Your Stories

I don’t have a specific story, but several views. As architects, we have the responsibility to lessen the impact of our buildings on the land. We need to think holistically about the building's function, materials and site orientation. We need to educate our clients and thus the public on how we approach design and construction. As education spreads regarding sustainability, (from Bob the Builder’s new slogan, reduce, re-use, recycle to Al Gore’s movie), our clients are becoming more accepting of green design.

Currently, in order to reduce our carbon footprint, we have made severl changes in our family. I take public transportation to work. I will be walking the mile to the station now that the weather is getting to be nice. My daughter does the same to go to college. My partner drives to work, since it is close to home and he works hours that public transportation isn't available. We have installed programmable thermostats, and have switched out the majority of our lightbulbs to compact fluorescents (a currently progressing project). We do our best to spend our money in our neighborhood. Our grocer is a local store providing locally grown produce and organic products (although a small amount of our necessities do have to come from a supermarket).

My story is a simple one. I have been driving hybrid cars (I'm on my second Honda Civic Hybrid) since 2003, and I purchase my heating oil from a local supplier of "BioHeat," a blend that contains about 5% biodiesel. I bought my first hybrid not only to save money on fuel, but to reduce my personal environmental footprint, promote the technology, and send the message that at least some of us out here are willing to pay a little more for environmentally sound products and services. If each of us, as consumers, would take more responsibility for the environmental, economic and political consequences of our purchasing and lifestyle decisions, the transition to a truly "clean energy economy" would begin in a hurry.

I'm in the midst of founding a national land trust, called the Soldiers' Memorial Parks Campaign, whose mission is to create a memorial park (anywhere from a city block to 200 acres in size) for every U.S. soldier killed in Iraq, to be located near his or her hometown. Aside from serving as living memorials, the parks, through an aggressive tree-planting program, will help combat climate change, prevent sprawl and erosion, and protect wildlife and watersheds. Sustainable timber harvesting and community supported agriculture are other possibles uses for park land. In addition, we are planning to partner with renewable energy producers to locate wind, solar, biomass and geothermal projects on some of the larger parks.

I have had solar electric for 22 years, and it has changed my life. I am aware of conservation of energy now that has become a habit of living. My water supply (I live on a mountain 20 miles from town) is supplied from a solar powered pump in a well. My next purchase wil be a solar hot water system on the roof. All my solar panels are beautiful and give me joy and a sense of acomplishment in using the sun's energy to fulfill my desire to have a light imprint on this earth.

I-GO Car Sharing serves the Chicago region with economical and environmentally sound transportation choices. Car sharing provides members with mobility when they need it, without the expense of owning a car. Our goals are to reduce car ownership, save families transportation costs, reduce urban congestion, improve local air quality, and curb greenhouse gas emissions. Launched in 2002 as a pilot project by Chicago’s innovative Center for Neighborhood Technology, I-GO is a non-profit corporation and brought car sharing to the Chicago region. Who We Serve

TriTrack dual mode electric car is a total electric solution to traffic congestion and energy waste to not only end our nation’s dependence on importing oil but also to end the nightmare of congestion that degrades our quality of life. The TriTrack patents describe a system of guideways built quickly across a city that would more than double the traffic throughput of the current infrastructure. In addition to building more capacity the second patent provides a car that drives on these guideways that significantly reduces the energy to move people. It is so reduced that it is “solar ready” meaning that the entire city transportation system can be powered by the impinging sunlight in the shadow of the guideways.

Richmond, The City of Pride, with an active and vocal citizenry that supports a Greener and Sustainable environment, has walked the talk, voted their conscience and is now actively working at all levels to make Richmond a model city for the future. From electing a Green Mayor in Gayle Mclaughlin, to active volunteer organizations, Richmond has been a leader in demonstrating the power of grassroots activism.

My wife and I previously lived in Atlanta, which has some of the worst traffic problems in the nation. We were driving a combined 300 miles a week to work and struggling to pay for heating/AC bills in a 30 year old two story house. It also cost a lot to water the grass and landscaping on a half an acre yard.

I'm trying to find the alternative energy source to convert my 2003 Ford F-150 pickup truck to. I'll need a source that will allow me 250 miles per trip to reach some of the rivers I travel to as a catarafter and kayaker. I'm looking at; http://www.evconvert.com/ http://www.newdream.org/make/auto/index.php http://www.metricmind.com/index1.htm and most exciting of all, http://www.theaircar.com/ http://www.earthfuture.com/ http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/home http://www.bioneers.org/ http://www.yet2.com/ All of these and other technologies to come will help take us into a cleaner and more efficient energy future.