Recently in Ecological literacy Category

Students of a UNLV School of Architecture class in sustainability have started a blog which outlines some interesting ideas for the UNLV campus.

Here is the introduction they have provided about the blog:
"In Fall 2007, Alfredo Fernandez-Gonzalez offered AAE 495/695 Special Topics in Sustainable Development. The class project initially entailed its 17 students to scour the UNLV campus to find "missed opportunities" in regards to sustainability. The following are ideas that sparked interest from UNLV Facilities or provided more opportunities for research and education."

Check out the blog at
http://unlvsustainability.blogspot.com/

Thanks to student Tim Albertson for the blog information!

This URL was posted on the listserv for the Society of Building Science Educators. Humorous short video on solar gain!

http://current.com/items/87604641_ecospot_runner_up_cheeto_and_vinn

The Chronicle of Higher Education has produced a four-minute audio slide presentation on the current Solar Decathalon in D.C. They show some of the houses and talk to some of the students.

http://chronicle.com/media/flash/v54/i09/solar/

And of course see the winners on the Solar Decathalon site http://www.solardecathlon.org/

Have a look at the "Black Balloon" video
http://whatcounts.com/t?ctl=190CD0C:391D43A6D25FEF1F5A0555344F88DB4AFDF24EE4C962
This short video helps in visualizing how our daily actions produce global warming.

Thanks to former UNLV School of Architecture faculty Richard Beckman for forwarding the information on this!

The Chronicle of Higher Education [available through Libraries' subscription to UNLV faculty, students and staff] reports on a project by University of Cincinnati architecture students that will be entered in the US Dept of Energy Third Annual Solar Decathlon. The article and short video are at http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i45/45a04001.htm?=attw

WorldChanging July 11, 2007 has a summary of web sites dealing with climate change. The sites range from those providing insight into how the idea that there was no problem with the climate came to be promoted, to those which provide the scientific consensus (and facts) that we do in fact have a problem! duh! The article is by Alex Steffen.

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007016.html

The American Institute of Architects has announced the 2007 Committee on the Environment Awards for the top ten green projects. http://www.aia.org/press2_template.cfm?pagename=release_042307_COTE

For us west coasters, there are two in California and one in Oregon -- with a second Oregon one among the honorable mentions. Although Nevada had a winner last year, this year we did not place.

Greening America's Schools: Costs and Benefits http://www.resourcesaver.com/ewebeditpro/items/O59F10148.pdf by Gregory Kats was recently released (date on the report is October 2006). Sponsors of the report include the American Institute of Architects and the U.S. Green Building Council.

An interesting study -- however a caveat has been posted on the Society of Building Science Educators list: the study uses LEED credits to indicate a level of "green" that may not be substantiated with actual tests. [It is generally acknowledged that estimates of energy use prior to building often do not pan out in practice.]

A previous report by Gregory Kats dated December 2005 is on a similar topic: National Review of Green Schools: Costs, Benefits, and Implications for Massachusetts. http://www.cap-e.com/ewebeditpro/items/O59F7707.pdf

If you are looking for news on energy and environmental policy, one of the Libraries subscription databases covers just that: Greenwire. It can be found in the Libraries list of databases http://www.library.unlv.edu/search/databases/index.html#G

Greenwire describes itself thusly:
"With an average of more than 20 stories a day, Greenwire covers the complete spectrum, from electricity industry restructuring to Clean Air Act litigation to public lands management."

Thanks to the Libraries' Government Publications specialist Sidney Lowe for alerting me to this valuable resource. (Some of you may remember Sidney from her days in the Architecture Studies Library!)

The Global Emergency Teach-In web cast held Feb. 20 will be available online on Feb. 23 at
http://www.2010imperative.org/webcast.html

Having already seen Ed Mazria speak at UNLV School of Architecture last fall, as part of the Klai Juba lecture series, I confess I was hoping for more than statistics and what is -- for those that have attended the lecture, explored the Architecture 2030 web site http://architecture2030.org/and embraced the 2010 Imperative initiative http://www.2010imperative.org/ -- a fairly standard message.

Speaker Chris Luebkeman of ARUP did mention three ARUP projects that will be of interest:
Dongtan Eco-city http://www.arup.com/eastasia/project.cfm?pageid=7047, Beddington Zero Energy Development in London http://www.arup.com/feature.cfm?pageid=5844, and The Gap Headquarters Builidng in San Bruno California http://www.savingsbydesign.com/awards-2000/2000awards.html#gap.

The Panel Discussion in the afternoon in the Architecture Studies Library was lively and informative. It was taped curtesy of Randy Hale, and will soon be available for viewing in the Architecture Studies Library. Speakers are listed on the ASL web site at http://www.library.unlv.edu/arch/events/2007_2010teachin.html

The Panel was organized and moderated by NEAT Lab Director Alfredo Fernandez-Gonzalez. The NEAT Lab has produced 2030 Challenge- Environmental Design in the Face of Climate Change DVD which will soon go to all NAAB accredited architecture schools. The DVD was developed by the NEAT Laboratory to increase the environmental literacy of students, faculty, and practicing professionals in the architecture, planning, and design communities. The NEAT Lab web site http://www.unlv.edu/labs/neatl/ has other tools of interest.

Several challenges or suggestions for how to proceed to bring the UNLV Campus to carbon neutral. More on this in a separate posting.