Green Gems

Over the past year and a half with this blog I haven't written about sustainable design nearly as much as I'd meant to. Not that this makes up for it, but I'd like to mention a host of green-oriented items:

The city's Office of Sustainable Development 's fifth annual 'Build It Green!' tour of homes is coming up on Saturday, September 16. There will be more than 20 homes featured, addressing numerous themes such as 'livable density', 'habitat restoration', 'climate friendly homes', and 'green=affordable'. "One of the best ways to explore green ideas for your own remodel or new home is to meet and talk with other homeowners, see their projects and learn about their experiences," says Mike O’Brien, Green Building Specialist for the City of Portland. "It's fun, interesting and helps clarify your own decisions."

Also, as reported on the cover of today's Oregonian by Dylan Rivera, the Oregon Real Estate Regional Multiple Listing Service, which is a listing of available homes for sale that transcends individual realtors or companies, is adding a certification to its service for green buildings. That is a major validation that sustainable building has gone mainstream.

Over at BetterBricks, an arm of the nonprofit, utility-funded Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance devoted to promoting high-performance building, the deadline has just been extended for nominating candidates for the BetterBricks Awards, which honors building industry professionals for their support of energy efficiency and sustainable building practices in the Northwest. (In the interest of full disclosure, I've done some writing for BetterBricks.) Categories include owner/decision maker, designer, advocate, service provider and facility operator/manager. Howzabout submitting a nomination?  The awards ceremony will be held at at 7:30am at the Benson Hotel on Wednesday, October 4. Hopefully the coffee will be strong. (Also, watch for a coming re-design of the BetterBricks website.)

Also coming up is the Northwest Solar Expo, where you can learn about designs and products that will help save us from peak-oil. It's scheduled for the Oregon Convention Center on September 29th - October 1st and "will offer workshops, vendors, and seminars to homeowners and business owners interested in clean energy solutions for their homes and buildings."

And finally, the Sustainable Industries Journal has listed its 'Top Green Building Products' for 2006. Items include Nanogel, an innovative insulation product by Cabot; PureBond Plywood, a formaldehyde-free plywood product from Columbia Forest Products; Recycled Metal Lighting from lighting designer and manufacturer Eleek; Sphelar, a spherical microsolar cell from Kyosemi Corp., Ductal, a high-performance concrete from LaFarge; and zero-VOC Paint from Miller Paint and Rodda Paint.