Telluride Locals attend GreenBuild 2009

Once again, a small delegation of Telluride's green building advocates converged on the world's largest Green Building conference and Expo that happened this year in Phoenix, Arizona.  After all, the town of Telluride, Mountain Village and San Miguel County governments have recently adopted Green Building codes for new construction slated to be erected any were in the vicinity of this world class ski resort. Currently, any new commercial construction in Mountain Village now needs to be built according to LEED standards.  "LEED is the internationally recognized green building certification which provides third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance in energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental air quality, stewardship of natural resources and sensitivity to their impacts." So it is imperative that some of us living, building, and working towards sustainability in this region,  stay abreast to the innovation of this movement.

The National Greenbuild conference takes place every year in a different US city. This year, 27,373 people attended from 78 countries featuring three days of great educational sessions, stirring speeches, inspiring networking, and an Expo hall filled with hundreds of new green products to see.  It literally took me two full days to visit over 1,8000 booths touting the latest in green building materials.  Of the most impressive products I found this year was a new architectural software called AutoDesk, which enables architects and designers to perform whole building analysis to optimize energy efficiency before the building is even built.  There were several advances in photo voltaic technologies including solar panels as thin as a wax paper, cylindrical tubing panels that allow the sun to hit them from any, and full roof systems imbedded with solar panels that come ready to install as  one unit.  I was impressed with tiles made from recycled airplane metal, and roofing tiles made from recycled rubber tubing used in automobile parts and plastic from baby diapers, and countertops made from recycled glass that are now taking the place of quarried granite. I met the programmers from www.GreenKonnect.com,  a new Green Building social network that connects architects, builders and contractors to discuss their opinions after using green building materials new to the industry.   This year, we had to beware of a few green-washing manufacturers who were there primarily to take advantage of the economic boom in the green building industries trying to get a piece of the pie.   Based on a 2009 study by the USGBC and Booz Allen Hamilton it is projected that green building will pump $554 billion into the American economy over the next four years.

 

The event included addresses by the Assistant to President Obama for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner, as well as the keynote speaker, Al Gore.  He was preaching to the choir but stated it quite eloquently, "We still have a climate crisis, an economic crisis and a national security crisis ... they are united by the thread of dependence on carbon-based fuel, you pull that thread and the crises unravel."

 

Anyone I turned to in the Convention Center shared his or her passion for their work in this field.   I met with architects who are rebuilding the lower 9^th Ward in New Orleans, with green affordable housing for the original tenants. Rani Guram, an architect and designer also working with EcoSpaces, attended workshops on green affordable housing and came out feeling, "That there is an overall movement to make green building affordable to all."  I spoke with an engineer from the Coast Guard who was in charge of greening military bases, a mandate now from the Federal government. I discussed the topic of "socially conscious business" with companies who make this a transparent value of their overall business plan. I met a man who specialized in "Green Relief Housing" which are units that can be shipped on a pallet to any disaster or refugee site in need of housing.  Sansy Franklin, EcoSpace's showroom manager, was inspired by the Cradle to Cradle manufacturers like FLOR carpet tiles, who she said, "Are being thoughtful about what more they can do (in terms of being an environmentally conscious manufacturing plant) while still putting out quality products while being cost effective."   It was enlightening to be exposed to so many people dedicated to this environmental cause.

 (If you are interested in taking part in next year's GreenBuild conference taking place in Chicago in November 2010, please contact EcoSpaces who will donate a free pass to attend the Expo to anyone interested in being part of this Telluride delegation for Green Building.)

Green Real Estate

Green Real Estate
By Joanna Kanow
Executive Director, EcoSpaces LLC

You are shopping around for a new house to call home for your family. You are about to take out the hugest loan of your life and invest the biggest chunk of change into a piece of real estate that you will be paying off for the majority of your adult life.

Your real estate agent presents you with one house where you would never have a utility bill, you rarely would need to run the heater or air conditioner, the air quality would be pure due to the care put into building the home with non-toxic and sustainable materials. Furthermore, many of the recycled materials used for decking, flooring, roofing etc. need not be replaced during the lifetime of the house because of their outstanding durability. You would actually be saving money due to the efficiency of the home, and could qualify for more on the purchasing price for a Green Home like this. The other house is conventionally constructed, and cannot guarantee these things. Which would you choose?

