Catch Your Water from the Sky

Colorado’s first Legal Rain Catchment System Built on Hastings Mesa

By Joanna Kanow

Last fall, one of the most litigious cases found in Colorado courts made legal the act of catching rain from the sky. What was once considered criminal in Colorado, (stealing water that was rightfully owned by someone else before it made it to earth), is now free for all residents to harness. A home being built on Hastings Mesa, just outside of Telluride, is the first in the State of Colorado to be issued a legal permit for a rain catchment system.

Kelli Petersen, currently of Mill Valley, California, is finally building her green dream home, and feels privileged to have found a spot and a community supportive of a sustainable life style. It was the 2008 MountainFilm Festival, she reflects, with its focus on water, which inspired her to realize her catchment opportunities. Petersen began working with Stewart Goforth, of Montrose Water Factory, in the fall of 2009 to design her home with a cutting edge rain catchment system. In order to design a successful system, careful calculations and intimate collaboration between architect Sundra Hines, of Hines Designs, and Eric Dickerson of DCI Construction, had to be established in order to create a successful whole house rain catchment system. They had to estimate the water needs for the household, average yearly precipitation for that particular microclimate and equate in possible drought years. Using this precipitation data, they figured the maximum surface area of catchment available to determine the amount of water that can reach storage. The two full time residents will live solely off the water harvested.

For this home, rain and snow is diverted into gutters off of the surface of the oxidizing metal roof. It is then fed into five 1,500 gallon storage tanks engineered into the foundation of the home, which is highly insulated with styrofoam blocks. The house is plumbed with non-reactive piping that will not be harmed by the acidity of rainwater, and low flow fixtures are implemented wherever possible. Finally, Stewart Goforth has designed the filtration and disinfection process that will then make the water safe for drinking without the use of chemicals. The water will be tested for bacteria per state mandates to maintain a high-standard of drinking water free of any threat of water-borne contaminates. This filtration process is designed to offer safe, friendly high quality water in a self-contained low maintenance environment.

I asked Petersen, who lives comfortably in the Bay Area and works with biotech companies studying cancer treatments, why she decided to build a green home that will actually take more effort to live in. She will have to monitor her solar and water storage systems frequently, as well as reduce her natural resource use, and even may have to hike or ski into access her front door. She responded, “It will be a very comfortable way to live, and we are willing to work at our lifestyle to make it happen.” She added, as if these sentiments were the consensus “It is currently a trend for everyone, at the moment, to think about what we can do differently to give back to society somehow. It’s what we can do right now to be more sustainable.”
When this type of thinking becomes the norm, and this kind of building is no longer considered “Alternative,” implementing sustainable designs into our built environment will then attribute to significant positive environmental shifts in the current unsustainable “norm.” And as Goforth likes to remind us, “It’s water. It’s life. Without water, that’s it.” Imagine the satisfaction now, when it rains; money saved, independence, and to those who reside in the home...a house warming gift from the sky.

Joanna Kanow is the owner of EcoSpaces: Green Building Solutions: Telluride’s source for Green Building Materials. Providing non- toxic, sustainable, renewable and recycled products to the community. EcoSpaces’ Green Design showroom is located at the Society Turn Business Center in Telluride, and also serves the greater US on www.EcoBuildingMaterials.com. Call 970-728-1973 to arrange an appointment.

EcoSpaces and Earth Day

Earth Day is one of my favorite holidays: it is non-denominational, not consumer driven, and isn't based around a fictitious cartoon character that I have to convince my children is real and comes in the night.

Earth Day is a real day, and should be celebrated or honored every day of the year, though, none the less, it is still quite honorable that this holiday is recognized on April 20 around the globe each year to acknowledge the vibrant, delicate, and natural resources that supports our very existence.

This year is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson democrat from Wisconsin in 1970. "Our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. All across the country, evidence of environmental degradation was appearing everywhere, and everyone noticed except the political establishment. The environmental issue simply was not to be found on the nation's political agenda. The people were concerned, but the politicians were not," reflects Senator Nelson in 1969. Ironically, this sounds disturbingly familiar to the political situation of today. This was 40 stated forty years ago, before scientific evidence of a devastating climate crisis were defined like the precarious environmental predicament we find ourselves in now.

Earth Day was born riding the wave of anti-Vietnam war protests, teach-ins, and activism, as a nationwide grassroots demonstration was organized on behalf of the environment. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air - and they did so with spectacular exuberance. The fight has not stopped, after all of these years, and the movement is still gaining momentum. Are you yet a part of it?

