Bird-Safe Glass

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Did you know that it is estimated that 100 million birds are killed annually in the United States through collisions with buildings, primarily because the birds see reflections, rather than the glass?

Earlier this year at a Greening Your Library (GYL) workshop on Long Island, you may recall, I got stumped by a question from the audience about how to prevent “bird strikes.” The audience shared their solutions – window decals of a hawk and streamers outside for movement – and I wanted to share that I came across this product – one of BuildingGreen.com’s “Products of the Week” earlier this year made it to their Top Ten Products of the Year list: Ornilux Bird-Safe Glass.

The glass has patterning of UV-reflective coating that is nearly transparent to humans but clearly visible to birds.

  • “Visually, the UV-reflective pattern on Ornilux glass is visible, but it is less apparent that many of the other strategies that have been tried to minimize bird collisions.”
  • “Ornilux can be fabricated into a wide range of glazing systems, including high-performance double- and triple-glazed systems with low-emissivity (low-e) coatings.”

Greening Meetings

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Maybe it’s just me but I feel like I go to a lot of meetings, a lot of workshops and a fair number of conferences. I was struck this year by the obviousness of those facilities and organizations that have made an effort to make more sustainable facility and operational choices in the context of the “meeting experience.”

  • paper handouts vs. online referrals to handouts
  • the quality of the plates, cups, forks/spoons/knives, napkins provided
  • individual plastic water bottles
  • quality or (heavenly absence of) “giveaways” – bags, notepads, pens
  • recycling for cans and bottles
  • snack choices

While it may seem minor in some cases all of these things contribute to a meeting/workshop/conference experience. Here’s how my mind was working this year, I forgot my stainless steel water bottle at an event recently and had to break down and buy a bottle of water. I had to carry it around for hours, literally, until I found a recycling receptacle.  I was actually distracted by this, my mind was constantly on the look out! This was at a conference with hundreds of people attending, how many of them didn’t hold on to their bottles until they found it? That’s probably hundreds of bottles just thrown in the trash.

I actually had a visceral reaction when I realized I’d have to use a Styrofoam plate at one of our own, catered, events. How to rectify this? I’m suggesting that next year this is part of our contract with the caterer, that plates, napkins and utensils contain recycled content.

As consumers we can enact change. Libraries spend a lot of money in communities, if we start demanding specific sustainable aspects we can change how people do business.

Don’t be complacent, fill out that workshop evaluation form and suggest healthier, more sustainable options. Planning an event? Check out:

Living Building Challenge

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A local organization, the Omega Institute, just accomplished what many people have said was impossible – they are one of the first two projects to be certified by the Living Building Challenge (LBC).

The LBC goes way beyond LEED, “it defines the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment possible today and acts to diminish the gap between current limits and ideal solutions. This certification program covers all building at all scales and is a unified tool for transformative design, allowing us to envision a future that is Socially Just, Culturally Rich and Ecologically Restorative.”

A LBC building must be net-zero energy, net-zero water, non-toxic, provide for habitat restoration on adjacent sites, and urban agriculture is mandated.

One of the most important features of LBC is that it measures the actual performance of buildings. Basically this means that a year after a building was built, measurements are taken to ensure that it is, in fact, net zero in terms of energy and water, etc. This is a big distinction from existing requirements like LEED and CA’s Title 24 which measure performance models and do not hold projects accountable to live up to those models.

LBC has seven performance categories, or ‘Petals’: Site, Water, Energy, Health, Materials, Equity and Beauty. Petals are subdivided into a total of twenty Imperatives:

  • Limits to Growth
  • Urban Agriculture
  • Habitat Exchange
  • Car Free Living
  • Net Zero Water
  • Ecological Water Flow
  • Net Zero Energy
  • Civilized Environment
  • Healthy Air
  • Biophilia
  • Red List
  • Embodied Carbon Footprint
  • Responsible Industry
  • Appropriate Sourcing
  • Conservation + Reuse
  • Human Scale + Humane Places
  • Democracy + Social Justice
  • Rights to Nature
  • Beauty + Spirit
  • Inspiration + Education

The project cannot contain any of the following Red List materials or chemicals:

  • Asbestos
  • Cadmium
  • Chlorinated Polyethylene and Chlorosulfonated Polyethlene
  • Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
  • Chloroprene (Neoprene)
  • Formaldehyde (added)
  • Halogenated Flame Retardants
  • Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)
  • Lead (added)
  • Mercury
  • Petrochemical Fertilizers and Pesticides
  • Phthalates
  • Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
  • Wood treatments containing Creosote, Arsenic or Pentachlorophenol

When I visited Omega this summer they mentioned the Red List and how they had to consult an eight page list of banned materials when buying carpeting for their classroom space. I asked if this was burdensome, “not at all, it’s what is best for the people who use our space.”

Bravo to Omega for taking this leap and being a leader. Showing others what could be is a powerful thing.