Green Real Estate is another niche market that is popping up during this green revolution where certain brokerages are dedicated to showing clients the health benefits and financial rewards of a green built home. Green brokers focus on selling houses that have cared to include eco-friendly features and efficient technologies, are certified as Energy Star Rated or LEED Certified, and that are designed to be healthy for the home owner and the environment. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Eco Homes are the hot sell right now even when the real estate market is slow. Christian Thomas, owner of Green Door Living Green Real Estate Firm based out of Denver, Colorado reflects that in this market, homes that integrate green features are more of a premium, have creative marketing points, and seem to move faster in this sluggish real estate economy. Jill Masters is Telluride’s only certified Eco Broker, which entails taking a course and a test to earn this title. Although she admits that there has only been one LEED certified home for sale thus far in Telluride, she hopes that future building begins to trend towards the green and has put her self in position. She notes that the town of Telluride has already started building Green Affordable Housing units that cost local owners merely nothing to heat in the winter. The Telluride Association of Realtors has also just recently added a line to their MLS listings that gives buyers the option to state if their property is Eco Friendly.

Although there are not yet any stringent certifications or regulated criteria that validates that a home is truly green, beyond the U.S. Green Building Council’s stringent and voluntary LEED certification, there are some characteristics of a home that do help the value and the sale of a Green Home. If you are shopping for a home ask if the home was built using non-toxic, recycled content and/or renewable resources. Inquire if it is Energy efficient, built with a tight envelope, includes energy efficient appliances and windows. Homes that derive most of their space and water heating from the sun using Solar Power are very desirable as well, as these features diminish utility bills altogether. Also note which way the home is oriented to understand what kind of passive gain the house may have in each season. You may also ask if the home includes HVAC, ventilation and filtration systems that are designed for optimum indoor air quality. Inquire about the insulation and ask for past heating bills. Homes that incorporate some of these features can drastically reduce operational costs as well as possibly qualify you for a special Eco Mortgage.

Energy-efficient mortgages are one of the most beneficial and under-utilized programs the consumer can find and capitalize upon in today's real estate market. An energy-efficient mortgage can add an additional 15% of a home's appraised value to the principal of a new loan or a refinance, often at no additional cost, no compromise in the loan-to-value ratio for the borrower, and sometimes at a better rate. The first steps to qualifying for an energy efficient mortgage is to have a certified energy rater come and conduct the analysis of your property. Energy raters, such as Lotus Energy Solutions based out of Telluride, can also run a blow door test to find areas that need to be resealed and a they use an infrared camera to take pictures that show heat loss in hard-to-detect areas. Taking these steps not only alerts the home owner of how energy efficient their house is overall, but also could afford the buyer more purchasing power on a loan, as well as savings in the future.

Once again, being Green can save you some green, and help save the planet at the same time. Buying green in finally economically advantageous, as well as healthy for you, your home, and the environment.

Refrigerator Down

Was there a rotting dead skunk sitting in its own vomit in my dishwasher?  When I walked into my kitchen I was enveloped with a putrid cloud of odor that smelled worse than rancid hard boiled eggs.  It did not take me long to open the freezer door to discover the bacon was warmer than my leather  car seat in the summer with windows rolled up. The ice cream was blue with something not meant to be a topping, and the ice tray could have housed tropical fish.  Our Refrigerator/ Freezer has been a solid member of our household for the past 15 years living with our family as a loyal  member.   I have interacted with it on a daily bases for longer than I have my own two daughters.  I rely on my fridge just like I do my own heartbeat, expecting it to work for me on a continual, round-the-clock basis.  Yes, I may be co-dependent, for the moment it stops working for me, disaster sets in.

I had to toss out hundreds of dollars of groceries: the poor chicken breasts, dead for no cause.  The bottle of ketchup that chilled in the door for at least half a year had to go, too. Those frozen bananas for smoothies now brown sticky warm soup. Learning that you need to purchase a new fridge is like the clutch going out in your truck:  an unexpected expense that needs to be addressed rather promptly in order to regain normality back into your life.  So, time for a new fridge, what to do?

When faced with the reality of having to buy a new refrigerator, only consider appliances that are certified Energy Star. Since there is not a moment in the day that your refrigerator is not drawing energy, it is best to find one that has a low annual energy use.  Top mounted freezer use less energy than similarly sized side-by-side models, even if they are both rated energy star. 
Refrigerators fewer than 25 cubic feet should meet the needs of most households and obviously over sized refrigerators will use more energy.  Know that some new model refrigerators are eligible for rebates through San Miguel power. 
When sending your no longer loyal appliance to the land of dead appliances, be sure you dispose of your old refrigerator properly. Cooling equipment, such as refrigerators, freezers, dehumidifiers and room air conditioners involve refrigerants and insulating foams that release ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases once in a landfill. Older appliances may also contain PCBs, Freon or mercury. Federal law requires the removal and proper disposal of refrigerants but not foam products.  Thankfully, there is a once a year town Spring clean up put on by the New Community Coalition that accepts old refrigerators for a small charge.  If you are unable to hold on to your now hazardous piece of waste, you can call Best Appliances in Montrose who, for $45, will remove the freon in your refrigerator and then deliver it to Recla metals to be recycled.  A pick up fee may apply.
When my loyal fridge went down, I immediately called the appliance Doctor to see if he could resuscitate it.  He shop vacuumed 15 years of shmutz out of the coils and vents and prescribed rest, and then a restart in 24 hours.  Luckily, our fridge   did come back to life and I was able to swiftly avoid replacement. Though, now that I am over educated in the world of refrigerators, I know that my fridge, built 20 years ago uses 70% more energy than today's energy-efficient model.  The dilemma, dump it for a newer energy efficient one or let it keep wasting energy but avoid the repercussions of the hazardous waste it contains and those effects on the environment. Every green-minded environmental consumer is always faced with these lesser of two evil decisions.   None the less, give your fridge the respect it deserves, as we hope it will live with your family for many decades to come.  

