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The Green Building movement on Nantucket
by Peter B. Brace Independent Writer
Windwalker Real Estate president Alan Worden received unanimous HDC approval last week to install solar panels and put up a wind turbine
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| Clean Paints Paints made of low volatile organic compounds are less harmful to the environment than traditional paints. |
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at a house on Esther Island.
Worden, who is seeking a gold rating from the LEED for Homes Program, will power his beach house with solar and wind, water the native drought-resistant plants and grass with rainwater collected from gutters and replace the existing cesspool with an AdvanTex environ-septic system with pipes made of 30-percent post consumer plastic. On the inside, Interior Designer Linda Woodrum, of HG Green House, will find room for Energy Star appliances, organic linens and antique furniture.
Worden already employs an aluminum skiff with a four-stroke outboard motor to reach Esther Island.
Worden is also helping Wendy Schmidt with the greening of the new NRTA terminal and Mitchell's Book Corner, both in their conceptual design phase. For Schmidt, Worden will be working with National Grid on energy efficiency solutions, tapping the New York City consulting firm Terrapin Bright Green, for green building strategies to include insulation, windows, building materials, lighting, floor coverings and paints.
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| From Engines Contertops are made of leftover aluminum shavings from the production of aircraft engines. |
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"What we really hope to do is to use those projects as a way of developing a model for improving the energy profile of historic buildings," said Worden. "What we learn from those projects we can present to the community to use or not use."
LET'S GO GREEN
In this go-green world there exists a dichotomy of building construction realities separated by a spectrum of emerald hues.
Over the last year or so, the Nantucket building community has been abuzz with green possibilities, some of which are becoming reality while others are still being developed.
"I think there are a lot of heads and hearts in the right place, but I don't think there is anything cohesive, per se," said Designer Brook Meerbergen. "We're taking baby steps out here while a lot of places have been doing this for a while because we have so many constraints."
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| Sun Power Solar panels consisting of photovoltaic cells made of thin silicon disks convert the sun's radiation to electricity. |
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As grandiose as green building plans can get on Nantucket, many of them must pass muster at the Historic District Commission, unless their elements are hidden from view. Things like solar panels and wind turbines have been turning up on the HDC agenda with more frequency lately, but they are by no means the dominant listings among Revisions, Additions and Renovations.
"It hasn't really taken the form of applications in that respect, but we've had a significant amount of talk and questions," said HDC Administrator Mark Voigt.
That, however, is coming sooner than many might think.
Small Friends of Nantucket is framing its new green schoolhouse, and Architect Chip Webster is about ready to move into his own green-built house packed with building parts and fixtures made from renewable or recycled materials. And, of course, consider the aforementioned vision and accomplishments of Alan Worden and Wendy Schmidt.
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| Bamboo Bamboo is known for its durability, resistance to moisture and insects and for its multitude of flooring. Building uses such as an ecofriendly |
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Also, Web site designer Malcolm Brooks and Pi Pizza owner Evan Marley have built green houses, both of which have nearly identical German solar technology and energy-efficient heating systems, prefab insulated foundations and double-insulated windows and Korean appliances that use a minimum of electricity. In 2005, Vanessa Noel opened Hotel Green at 33 Centre St. Though not built by LEED standards, Noel painted the interior of her building with environmentally sound milk-based paints and outfitted it with recycled lampshades, cardboard chairs and hemp shower curtains.
IT HELPS EVERYBODY
"Green" is the latest word to describe the simple, non-glamorous way people have been saving money for decades through the use of fluorescent light bulbs, insulation, energyefficient appliances, heating systems and double-paned, heat trapping windows. Nantucket Housing Office Administrator Aaron Marcavitch calls them "high-performance homes."
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| Eco-Wet Recycled aluminum shower tiles in Chip Webster's home. |
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It is the direction that the Housing Office is headed, both for the rental houses it manages and those for purchase under its Nantucket Housing Needs Covenant Program.
"Green technology generally saves you money. Well, that's what we're trying to do is help people on restricted incomes by saving on their energy costs. It helps everybody," said Marcavitch.
The Nantucket Housing Office's high-performance housing initiative is taking pointers from the Vineyard Housing Trust program. That program helps Cozy Hearth Development Corp.'s affordable housing development, Jenny Lane, to make several of its affordable houses green.
Habitat for Humanity on Nantucket is in the process of building two green houses - designed by Chip Webster & Associates - for qualified islanders.
And Sustainable Nantucket's Green Council, chaired by Milton Rowland & Associates Architect Rebecca Weld, is exploring green building practices on the island.
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| GROUND LEVEL VIEW Outer Cape Finishers employee Kurt Kavanaugh fits a double-thick layer of rigid foam insulation at the Small Friends construction site yesterday. The insulation, which will be covered with solid concrete, will help keep building's floors warm. ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent |
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"As part of this [the Green Council], we have a group of people working on researching what other towns are doing for green building with the hope that we would be talking to our town about adopting incentives for green building," said Sustainable Nantucket Executive Director Michelle Whelan.