Greening & Historic Preservation

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Greening & Historic Preservation – Top Ten Tips

  1. Know Your Building: Many older building have passive heating and cooling systems designed right into them. Learn how your building/home works so that you do not prevent these systems from working (example: operable windows, natural ventilation).
  2. Find Photos of the Building in its Prime: Photos may reveal awnings and plantings that helped shade the building that should be added back to the design to maximize natural cooling capacity.
  3. Whole Building Design: “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” – John Muir, founder, Sierra Club: In planning a renovation or expansion project for a historic building learn how the building’s systems work together, retain building materials where possible, recycle what you cannot reuse.
  4. Respect the Windows! Old windows were fabricated from old wood. It’s generally denser and lasts longer than the new wood used for modern windows. Repair and maintain them when possible rather than replacing.
  5. Reveal Natural Lighting: Look for transom lights, fanlights and skylights that have been painted over or covered up and restore them to maximize natural light in the space.
  6. Use What You Already Have! Inspect, maintain and repair your existing roof.
  7. Beware Moisture: When insulating interior walls be careful not to create an environment where more moisture is created/released as this can damage building materials (example: when insulating stone/brick wall structures the exterior wall will be colder than it was previously, slowing the process of evaporation of wetness on the surface, and consequently causing it to stay damp and leading to damage).
  8. Insulate Unfinished Basements / Crawlspaces: Unfinished spaces beneath the ground floor with rugged walls and dirt, brick, or fieldstone foundations? Install the insulation on the basement ceiling or between the first floor joists. The insulation’s vapor barrier must be facing up.
  9. Diminish Solar Installation Visibility: Consider installations that do not harm building materials (free standing) or those that are building materials themselves (solar shingles).
  10. Consult an Expert: No one is expected to know everything! Find preservation experts that can help you balance sustainable building practices with preservation and restoration techniques to help you achieve these two goals. They really are complementary goals, not competing goals!

Sources:

“2010 County Sustainability Strategies”

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Came across this publication from the National Association of Counties (NACo) as I started to think more about the implications of what I read in the Urban Libraries Council’s recently released publication focused on public libraries and local governments.

Highlights from the NACo’s 2010 County Sustainability Strategies publication:

  • The most important benefit counties are realizing from sustainability efforts is cost savings.
  • “Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Generation”, and “Waste Management” are the most common sustainability efforts counties are pursuing.
  • Thirty-four percent of the responding counties identified that they have a staff position to coordinate green efforts.
  • County sustainability coordinators are spread out across several different county departments, with the highest concentrations in County Administration, Operations, Environmental Protection, and Planning and Development.
  • Overwhelmingly, funding is the most significant challenge inhibiting counties from accomplishing all sustainability strategies. The second most cited challenge is staff time.
  • If given the opportunity, the majority of respondents would further invest, in order of priority, in (1) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Generation followed by Waste Management; (2) Green Building Construction/Renovation, and Water Conservation/Reuse; and (3) Green Purchasing, Local Food Systems, and Green Economic Development.
  • In general, counties in the West and Northeast Regions are pursuing all sustainability strategies with greater intensity than South and Midwest counties.

The word “library” does not appear at all in this report. BIG opportunity here folks!

Public Libraries & Local Governments

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“This publication is a statement on the significant role of public libraries in achieving local sustainability.”

Last week the Urban Libraries Council released “Partners for the Future: Public Libraries and Local Governments Creating Sustainable Communities“:

“This report demonstrates how public libraries help local governments achieve sustainability goals in each of the three triple bottom line components* and is intended to both celebrate successes to date and provide a roadmap for  partnerships that are built to last.”

This publication is a call to action for public libraries around the country to be talking to their local municipalities about planning for sustainability. It won’t happen without planning. Many municipalities are taking the lead, particularly in urban areas. They may or may not think to include the library in their plans. Make sure your library is “at the table” for these discussions and wholeheartedly buys in, there is nothing to lose and much to gain. This publication gives you the talking points you need to begin to convince municipal leaders that libraries are essential to a sustainability initiative.

Maybe your municipality has not started to plan a sustainable future for your community yet, the library could take the lead or start the discussion!

*

  • Economic Vitality
  • Environmental Quality
  • Social Equity

New Landmark Libraries

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Check out this opportunity from Library Journal:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Library Journal
Rebecca Miller
646-380-0738
rmiller@mediasourceinc.com

LIBRARY JOURNAL SEEKING SUBMISSIONS FOR “NEW LANDMARK LIBRARIES” PROJECT

More at http://newlandmarklibraries.com

New York, NY, September 9, 2010— Library Journal magazine has opened the submission period for New Landmark Libraries, a project that will identify new U.S. public library buildings constructed between 2005 and 2010 that demonstrate excellence in (1) design and construction, (2) response to community context and constraints, (3) sustainability, (4) functionality, (5) innovation, and (6) beauty and delight. Projects to be considered include new construction, major expansions, and substantial renovations.

The New Landmark Libraries project seeks to discover groundbreaking public library buildings and publicize their achievement. The project will establish a set of standards for library leaders to address as they build, and, as a side effect, strengthen the capacity of communities to design and build excellence into their public library facilities.

“Wonderful libraries are opening every day, despite the down economy,” noted Editor-in-Chief Francine Fialkoff. “For several years now, LJ has been leading Design Institutes and publishing a Library by Design supplement focusing on innovative library design. Now, we’d like the public and other experts to weigh in and help us identify the libraries that are the setting the tone for the future.”

Submissions will be accepted online at http://newlandmarklibraries.com through November 15, 2010 and will be reviewed by a panel of experts from Library Journal as well as the library and architecture fields. Selected libraries will be included in a spring 2011 issue of Library Journal as well as online.

For more information and submission guidelines, visit http://newlandmarklibraries.com. LJ and SLJ are publications of Media Source Inc., which also owns Horn Book and Junior Library Guild.

About Library Journal

Library Journal is the oldest and most respected publication covering the library field. Considered to be the “bible” of the library world, LJ is read by over 100,000 library directors, administrators, and staff in public, academic, and special libraries. LJ is a Media Source Inc., publication.