PASSIVE HOUSE
During the Northwest Tour we
visited a passive house. A passive house is a standard that is the highest in
energy standards. The purpose of a passive house is to build the house to have as
few changes in the air temperature as possible. That is achieved by creating
what is called an “air envelope”. To create this envelope, a house needs to be
as air tight as it can be; allowing the indoor air temperature to stay
constant. The envelope keeps the air temperature inside of the house and as a
result reduces the energy consumption of the house considerably. Not only does
a passive house focus on the house’s envelope, but also focuses on the natural
resources that the house influences. The standard makes sure that the house is
sustainable in almost every way that can be achieved.
CLIMATE SOLUTIONS
Climate Solutions is a non-profit
organization that plays a roll in demonstrating how climate control can benefit
the economy. This NPO is a regional organization established in the Northwest.
A large portion of their work is in influencing policy. Creating new policies
or modifying old policies from either the federal, state, or city governments
can have a major effect on global warming. Currently, they are focused on
trying to end the use of coal in Washington and defend key financing for clean
energy in Oregon.
ZIP CAR
Zip Car is a business that can offer a better alternative to
owning a car, but also be beneficial to the environment. A typical Zip Car customer pays a membership fee and has access
to a car and is charged a daily or hourly rate. The Zip Car influence on the environment is
that typically if a person does not own a car, they will look for alternatives
in order to get from place to place. Whether the alternative is walking, car
pooling, riding a bike, riding on a bus, or riding on a train generally the
alternative is better for the environment.
GREEN BUILDING SERVICES
We had the opportunity to visit the
Common Wealth Building and talk with Green Building Services. Green Building
Services works with LEED and other certifications for sustainable building.
This company is a B-Corporation and is 100 percent employee owned. They are
currently changing their shift to existing buildings. They are working to make
green simple by focusing not just on certification, but on how to make
buildings more sustainable.
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