The Brunswick, Maine-based Citizenrë, locally represented by Color Graphics owner Bruce Marshall-Jones, is offering a solar panel leasing program on Nantucket. The company installs enough solar panels on a building to power it and leases the equipment to the owner for a flat rate of around 85 percent of their average annual electricity bill.
Marshall-Jones said that about 30 Nantucketers have already signed up for the systems that come with a global warming guarantee.
Because Citizenrë's solar panel manufacturing plant will not be in production until, at the earliest, this fall, the company's pilot program in major metropolitan areas across the country includes the installation of 1,000 systems using off-the-shelf panels and wiring. It is unlikely that Nantucketers already committed to the program will be part of this early-bird program.
"Boston is one of the first metropolitan areas where they will be doing this," said Marshall-Jones. "[But], I can't say whether the installer will be coming all the way out to Nantucket."
PRESERVATION IS THE ORIGINAL GREEN
Whereas mainland greenies can top their roofs with banks of solar panels, plant wind turbines in their back yards and build all manner of south-facing structures with banks of double-paned insulated windows, Nantucket is more or less limited to interior atmospheresaving techniques.
The Historic District Commission's architectural and historic preservation bible, "Building with Nantucket in Mind," keeps these new-fangled houses in check, especially in the old historic districts in Nantucket town and 'Sconset.
But, the commission is working to accommodate property owners' wants and needs.
Meerbergen recently secured a favorable 3-2 vote to install two solar panels on a Liberty Street house, satisfying the HDC's historic materials concerns by camouflaging them as roof shuttles.
"I was very stoked about the sentiment on the board. They were very enthusiastic," he said.
Last spring, the HDC also approved a wind turbine for Bartlett's Ocean View Farm for the production of most of the farm's electricity. Both of these approvals, however, came as a result of the HDC working with applicants to make their projects blend in with their surroundings, a growing challenge to which the HDC says it will adapt. "We're here to consider new information and try to find an appropriate compromise, or blend of maintaining the existing character and incorporating new technologies," said Voigt.
Rebecca Weld, partner in the design-build company Verde: Nantucket Green Build, believes acceptance of these new technologies and ways of approaching house building on Nantucket will evolve more rapidly as energy costs rise and building materials become more scarce. Weld's business partners are Ian Konecko and Burr Tupper.
"Fuel costs are still going up and that's making it more real, said Weld. "If anything, my interest has gotten deeper and broader on how we can make this better."
On the municipal level, Article 95 on this year's Town Warrant calls for the town to follow LEED certification guidelines when building any new public structures. Article 101 seeks voter approval for requiring the HDC to adopt a policy on solar energy systems.
GREEN PIONEERS
Cork and bamboo flooring, blownin isonene insulation, Energy Star appliances, compact fluorescent and LED lighting, low volatile organic compound paints and carpeting, reclaimed wood, framing materials certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and reconstituted recycled materials are some of the green things built into Architect Chip Webster's house off South Shore Road.
Although these building materials are not yet as dominant as white cedar shingles and cedar trim, their use and interest in them is gaining ground.
"We're getting more and more clients interested in it and integrating it into more and more of our projects," said Webster. "We're getting more and more questions about green. I find that a lot of people are extremely interested. We're also very excited to be working with the Habitat for Humanity, which will be green."
Several property owners are in the process of building LEED-certified buildings and can now rely on firms such as Webster & Associates whose architects and designers are all LEED-accredited, and others, like Weld, for guidance in the green building world.
Leadership in Energy & Design, a rating system set by the U.S. Green Building Council, rates the energy efficiency and environmental friendliness of buildings with ascending rankings of silver, gold and platinum, based on how "green" a building is when complete. Small Friends of Nantucket, having finished the foundation of its new schoolhouse at 19 Nobabeer Farm Road, is shooting for the gold LEED rating.
Many Nantucketers' early commitment to building sensibly using sustainable, longer-lasting and energy efficient materials is setting a trend that many in the building trades believe will eventually evolve into the status quo.
"I think that it is going to continue growing, not only on Nantucket, but worldwide," said Webster. "There's no question in my mind that this is the way that everything will ultimately be done, so it will continue
to grow until it reaches that point." I
TOP 10 U.S. GREEN CITIES
According to National Geographic's Green Guide
1. Eugene, OR (Pop. 137,893)
First on our list is the university town, Eugene, well known as a powerhouse of green industry, clustering sustainable businesses like an environmentally minded Silicon Valley. Nestled in the Willamette River Valley with views of the Cascade Mountains, residents enjoy numerous bike trails, clean air and water, parkland and outlying wilderness areas. Hydroelectric and wind power contribute over 85 percent of Eugene's power, reducing greenhouse gas emissions considerably. A little over 16% of Eugene is green space, including athletic fields, city parks, public gardens, trails and waterfront. The city has over 2,500 acres of publicly owned wetlands, and its West Eugene Wetlands Program includes a mitigation bank, a native plant nursery, protected wetlands and educational features.