EcoSpaces Green Film Series

EcoSpaces Green Film Series

As our effort to get the message of sustainability and green living
out to our community, we have been hosting a monthly FREE GREEN FILM
SERIES at the Wilkinson Public Library. We have been very thrilled
with the turn out and the engaging discussions to follow the films.
We have screened: "The Eleventh Hour", "Addicted to Plastic", and a
short montage focusing on "Solutions to Global Warming". This week's
free film in the Program Room is "Recipe for Disaster". We plan to
continue to bring you thought provoking, innovative and
environmentally conscious films as part of our mission to educate our
community about the need for environmental awareness.

We all know what we should be doing for the environment, but do we
always do it? It is finally widely accepted that the burning of
fossil fuels and the excess of carbon emissions is causing an
environmental crisis. It is honorable is you carry your own canvas
bag home full of groceries, or opt to fill your reusable thermos mug
for your daily latte as your personal effort to curb the global
warming crisis. These things are all good and we appreciate your
efforts, which are essential for becoming part of the change. Though,
filmmaker, John Webster, feeling a moral obligation to personally take
responsibility for their family's contribution to climate change,
convinces his wife and two young sons to rid themselves of all oil
based products for a year.

"Recipe for Disaster" is this weeks free Film at Wilkinson Public
Library. It is a fantastic film for the whole family, or anyone who
is trying to live lighter on the planet. During this year-long
oil-fast, the family remains in mainstream society, continuing their
suburban lives in Finland, while attempting to have a net zero gain of
carbon emissions, a feat that consists of a commitment to the
environment far beyond canvas shopping bags and re-usable mugs. In
this comedy of errors, the Webster family find themselves testing
their values, will power and happiness, while changing their
comfortable life style in the name of the earth.

Obviously, the first thing to go is the family car, that has been
essential for transporting kids to school, parents to work, groceries
and larger items back home. They take to public transportation, with
kids in tow, as many as six times a day. The must grow accustom to
walking the last leg home during the icy dark winter nights while
pushing a stroller filled with their rations.

Since all plastics are derived from oil, all food wrapped in plastics,
products packaged in plastics, and materials made of plastics are also
off limits in the Webster's home. The first dilemma: getting
un-packaged toilet paper. At every hurdle, Jon's wife seems ready to
abort this crazy and inconvenient experiment. Though, when she
encounters an industrial office supply store, she purchases 3 bicycle
wheel size rolls of toilet paper and carts them home victoriously.
The kids adapt to: brushing their teeth with home-made tooth paste,
eating fresher unpackaged foods, and accepting modestly wrapped
Christmas presents, since scotch tape is no longer accepted in this
family.

The filmmaker is constantly crunching the numbers to come up with the
calculations on how successful they are in reducing their carbon
footprint. They are clearly making less of an impact on the global
condition, but despite their complete life style changes on this
strict carbon diet, the numbers indicate that they still need to
tighten their belts. That is when dad declares that the heater must
go too!

"This well paced and humorous film documents the comedy of errors
that result from a do-gooder's well-intentioned plans that at times
seem impossible to implement and at other times stretch the patience
of his family to a breaking point. Yet, the film gives a surprising
demonstration of what the individual can do to avert a climatic
catastrophe." Reviews say.

Bring the whole family and come see this free movie Monday night at
6:00 PM at the Wilkinson Public Library. Sponsored by EcoSpaces Green
Building Solutions and The New Community Coalition, together:
Empowering Sustainable Choices. 85 minutes long with some English
subtitles.

--
Be Well,

Daniel Kanow
EcoSpaces "Green Building Solutions"
Telluride, CO USA
(O) 970-728-1973 (F) 970-728-8007

Green Building Materials
Green Building Design Consulting

"Be involved in a Movement"

"The Three Little Pigs" thinking about Green Building

"Three Little Pigs" thinking about Green Building

The "Three Little Pigs" have taught countless generations about the concept of green building.    When we re-tell this story to our children we are also planting lessons on long term investing, sustainable consumer choices, conservation of natural resources and healthy living. The theories of straw bale, stick frame and adobe construction are introduced to each generations this way.

