Climate Solutions
Climate Solutions
Beanstockd Does Global Green’s Sustainable Design Awards
Beanstockd. December 22nd 2008
On Wednesday December 10th, A-list celebrities, high-powered environmentalists, NYC charity gala regulars, and the Beanstockd team, all descended upon Pier Sixty for the 9th annual Sustainable Design Awards hosted by Global Green USA.
Greening Hollywood: EcoTainment, Creating Good Content About Doing Good
Hewlett-Packard and GM were the title sponsors, again, this year, for the two-day conference held at Universal City put on by Zahava and Michael Stroud. "HGG was truly a top tier 'Green' event! The moment I arrived I was greeted with enthusiasm. The venue was lovely," said Cynthia Kiktavi of Kiktavi Design. "Topics were interesting as well as thought provoking and vendors were knowledgeable about their products. Zahava did a great job!"
GM's Dave Barthmuss said, "Let's just address the elephant in the room," when he delivered his keynote speech. Even in the midst of the current economy and the auto industry's bailout, GM still showed up with its new hybrid and fuel cell vehicles, offering all attendees the opportunity to test drive the alternative fuel and fuel efficiency vehicles. Global Green's Matt Petersen delivered his keynote address with colleague Sebastian Copeland, Global Green USA board member, who both pointed out that the Earth can live without mankind but mankind cannot live without the Earth.
Environmentally-Aware Stars Get Green At Sustainable Design Awards
ECORAZZI.COM DEC 12, 2008
On Wednesday night Ecorazzi had the honor of attending Global Green’s Sustainable Design Awards here in lusty, dusty NYC! Established in 1999, the Sustainable Design Awards recognizes specific advancements in industry, building, media, organizations, and public policy.
About the event, Global Green says, “ Whether they are helping to protect our air and water, eliminating weapons of mass destruction, stemming climate change, or raising the consciousness of millions, the ‘designs’ of these leaders — who were bold and courageous enough to undertake these acts or commitments deserve to be applauded and celebrated to inspire and encourage others.”
Katie Couric co-hosted the event along with David Hyde Pierce, Edward Norton (Global Green Board Member), Mel Gibson, and Brian Cox (Global Green New York Committee Member).
Al Gore Receives Honorary Doctorate from Poznan University
Al Gore called for more concerted action to save the planet yesterday as he addressed the audience at the University of Poznan, after receiving an honorary doctorate from the University during a side event to the 14th climate change conference taking place in the Polish city.
The former US Vice-President and climate change campaigner said that delegates in Poznan must wake up to the new reality of a world that is moving towards an apocalyptic future unless drastic corrective measures are taken immediately. Polish astronomer Copernicus showed that the world revolves around the sun at a time when common knowledge was that we were the center of the universe. Despite the evidence, the road to acceptance of this new reality was difficult and filled with setbacks. Similarly, Poznan delegates are also prone to misperceptions, despite the massive scientific information available, they fail to realize the urgency of the situation.
Gore thanked the university, the city authorities, and his friend Dr Jan Kulczyk, chairman of Green Cross International, for this honor and for the invitation to Poznan.
Tis the season: The stars shine at green benefits
PLENTY Magazine. Dec 9, 2008. By Roberta Cruger
Mel Gibson, Ed Norton, Katie Couric, David Hyde Pierce, and Deadwood’s Brian Cox are presenters at Global Green’s 9th Annual Sustainable Design Awards this week. Honors for Policy Design go to Bill Richardson, New Mexico’s Governor and newly appointed Commerce Secretary. Other kudos include Rabobank, which snagged The Founders Award for its corporate social responsibility and sustainability oriented banking, particularly exemplary in these financial times.
The same org also threw its 4th Annual “Gorgeous & Green” gala in San Francisco with actress Kate Bosworth hosting with Mayor Gavin Newsom at the LEED-certified Bently Reserve last week, the same night as the UN’s Climate Change Conference in Poland opened. Global Green Prez Matt Petersen spoke, American Idol finalist Elliot Yamin performed, and an eco-fashion show featured designs by Edun, Linda Loudermilk, and more than 12 other green labels. Bosworth wore a black dress made with hand-dyed hemp and free-range silk with recycled zippers, designed by 3.1 Phillip Lim.
Sebastian Copeland on This Is America
On the Air America show "This Is America," host Jon Elliott is joined by Global Green Board member Sebastian Copeland who discusses his new book, Antartica: A Call To Action.
L.A. council orders solar rooftop measure drafted
L.A. TIMES. OCT 28, 2008. By David Zahniser.
If the council OKs it by Nov. 7, the initiative to add solar panels would be on the March ballot. The panels would provide 400 megawatts to commercial and other buildings by 2013.
The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to draft a solar rooftop measure for the March 3 ballot, even though officials with the Department of Water and Power still don't know what the initiative would do to electrical rates.
On a 14-0 vote, the council instructed City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo to write the ballot language for the solar plan, which was crafted in large part by officials at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the union that represents DWP employees.
