U.S. Green Building Council /  by Admin

U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced this economic recovery report, "Healthy People in Healthy Places equals a Healthy Economy," during the peak of this pandemic.

This report summarized the forum's discussion and tried to pave a road map for a comprehensive vision of a "Healthy Economy." It articulated the interconnected responsibility played by individuals and the community. It also explains how our health conditions will impact the economy at large.

On the other hand, the Covid-19 pandemic doesn't seem to end, and the flu season is around the corner. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends people who are qualified can begin to get B.A. 5 booster. They also advise people to contact flu shots starting this September. 

  • This video explains well why we need to reach a certain vaccination rate within a community.

How could a healthy place help?

Economists believe the U.S. jobs market is likely to be another bright spot this month. While we continue working hard and adjusting to living with the virus, following the USGBC report's easy tips to make our places healthier would be an excellent way to celebrate our Labor Day weekend. 

  • Click here for the comic version of the report summary:

  • Maintaining a higher level of indoor air quality,

  • Applying "active design" in our places and

  • Meeting (and encouraging) one another

Enrique Penalosa /  by Admin

Montgomery County began to operate a Bus Rapid System at the end of the pandemic. The recent US 29 Mobility and Reliability Study from Montgomery County reminded us again of this quote from Enrique Penalosa.

Enrique Peñalosa, a former mayor of Bogotá, once said this inspiring quote.

Why is it inspiring? Because, as a follower of the happiness economy, he understood the urban happiness cycle: only the city that respects human beings can expect its residents to cherish the city in return. 

During his terms, he worked on Bogotá Alameda El Porvenir; the paved promenade was reserved for pedestrians and cyclists while cars were assigned to the edge. This strategy may not seem feasible in other parts of the world while car ownership prevails. 

However, most studies have shown that 68% of the world population will live in urban areas by 2050. Integrating our Land Use and Transit becomes an inevitable topic of growing our cities smartly.

How could LEED ND help?

As a city grows, ample public transportation choices not only increase land value but also make sustainable growth. These choices include public bike-sharing, public-run shuttles, buses, metro rails, etc. But the most effective way to let more people use public transit is to locate a project close to quality transit. Several metrics in LEED ND are standardized to help projects reach sustainable goals. 

LT Credit: Access to Quality Transit

What is considered a "Quality Transit"? in LEED ND, a quality transit is measured by its minimum daily service. A project served by multiple transit types (bus, streetcar, rail, or ferry) with a certain amount of weekday trips and weekend trips are considered to be quality transits.

Minimum daily transit for projects with multiple transit types (bus, streetcar, rail or ferry)

Minimum daily transit for projects with commuter or ferry service ONLY

These transit options also need to be accessible to the project. Some requirements are following.

  • Locate at least 50% of dwelling units and non-residential use entrances within a 1/4 mile walking distance of at least one bus or streetcar stop.

  • Locate a project within a 1/2 mile walking distance of at least one bus, streetcar, or rideshare stops

  • Locate a project within a 1/2 mile walking distance of a bus rapid transit stop, light rail, metro rail station, or commuter ferry terminals.

By the way…

Helena Rubinstein /  by Admin

Helena Rubinstein, a Polish-American businesswoman, once said this inspiring quote. 

You might find her cosmetic empire was irrelevant to our built environment.

But bear with me, let me explain it, so you see a pearl of profound scientific wisdom in it. Two essential measurements tell us what our environment might "look" like in lighting design: one is CRI, the other is CCT. 

CRI stands for "Color Rendering Index." It is a quantitative assessment that indicates how the light resource can reveal the color of various objects faithfully compared to a natural light setting. 

This index ranges from 0-100, with a perfect 100 indicating that colors under the light source appear the same as they would under natural sunlight. 

CCT stands for "Correlated Color Temperature. " It is essentially a way to measure how yellow (warm) or blue (cold) tone of the light emitted from a light bulb. It is estimated in degrees of Kelvin that commonly range from 1700K to 6500K. (the lower the number appeared to be warmer)

There are four primary types of light sources:

  1. incandescent lamps

  2. fluorescent lamps

  3. high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps

  4. light-emitting diodes (LED)

Generally speaking, the incandescent, which includes halogen light, has color temperature ranges from 2700K to 3100K. They have the best color rendering effect, with 100 CRI.

