Building Alive, Designing to Thrive

Zugunruhe is a German word that describes the unsettling feeling birds have that makes them want to migrate. They can sense change and they want to move ahead of it. This is a feeling that clearly the human species does not share with our avian brother. We live in places that have started to see storms beyond our imagining, drought, heat, extreme cold,etc. And yet we do not move. We dig in our feet and our oil wells and continue to 'prosper' International panels of scientists have overwhelmingly agreed that humans are affecting climate change. So, lets STOP arguing about whether it's real or not because it was cold this winter and START discussing solutions. This sculpture is called "Politicians Discussing Climate Change".  The 2 FEET of sea level rise expected to occur by 2050 can likely not be halted. So how can we create healthy, resilient places to live, now that we know?  I love the idea of green building and living infrastru...

BIKE TO WORK DAY MAY 16, 2014 Bicycle Safety (now you know!) Bicycles on the roadway are, by law, vehicles with the same rights, and responsibilities as motorized vehicles. Bicyclists should travel with traffic, in the shoulder or as far over as is safely possible. In NJ, helmets are required for anyone under 18- however if you are biking in location where there is automobile traffic, it is highly recommended to take the extra step. When riding in groups, never ride more than 2 across. On narrow roads with no shoulder or bike lane, ride single file.  Use hand signals to notify motorists and other riders when you are turning or stopping "More than half of the U.S. population lives within five miles of their workplace, making bicycling a feasible and fun way to get to work. With increased interest in healthy, sustainable and economic transportation options, it’s not surprising that, from 2000 to 2011, the number of bicycle commuters in the U.S. grew by more tha...

Many of you remember I completed my Climate Ride (320 miles from NYC to DC in 5 days by bike) about 6 months ago. I was remembering some of the opposition to my fundraising efforts- one guy actually said "I wish you were riding for something important, like cancer research". Of course this beyond frustrated me- I'll ride for what I support. And you ride for what you want to. Well that was my first reaction. Then, I crafted a message that described the reasons our causes were not so different. Since most cancers are results of environmental conditions, i.e. exposure to air, water, and land pollutions- we ARE in fact, on the same side. However, in raising money for a cure- you are not acknowledging the need for change at the source. The United States National Cancer Institute (NCI) has an annual budget of about 4.8 billion dollars. Imagine if even 25% of that went to environmental protection (and therefore, prevention). We are looking for a cure to a disease we as a spe...

MSDS stands for: Material Safety Data Sheet It is intended to provide workers with all vital information about a product they are handling: melting point, boiling point, toxicity, first aid, etc. Most final products (like a refrigerator) do not require an MSDS. Chemicals and products in liquid form usually do. A safety data sheet is not intended for the final consumer - more for the person installing or working with the product in an occupational setting. Every country has different standards for what must be explored and declared on an MSDS. The EU, for example requires more ecotoxicity information than the US. And Canada considers different chemicals mandatory for listing. Of course all nations permit proprietary withholding to protect a company’s recipe. In the US, OSHA oversees MSDS creation and so it is OSHA I pick a fight with now. In pursuing the Living Building Challenge, every product that we put in our structure needs to be vetted to ensure it incl...

Thinking beyond the tap requires a wide scope and deep understanding of our current use of water, our past use, and the values which surround it. This book was a gift, and to be honest I didn't think there would be information I didn't already know on some level. But Prud'homme relates what I see in my daily work to statistics, trends , and data in an easy to understand way. We are a species made of 90% water, yet we don't think about the connection we have to all water. Everything we put in our bodies affects everything else that depends on water; which is EVERYTHING. Are you grasping yet how big this concept is?? For Example, in the 1950's, America used about 150 Billion gallons of water per day. In 2005, we used 410 Billion gallons per day. So we put on efficient showerheads and move on- right? No, almost all (90%) of that water use is from commercial, industrial, and agricultural practices. Yes, there is something fundamentally wrong with the people ...

What a refreshing reminder of the good in the world! The back cover of the book advises if you've lost faith in the good in people and the world, to read this piece- and I totally agree. Hawken and I have a same kind of realistic optimism. We don't know that we will heal this planet, but we know we can . I had the distinct pleasure of hearing Hawken speak as a keynote at the Living Future conference in May 2013, Seattle. His outlook translates into his every word of his speeches and his book. In Blessed Unrest, Hawken compares the environmental and social justice movement as an earth-scale immune system. It gets underrepresented, but is constantly working and succeeding despite our actions allowing new 'viruses' in. I have a LOT of brain food from this book, but you'll have to buy your own copy to get all of it! However, I will share a couple of nuggets here- "The way we harm the earth effects all people, and how we treat one another is reflected in...

Finally, after 320 miles and nights in cabins or camping on the ground- I got the wonderful hospitality of my good friend from UVM, Katie, and her family. It was so nice to sleep in a bed again, and she even had champagne waiting to celebrate! Relatively early the next morning, I took the metro into DC for my first lobby meeting with Senator Menendez. There were three of us total, we decided to ask for a push for a National Complete Streets Campaign. Cindy from the New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition came in with us, and she had some great statistics and information about current policies. We asked for Menendez to introduce a national push for streets that are designed for bikes, pedestrians, public transportation and cars- not just automobiles a sis standard today. The idea is to do this as streets need to be repaired or redesigned anyway so it is actually not more expensive. Furthermore, high amounts of car traffic degrade roads faster, so the costs of upkeep would lower. Aft...