2. Austin, TX (Pop. 656,562)
Austin reappears in our top 10 list where once again it stands out for its commitment to solar power and green building. Offering its customers one of the highest solar power rebates in the country, Austin plans to meet 20 percent of its energy needs with renewable sources by 2020. Austin's Green Builder program provides information for homeowners, renters and members of the design and building professions to help build more energy efficient and environmentally sound dwellings. For their central business district, Austin has established minimal requirements for energy efficiency and is considering requiring reflective roofs. Austin's Smart Growth Initiative is designed to preserve drinking water quality, ensure proximity to mass transit, and maintain a pedestrian friendly urban design.
3. Portland, OR (Pop. 529,121)
Portland also returns from last year's list, not a surprise, perhaps, for this evergreen city which has directed all of its departments and agencies according to its Sustainable City Principles since 1994. The principles, which cover the protection of natural resources, habitat and ecosystem conservation and minimizing human impacts on the environment both locally and worldwide, haven't languished on paper these last 12 years. The first U.S. city to have a plan to reduce the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, Portland gains 44% of its energy from hydroelectric sources and encouraging the installation of solar power through municipal tax incentives. Light rail, bicycle lanes and buses help keep residents out of their cars, with 13% relying on public transportation for their commute to work, 2% bicycling and 11% carpooling. Portland not only recycles the standard glass, metal and plastics, but also composts residential yard waste and food scraps from businesses.
4. St. Paul, MN (Pop. 287,151)
With a quarter of its area given over to green space, St. Paul almost seamlessly integrates urban life with the natural environment. And this will improve as the city charter not only ensures the protection of parkland but requires expanding public access to the Mississippi River which winds through the city. Working to reduce global warming, St. Paul has passed its 1997 goals in CO2 emissions-reduction goals and now plans to reach a 20% reduction of 1988 C02 levels by 2020. To achieve this, Rick Person, program administrator for St. Paul's Department of Public Works, says the city will need to complete its central corridor light-rail system and adopt a 20% renewable energy portfolio. To assist residents in installing renewable energy, the state provides property tax exemptions for the value of the system, and St. Paul's Neighborhood Energy Consortium (NEC) provides assistance and expertise in obtaining Energy Efficient Mortgages.
5. Santa Rosa, CA (Pop. 147,595)
Fifty-five miles north of San Francisco, Santa Rosa provides clean air, water and a healthy environment for residents, with its smoke-free public spaces and restaurants. Enhancing these elements, Santa Rosa has implemented California's Build It Green certification program certifying environmentally sound building construction for municipal, commercial and residential sectors. The program's goal is for more than half of all new municipal building starts of over 10,000 square feet to meet or exceed LEED certification requirements. Well equipped with bicycle paths and lanes, Santa Rosa has recently finished a walking and bicycle trail connecting to the Joe Rodota Trail that leads to nearby Sebastopol. And for a novel way to reconnect with nature, stroll among the native California Gray Rush plants in the Snoopy Head labyrinth at the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center.
6. Oakland, CA (Pop. 399,484)
Oakland has taken a progressive stance on renewable energy, adopting a plan to achieve 50% renewable energy by 2017. Now it's turning its attention to food, with the Oakland Food Council setting a goal for 30% of the city's food production to occur within a 100 mile radius. Bringing those goods into the city are six farmer's markets, while seven community gardens help production right at home. With multi-family housing making up most of Oakland's new building, the city's Green Building Ordinance passed in 2005 will encourage them to achieve LEED Silver rating with rebates and permit fast-tracking. To create a denser downtown and reduce pollution from traffic, Oakland is encouraging 10,000 new residents to move into the downtown area where they'll have access to the city's subway, bus and bicycle path systems. The proof is in the pudding, with 20% of Oakland residents commuting by bicycle or public transport.
7. Berkeley, CA (Pop. 102,743)
Berkeley's distinguished history as a center of politically progressive thought extends well into the environmental movement, and the city currently boasts the highest number of members of environmental organizations of any city in the U.S. Located on the gorgeous San Francisco Bay, Berkeley shares the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system with neighboring Oakland and San Francisco, linking all three cities in a community where organic rules. Berkeley requires that all new cityowned buildings be built to LEED Silver standards and has created a sustainable development fee on all new permits to pay for the creation of green building guidelines for residential, multifamily and commercial buildings. Nineteen percent of Berkeleyites commute on public transport and besides BART and the bus system, residents also may take advantage of the city's car sharing program. The green thumbed may work the earth at over 20 community gardens, and their children can get a start at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School's Edible Schoolyard program where students grow, harvest and prepare organic food.
