Fw: GreenClips.122 06.16.99

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>GreenClips.122 06.16.99

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>STRETCHABLE FABRIC WITHOUT THE SYNTHETIC STUFF

>DesignTex is announcing two new McDonough patterns of Climatex

>Lifecycle fabric, now with the two-way stretching needed for the

>vacuum-forming process used in upholstering ergonomic chairs. Like its

>predecessors in the McDonough line, the stretchable construction of natural

>wool and ramie fibers is made following an environmentally sound

>manufacturing protocol and is compostable with no negative environmental

>impact at the end of useful life. Aiming to generate more environmentally

>sound fabrics and improve textile manufacturing, DesignTex has licensed its

>proprietary Climatex Lifecycle construction and manufacturing process to

>competing textile firm Carnegie so that both can develop their own

patterns,

>styles, and colors. Carnegie's first collection of Climatex Lifecycle

>textiles, designed by Anne Beetz, includes four upholstery designs and the

>first Climatex Lifecycle fabric for panels and draperies. - Contract

>Design, Jun 99, p 44, by Thiele Busch.

>[Contacts: DesignTex 800 221 1540, Carnegie 800 727 6770]

>

>POWER TEACHING WITH SOLAR SCHOOL PROGRAMS

>A growing number of US schools not only teach about solar energy in the

>classroom but are also lighting, heating, and cooling with it. Public

Service

>Company of Colorado and Altair Energy of Golden, Colorado have partnered to

>install over 30 photovoltaic systems in schools by the summer of 1999. The

>governor's Office of Energy Conservation helped make these 2 kW grid-tied

>installations possible through its Colorado Solar Schools Program. To help

>students learn about renewable energy, each participating school gets a

>computer that monitors system performance in real time. Not all solar

school

>programs are in the sunbelt. Six schools in Wisconsin have solar electric

>systems on their rooftops thanks to the SolarWise for Schools program

>conducted by Wisconsin Public Service Corporation. SolarWise also provides

a

>renewable energy curriculum compiled by a high school science teacher and

now

>used by 1,300 students. In and around Ohio, the Foundation for

Environmental

>Education is working toward its goal of installing 100 to 200 photovoltaic

>systems in schools. Bluffsview School in Worthington got the first system,

>installed and tied to the grid last year. The web site of American Electric

>Power, a program sponsor, will let students compare how much power the

>school's system is generating with how much [the school] is consuming.

Every

>grade level will have curricula connections to the system in math and

>science. Among the resources at <http://www.solarschools.org> is Schools

>Going Solar, a publication that highlights projects in the US. - Solar

>Today, May-Jun 99, p 34, by Vicki Mastaitis.

>

>HOMEBUSH BAY: SYDNEY 2000'S GREEN SHOWPLACE

>More than four years of construction have transformed Homebush Bay, the

>1,900-acre site of 14 of the 28 Sydney 2000 Olympic venues, from an

>industrial area into a green Olympics showplace. " The Olympic Coordination

>Authority is using the Olympic games to help promote the growing philosophy

>that we must look after our environment better than we have in the past, "

>says the OCA's Jo Moss. Both the 15,000-person Olympic Village and the

>20,000-seat Sydney SuperDome use solar power. The SuperDome's grid-tied

>70-kilowatt system is billed as Australia's largest rooftop system. At

>Stadium Australia, the 100,000-seat Olympic stadium, four 750,000-liter

>holding tanks collect water for irrigating the field from the stadium roof.

A

>remediation program at Homebush Bay, once a disposal site for domestic and

>industrial waste, moved 9 million cubic meters of waste to specially

designed

>areas now part of a 1,100-acre park for environmental education, bird

>watching, and nature research. - Urban Land, May 99, p 29, by Bradley C.

>Grogan.

>[More: <http://www.oca.nsw.gov.au/Homebushbay.htm>]

>

>SOLENIUM FLOORING DESIGNED FOR DISASSEMBLY

>Carpet maker Interface has introduced Solenium, a new floor covering made

of

>recycled-content components that come apart for recycling. Calling it

>resilient textile flooring, Interface designed Solenium to bridge the gap

>between carpet and resilient flooring. The sandwich of materials that make

up

>Solenium starts with a flat weave of a shiny yarn made of poly trimethylene

>terephthalate, or PTT, a polymer with excellent inherent stain resistance.

>Joining the woven face and its urethane cushion backing is an unlockable

>adhesive layer made from fiberglass reinforced carbite, a byproduct of

>petroleum refining. Applying heat at 375 degrees F for seven minutes unzips

>the face and backing for separate recycling. The carbite layer also serves

as

>a moisture barrier and includes an antimicrobial agent. A polypropylene

scrim

>secondary backing peels off the bottom manually for recycling. Made not

>entirely of recycled materials, Solenium's urethane backing currently

>requires some virgin resin, and its face fibers are limited to 22 percent

>recycled content since, when remelted, PTT turns black. Instead of the

energy

>intensive process of depolymerizing used PTT and reforming it into entirely

>new fibers of any color, Interface opted to build the recycled black fibers

>into each of Solenium's three designs, each with six to eight color

schemes.