 

The piggy that built his house out of straw chose the quick, cheap and easy way to put up his home, which may not have cost him an arm and a leg but ultimately did cost him his arm and his leg.    If only he sought council from his more business savvy brother who built out of brick, he could have greatly improved his quality of his life.  For, the Piggy who built with brick measured his long-term return on investment.  He spent more in upfront costs for quality materials in order to assure energy efficient and maintenance free structure for the future.  He also was keen to the trends in real estate sales, sensing that green built homes would be more marketable for resale. The moral to the story is: build a durable house with renewable materials, build it well, invest in quality products, and live a healthy life.

 

The catch is, sometimes you have to spend more on your initial investment for materials in order to insure savings in future operational costs. Unfortunately, there is a "consistent disconnect" in peoples' minds between the higher up-front costs of building green and the ensuing savings in operating costs. Overcoming this is fundamental to understanding the value of green building.  Building with Green Materials generally costs 1-5% more up front for buildings complying with LEED certified standards. So, why choose the green sustainable building product and spend a bit more now?  Because you will be richer for it in the long run with a healthy home, healthy family, and healthy wallet for the duration of each subsequent year you live in that house.

Improving insulation is one of the first places homeowners can start greening.  Creating a tight building envelope by retaining the heat in winter and cool air in summer will save you considerable money over time.  In choosing insulation make sure to select formaldehyde free to assure healthy indoor air quality.  Consider the cotton insulation that is made from post-industrial waste from blue jeans.  Roll in this bat insulation yourself (no gloves or full boy protective suit needed.) This soft blue jean material is soaked in borax, which is pest and fire retardant. Also, Tax Credits are now available for those who buy the indicated type of insulation.

Doors and Windows are the next place to spend and save.  Fix those unwelcome frigid drafts in your house that refreeze you after stepping out of a warm shower.  Once again, you can reduce your energy bill by 15% when using Energy Star qualified materials for windows with a U-Factor of .35 or less. Clawson Windows make energy efficient windows as well, they are made with sustainable harvested woods from Montana to match floors or trim. Tax rebates of up to 30% are available for Energy Star windows that have a U factor of .30 or less. 

If it is time to replace your roof there are many green choices that you should know about.  Firstly, you should be mostly thinking about color! Light colored shingles will prevent increased heat transfer in the attic.  A lighter shade roof could save your between 20- 40% in summer energy costs. EcoStar roofing tiles are made from 95% recycled plasticfrom the automotive industry and are molded to look exactly like shake or slate tiles.  This roof comes with an unheard of 50-year warranty, as the recycled rubber tiles are practically invincible to wind, ice, and snow.  Some roofs also qualify for a discount of up to 35% on your homeowners insurance.

It is clear that the repeated annual savings and the payback returns are what are most enticing about choosing green building materials.  We all may want to help save the environment, but if we can do it by saving our money, then the decision is just a lot easier.  Green building is no longer just an added expense for environmental die hards.  Now it makes practical economic sense to be choosing materials that are durable, sustainable, maintenance free, non-toxic that will continue to make a return on your initial investment.  And of course, you can live happily every after like the Piggy who built green. 

Addicted to Plastics

On April 20, 6 p.m., Telluride's Wilkinson Public Library in collaboration with The New Community Coalition and Joanna and Daniel Kanow's EcoSpaces continues its Green Film Series with "Addicted to Plastic: The Rise and Demise of a Modern Miracle." The program opens with a trailer of "Bag It," another look at the shrink-wrapped world we live in, a work-in-progress by local Suzan Beraza.

From styrofoam cups and boxes to tote take-out to artificial organs and the credit cards we use to buy them (often referred to simply as "plastic"), the demand for plastic in our culture is so great, my tortoise-framed sunglasses could become an endangered species. For better and for worse, no invention in the past century has had more influence than these synthetics, affecting nearly every ecosystem and invading nearly every nook and corner of human society, including our dinner table, where the toxic chemical compounds on land and in our oceans travel up the food chain and wind up in our food.

In 85 minutes, the documentary details plastic's path over the last 100 years and provides expert interviews on practical and cutting edge solutions to recycling, toxicity, and biodegradability. Not just another eco-horror film, however, "Addicted" also offers hope in many forms, such as plant-based renewable bioplastics.

In the mid-1990s, Joanna Measer Kanow and husband Daniel were teaching in a one-room, off-the-grid schoolhouse powered by solar and hydropower in the little town of Whale Gulch, California, while living in a solar-powered cabin overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The couple were green crusaders long before "green" became fashionable.

