Eco Housing

Interesting article courtesy of Community Buzz newsletter.  The city of Cleveland is hosting a cohousing workshop to generate interest and consider the formation of a cohousing community.  Cohousing was first and still primarily member initiated.  Some projects are guided by a professional cohousing company or consultant.  Having a municipality pushing for it is fantastic, especially when there are still many towns and planning boards that make times difficult for new communities.  Article below:

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/06/workshop_to_examine_communal_h.html

Dear Cohousing Friend,

Could you help us get the word out about the upcoming, national cohousing conference? We are asking that every community forward this email to their community listserve.

The event will be held June 11-15 on the Bentley College campus, near Boston, MA. The event will have great speakers, tours of completed communities, chances to meet hundreds of cohousers from around the country, and a lot of fun. You can find information about the conference on the Coho/US website: www.cohousing.org/2008/overview. This is an invaluable event for forming and developing groups.

You can also print out an event flyer by downloading it here: http://www.cohousing.org/docs/2008_flyer_building.pdf

Thanks for your assistance.

In community,

Rick Mockler
Board President
Cohousing Association of the U.S.

Below is an article discussing efficiency utilities which are independent (government funded) and utility operated (owned by the power company) programs that help reduce energy consumption. You’ve probably seen some form of one with various levels of involvement but the basic idea is that they provide expert advice, energy assessments, discount programs, and sometimes even fund energy saving measures through grants, loans, or partnerships.

The big news is that Vermont’s energy use growth for 2007 was negative! Vermont decreased its energy growth by 1.8% which is pretty impressive. In Vermont the efficiency utility is Efficiency Vermont which runs various programs for new and existing construction, residential, and commercial customers. Their website is http://www.efficiencyvermont.com and is worth checking out. We will be working with them on design issues for Sweet Pond. They have a variety of programs for homes and businesses so if you live or work in VT they probably have something for you.

Delaware is initiating a far-reaching energy efficiency program whose targets, among other things, will reduce their carbon footprint 1/3 by 2020. There is more to Delaware than tax free shopping and slot machines!

The original article is: http://spectrum.ieee.org/may08/6216

Cohousing was brought to the US from Europe 20 years ago.  There are over 100 built communities and at least that many in stages of forming or development despite the ongoing housing slump.  In Vermont we currently have about 9 according to the national cohousing association.  This month’s issue of Cohousing Magazine has a nice article about where it came from and where it is.  It also brings up a number of important questions still to be resolved.

The article can be found at http://www.cohousing.org/cm/article/adventure

http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/04-12/diesel-vs-gasoline-article.htm

I was always under the impression that diesel was not as clean burning but more efficient than gasoline. Looking for something entirely different I came across the above article by two writers from the Union of Concerned Scientists. It outlines the advantages and disadvantages of diesel versus gasoline as an automotive fuel. Diesel requires more oil per gallon to make despite its increased miles per gallon. Diesel puts less carbon dioxide in the air which is better for global warming but it puts more of the toxic pollutants out for us to breath. The writing is very fair and illustrates both the current pros and cons but also the potential for improvements. Finally, they have a really nice comparison chart.

“Community Buzz” is a blog (with newsletter updates) on IC.org.  Their post from Tuesday April 22  discusses an article “Green buildings worth effort to design” which is quite interesting.

“Those living in cohousing consume nearly 60 per cent less energy in the home” also from “Community Buzz” this week “Cohousing Helps Prevent Global Warming by Reducing Carbon Footprint”

Companies big and small are touting the “green” attributes and benefits of their products. Some of these are legitimate but others are false, misleading, irrelevant, or have such a minimal impact as to be mostly worthless. Corporations are often accused of “green washing” when they have initiatives and programs that do something positive for the environment but do not improve or eliminate aspects of their business that are causing the damage.

An article on GreenBiz.com this week “Canada to Release Green Advertising Guidelines” discusses our neighbor to the North’s attempt to address the first problem. They are introducing basic truth in advertising rules for products claiming “green” attributes. The proposal would require evidence for any green claim and numbers to support statements such as “recycled content”. It would also place restrictions on how a products content and attributes may be described.

