For those of you not familiar with the Fort Worth/Dallas Metroplex (or if you live in Dallas it’s Dallas/Fort Worth…but what do they know), the area is like one big city managed by a couple of big city governments and an absurd number of smaller ones. It’s why the Dallas Cowboys haven’t actually been in Dallas since 1971 and yet nobody really seems to notice.
The city of Rockwall, Texas resides somewhere to the east of Dallas proper. Apparently, it is in an area that on my outdated map was labeled “Here there be monsters.” (I don’t travel much.) Rockwall is the county seat of Rockwall County. Rockwall is the smallest county in Texas, but also the one of the fastest growing counties in the whole United States. More importantly for this blog post, it is the home of Rockwall Toyota.
So, why would someone like me brave Dallas traffic to travel to a car dealership in a town I had never been to when I’m not in currently looking to buy a car? Well, this particular Toyota dealership holds a special place in the history of going green. This is the first Leed Gold Certified auto dealership on the planet, and after reading about it in the press room at Toyota I had to see for myself.
By nature I’m a bit skeptical about green businesses; even with certification it’s easy for a company to do the bare minimum to say they tried and then go about their business same as always. But never have I seen a business the extremes that Steve and Barbara Jackson have gone to with this dealership. This isn’t a marketing ploy with them, but a serious commitment.
It’s hard to know where to start but let me tell you right off the bat you haven’t lived until you walked into a men’s room with a digital camera and start taking pictures of the high tech waterless urinals. People just didn’t know how to react, but I couldn’t pass this up. As Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was fond of saying “God is in the details.” I hope it’s not sacrilegious to apply that to a men’s room. The cabinets, like the cabinets in the lobby, are made of recycled agricultural waste. The lights turn on and off automatically when you enter the room (a feature also common to all rooms in the facility) and the electronically controlled water saving water faucets are solar powered. Even the tile accents are made from recycled glass bottles.
The lobby is even more amazing. No VOC paints are used so there is no new car showroom smell. Furniture, cabinetry, wallpaper, even the floor mats are made from recycled and sustainable products. The lighting in the showroom senses when the room is lit by sunlight flowing in through the massive windows and automatically dims the lights to save power. They even have ceiling fans powered by solar panels on the roof. Skylights and windows provide natural lighting even in the climate controlled service areas. The bay doors into the service area open and close within 8 seconds to save energy.
The service bays and the parts department are connected by computer so that when a mechanic needs a part there are no forms or invoices to be filled out; In fact as much of the dealership communication that can be conducted paperless is.
Outside, the landscaping consists entirely of native plants. By using native plants, the amount of water, fertilizer, and pest control products used are greatly reduced. Four cisterns that are each bigger than my house collect water from the roof and from the condenser units for the air conditioning. These cisterns provide water for the landscaping and the car wash.
Green building techniques and materials were used throughout construction of the complex. The outside walls are made from recycled aluminum cans, and all waste materials from construction were recycled.
Environmentally friendly as commonly understood refers to nature and the outdoors. And I guess on a lot of levels, that’s the most important. I once worked for a defense contractor that employed some 10,000 people. Almost all of those employees were locked away 8 hours a day behind concrete walls with no windows, for national security reasons. The atmosphere was toxic, and I don’t just mean the WWII era asbestos in the building, but the burned out fluorescent baked state of mind that was a recognizable feature with anyone who had worked there more than a few months.
The commitment to the environment of Toyota of Rockwall extends not only to outside world, but also to their customers and employees. Air quality is carefully maintained throughout the facility with no VOC paint and concrete sealant, and airlock style entryways. Copiers and printers are sequestered away behind closed doors so that the toners and chemicals won’t contaminate the ecosystem of the building. Nearly every room is lit by sunlight during the day, and windows are made low enough that employees are able to see the outside from their desks.
Bike racks and showers are provided for the employees to encourage them to ride to work; not something you would expect from a car company. Employees are taught and encouraged to recycle and all the break rooms are provided with clearly marked recycle bins. Employees who carpool or drive hybrids to work are given special close in parking to encourage energy efficiency.
As I said, I’m not in the market for a car. As much as I wanted to drive one of the new hybrids off the lot, my beat up old Mercedes diesel (that I fill up with biodiesel) will have to hang in there a while longer until prize patrol shows up. But if you are in the market for a new car and you live within driving distance of Toyota of Rockwall it’s time to put environmental money where your mouth is. Toyota of Rockwall already has.
Popularity: 11% [?]