In August 2007, the Kanows opened EcoSpaces, a green building design and supply showroom selling everything from roofing tiles made from recycled rubber to look exactly like slate or shingle to insulation made from recycled denim from blue jeans and so much more. Now EcoSpaces has also morphed into a nexus for change in the region, working with the TNCC to help educate our community about ways to live sustainably by offering workshops, lectures, demonstrations, and films such as "Addicted."

To learn more, click the "play" button and listen to Joanna speak about her business, this film and other EcoSpaces events and projects. (Also check out TNCC's website for ways to recycle plastic, especially yogurt containers.)

For more info and to hear a live recoded interview with Joanna Kanow about this topic please go to

http://www.tellurideinside.com/2009/04/wilkinson-public-library-green-film-series.html

Thank you to www.TellurideInside.com for their interest in our business and what we are trying to do here in the world of living green!

The adventures of living off the Grid

LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE WHEN LIVING OFF THE GRID

I was inspired to write this article in the dark.  Old style: pencil and paper by candle light, in solidarity with the other 60 million people all over the world participating in Earth Hour, a global outcry to turn the lights off for just one hour in a symbolic action to bring awareness to the threats of global warming.

 

For me, this was a small exercise in "conservation" that helped me recognize all of the lights and energy that I ordinarily consume at this evening hour. Though, for those people already living off the grid, that is, creating their own energy from the sun, wind, or water to power their houses, they live this experiment daily.  There are more people using alternative energy in San Miguel County than you may have guessed.  They may elect to do it for a variety of different reasons, but overall they love the experience.

 

Kelsey Holstrom, daughter of Kris and John, is a 16-year-old Telluride High school sophomore who has lived off the grid for her entire life.  She lives in a house that gets its power primarily from 16 solar panels, a small wind generator, a back up gas powered generator and is heated by wood.  Her home and organic farm, sit atop the breathtaking Hastings Mesa at 10,000 feet, in a community where the majority of her neighbors also make their own alternative power as well.  This teen is clearly wise beyond her age when it comes to understanding her personal impact on the earth and is already instilled with the knowledge and awareness of sustainability. Conservation is as common to this teenager as talking on the phone, of which hers is charged from the sun.  She admits that she has shorted-out the whole house by blow drying her hair  and drawing too much of a  load from the system when other appliances were running.   Besides having to charge her Ipod, computer, cell phone, etc. one at a time, she does not feel deprived, rather she feels privileged to be able to live comfortably in one of the most beautiful spots in the area.  She has taken her passions to a student run organization called YES: Youth Empowering Sustainability, where she hopes to convince the school district to adopt even greater sustainable energy practices and help to provide a model to her peers that teaches an awareness about all kinds of.  Kelsey shares, "It is gratifying to live this way knowing that we are not contributing to the global issues of pollution and climate change, and to not be dependent on any one else's oil." She hopes to one-day write a book about utilizing and respecting the earth instead of fighting and controlling it.

 

Ryan Smith, local DJ and bar tender is building his first home in the Two Rivers deed restricted area of Ilium Valley.   He has elected to install a grid-tied solar electric system.  This type of system does not call for a generator or batteries, which can be toxic and difficult to discard.  Instead, the grid is  used for back up power on days the sun does not produce enough. Smith passionately believes that "It is irresponsible to build any other way right now." His 8 solar panels will produce all the energy he will need for his 1,200 square foot house.  He and architect, Gabe Ciaffre, have designed an advantageous south facing building, using passive solar techniques, a very tight building envelope, LED and Compact florescent lighting, and energy efficient appliances, so that power bills will be obsolete. The entire system, with rebates and a generous installer, only cost him around $7,000. To boot, at the end of each year, the electric company will send him a check if he has generated more power from the sun than he has used. According to San Miguel Power, there are currently 42 net meter accounts in the county, that is, grid-tied homes like Ryan's.

 

The Ward family is a committed bunch to the off the grid life style, living comfortably in the extreme climate of East Ophir with their two young kids in the most rugged and wild of locations.  Their 16 solar panels and battery bank require fairly low maintenance. Twice a year they add distilled water to the batteries to prolong their life.  During big storm cycles or very short cloudy days in winter, their back up generator kicks in automatically, making their alternative energy system rather convenient.  The only effort really is the attentiveness to energy use: nothing is kept plugged in (which create "phantom loads" that draw constantly from the system), and it is mandatory that every light is turned off immediately when not in use. Larkin, 4 and Caleb 2, already are fully aware of the meaning of conservation, and will tell stories when they are older of how their cloth diapers were dried by the heat of their wood stove, fueled by scraps from dad's wood shop. Andy Ward originally started living in a solar and hydro powered Yurt to experience financial freedom from utility bills, though for Amy Ward, the satisfaction is in the environmental benefits. She says, " I feel comfortable with my impact on the planet. It is a truly joyful way to be because it makes you recognize your place on the planet.  We are so thankful we get to live in such a beautiful place, surrounded by national forest on all sides, yet just a half a mile away from our amazing community." The family moved into a "main steam" powered house for a bit, though decided that they liked the adventures of living partly up Ophir pass even more, so they moved back into an off the grid home to raise their kids.   Their house is not accessible by car in the winter, so the kids are driven by snow-mobile into "town", though sometimes they get to sled down the hill to meet their carpool.