In the US the Federal Trade Commission already has “Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims” which outline rules for advertising environmental attributes of a product or company. This is not law, technically a voluntary set of guidelines, however, they probably have control over some mediums because it would fall into false advertising.

The building industry is on the cutting edge of heading off false environmental claims through the use of LEED certifications. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a rating system for the energy efficiency of buildings. Developed by the US Green Building Council, there are LEED rating systems for different types of buildings such as commercial, industrial, retail, homes, and others. The buildings must be designed to meet strict criteria and inspected during and after construction for compliance.

US EPA Energy Star is a common certification used as the standard for appliances. Many other “green” certifications have been created by organizations for various products such as consumer goods but most do not yet have an established reputation. One additional recognized standard is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. This insures that wood products such as lumber and paper are from sustainably harvested sources.

For the Sweet Pond project our designers have closely followed the guidelines laid out in the LEED rating system and we are planning to apply for certification. We can not of course advertise the homes as such until the certification is received…and that’s what makes it a reputable standard! In our advertising and literature we focus on the positive attributes and features of our homes. We don’t by any means pretend to be the end all of green design merely a step in the right direction. Hopefully stricter guidelines will help filter out a lot of the junk out there like formaldehyde-filled McMansion’s being “green” because they are built correctly and have high-end energy efficient appliances.

Article on GreenBiz.com
Ecolabeling.org
US Green Building Council
FTC Environmental Advertising
Sweet Pond’s Green Advertising

On Friday we met with Steve Smith from Vermont Timberfloor and toured his operation in Guilford, Vermont. He produces a number of types of beautiful wood floors including hardwoods and pine. The beauty of the products aside, the most interesting part of the operation is the sustainability. The wood for the floors comes from the farm and forest the mill is located on and from local land owners. The wood is selectively harvested which translates to minimal impact on the land and a healthy woodlot. In looking at lumber for the Sweet Pond Project we have seen that so much of the wood used in building in the area comes from mills in Canada. There is plenty of wood felled locally but much of it is shipped north to Canada, milled and trucked back. “Made in America” aside this is just a waste of fuel and unnecessary carbon dioxide into the air.

In stark contrast Timberfloor and other local outfits are taking lumber from their own property and a few miles around. This is great for local economies, you know that materials in your home were obtained in a responsible manner, and your reducing the fossil fuels needed to get the floor or other wood product from the forest to your home. Another advantage of going with natural floors is that you are not using petroleum based products and glues. Most floors can be treated with natural oils or wax based products. This particular operation is about 3 miles from our project, as local as one can really get. The floors in the homes we are building are poured concrete with radiant heat. We will most likely offer a selection of wood floors as optional upgrades.

Vermont Timberfloor’s website is http://timberfloor.net/index.htm

Sweet Pond Eco Community will be a small eco village based on the principles of cohousing and sustainable development. In the spirit of E.F. Schumaker’s Small is Beautiful we are looking at a new model of sustainable housing. Sprawling development and neighborhoods without community are not sustainable and can not strive. We seek to develop a model for housing that can shelter our growing population, foster strong communities, provide healthy living spaces, and respect our environment, preserving it for future generations. Our community is based on the principles and ideals of cohousing. It is organized as a Common Interest Ownership community. We believe in using materials and our land in a way that considers our impact now and its consequences down the road. By clustering homes and preserving open space we reduce the impact on the land. By providing smart, well-built, houses smaller than most new construction we reduce energy use and the burden of maintaining unnecessary spaces. We seek members who value living responsibly within a strong community.

Sweet Pond will consist of nine free standing homes of 1570 square feet. They are clustered in a beautiful apple orchard overlooking a large beaver pond. The community will own approximately 83 acres including the Orchard, a field, pond, and over 60 acres of woodland which will be preserved through a conservation or land management program. Homes will be oriented for passive solar and super insulated. They will share one well and septic system and may have a common heat and hot water system as well. Homes are designed with a focus on indoor air quality and will use materials with low/no VOCs and off-gassing. Coinciding with our Vision for Vermont in the Year 2050 our contractors are local and we will use regional and local green materials wherever possible.