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EBMUD turns food scraps into electricity | Oakland North

An energy-efficient building envelope, or skin, could just be one of the holy grails of sustainability. In a ground-up building, the exterior surfaces provide opportunity for both success and failure in energy-efficiency. One element of the envelope that is especially susceptible to issues is the window. I reviewed one of the articles on www.buildinggreen.com for smart windows. The article focused primarily on electrochromic (responsive to electrical current) windows and also added some notes regarding a newer technology of thermochromic (responsive to heat) windows. The electrochromic windows offer controllability for the occupant by tinting themselves when a switch is flipped. This tinting can assist with daylight and passive solar issues. However, they are also subject to users leaving them in the on position and therefore may use more energy than intended. The thermochromic windows have the potential to be a more automatic solution by tinting themselves when the window is subjected to a certain amount of heat gain. However, these may restrict daylight and views. The technology of smart windows will be interesting to view in the years to come.

Renewable can be defined as "able to be restored by nature". The concept of renewable energy is one that seems common sense on the surface, but then it seems like some industries are touting their sources as renewable. We have to question whether or not they truly are renewable. Wind is one resource that seems like an obvious choice for some locations. It is completely generated by nature. Some places on the planet are located where wind is in abundance. For those communities, harnessing the power of wind to create electricity to power the town is a great opportunity. I reviewed the write-up on www.buildinggreen.com regarding the case study the rebuilding of Greensburg, Kansas' as a community powered by wind. The community was decimated by a tornado in 2007 and within 3 years rebuilt as a town powered by the Greensburg Wind Farm (created by John Deere Renewables). I also looked at the town's website: http://www.greensburggreentown.org/ for more information. The town worked together from the initial outset of rebuilding with a sustainable vision.