         There is no better time to go solar than right now. The local and federal government is handing out fat rebates and tax credits to motivate and stimulate people to decorate their roofs with solar panels and start making their own energy.  The New Community Coalition in partnership with San Miguel Power is offering a $1,500 rebate for solar thermal (hot water) and a $3,000 rebate for solar electric, which are only available until mid June.  The Federal government is also offering a 30% tax credit which has recently been extended to 2016.  The discounts are great and the sun in shining.  And life is rich with adventure when you are making your own power!

--
Be Well,

Daniel Kanow
EcoSpaces  "Green Building Solutions"
Telluride, CO  USA
(O) 970-728-1973   (F) 970-728-8007

Green Building Materials
Green Building Design Consulting

"Be involved in a Movement"

Our New Non Profit Branch

We are happy to announce that EcoSpaces now has a non-profit educational branch to our business thanks to The New Community Coalition. It only make sense for our socially and environmentally conscious business to have a component that reaches out to the public in ways to help educate the masses about the benefits of green building and green living in a way that is healthy for the home owner, the home, and the environment.  After being on sabbatical from a career in environmental education, and classroom teaching, my "teacher" gears are starting to turn again and I am very excited about the opportunity to help educate my community about green buildings and the options that are now available to them. 

EcoSpaces Educational MIssion:

The mission of EcoSpaces Educational is to make alternative green building materials the "main steam" We will do this by providing the  public with free education about green building materials that are now readily available to them in their community.  We will  introduce and expose consumers to the sustainable, renewable, non-toxic, recycled and recyclable choices materials that are healthy for the individual, their home as well as the environment. 

We plan to provide our community with workshops, lectures, demonstrations, films, and festivals that will give our community access and empowerment to greening our homes and thus our community.


Listed is our wish list for EcoSpaces Educational events that we would like to sponsor:

Tabling: bring our educational tabling display to conferences, workshops, schools, festivals, etc.  as a way to expose the masses to readily available green building materials in a hands on display.
•    Weekly presence at farmers market
•    Presence at Blue Grass Festival
•    4corners green building festival


Monthly articles will be submitted for publishing in the Daily Planet as well as our web site blog related to living Green associated with green building .

Organize a green home tour
•    one afternoon in summer, meet on bikes
•    tour 6-10 homes in town that have used a green building material.  Tour invited to see these materials in a finished form.
•    ride to picnic on valley floor

Promote alternative energy with the human powered smoothie maker
•    An exercise  bike that powers a blender
•    Will accompany our educational table
•    Enjoy an organic fruit smoothie while learning about alternative energy and green building

Green movie series at the library
•    Sponsor green movie night in conjunction with the Wilkinson Library
•    Invite the community to share in free showings of films (documentaries) that highlight green living and green building

Internship position
•    Offer summer internship position to student passionate about the world of green building
•    We would expose a student to many angels of the green building world in order to empower him/her to many aspects of our business to  inspire the student to find a direction they are interested in through their exposure to the field.

Non Profit Web Site:  Construction Material New life
•    Create a website where local builders can post extra building materials that would other wise end up in the landfill. People interested in salvaging materials for building can look here, too. This would not be a brokered deal, rather a free service to swap goods and reclaim materials.
•    The EcoSpaces Green Community web site will help keep the community connected to green events, workshops, etc. available to them in their community
•    A Green Blog will also be available
•   

Provide Workshops:
•    women's carpentry workshop with Rodney Porsche (book shelves)
•    Do it yourself workshops: Flor carpet install, clay walls, denim insulation,  or cork floors

Revitalize Green Bucks (small scale)
•    Partner with Koto to conduct community greening activities (cock and seal, trash pick up, restoration projects, valley floor etc) 5 hours of volunteer work in exchange for concert ticket. 
•    Mountain Film, Film Fest etc. could get involved

Kinetic Sculptures powered by Alternative Parade and Race
•    A call to contestants to build (out of recycled material) a vehicle that uses energy only from alternative energy (no automobile engines allowed)
•    Parade down main street and race to the mine (or down the bike path)

Donate Green Building Materials at cost
•    Obtain funding so that we can offer green building materials at a considerable lower price to schools, hospitals, Habitat for Humanity, non profits etc as show pieces to encourage others to use green building materials and build healthy build environments for our community.

