July 3rd, 2009
Time is running out. No, that isn’t another car sell or a joke to keep GM in business but if you want to have your hand out to receive the $10,000 tax credit for purchasing a hopefully green new construction property (or even a condo in a dirty building) then you better do so soon.
That mammoth amount of cash that the state provided to steer buyers to the dormant new construction market has dwindled to only $12 million. May proved to be a boon for buyers taking advantage of the tax credit as buyers claimed approximately $30 million. The California Franchise Tax Board speculates that the $100 million fund will be “wiped out by August 2009 and the incentive will not be extended.” 
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Tags: $10000, Arterra, California, LEED-Silver, tax credit
Posted in News, San Francisco, money | No Comments »
June 26th, 2009
At one point, it seems as though virtually everyone has sat in front of washing machine and watched the soaked clothes tumble through the suds. That tradition may be a thing of the past if a new “virtually waterless” laundry machine finds its way to the mainstream.
Although only in prototype stage, this new machine may be able to save up to 90% of water compared to a conventional machine and will also cut carbon emissions. Created by Xeros, this machine replaces the old school idea of cleaning clothes. The technology goes with full on chemistry advances by replacing the majority of the water with reusable nylon polymer beads, the machine can clean clothes in less time than traditional machines, and we see these waterless wonders then you can thank Professor Stephen Burkinshaw, from the University of Leeds who made the discovery that certain types of polymer beads could be used for cleaning. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Life Cycle Assessment, polymer beads, Professor Stephen Burkinshaw, Waterless Laundry Washing Machine, Xeros
Posted in Interesting ideas, Water | No Comments »
June 19th, 2009
It wasn’t exactly a quite hush that settled over the San Francisco’s Moscone Center for the 50th PCBC convention but the crowds and exhibitors for this annual builders convention came in about one-half of last year. Nonetheless, in this era of minimalism and slimming down the show offered an array of notable speakers and some innovative products. Now of course, with the slogan “The New Age of Innovation” we hoped for more progressive Green products and not just in a marketing sense.
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Tags: Castor oil, FSC, Icynene, LEED, Moscone Center, PCBC, San Francisco, SFI, spray foam insulation, Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Posted in Materials, Programs and Standards, San Francisco | 3 Comments »
June 18th, 2009
For those in America who have yet to read The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Fast Food Nation or even The Jungle, the new docu pic Food, Inc. smoothly stirs the boiling pot of food production controversy while allowing those not familiar with the dark secrets of the food production industry to enjoy a film in bite size nuggets.
With Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser a co-producers and Omnivore’s Dilemma writer Michael Pollen one of the consultants (in addition to being on-screen participants) the film offers a solid, well presented structure that offers not only scary, gut wrenching even stomach turning scenes in meatpacking plants, chicken coops and but offers a silver lining into the future of food. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: American Meat Institute, Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation, Food Inc., Gary Hirschberg, Joe Salatin, Michael Pollen, Monsanto, Polyface Farms, Robert Kenner, Stonyfield Farms, The Jungle, The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Posted in Films and Documentaries | No Comments »
May 22nd, 2009
San Francisco’s zany Bay to Breakers race brings out not only world class runners but crazy costumes as well. Some companies took advantage of the crazy and healthy atmosphere to promote various items (energy drinks, anti pain patches) but we had to question the Foster Farms “Say No to Plumping” race team.
Sure, everyone seemed to enjoy having their photo taken with the plump Foster Farms chickens but the brightly colored 16-person Foster Farms race team seemed bent on raising awareness of a little-known food fact: “plumped” or saltwater-injected chicken that costs consumers their health and money. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: atmosphere, bay_to_breakers, bay_to_breakers_race, consumers, economics, energy_drinks, food_facts, foster_farms, health, hormones, missing_the_boat, money, San_Francisco, steroids, world_class_runners
Posted in Food, San Francisco | No Comments »
May 18th, 2009
In the continued effort for San Francisco to stay ahead of the green curve as well as the technology curve, the San Francisco EcoMap comes to a computer near you. Although still in “preview” stage the real deal launches in a couple days.
The EcoMap gives San Franciscans the ability to see the collective results of their individual footprint but also offers up nifty comparison of other zip codes so we can all spy on how Pac Heights compares to Potrero Hill. How many of the Marina crowd pours CO2 into the air from transportation, energy and waste versus their Russian Hill neighbors? With this map it’s easy to check out the various carbon footprints of the various ‘hoods. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: cisco, city_and_county_of_san_francisco, collective_results, ecomap, gavin_newsom, ghg_reduction, greenhouse_gas_emissions, mayor_gavin_newsom, pilot_project, preview_stage, reduction_goals, san_franciscans, sf_mayor, technology_curve
Posted in San Francisco, Technology | No Comments »