8. Honolulu, HI (Pop. 371,657)
Renowned for its clean air and pure water from Oahu's aquifer, Honolulu is among America's healthiest cities, with a mild climate that encourages outdoor activities along the 28 acre Kaka'ako Waterfront park. Although Honolulu draws 89% of its energy from imported oil, Bill Brennan, press secretary to the mayor, notes that 7% of its power is from burning garbage. The city's H Power Plant burns 500,000 tons of waste annually helping cut down on landfilled trash. To further reduce waste, this March Honolulu launched a lawn, garden and tree clippings or "greenwaste" recycling program. "This greenwaste is recycled here on the island," says Brennan. "It goes to Hawaiian Earth Products, which turns it into mulch and compost and provides it to the public for free on the site or packaged and sold in stores." The future looks green as well: By 2007, all new city buildings of over 5,000 square feet must meet LEED Silver standards.
9. Huntsville, AL (Pop. 158,216)
New to the top 10 list this year, Huntsville has devoted almost a third of its land to green spaces including undeveloped forest and nature preserves, along with public gardens, parks and waterfront. The city-funded Operation Green Team has been remarkably successful in their public education and city clean-ups, enlisting 12,000 volunteers in their 2005 effort to clean and green the city. Thirteen percent of the population commutes by bus while a trolley is available for special events to reduce congestion, helping clean up their air. The hospital possesses its own light rail system to shuttle staff across its grounds. Although Hunstville relies on coal and nuclear power for the majority of its energy mix, homeowners can purchase solar or wind-generated energy through the Tennessee Valley Authority.
10. Denver, CO (Pop. 554,636)
Denver has just completed a five-year plan for its Greenprint Denver sustainable initiative, covering everything from green building to greenhouse gases. Focusing on greenhouse gas reduction, water conservation and quality, waste reduction and increased recycling, Greenprint Denver also has three solar installations under consideration, one of which is now approved and will produce one to two megawatts. Asignatory to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, Denver maintains one of the country's largest hybrid municipal fleets. It is also in the midst of completing the nation's largest light rail system, serving the larger metropolitan region and with an anticipated half-million riders daily. The city recently created a position for the promotion of green business and has the largest CO2 based dry cleaning chain in the country.
GREEN SPEAK
9 Terms for Your Eco-Friendly Vocabulary
You should never feel out of touch when clients are telling you about their dream green home. That's why we asked Jessica Jensen, co-founder of the green home-improvement Web site Low Impact Living, to share some key terms that every real estate practitioner ought to know.
EcoBroker. This real estate certification program helps practitioners become experts in helping consumers and communities use energy efficiency and sustainable design. Through EcoBroker educational courses, you acquire knowledge and resources to become a Certified EcoBroker, which gives you a leg up in assisting home owners in purchasing and marketing properties with green features. Classes are available online, and may count as continuing education credits in your state.
FSC-certified wood. A key component of green building is using sustainable wood. Quickly renewable woods like bamboo are inherently sustainable. In selecting other types of hardwoods, it's important that the wood be grown and harvested in a sustainable manner. The Forest Stewardship Council maintains standards and certifies woods for sustainability.
Geothermal. Geothermal power uses heat from the earth to generate electricity. This is a clean, renewable power source. Geothermal energy is harnessed with a Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) to tap the stored energy beneath the planet's surface. These pumps can be used to provide heating, cooling, and hot water for residential and commercial buildings.
LEED. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria. LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings' performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
Native landscaping. Selecting plants indigenous to your area means they're better adapted to the local climate, use appropriate amounts of water, resist local pests, and provide food for area wildlife.
Runoff. The wastewater that flows from our gardens, lawns, driveways, and streets into our sewer systems carries various pollutants, including fertilizers and pesticides from our yards. The water eventually travels into rivers and oceans where they degrade water quality for humans and animals. To reduce runoff, homeowners can make sure they don't over-water their lawns or accidentally water their sidewalks and driveways.
Solar PV/ Solar Water Heaters. Solar PV stands for Solar Photovoltaic, which are the panels used to create electricity. PV cells are comprised of semi-conductors, most often made of silicon, which convert sun power into electricity. These are different from (and more expensive than) solar water-heating systems. A solar water-heating system is fairly simple with the solar panels typically installed on a roof. The sun then heats the panels; the solar collectors heat a fluid in pipes held in the interior of the panel boxes, and the fluid is transported into the house where it heats water in a storage tank.
VOC. An abbreviation for Volatile Organic Compounds, VOCs are emitted as gases from various solids and liquids like wall paint, furniture, and household cleaning supplies. Many chemicals are harmful to human health; some are carcinogenic. But no- or low-VOC products now available represent good non-toxic replacements.
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