>Interface sees schools and hospitals as its primary markets for Solenium

>because both benefit from carpet's comfort and acoustics but struggle with

>its maintenance and cleanliness. Solenium comes in one-square-meter tiles

and

>costs about $27 a yard installed. More: <http://www.solenium.com>. -

>Environmental Building News, May 99, p 8.

>[Full EBN text:

><http://www.ebuild.com/Archives/Product_Reviews/solenium.html>]

>

>FINE FURNITURE FROM SHIPPING PALLETS

>Turning weather-beaten shipping pallets into fine furniture is the business

>of Safe Solutions of Durango, Colorado. The now defunct company Big City

>Forest, which once made furniture and flooring from pallets, inspired

>craftsman Stuart Dimson to start his own company and offer a finer line of

>furniture. Safe Solutions recently supplied 345 night tables for the green

>renovation of the Sheraton Rittenhouse Square Hotel in Philadelphia. In a

>recent eight-month period, the company recycled 550 pallets into its line

of

>coffee tables, end tables, night tables, desks, dressers, and custom pieces

>like credenzas. Fifteen local businesses supply the pallets, about a third

>oak and the rest maple, cherry, ash, poplar, beech, and tropical hardwoods.

>In Durango's small industrial economy, only one of Safe Solutions'

suppliers

>reuses its pallets. But nationally, 96 percent of pallet users report

reusing

>the pallets they receive, says the National Wooden Pallet and Container

>Association. When no longer useful as pallets, 71 percent are recycled. Of

>the 1.9 billion pallets in use each year in the US, ten percent are sent to

>landfills. Most of Safe Solutions' sales are wholesale, but the night

tables,

>for example, retail for $175 to $350; the dressers around $600. - In

>Business, Mar-Apr 99, p 23, by Molly Farrell.

>[Contact Safe Solutions: <safesol@...>]

>

>WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO EARTH-SHELTERED HOMES?

>Interest in earth-sheltered houses has waned in the US since their heyday

in

>the 1970s and early 80s when an energy crisis, environmental concerns, and

a

>cultural exploration of alternative lifestyles spurred some homebuilders to

>seek out more energy efficient, earth-friendly alternatives to the suburban

>tract home. Most people don't want the Hobbit-like look of earth-sheltered

>homes nor the stigma of living underground, says Minneapolis architect Gar

>Hargens of Close Associates. The firm has designed earth-sheltered houses

>since the 1930s, but its most visible and high-profile project is the row

of

>townhouses Hargens designed in 1978 along a Minneapolis freeway. The energy

>advantage of earth-sheltered homes, Hargens explains, is that the earth, a

>constant 50 degrees F five feet underground, insulates against temperature

>extremes while buffering the wind. " Earth-sheltered housing wasn't a bad

>idea, " says University of Minnesota researcher Carmody. " It was part

of

>a creative period of thinking how houses are designed and operated. It just

>wasn't an idea broadly adopted. " Seeing them as difficult to sell, Carmody

>explains, mortgage and real estate people resisted the unconventional

houses,

>and the business of constructing them never became viable. When energy

prices

>flattened out, people stopped worrying about energy consumption. Now the

>housing market has embraced technological innovations like high-efficiency

>furnaces, low-e windows, and better insulation that turn conventional

houses

>into more energy-efficient ones. - Architecture Minnesota, May-Jun 99, p

>48, by Camille LeFevre.

>[Abridged AM text (feature): <http://www.aia-mn.org/magMayJun99>]

>[Contact Close Associates: <missythom@...>]

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>INTERFACE, INC.

>More than a carpet company. Much more.

>http://www.interfaceinc.com

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>US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings

>Commercial, public, and multifamily residential buildings are seeing energy

>efficiency improvements of up to 30 percent through the guidance of Rebuild

>America. This voluntary community partnership program, supported by DOE's

>Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs (BTS), is

saving

>money while saving energy, creating jobs, promoting economic growth, and

>protecting the environment. More than 200 Rebuild partnerships are on their

>way to retrofitting 2 billion square feet of floorspace, which will save

$650

>million in energy costs and reduce air pollution by 1.6 million tons of CO2

>annually. For information on how your community can join and benefit from a

>Rebuild America partnership, please see the new Rebuild America website

><http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings/rebuild>. Or, you may call DOE's Energy

>Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse at 800 363 3732.

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facility managers practice sustainable planning, development, building

design, construction, and operation. GreenClips is written by Hammer

and Richert.

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