Introducing: The GeoVerde Solar Metal Roofing Solution!
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- Category: Green Building
- Published: Sunday, 03 December 2017 00:25
- Written by Rod Kirk
A Presentation By Richard Tsuei

Santa Clara Agrihood Project Needs Your Support!
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- Category: Green Building
- Published: Saturday, 26 November 2016 22:44
- Written by Rod Kirk

Therefore will you please come out and add your support for this vital project on Tuesday Nov.29, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm? There will be a special session at the Santa Clara City Council chambers located at 1500 Warburton Dr., Santa Clara, CA, where community members may voice their support for this project.
Time: 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Where: Santa Clara City Hall located at 1500 Warburton Dr., Santa Clara, CA
(Directions: http://santaclaraca.gov/about/connect-with-us/directions-to-city-hall)
Smart City Security Guidelines
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- Category: Green Building
- Published: Wednesday, 06 April 2016 11:59
- Written by Alex Mednick
In our quest to conserve energy and decrease our energy footprint in our cities of the future, we are focusing
on providing a secure infrastructure to protect against those who will inevitably try to hack and distrupt our efforts. Securing Smart Cities is a global not-for-profit organization that is working towards these goals. This organization has released guidelines that is the foundation for putting in place a secure infrastructure.
Some key contributors to this agenda are Kaspersky Labs and Blue Karma Security.
For more information please contact Alex Mednick, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Sustainability & the New San Jose Firehouse
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- Category: Green Building
- Published: Saturday, 23 January 2016 15:56
- Written by Rod Kirk
San Jose has recently completed construction and putting into service a new firehouse. It is located on White Road near Lake Cunningham. Engine 21 resides here. On January 23, 2016 they had an open house to show off this new building and community safety resource. I had the opportunity of visiting this new station during their open house. Mayor Licardo and Vice Mayor Rose Herera were present as well as other City officials. I chatted with several firefighters who make this their home away from home. They are really quite pleased with station. It has an open artchitecture, it is modern, it has many comfort ammenities, and it provides the space necessary to store three firefighting vehicles as well as tons of support equipment. There is plenty of parking and a nice size service yard.
I had a chance to talk to the architect of the building; Dominique. He told me that they did not outsource the design of the building but rather relied on internal city employees to facilitate the design of which he was the key artchitect involved. I asked if he could highlight any design points which supported sustainability. He said that much of the building materials were chose to utilize recycled materials, all wood was green certified, and as much of the furnishing utilized recylced materials as they could arrange. The lighting uses LED lighted throughout. The building uses windows with an eye towards minimizing the need for internal lighting.
I talked with several firefighters about the overall sustainablity practices of the San Jose Fire department. I was told that they have really cut down on the program of testing fire hydrants throughtout the city to save on water (I don't know if this is good or bad!). When at fires they have a new mandate to prevent the flow of tainted water into the curb gutters. Lastly, they have installed water storage/collection tanks at their training facilities to be able re-use water that is used for their training exercises.
It was a very interesting open house and of course, the kids absolutely loved it (They received free firehats!).
Water Leak Detection Made Simple
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- Category: Green Building
- Published: Friday, 22 January 2016 20:34
- Written by Nancy Hartsoch
A Presentation by Nancy Hartsoch
Aging plumbing, outdated distribution systems and equipment malfunctions cost property owners billions of dollars in water damage and loss annually. Despite the severity of the problem, available solutions, which focus primarily on spot detection, have been limited in their ability to address the problem. In addition millions of gallons of water are lost due to a variety of causes, and these losses often go undetected for months until a very large bill arrives two months later causing a shock wave and urgent investigation of the situation.
Opportunities for Sustainability in Commercial Buildings
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- Category: Green Building
- Published: Monday, 12 October 2015 17:38
- Written by Tony Green
Commercial buildings include buildings greater than 1,000 square feet which devote more than half of their floor space to activities which are neither residential, manufacturing, industrial, nor agricultural.
This includes stores, office buildings, schools, churches, gymnasiums, libraries, museums, hospitals, clinics, warehouses, and malls. The design, construction, operation of commercial buildings impact natural resources, environmental quality, worker productivity, and community well-being.
Approximately 9 percent of the total water use is consumed by commercial and institutional facilities in the United States and up to 17% of publicly-supplied water use. Three applications: sanitary (e.g., toilets, sinks), landscaping, and heating/cooling account for 88% of commercial building water use.
Hear about the opportunities for commercial buildings to do their part in conserving our water in this time of unpreceded drought.
I will cover questions such as:
• What are commercial buildings and does how water usage differ by type?
• What are the typical water and energy usage in commercial buildings?
• Where can water savings be obtained in commercial buildings?
• Where is the nexus between water and energy in commercial buildings?
Read more: Opportunities for Sustainability in Commercial Buildings
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