Now more than ever is it imperative that the masses of people inhabiting the globe take the time to acknowledge the earth, it's natural resources that we use ever day, and our relationship to it, so that maybe we can say on earth day, 40 years from now, we turned this climate crisis around, thanks for all of you who are making the environmental difference in your life on this Earth Day and every other day of the year. Building with green building materials is one of the ways people can make a difference and make choices that help the planet. Visit http://www.EcoSpaces.net to see the latest in Green Building Materials that are healthy for you, your home, and the environment.

green+building

Educating on Green Building

"Learn as you Go" is our business motto, as my business partner and I are relatively new to the business world. We were both teachers before getting into this Green Building Business, so we were never concerned with getting clients, because out clients/students would just show up every day weather we liked it or not. It has been a logical path, though, that has brought us here to owning EcoSpaces: Green Building Solutions, a Green Building design, supply showroom that offers green building materials to those who live and work in structures. Before classroom teaching we were teaching environmental educations, feeling that the most effective way to create environmental awareness was through the children. We are still educating, but now to adults who use money, and we hope to teach this new crowd how to spend their dollars on products that are healthy for the earth. Sales and marketing do not come as naturally as teaching does to us. It has been a great marriage of business with a socially conscious outcome that keeps us motivated, knowing that we are not just selling "things" for the sake of consuming. We are passionate about what we do in order to try and introduce products to people that they can enjoy in the decor of their home for many decades that ultimately are healthy for the home owner, the home, and the environment. Please visit our web site http://www.EcoSpaces.net,if you are one of those people who is interested in building your home and life green.

Many Houses

It is great to get away, travel, and step out of this reality that I have made for myself here in Telluride, CO, running a design, supply, green building showroom and trying my damnedest to distribute Green Building Materials to construction projects around the country. I always laugh that I started my business and now all of the hours, meetings, screen time, worries, inspirations and challenges that arise from this entity called "EcoSpaces" are all my inventions. We are trying to offer the "alternative" Green Building Material for almost every commercial building product out there. Though we only are interested in distributing building materials that are non-toxic, sustainable, renewable, recycled and recyclable in an attempt to address and take action on the global warming crisis. Sometimes, it gets frustrating trying to convert the old-timer contractors to choose counter tops made from recycled glass instead of granite, paints that are non-toxic, or carpeting that can be recycled before the homes next remodel. Fortunately, there is already a culture out there who do not need to be sold on this stuff and come seeking us out. But, this last trip to San Diego, leaving my small exclusive ski town behind, I realized the potential of what we are doing. There were houses every where, as far as the eye could see. Modern, stylish, artistic ocean front beach houses to villages of tract homes on the other side of the highway. Everyone lives in a house, an apartment, a structure! Everywhere, around the globe. So, even if each house used one of our energy star windows in it, or one sono tube sky light, or even one water aerator on their faucet, or a rain catchment barrel off their gutter to water their garden with, not only could we, EcoSpaces be making a great living, but also, we, the human population on the globe, could also be making a significant impact in turning this climate crisis around. The sprawl of Southern California did give me hope that there is still a great potential for change. I just need to figure out how to get these products out there. Visit http://ecospaces.net/ if you happen to be one of those already sold on the idea. Here's how you can contact us info@EcoSpaces.net 877-727-1973

Sick Home Syndrome

When asked to pick my scent of choice to deodorize my vehicle at a local car wash, one of my choices was “New Car Smell.” Funny, how common this, and other smells associated with toxic off gassing are to all of us, like “Brand new shoes” or “Fresh coat of paint. Not funny, to my friend, Becca who compromised a year of poor health due to these particular pollutants.

Becca and her fiancé moved into their redone home when she was 27 years old. They did a simple “lipstick remodel” replacing carpets, wallpaper, paint color, they refinished the floors, and purchasing new furniture. But shortly after moving in, she felt extremely ill. She could barely get out of bed. “Out of the blue,” she said, she began to experience irregular heart palpitations, blurred vision, joint discomfort in her knees and hips, extreme fatigue, and unexplainable weight gain. Her otherwise healthy skin coloring turned grey, and she experienced uncontrollable tremors on the left side of her body.

After months of doctor visits with various specialists, weekly blood panels, IV cocktails, she shared, “I was diagnosed with everything under the sun, including Epstein Barr and Lymes Disease.” She finally realized that the only time her symptoms improved was when she was away from the house. Without input from her medical specialists, all who were looking at isolated symptoms instead of addressing environmental causes, she realized that the toxins in her modern new home were in fact making her sick. Formaldehydes in the carpeting and insulation, VOCs in the paints and finishes, chemicals emitting from glues and adhesives, and mold from the ventilation system were poisoning her indoor air quality, and compromising her immune system. Her own bedroom that she retreated to for weeks and months when she was ill, was in fact making her sicker.

The World Health Organization (WHO) first recognized Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) in the early 1980s. Besides the symptoms that Becca experienced, one can also suffer from itchy skin, rashes, eye irritations, nose congestions, and swelling of the throat. The symptoms often go undiagnosed by medical professionals and can completely disappear when people move from buildings in question.

