Perhaps one of the biggest knocks on green building, and LEED certification in particular, is that it is unattainable for so many. Despite costs that have dropped for sustainable materials, the extra costs associated with achieving LEED certification can be a financial barrier to building green homes and structures. Some see green building as elitist [...]
Posts Tagged ‘LEED’
Out with the New in with the Old
January 8th, 2012 
Eric Wilson A few months back I had the opportunity to tour three LEED certified projects on three consecutive days. All three projects achieved LEED gold and were located in the greater Denver area. The following op-ed is a bit of a reflection on these visits and what it means to build green. They are listed in [...]
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson, Featured Posts, Green Building, Op-Ed, Recylcing, Site Visits 
Tags: Denver, EPA, LEED, Waste 
No Comments »Site Visit: Denver Public School’s First LEED Gold Campus
November 8th, 2011 Eric Wilson A week and a half ago, I attended the US Green Building Council Colorado Chapter’s Green School Summit. For my notes on the conference, click here. Held on the 35-acre Evie Garrett Dennis E-12, early childhood through 12th grade, though there is also a 2 year program on the campus (for nursing and other career [...]
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson, Featured Posts, Green Building, Renewable Energy, Site Visits Tags: Colorado, Denver, Food, Green Schools, LEED, Net Zero Energy, Photovoltaic No Comments »USGBC Colorado’s Green School Summit Wrap-up
November 7th, 2011 Eric Wilson Although I did not “live blog” the US Green Building Council Colorado Chapter’s recent Green School Summit, here are my notes from the event: There are numerous free resources for energy efficiency available in Colorado. Two key ones are the Governor’s Energy Office and the Community Office of Resource Efficiency. Sangre de Christo School District [...]
Posted in Business, Conferences, Conservation, Education, Eric Wilson, Green Building, Green Economy, Live Blogging Tags: Colorado, Green Schools, LEED, USGBC No Comments »Site Visit: EPA Region 8 Headquarters
November 3rd, 2011 Eric Wilson Located in Denver’s Lower Downtown (LoDo) neighborhood, the EPA’s region 8 headquarters occupies a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certified commercial building which they moved into four years ago. Sitting at the corner of Wynkoop St and the 16th St. Mall, the building is adjacent to Union Station, Denver’s future home of [...]
Posted in Eric Wilson, Featured Posts, Green Building, Site Visits Tags: Energy Star, EPA, Green Roof, LEED, Photovoltaic, Public Transit No Comments »Harvard University Unveils its 50th LEED Certified Structure
August 13th, 2011 Eric Wilson Harvard, the oldest university in the United States – founded in 1636, less than two decades after the Mayflower landed on nearby Plymouth Rock – has reached the historic goal of 50 LEED certified buildings. Covering some 1.5 million square feet, the Cambridge, Massachusetts institution became the first university to complete 50 LEED projects on [...]
Posted in Education, Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson, Featured Posts, Green Building Tags: Composting, LEED, Water No Comments »Modern Green Living: City Living at its Best
July 13th, 2011 Guest Author In the classic sitcom, Green Acres, actors Eva Gabor and Eddie Albert bicker over the complications with their move from Manhattan to a rural farm. “Farm livin’ is the life for me/ Land spreadin’ out so far and wide/ Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside,” sings Albert, while Gabor pleads to return to Park [...]
New Town Builders to Construct Net Zero Home
June 13th, 2011 Eric Wilson Taking a page from the solar decathlon that runs annually in Washington DC, New Town Builders in Denver will complete their first net zero home in the Stapleton neighborhood later this year. As an example of what future homes (and buildings in general) can do, the net zero home will produce as much energy as [...]
