphins to be used for human amusement and entertainment. After recognizing the folly and tragedy of these practices, O’Barry has dedicated his life to saving dolphins and releasing them from captivity.  For information on the captivity of dolphins for marine parks and swimming-with-dolphins programs, check out this Humane Society webpage.  And click here to see a funny and relevant cartoon from The New Yorker.

A third important issue—an environmental issue—comes up in the film, as well: the high levels of mercury that are found in dolphins and in some types of fish, such as tuna. Mercury exposure can cause severe neurological impairment (EPA mercury webpage).  For more information on mercury contamination in seafood, marine life, humans, and the environment at large, go to this NRDC webpage or GotMercury.org.

Towards the end, the film briefly touches on the issue of overfishing, which turns out to be one of the primary causes of the dolphin slaughter tragedy that the film has exposed. According to O’Barry, the dolphin-killing fishermen say they consider dolphins “pests” that are eating all of “our” fish. The fishermen use this to justify the slaughter, when in fact it is humans’ fishing practices (such as industrial-scale trawling operations), our high levels of fish consumption, and water pollution—as well as the damming of rivers, in the case of certain species of salmon—that are responsible for the steep decline and imminent collapse of many fishery stocks. For information on which types of seafood to avoid buying (due to overfishing and/or contamination issues), see the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch site and download their Pocket Guide.

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February 11, 2010
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Haiti: Sustainable recovery, community development, and rebuilding initiatives

The Lambi Fund of Haiti has an established track record of implementing successful programs for sustainable development and agriculture, community economic development, and economic justice in Haiti. Their local empowerment initiatives have helped to improve food security, water safety, resource conservation, and community self-sufficiency, particularly in rural areas. The Lambi Fund will be actively engaged in forward-thinking initiatives like these to help Haitian communities recover economically after this terrible earthquake. Please check out their website for details about their efforts.

In addition, a number of groups from around the world will be involved in rebuilding housing and other buildings in Haiti after the earthquake. Many of them will strive to build more sustainable, disaster-resistant structures. Click below to learn about the efforts of these important organizations:

For the more immediate relief needs of emergency/transitional shelter, a couple of options include: World Shelters and ShelterBox. Please consider supporting the work of one or more of these organizations by donating or volunteering for their projects.

Update (4/5/10): Also see this new commentary on Rebuilding in Haiti, by Allison Arieff on The New York Times website; and a description of several Haiti redevelopment programs suggested by Sustainable Land Development International.

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January 16, 2010
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LEED Platinum Certified Projects Worldwide: An Updated Listing

I recently added the latest set of Platinum rated projects to my listing of LEED Platinum certified building projects worldwide. The listing is organized by countries and states, and some of the projects are linked to in-depth case studies. As of this month (October 2009), I know of LEED Platinum certified projects in 44 U.S. states plus Puerto Rico, as well as projects in 9 other countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates. There are all types of Platinum projects: commercial, residential, institutional…new construction as well as renovation.

LEED_platinumPlatinum is the highest rating in the LEED green building rating systems. Building projects that have attained this rigorous level of certification are among the greenest in the world.

I update the listing every month or two. If you know of a project that has officially achieved LEED Platinum certification but is not yet included in the listing, please let me know.

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October 21, 2009
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