Photo courtesy of brentdanley at Flickr.com.
Where some people see heat mirages on a highway, others see potential energy savings. A company in the Netherlands has developed a way to use asphalt roads to produce energy. Considering the number of miles of blacktop we have worldwide, think about how much energy we could generate by adopting this technology!
Photo courtesy of arnitr at Flickr.com.
Popularity: 7% [?]
2 Apr 08 |
It’s that time of year again - HGTV is giving away a custom built home with amazing features. This year, the dream home embraces a number of green technologies.
These features include:
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On the HGTV website, there’s an interactive map of the green home, video tours, and links to more information about energy and water saving innovations. Oh, and you can also enter to win the home. Good luck!
Popularity: 9% [?]
In Oakland, California there exists a non-profit organization with an emphasis on collaboration between art, industry and community. The Crucible serves as a studio for sculpture and a foundry and metal fabrication shop teaching classes in art…both the gallery and industrial kind. It’s a very special educational facility that, for the first time in my life, makes me wish that I lived in Oakland.
Since May 2006, the 56,000 square foot studio has been getting a huge part of it’s electricity from a 34-kw photovoltaic system. Energy not used by the Crucible is sold back to the grid through net metering.
“As a community organization, a cornerstone of our mission is to be environmentally sustainable in supporting the arts. As a nonprofit organization, our high energy needs also motivated us to look into ways to alleviate that cost. Undertaking a solar energy project fit right in with both of these goals.”
Michael Sturtz,
Executive Director of The Crucible
The system puts out roughly 63,000 kwhr per year, saving $27,700 from May of 2006 through October 2007…roughly $2,000 dollars a month during the summer.
The total solar project cost of approximately $260,000 was covered by individual donations from The Crucible’s supporters, financing of $106,000 by SafeBidco, and a one-time $119,525 rebate through PG-E’s Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP).
But The Crucibles environmental interest doesn’t end with photovoltaic. They’ve been working on a subject near and dear to my heart…a biodiesel motorcycle.
I’ve been wanting a diesel, and by extension, a biodiesel motorcycle for years now. Royal Enfield in India actually had a production diesel motorcycles that sometimes make it across the pond, and if I can ever get my hands on one, you can bet I’ll jump at the chance.
But we’re not talking about a little around town bike with an industrial water pump motor shoved into the frame. The Crucible’s Die Moto set the diesel motorcycle land speed record of 130MPH running on B100 biodiesel.
The motorcycle was built using a BMW motorcycle frame and a BMW V6 diesel car motor, not normally available in the US.
The team is hoping to break their own record with another run at Bonneville in the future, expecting to get it up to 160 mph. Although Die Moto is designed to break records, the real story is that environmental responsibility and alternative technology can result in a high performance motor vehicle.
Popularity: 7% [?]
1 Apr 08 |
Photo courtesy of chiefdm5 at Flickr.com.
The first choices made during a project are often critical choices - they set the tone for everything that follows. During construction projects, that goes doubly true. It’s important to have a complete vision of the finished goal before the first brick is laid.
For example, it can be time consuming and expensive to add another bathroom after concrete is poured. Using low-VOC paint doesn’t do much good if it’s the second coat of paint on a wall. And putting in a skylight is easiest before roof tiles are applied.
Many early construction choices will be hidden from sight - under the carpet or inside the walls. Simply because these choices are covered up doesn’t make them any less important. A commonly overlooked factor is the importance of framing material. This press release (from a lumber company with a clear agenda) makes the case for wood framing as a greener option than steel.
As trees grow, they convert CO2 to carbon, which remains stored in the wood long after the tree is harvested. The benefits are substantial: the wood framing in a typical suburban home stores a volume of CO2 equal to the emissions from a small car over seven years.
That makes sense to me, but it’s important to make sure that the lumber used comes from a well managed forest or other sustainable source (ie; recycled building material, underwater forests, etc). There are sustainable certifications available for virtually all wood products - check with the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance for more information.
Photo courtesy of benb787 at Flickr.com.
For related information about the unseen benefits of insulation, check out our post about how Thermal Imaging technology can save energy by spotting leaks.
Popularity: 5% [?]
16 Mar 08 |
Photo courtesy of fastfoodforthought at Flickr.com.
Rooftop gardens, which are also sometimes called “Green Roofs”, have been encouraged in the developed world as a way of moderating urban temperature and rain water flood surges. In India, a new program is developing rooftop gardens with different goals in mind.
