GreenBuild Blog
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Paints, Low-VOC: An Excerpt from Jerry Yudelson’s “Green Building A to Z”
In 2006 I moved into a home that needed repainting. Since my wife is a “miner’s canary,” in terms of her sensitivity to all chemical emissions, we went in search of paint that wouldn’t leave a strong odor. After some looking, we found an “ecological” paint from a major manufacturer with only 3 grams per liter of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), versus 127 grams per liter for their conventional paint. Thinking that would be just fine, we added the color we wanted and took it home. Guess what? The color added so many volatile solvents that the paint still bothered my wife significantly.
Fortunately there are options for buying low-VOC natural paints. In a city with an ecologically focused home-improvement store, you can get expert consultation on low-VOC paints. One unique approach to paint selection is at the Ecohome Improvement store in Berkeley, California. There, you can sit around a “paint bar” and a knowledgeable “paint tender” will show you the choices.
Another approach is to choose an entirely new way to make paint. Green Planet Paints is headed by Meredith Aronson, an entrepreneur in southern Arizona with a Ph.D. in chemistry. She is beginning to hit the market with paints made from clay, marble, mineral pigments and a soy based resin that makes the surfaces washable, all based on ancient Mayan techniques and ingredients. These paints have no VOCs at all. Of her more natural paints, Aronson says, “The environmental footprint of even ‘zero-VOC’ paint can include all kinds of synthetic materials to control flow, skinning, settling, etc. that ultimately don’t support a vision of sustainability and goodness for the environment.”
In larger commercial settings, there are of course many options, and the LEED system has very defined rules for limiting VOCs in paints and coatings below threshold levels. These limits, 50 grams per liter for fiat and 150 grams per liter for non-fiat interior paints, are set by the Green Seal standard, GS-11.111 They are still a far cry, however, from “zero-VOC” paints that must contain no more than 5 grams per liter.
Click here to download the PDF version.
Posted by Sky on 11/15/2007 at 05:09 PM
This entry has been viewed 470 times.
Company News • PermalinkWednesday, November 14, 2007
Al Gore Joins Big Money VC Firm Kleiner Perkins
If you had any doubts about the business potential for green building and global warming soultions through advanced technology and systems, look no further than Gore’s announcement this week that he’s joining Kleiner Perkins, one of the marquee names in venture capital. According to one report, Kleiner Perkins is prepared to invest up to $200 million by 2009 in green technology startups. Gore said, “California’s passage of the nation’s first economy-wide limits on greenhouse gases also will make the state a testing ground to see which technologies - biofuels, hybrids, solar power plants, green building techniques - will prove most viable and cost effective.” Someone like Gore doesn’t come cheaply, so you can be sure he got some serious copnsideration to join the firm, including a strong stake in future investments. An article in Fortune on this move commented a good part of Kleiner Perkins latest fund “will be invested in technologies that aim to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. Already Kleiner has invested more than $270 million from various funds in 26 companies that make everything from microbes that scrub old oil wells to electric cars to noncorn ethanol. Twelve of Kleiner’s 22 partners now spend some or all of their time on green investments.”
Posted by Jerry on 11/14/2007 at 11:41 AM
This entry has been viewed 398 times.
Green Building News • PermalinkSunday, November 11, 2007
Greenbuild 2007 a Huge Success!
As someone who’s been involved with Greenbuild since it was first the project of a small committee in mid-2001, I am just astounded how we seem to grow 50% per year! This year’s show in Chicago, with more than 20,000 people and 850 exhibit booths was truly overwhelming. If anyone doubts that “green” is mainstream, just tune into Greenbuild365 and watch the show. The highlight for me had to be the many conversations, particularly at the trade show. There are so many incredible companies with green products, systems and designs, I feel we’re just beginning to scratch the surface of innovation for green buildings. There were substantial European exhibitors for the first time, including curtain wall and solar manufacturer, Schueco, from Germany, and dynamic facade manufacturer, Somfy, from France.
Posted by Jerry on 11/11/2007 at 07:20 PM
This entry has been viewed 403 times.
PermalinkFriday, November 02, 2007
Shop Green ‘Til You Drop!
Regency adopted the recommendations of its green building task force formed last year to study how Regency might best incorporate environmental sustainability into its business strategy and operations. In addition, Regency formed a partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to create a method that to LEED-certify new shopping center developments, something that is very difficult to do under the current LEED rating systems. In its announcement, Regency said it has committed to LEED-certify 20 percent of its 2008 development starts, 40 percent of 2009’s starts and 60 percent of its 2010 development starts. In addition, beginning next year, the Company will incorporate LEED certification into redevelopments of existing properties. Regency’s CEO Hap Stein said, “Regency strives to be a leader in the shopping center industry. Becoming a sustainable owner and LEED developer is not only the right thing to do, it’s something we’re committed to, and thanks to the hard work and diligent research of our task force, we have a plan to make Regency a more sustainable company thereby lessening our impact on the environment.” Regency owns nearly 450 retail properties, so this announcement marks the beginning of what I think will be a huge trend for the retail industry.
Posted by Jerry on 11/02/2007 at 12:34 PM
This entry has been viewed 488 times.
Green Building News • PermalinkPage 2 of 3 pages < 1 2 3 >
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