not ready to make the investment?  according to the american society of landscape architects, homeowners can take a smaller step in reducing energy consumption through smart tree placement.  when planted strategically, trees can reduce wintertime heating needs by two to eight percent. check out this animation that shows you how.

_{originally submitted july 7, 2011.}

watch an animation that explains how to use the landscape to reduce the energy consumed by a typical suburban home. see how smart tree placement and green roofs and walls dramatically improve energy efficiency. trees are being cut down to make way for new single-family homes, which then often sit on bare lots. these treeless lots not only have negative impacts on the climate, environment, and community health, but they also exacerbate the energy inefficient practices found within homes. this is a major problem given the average american home consumes 70 million btus annually. in fact, taken together, american homes account for 22 percent of total energy use as well as nearly 22 percent of carbon dioxide emissions (1.19 billion metric tons). (sources: the washington post and architecture 2030) mckinsey & co, a management consulting firm, found that energy use in the u.s. could be cut by 23 percent by 2020 by implementing simple energy efficiency measures. while homeowners can take low-cost steps to make the inside of their homes better insulated and therefore more energy efficient, the landscape isn’t often seen as a part of the problem–or the solution. basic green technologies like smart tree placement and green roofs and walls can be used to dramatically reduce energy usage inside homes. if placed strategically, trees can reduce summertime cooling energy needs by 7-47 percent and wintertime heating needs by 2-8 percent. (sources: the washington post and reducing urban heat islands: compendium of strategies. trees and vegetation, u.s. e.p.a.) in addition, well-designed residential green roofs, which are growing popular in some parts of the world, can reduce energy usage in both summer and winter. according to one canadian study, a 32,000- square foot green roof on a one-story commercial building in toronto reduced energy usage by 6 percent in the summer and 10 percent in the winter. similarly, the green roof of the american society of landscape architects (asla) at just 3,000 square feet reduces energy usage by 3 percent in summer and 10 percent in winter. weather, roof, and building size and location also have an impact on the amount of energy savings. lastly, fast-growing green walls can also reduce energy use by providing insulation in the winter and limiting direct sunlight on walls in the summer. in hotter months they also cool air temperatures by up to 10 degrees. (sources: reducing urban heat islands: compendium of strategies. green roofs, u.s. e.p.a. and american society of landscape architects (asla) green roof)

for more information, please visit: www.eesi.org/120711_hydro

every commercial is an advertisement trying to convince people that they need to buy things that they really don’t. it would be utterly relieving to see a commercial that focused on something other than human greed, gain and entrapment of society. i bet 95% of what people see on t.v. makes them dumber, so having educational commercial would be great to combat the vast majority of non-educational media.

i have seen what seemed like environmental commercials play at theaters in st. louis mo, guess who sponsored them? monsanto and a big coal company.

why and how can the very companies who are responsible for polluting our air and water be the ones feeding society information about what is environmentally friendly and what is best for our environment?

green washing is seriously setting back real environmental change. did you know that in a store the other day a water bottle company was advertising its product to be ‘green’ because if you bought 2 large water bottles you get a re-usable bag for free…

please, please let’s get actual environmentalist (people who truly care about the long term sustainability of this planet, not just profit) to create and show informational environmental commercials!!!

i know that it is very expensive to run commercials, but we can make anything happen! we could all pitch in, get sponsors, get people to donate and more. these commercials should play during every movie in every theater, come on, it’s time to get the ball rolling.

p.s. i like the videos that will teach the public about plastic, about fish in our oceans, about global warming, about tar sands oil in canada, about how we can help and what we can do as people!!!

trtl is being blessed by the former chief of the piikani nation dr. reg crowshoe, through 4 ceremonies preceding the competition. the traditional ceremonies have resulted in the project’s blackfoot name—spo’pi—which means turtle, and translates directly into ‘lives on stilts’ (very fitting given the competition and final foundation design strategies).the 1000 square-foot house is currently being built on the university of calgary campus before it is disassembled and shipped to the national mall in washington d.c. and put on display for the competition (september 23-october 2, 2011), which attracts upwards of 150,000 visitors and widespread media attention.

the cenovus trtl is the university of calgary’s second entry in the solar decathlon, following the 6th place finish of the award-winning solabode in 2009. canada’s team includes a collaboration of of students from the university of calgary’s faculty of environmental design, the schulich school of engineering and the haskayne school of business, as well as a native cultural advisory council, and a steering committee. over 100 individuals have come together to make the vision of trtl a reality.

looking to keep track of team canada?

for access to the entire archive of the university of calgary’s solar decathlon 2011 videos: visit the member page

researchers at texas a&m, missouri university of science and technology and the university of toronto have collaborated on another project that is also focused on learning from nature. the team is exploring how to capture the function of a natural system and use this to generate new design ideas. they have discovered that natural systems may be modeled functionally as if they were engineered systems. researchers can therefore design engineered systems by adapting solutions from natural systems. for example, they have studied the maneuverability of a housefly and captured the function and energy use of its wings, which can then be applied to improving the design of a micro-vehicle with flapping wings. however, in applying biologically-based design, it is critical to understand energy sources and flows.

by looking to nature for inspiration, engineers and designers can draw upon a multitude of design elements to solve design problems. both teams are discovering the underlying principles behind designs in nature and applying them to engineered designs with the goal of creating more environmentally friendly and energy efficient systems.

learn more about innovative waste management programs from the clinton climate initiative.

representative jay inslee (d-wa) introduced a bill in congress in 2009, called the cascadia marine trail study bill, to designate the cascadia marine trail as a national scenic trail. in washington, 83% of the shoreline property is privately owned, and this designation would not only protect the fragile ecology of this area, but would also protect public access to the cascadia marine trail. this is the first bill to be introduced in congress that would provide a designation for a fully waterborne trail.

supporters of the bill would like to see campsites added for non-motorized boaters every five to ten miles along the trail. “if you’re not kayaking a lot, you don’t really realize how few spots there are that you can camp, and that you can go with a kayak,” says connor inslee of the outdoors for all foundation.

the cascadia marine trail currently relies on the generosity of donors and the efforts of volunteers for support and maintenance, but the economic downturn has resulted in fewer donations, which means losing campsites. the success of the current bill would provide support from federal funding as well as management of the trail and campsites by federal authorities from the national parks service or the bureau of land management.

congressman inslee says americans should support this bill regardless of where they live. “it’s just like asking why you would care about yellowstone or yosemite,” he says, “just because you’re not living [near] there, it doesn’t mean it’s not a huge part of everybody’s lives.” supporters say the designation is about more than funding. they want to ensure that future generations can enjoy this as much as those who travel these waters today.

the house of representatives approved the cascadia marine trail study bill, but a senate vote never occurred, so it was not passed. as is customary, this bill was cleared from the books at the end of the session, but will be re-introduced in the current session.