Our Green Streets Blog

Guest correspondent, Kate Willson, reports on some of this country’s top sustainable colleges for 2011. She writes regularly about colleges and sent this note accompanying her report: “I am not associated with any of these schools. I honestly chose these schools because I felt that the schools that made A’s were quite repetitive (they made the same initiatives and reforms.) To add some variety, I also wanted to highlight what other of the schools were doing.”

The GreenReportCard.org website and the College Sustainability Report Card are both initiatives of the Sustainable Endowments Institute. The Institute is a nonprofit organization engaged in research and education to advance sustainability in campus operations and endowment practices.

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Mathis Wackernagel, PhD - President, Global Footprint Network Source: FootprintNetwork.org

Mathis Wackernagel of Global Footprint Network, is working with global leaders to help us understand and ultimately align our activities with the basic carrying capacity of the earth.

This 14-minute speech is very much worth seeing and sharing.

Video presented by: Sustainable Life Media:

“We may finally be on the verge of a tipping point wherein mainstream attention to identifying and mitigating a company’s carbon impact will become a core strategic priority for all businesses. But what comes next? The reality is, global warming is just one of the detrimental impacts of unchecked business activity. During this time of seismic shift in awareness of the interconnectedness of things, the opportunity is to take a longer, more systemic view of the many ways our activities impact the world around us.

“By doing so, we will begin to anticipate and respond more quickly to both the needs and the enormous world of possibility in front of us to innovate for a whole, healed world. Be inspired by this thought leader who is working with leaders around the globe to help us all understand and ultimately align our activities with the basic carrying capacity of the earth. Learn more about Sustainable Business & Design at: sustainablelifemedia.com“

I wish to thank Dan Grifen for contribution this story about Chicago following a greener path. – GRM

Post from D Grifen
– Supporter of all things green and progressive

With some of the brightest young engineers coming straight out of  the University of Illinois, it’s no wonder why the city is involved with major green initiatives. This includes the development of land conservation efforts driven by the Chicago Department of Environment, and some significant advances in Green Space/architecture during the 21^st century.

Chicago’s demand for greener jobs is being answered by companies like the West Pullman Plant, the largest urban solar planet in the U.S. In a report filed by the Chicago Sun Times, Jim Amedeo, Lead Supervisor, states “Solar plants are only going to get smaller and more efficient, and solar energy will get cheaper to use.”

Residential areas are progressively doing their part to ensure a smarter, energy efficient planet by exploring solar alternatives. With the housing tax credit extension, homeowners are definitely more inclined to enhance their efficiency and find new ways to go green. Reports substantiated by NBCNC of Chicago find that American homes generated twice as much power from rooftop solar panels. This is especially true in Chicago; hopefully with the expansion of plants like West Pullman, we’ll see an increase in solar powered homes and renewable energy.

Leading the way in green civil design in large is Niranjan Shah, CEO of Globetrotters Engineering Corporation out of Chicago, IL. Globetrotters has been granted monies in excess of $13.7 million, all for city consulting and engineering contracts since March 1994. “For over three decades, the firm has provided a full range of professional architectural and engineering consulting services we have also been active in program management, construction and energy management; property and facilities operation and maintenance; and technology integration and development.” (GEC) In building, the firm abides by USGBC guidelines; further promoting sustainability.

The rest of our nation keep an eye on the initiatives being taken in Chicago. Miniscule Individual lifestyle changes, such as brushing your teeth with the water off, are a step in the right direction. With the implementation of land conservation and Green Space, Chicago, along with the rest of the nation will effectively see costs go down in the long-term. This will in turn lead to a relatively fast economic incline.

This commentary by Marc Stoiber can be read in its entirety at Sustainable Life Media. I believe this is a good location for connecting to a collection of sustainability oriented people, events, and ideas. The following words, copied from the October 29, 2009 issue touched me with an encouraging ping, so I chose to share some of them, adding my own emphasis:

Mark Stoiber

“Executives today are being taught about ’social innovation’, a term that seamlessly incorporates the best of the above three terms, and reaches further – bringing along collective spirit, new thinking and economic responsibility for the ride.

“How does this work in real life? Consider:

“Ford developed a plastic shipping container used to ferry parts from one plant to the next. The shipping container eliminates the use of cardboard, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, reduces the number of shipments required, and is more ergonomic for factory workers. It is also recycled into splash shields for the F-150. Read more of this >>