Rooftop gardens offer urban farmers a chance to turn squalor into nutrition. Equally important, they offer diversity to the household income. In a country where many women and low-caste men are often shut out from job opportunities, green roofs can do more than minimize the impact of weather.
Photo courtesy of /\ltus at Flickr.com.
Popularity: 7% [?]
15 Mar 08 |
Photo courtesy of krstl_blu at Flickr.com.
Most of the energy our homes use is spent heating and cooling the air to a comfortable level. By some estimates, 50-70% of energy is used on HVAC systems.
So, one of the best ways to cut energy use is to add insulation and seal any cracks in the home. But, how do you identify where insulation is needed, or where a draft is sneaking in? Rather than use subjective means, it’s now possible to use a Thermal Imager to spot energy leaks. That way, you can apply insulation and caulk in only the places where it’s really necessary, and you can limit the use of more expensive housing improvements to the places where they’ll do the most good! Here’s an example of what a leaky door looks like:
Photo courtesy of CBC || Thermal at Flickr.com.
If you don’t have a thermal imager hanging around in your closet, your friends may have one you can borrow. Alternate places to check include your local fire station, housing association, or community college. Many such organizations have equipment available for check out or rental. If nothing else, you can buy a camcorder with a thermal function from an electronics store, use it for an energy audit, and then pay the restocking fee to return the camcorder. Not that we recommend such shifty behavior, cheapskate.
Photo courtesy of CBC || Thermal at Flickr.com.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Photo courtesy of taryn_* at Flickr.com.
At the end of 2008, the cost of installing and operating alternative power generators is set to rise. There are currently federal tax credits that offer a 30% rebate on solar improvements (up to $2,000), but a sunset clause will reduce the rebate from 30% to 10% after January 1st, 2009.
Also, there’s a production tax credit that offers incentives for utilities to use wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and other alternative power sources. It’s also set to expire at the end of 2008. Unless these two tax credits are extended, industry studies warn that the US could lose more than 100,000 green collar jobs.
The open question is - how much truth lies behind these numbers? Even if the solar tax credit is allowed to lapse, there will be no effect on projects that cost more than $20,000. Is it possible that self interested alternative energy companies are trying to get legislators attention through fear? Since when did green power companies start behaving like coal lobbyists?
Popularity: 6% [?]
19 Feb 08 |
Photo courtesy of Guided by the light at Flickr.com.
Robert Frost famously wrote about how “Good fences make good neighbors,” but the type of fence that pioneers built in the American West can be a drain on the environment. Picket fences block animal migration routes and are often painted with toxic chemicals. Building a wooden fence kills trees and fossil fuels are burned transporting lumber. These fences can also cause erosion by transferring the force of the wind into the soil, and they take constant maintenance.
Centuries old techniques offer a green alternative. Just as the Normans used hedgerows and Native Americans used Osage-Orange, botanists are exploring new ways to use living plants to regulate property lines. For example, Phung Tuu Boi is building a green fence to keep people from areas contaminated with Agent Orange. As the director of the Center for Assistance in Nature Conservation and Community Development in Hanoi, he’s developed a fence that keeps animals from foraging in contaminated sites while also restoring the soil and growing a cash crop:
Mr. Boi has developed a low-tech solution to overcome these problems: a fence made of trees covered with cactus-sharp needles to deter humans and animals alike. Mr. Boi hopes this so-called green fence will not only discourage trespassers, but also provide them with an economic incentive to leave the barrier intact. Once mature, the trees he has chosen to make up the fence, Gleditschia australis, produce a fruit that residents can sell to make soaps and medicinals. Gleditschia, a type of honey locust, is disease and insect resistant, and its thorns and soft wood should deter residents from cutting it down for firewood.
Photo courtesy of imbala at Flickr.com.
Another advantage of living fences is that they offer habitat for wildlife. These slices of greenery often act as highways for wild animals on the move and dense tree lines are just as effective at controlling domestic animals.
Popularity: 8% [?]
9 Jan 08 |
Photo courtesy of Faelyn at Flickr.com.
Have you ever been in a confined space with a lot of other people and felt the temperature rising? Rather than give into claustrophobia, a Swedish company is going to convert body heat into energy. The heat will be used to reduce energy costs at a building near Stockholm’s Central Station. There’s no word on whether the Swedish Bikini Team will have an office yet, but imagine the electricity they could save!
Photo courtesy of Blackpepper eye at Flickr.com.
Popularity: 6% [?]