2009 Green Build Conference in Arizona
•    Help to make this conference available to others in our community by offering discounted registration fees (through group rates)
•    Offer an essay contest or application for entrance into this event.

EcoSpaces Solar Panel
•    Obtain grants to acquire solar panels for in front of our store in order to off set our coal powered energy that runs our showroom currently.   Grid tie by creating our own power from the sun.


Long Term Projects
Green Building Conference in Mountain Village Conference Center
•    Obtain $10,000 sponsorship money to host a Green Conference
•     guest lecturers, workshops, LEED classes, education
•    A arena to expose local people working in the field of greening our community
•    Telluride as model sustainable community
•    A green weekend, events all weekend long around the theme of sustainability.



--
Be Well,

Daniel Kanow
EcoSpaces  "Green Building Solutions"
Telluride, CO  USA
(O) 970-728-1973   (F) 970-728-8007

Green Building Materials
Green Building Design Consulting

"Be involved in a Movement"

Lights Out

Have you unplugged lately?

Telluride  was the first city street on the globe to be illuminated with street lights, thanks to the advent of AC/DC power conceived right here in our very own Ames Valley. Currently, almost every occupied home in this county is "lit" long after the sun has dropped.

The abundance of electrical energy flowing freely into our homes now allows us to watch a DVD, while on-line shopping, while nuking popcorn in the microwave as our clothes and dishes are washed spontaneously without even touching them. Around here, your fully charged cell phone that you nuzzle with every day, your warm blown dried hair in the winter chill, and your home brewed coffee machine, like all other electrical appliances, are charged by coal power burned at our neighboring Nucla power plant.


Today, in our current environmental and economic crisis, sustainable can simply be defined as "USE LESS!" Once dedicated to sustainability, as an attempt to heal the planet, you will also find that healthy personal, physical, and emotional benefits that follow from the practice of Living Green. Have you unplugged lately?

    My friend Margaret, after working for the peace Corp in Honduras, retuned home to the typical American urban environment to see if she could maintain a connection to the natural rhythms of nature among a culture that does not support it.  Thus, as a way to practice energy conservation, sustainability, and living simply, she vowed to not use electricity after the sun went down.  She says, "Electronics seem to keep us constantly busy feeling that there is no end to work that could be done."  The sun became the natural bell that signified the workday was over, instead of flicking on the lights and keeping the day going longer than it needed. She found that you get your computer work, laundry, and phone calls done during the day, so you can then enjoy time to unwind, be with family, share conversation, and relax.   Think, how many electronics are on in your household at night?    By disconnecting, saving a little energy, burning a little less carbon, she was also able to connect in a meaningful way with her family, enjoy the present moment, and her body, as noticed she was always well rested as bedtime came at a normal hour when darkness set in. This experiment in unplugging is uncommon in American households, as we seem to let our electrical appliances suck time and energy away from us.  Unplugging, simplifying, getting in tune with the natural cycles are not new concepts.  They are rather ways of life to which we strive and struggle to return to. 

Every Friday, Jews celebrate Shabbat fully submitting to a day of rest from sundown to sundown, where all electronics, cars, or anything that "burns a fire" is turned off, in order to spend time with family and on spiritual enrichment. Furthermore, let us celebrate the Amish for all the energy they conserve for the greater good.  Their religion restricts access to television, radio, and telephones since the Inception of these electronics as an effort to keep the modern world from intruding into their home life. 

As the green movement gains momentum, find a small way to get involved.  If you are not moved to change your habits in the name of the health of the planet, you may find that placing the health of yourself first is also a means to living green, and is healthy for you, your home, and the environment.


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Be Well,

Daniel Kanow
EcoSpaces  "Green Building Solutions"
Telluride, CO  USA
(O) 970-728-1973   (F) 970-728-8007

Green Building Materials
Green Building Design Consulting

"Be involved in a Movement"

Green Resolutions

It is mid January?  How have those new years resolutions been going? This year my family made Green New Years Resolutions in addition to the standard kind.  Daniel declared that he would give mostly "LOVE" gifts instead of "stuff" gifts.  This went over so great during the holiday season, especially with our 5-year-old daughter Ayla.  Each gift she received was written on one link of a long paper chain that had an experiential "date with daddy" on it.  She racked it in with a day of ice skating and sledding, a lunch date, and an art project; go out and take pictures, built a snowman and many other great experiences that will go down in her memory and not in the land fill. In return, she started giving "Love" gifts to us: she put us to bed by singing a song, made our bed one day, and gave a back rub.  We all found that these presents were not only green, but satisfied us much more than a material product.