In Helena Rubinstein's beauty world, this type of light is often suitable for cosmetic's "try-on" stands (even with a virtual "try-on" app) or jewelry displays. 

Here is the CRI and CCT value for the other lamp types for your reference. 

Fluorescent (T5): 75-95/CRI; 3000-4100K/ CCT

Compact fluorescent :   82/CRI; 2700-4100K/ CCT

High-Pressure Soldium: 22-70/CRI; 1800-2800K/ CCT

Metal-Halide: 65-85/CRI; 3200-4300K/ CCT

( metal halide and high/low-pressure sodium are part of HID family )

By the way…

If you want other tips to light your space, you might be interested in these too.

Paul Polman /  by Admin

 "We have much to look forward to in the coming year, including the launch of LEED v5. You can apply by Feb. 27 to get involved in shaping LEED v5 as a consensus committee member." A kind message popping out in the inbox reminded me of a quote from Paul Polman. 

Paul Polman, a Dutch businessman, once said this insightful quote. 

Why is it "insightful"? Because he understood that when we combat with current climate condition, we can no longer do "Business as Usual."

If you are ever in a business, you probably have experienced that cutting emissions is not an easy practice. 

However, if we see each of us as a "sole proprietor" in this Green Business, there are practical actions we can take at an individual level. 

United Nations, along with IPCC, recently put out the 2022 Climate Change Report. Their "Mitigation of Climate Change-Summary for Policymakers" listed several areas for policymakers to consider alleviating global warming. These sectors are: 

  1. Energy

  2. Agriculture Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU)

  3. Industry

  4. Cities and Urban

  5. Buildings

  6. Transportation

On the "demand-side" of all these sectors is what we each individual can contribute to mitigating climate change. In other words, following those policies would require us to change our lifestyles and behaviors. 

Those changing behaviors are as such: 

  • Try to take public transportation.

  • Switching commute routine to walking or cycling

  • Maximize the frequency of taking electric transportation

  • Shop local, tourist local, reduce unnecessary air traveling

  • Shifting towards a balanced plant-based diet

  • Adaptive houses

Don't look down on each individual's contribution. According to the UN, "Demand-side measures and new ways of end-use service provision can reduce global Green House Gas (GHG) emission in the end-use sector by 40-70% by 2050."

Why not get our new "climate change mitigation" habit started? It's only the second quarter of 2022.

By the way:

Pedro Calderon de la Barca /  by Admin

"Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises."

Pedro Calderon de la Barca, one of the most distinguished playwriters of the Spanish Golden Age, once said this inspiring quote.

As the distance often leads to an enhanced perspective. In the year 2022, when we re-read this 16th century's aspiration, we might find more scientific truth in it.  Pedro Calderon's plays were usually produced for the Spanish royal community. Have you ever wondered where it would be his "green" and "loveliness" if we set up his scenography in the 21st century United States?

Here is a probability:

Ciudad Real (38.5° N, 3.55° W) vs. Napa Valley (38.5° N, 122.2° W) 

When talking about love and romance, it is inevitably associated with wine, champagne, and cheese. Many people may have heard of the wineries in Napa Valley, California. Ciudad Real is also a province in Spain best known for its wine production. (source: Encomienda de Cervera)

Yet, you might also have heard that the heatwaves were recorded high over the northwest of America in June 2021, and many states had impacted, such as CA, AZ, NM, UT, CO, WY, MT. (source: Climate.gov) Fires, drought, or extreme heatwaves are forcing winemakers in the Napa and neighbor region to rethink their practice--switching to carbon farming. 

What is "Carbon Farming"

As its self-explanatory name, carbon farming is a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during the harvesting cycle. In the case of vineyards in California, this could mean the farmers ditch their traditional method and use a new management practice in their farms. That includes: cover crops between vine rows, no-till planting, no gas vehicles, using sheep to trim the cover crops during the spring, etc. 

Learn more about “Carbon Farming” at Carbon Cycle Institute.

By the way…