Although DWP officials said the plan could cost anywhere from $1.5 billion to $3 billion, they have not yet produced a rate study that explains whether it would lead to higher electricity bills.
"I'm still not convinced that the financing plan has been explained," said Mary Luevano, a legislative advocate for the group Global Green USA.
Villaraigosa, 3 council members back solar power initiative
LOS ANGELES TIMES. OCT 15, 2008. By David Zahniser.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and three City Council members have thrown their support behind a proposal to install enough rooftop solar panels on buildings across the city to power 100,000 residential customers of the Department of Water and Power by 2013.
The proposal, which would appear on the March 3 ballot, was developed by Working Californians, a pro-labor advocacy group with strong ties to the union that represents DWP workers.
Working Californians is led by two high-level officials with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Under the plan, the solar panels would be installed by DWP employees and remain the property of the city's electrical utility once they were up and running.
The group also contends that the solar strategy will create jobs and boost the Los Angeles economy, according to position papers prepared by Working Californians.
Global Green Works on National Energy Efficiency Campaign
Global Green Policy and Legislative Associate David Fink will be in Minneapolis from Sept. 17th through Sept. 23rd for the culmination of a nine month campaign aimed at updating the most utilized residential building code in the country to make it 30% more energy efficient.
Modifying the International Energy Conservation Code is one of the most cost effective and practical ways to help mitigate the potentially devastating impact of global warming. The proposal will also save home owners and tenants considerably on their utility bills. Global Green has been working as part of a coalition called the Energy Efficient Codes Coalition on the campaign. The body that votes on code change proposals is the International Codes Council who only considers proposals once every three years making this one of the most important votes anywhere this year.
ARCTIC SEA ICE MELTING FASTER THAN EXPECTED
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR. JUNE 12, 2008. By Peter N. Spotts
Arctic Ocean sea ice – one of the most visible indicators for global warming – may be headed for another record-breaking summer decline.
If the pattern continues, new research suggests, its warming effect could reach up to 900 miles inland, melting permafrost and potentially altering weather patterns at lower latitudes. As of June 7, preliminary data show that the vast expanse of ice at the top of the world is some 55,800 square miles smaller than it was on the same date last year, according to University of Colorado researcher Sheldon Drobot. In May, sea-ice extent was slightly large than in May 2007. But the melt rate during the month – some 3,000 square miles a day – was faster, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo.
The ice’s seasonal shrinkage in 2007 smashed records, reaching a September minimum of 2.6 million square miles – some 23 percent smaller than the previous record, set in 2005. If it sets another record this year, it would mark the fifth season of record declines since 1998.
California Building Standards Commission votes to adopt the nation's first statewide green building code
"California continues to be a national leader in addressing climate change. With the adoption of the new standards, builders and local governments have a sound foundation to create greener communities in the state." said Global Green staffer Walker Wells, an appointed member of the Green Building Technical Advisory Committee that helped develop California’s green building code.
ON EARTH DAY, L.A. PASSES A 'GREEN' BUILDING LAW TO CLEAN THE AIR
LOS ANGELES TIMES. APRIL 23, 2008. By Margot Roosevelt
Los Angeles embarked on one of its most ambitious projects to combat global warming on Monday, becoming the biggest city in the nation to impose "green" building rules that would potentially cut millions of tons of pollution over the next decade.
In a unanimous vote, the City Council passed an ordinance requiring builders of large commercial and residential developments to adopt such measures as planting drought-resistant landscaping and using recycled materials and energy-efficient heating, cooling and lighting.
Noting "the Los Angeles tradition of smog and sprawl," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, wearing a green necktie in honor of Earth Day, signed the new law on a sunny terrace flanked by two model condominium high-rises, the Luma and the Elleven, off Hope Street in downtown, which were built to strict conservation standards.
The mayor has pledged to reduce the city's carbon emissions 35% below 1990 levels by 2030, an effort that will also require a crackdown on the city's coal-dependent municipal utility and a move toward electricity from renewable sources.
"We look toward the future through a greener lens," Villaraigosa said, "after decades of poor policies that neglected environmental concerns."
S.F. MAYOR TOUTS 'GREEN' GOAL IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE. AUG 3, 2005. By Ilene Lelchuk
Standing next to some solar panels on the roof of the unfinished Plaza Apartments, where 106 new studios for poor individuals are under construction, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that the city was the first in the nation applying high environmental standards to all its new affordable housing developments.
That means solar panels, recycled building materials, energy efficient appliances, bamboo floors, paneling made with recycled paper and wood products, more natural light and better insulation.
The nine-story Plaza Hotel, expected to open in November on the corner of Howard and Sixth streets, is Newsom's model. The builders say 94 percent of the building materials so far have been recycled from landfill and from the old two-story residential hotel that previously stood there.
"Cities are consuming 75 percent of the Earth's national resources and in turn contributing to 75 percent of everything that's wrong with the global environment," Newsom said. "That being said, it seems incumbent on us as mayors at the local level to recognize our responsibility to address the issues of global warming, environmental justice and stewardship."