Ayla's green resolution was to not eat any food that was wrapped in plastic or packaging. We thought that was a great idea she came up with on her own, but quickly realized that, for our picky eater, this was not going to fly, as most everything you buy comes in plastic in some form: even our brown rice, cereal, healthy bars, bags of nuts etc. It was a little daunting when you started looking at all of the food that way.  So, in order to not limit her food intake even more we settled on: no plastic bags at the store. I have had this Green Resolution before and made it through the whole year w accepting only 3 new plastic bags into my life during the whole year.   My daughter experienced this with me as there would be many times we would want to pop into the store to get a few things for dinner, and if I didn't have a reusable bag with me, we would just skip the shopping and make do. A great tip for no-bag shopping is to go to the produce and ask for an empty box.  They have great sturdy big boxes there.  Pack all your food in the box instead of 8 bags.  It is easy to carry up to your house in one load, and then you can reuse or recycled the box. 

And for me, I am perfecting our winter compost practices and tending our food scraps through the frozen winter in order for them to make the most potent soil amendment for our garden in the summer. And I am also living by the saying, "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" meaning, I am staying away from getting a new "one" until the existing one that I have is no longer functional instead of just replacing something when I think it is time or I want it.

Remember, habits form if you do something 21 times in a row. Then, your resolution will not be something you have to practice; it just becomes a part of life.

Warning, This Facility Causes Cancer

Recently, I stayed at a hotel with my family in Southern California.  The grounds were nice and the rooms were spacious.  Though, posted all around, inside and out, were WARNING SIGNS stating: This facility Contains chemicals known to the state of California to Cause Cancer and/or birth defects or other Reproductive Harm. All the happy vacationers excitedly swung open and close the doors and gates to which the signs were affixed: desensitized to the information. Most of us guests were lying over at this particular hotel before our big convergence on the "Happiest Place on Earth…. Disneyland," just blocks away.

Of course I needed more information, so I went to the desk and smiled, "I am inquiring about the known carcinogens that are being used here at this hotel."  The concierge affably delivered me the information with the same enthusiasm he uses when imparting facts about the recently completed "Small World" renovation.    He pleasantly handed a photocopy that outlined all the carcinogens that, he and I, all the expecting mothers, and all the anxious little kids awaiting Disneyland were presently inhaling and ingesting.

 The list began with Furnishings, Hardware and Electrical Components including building material that contains formaldehyde such as:  carpeting, carpet padding, wall coverings, wood surfaces, and vinyl.  I read on, flabbergasted.  Why would they go to such measures to warn of the harmful materials instead of just using the good stuff? I know they exist, and not for that much more cost.  I read on.

"Construction and Maintenance Materials used in walls, floors, ceilings and outside cladding contain chemicals, such as formaldehyde resin, asbestos, arsenic, cadmium, and creosote, …certain painted surfaces contains chemicals such as lead and crystalline silica…"Yikes!  At that moment, I felt like gathering up my toddler and 5 year old, whose birthday we were about to celebrate at Disney, and head back up to the mountains and our good clean air. 

The list went on, but I will spare you: The subtitles being: Cleaning Products, Swimming Pools, Paints, Fuel and Engine Exhaust. Pest Control and Landscaping, and Foods and Beverages.  We opted to skip the free continental breakfast now knowing that the milk for the cereal definitely came from cows injected with dangerous hormones, those bananas were certainly sprayed to the max with pesticides and suddenly, the coffee didn't smell so appealing.

I learned that it was part of California's Proposition 65 (Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement act of 1986) that now requires businesses to provide warnings prior to exposing individuals to chemicals know to cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm.  I guess it was courteous that they went to such measures to make me aware, but I wondered, why they did not elect to use the healthy alternative in order to avoid posting the sign. Wouldn't advertising a healthy green hotel where building materials were selected with the health of their clients in mind help sell the place as well?

Working in the world of green building, sometimes I feel that I know too much…and I try not to get anxious over the pesticides in my food, the fumes that I am breathing, the heavy metals in my drinking water and the formaldehyde in the walls that surround me.  But really, we all know someone who has suffered from cancer.   We all know that the toxic chemicals in our environment do us no good.  Isn't it time to start making some changes and moving towards a cleaner future? 

We left our contaminated hotel and proceeded onto Disneyland.  It was especially decorated for the holiday season, and the concierge at the front desk of the hotel bragged,  "What's magical about our snow at Disneyland is that it is not cold."

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Be Well,

Daniel Kanow
EcoSpaces  "Green Building Solutions"
Telluride, CO  USA
(O) 970-728-1973   (F) 970-728-8007

Green Building Materials
Green Building Design Consulting

"Be involved in a Movement"