Posts Tagged ‘greenhouse gas’

Did you know that for a family of four to fly from New York to Honolulu and back produces more carbon dioxide emissions than the average American family car does in one year. Many scientists agree that carbon offsets do not work and that they can cause more harm to the environment than any potential benefits they may have. Wouter Buytaert, a scientist at Imperial College in London specializing in environmental studies said, “Planting fast growing pine trees on grassland will help to lock up carbon in the tree, but it may also disrupt the soil and release carbon already stored in the grassland. And in some cases there can be severe negative side effects too. Extensive areas of grassland in the upper tropical Andes, South America, have already been planted with pine trees, paid for by carbon credit schemes. The pine trees guzzle water much faster than the native grass, reducing stream-flow by around 70 percent and drying up the water supply for towns and cities downstream such as Cuenca and Quito in Ecuador. “It is just a case of substituting one problem for another,” he said.

If we are ever to become a carbon nuetral world we will have to come up with some better ideas and fast to help our planet. We need to have our goal be sustainability and conservation, otherwise we will never succeed in our mission.

For more information and to take the Green Guide’s Smart Travel quiz follow http://www.thegreenguide.com/travel-transportation/green-travel-quiz

(Quotes found on National Geographic website article by Kate Ravilious)

An exciting news release was announced regarding the green building program designed to train New York City building superintendents and their staff in energy efficiency procedures.  It is an enormous projected spending plan projected by The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC).

“Our realistic goal is to increase fuel and electrical efficiency of existing apartment buildings by 20 percent or more, reducing a prime source of greenhouse gas emissions in our cities,” said Michael Lappin, CPC president and CEO. “We anticipate financing retrofits for up to 15,000 apartments over the next few years. But to change the urban landscape we will also need to adjust the financing landscape.” Source: CPC

CPC’s comprehensive new Green Financing Initiative for multi-family property owners combines quick and easy financing solutions with straightforward options for retrofitting existing multifamily buildings to achieve optimum energy efficiency and cost savings.

The $1 billion program is expected to retrofit approximately 15,000 housing units over the next 3 years in low, moderate and middle-income properties using CPC’s “one-stop shop” operation supported by CPC’s extensive technical network to help building owners obtain necessary financing along with public incentives.

CPC’s “one stop shop” operation will include:

Construction Financing with a permanent takeout CPC will provide short term construction financing which will be used for the extensive renovation of occupied, income producing buildings. The retrofit scope will be performed as part of the larger moderate property renovation.

Permanent Financing Permanent mortgages will be offered for properties that do not require extensive renovation by Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac will support the CPC Green Initiative with an enhanced multi-family loan product featuring up to 80% financing with reduced rates to support the energy retrofits.

Energy Audit CPC will require an energy audit as part of the program and will outline appropriate steps to improve the building’s energy efficiency. CPC auditors will advise on appropriate technologies to install, information on qualified contractors, and estimated price ranges for the various efficiency measures.

Coordinate Access to Public Subsidies CPC will help owners access a variety of subsidy programs provided by government and the utility companies to incentivize them to include energy efficient measures in the work scope. These programs include real estate tax abatements and exemptions, low cost loans and grants, and various income tax incentives.

Under the program, typical energy upgrades to properties could include:

• Increased airsealing/firestopping in all apartment and common areas
• Properly sized and more efficient heating and hot water boilers
• More efficient heating and hot water controls

• Better showerheads, aerators and toilets
• Upgrading ventilation systems
• Complete apartment, common area and exterior lighting retrofit
• Energy Star appliances and more efficient motors and pumps
• Better specification for windows and insulation

 A cornerstone of the program is the energy audit which will become a standard part of the application process along with other third party reporting.