Some researchers have speculated that Sick Building Syndrome is related to the energy crisis of the 1970s, which resulted in tight building envelopes. True, energy efficiency experts tell us to insulate, caulk and seal drafty windows and doors, as to not let precious heat or cooled air escape. But, locked in a tight indoor envelope, is actually doing your health a disservice if the materials you are sealed in with are toxic and have no where to escape. Becca reflects, “Who would ever stop to think that your couch is covered in Teflon for stain resistance, and each time you sit on it, it breaks down, and you inhale it?” She was also surprised to learn that granite countertops leach radon gasses into your kitchens as well. Buyers beware: manufacturers are now labeling products “Green” simply because they have let them off gas in a controlled environment before bringing them to market.
Every building material has an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), which is the equivalent to nutritional ingredients listed on food products, but rather tells you what is in your building material. Take the advice of Michael Pollan, author of “Omnivores Dilemma:” if there are more than five ingredients (in your food), and if you cannot pronounce any of them, it is probably not healthy for you. Look for MSDS such as these green products like BioGlass counter tops: 100% recycled glass, BioShield Penetrating sealer: Linseed Oil, Lead-free dryers, and Essential Oils and Earth Weave carpet: wool, hemp, jute and natural rubber. Chemicals to watch out for are formaldehydes and Volatile Organic Compounds and other multi syllable chemicals that are often common in mainstream building materials.

After experiencing a full year of compromised health as a result of Sick Home Syndrome, Becca is now careful to make non-toxic choices for her home and family. “I would rather spend more money up front on a clean product that lasts,” She admits, she would rather live in an older home that has had decades to off gas, and prefers that her home is a bit on the drafty side. Becca moved to the Telluride area in search of a healthier life style, and today she is able to enjoy her days and her family “symptom free.”

They Company Car...A hybrid

The old Subaru was on the verge, our second child was on the way, and it was clear that it was time for a new car. Being in the Green business it is imperative that we “walk our talk” and live to the utmost greenness, especially if we are going to slap our company car magnet on a petrol fed automobile touting “Green Solutions.”

After taking Kim Wheel’s Low Carbon Diet seminar about ways to minimize our carbon foot print, I learned that no matter how well you recycle, use canvas grocery bags, or have the right light bulbs in your house…. if you drive a car or especially fly in an airplane, you end up ranking gluttonous and obese on the carbon diet. So, when it came to buying the company car, we decided that the next best thing we could do was to use a hybrid vehicle.

We rolled away with the latest in automobile technology, the Toyota Hybrid Highlander, on a 2 year lease, with the thought, that after two years, better technology will inevitably be available and we would trade it in for an even more efficient car. As part-time local filmmaker, Chris Paine, uncovered in his documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” advanced alternative fuel technology already exists but was squashed in order yield to those still profiting off of big oil. So, we are forced to wait patiently for politics, gas prices, and global warming to get severe enough in order for this ready alternative technology to reemerge.

The hybrid motor is designed to reduce air pollution and considerably improve fuel economy. Batteries in hybrid vehicles are recharged partly by the gas engines and partly by regenerative braking; a third of the energy from slowing the car is turned into electricity. I like this feature when my gas light is blinking, and I can glide from town down Keystone on battery power alone to get to the Saw Pit mercantile, my loyal-independent, non-multinational corporate conglomerate, local gas fill up station.

Practically speaking, our Hybrid is a good car, very safe, rather reliable, and has no problem passing sports cars on Dallas Divide. At best, our 4 wheel drive hybrid SUV, gets 28 miles to the gallon on the open road, 24 mpg pulling our pop up trailer to secluded camping spots, and 23 mpg in winter wearing four studded tires while running the heater. This is nothing to feel “green” about, really. Politicians are saying, it is a small step in the right direction. But actually, I feel that this is a pathetic advance in the potential and the urgency for lower carbon emitting vehicles. When your house is burning down (or your earth is burning up) you don’t take small steps towards safety, you run fast, taking big steps to get out of the inferno. At this rate, we will never meet even the most insignificant goals made at the Copenhagen Climate Summit to reduce the global temperatures by two degrees. Remember, that in preparation for world war II President Roosevelt mobilized our country to ramp up for war, rapidly building air crafts, machinery, military gear, not to mention the a-bomb in order to effectively end a war and change the world forever. We face this type of urgency for change right now.

We wait to see if the Obama administration, the economic crisis, the global warming threats, the war in the middle east now in its 9^th year over oil, and the tumbling banks and automotive industry might heed way to propel alternative energy and fuel efficiency to the next level quickly. I have read that there are some new compact hybrids that are celebrating getting max 40 mpg. Remember, however, there were automobiles made twenty years ago (before the trend of over sized gas guzzling vehicles) that got close to that same mileage It seems like competitive products like smart phones, prosthetic, and even head lamps have advanced their cutting edge technology greatly in this time, but our cutting edge car has been stuck dead in its design. Come April, when our lease runs out, three years later, we will not be turning it in for a higher tech vehicle as we thought, because still no such thing exists.

Joanna Kanow is owner of EcoSpaces: Green Building Solutions: a green building materials design/supply showroom and distribution center. EcoSpaces is located at 162A Society Turn in Lawson Hill. 970-728-1973 www.EcoSpaces.net and is Telluride;s source to Green Building Materials.

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.)