The nation’s first zero-energy public school is now being constructed in Bowling Green, KY.  Wait, Kentucky?  Yep, Richardsville Elementary School in Warren County, KY is about to become the first zero energy school in the US.  Warren County Public Schools have had an active conservation management program since 2003,  avoiding $4 million in energy costs, and reducing total consumption by 28%.  WCPS is a great example of how things like this don’t get done overnight. Now that they have five Energy Star certified buildings in their system, they are now ready to tackle the gold standard zero-energy public school.

Richardsville Elementary School is the brain child of SCB Architects, and will house a capacity of 600, costing an average of $175.61 per square foot to build.  In addition to being a net-zero facility, SCB is also aiming for LEED Platinum certification.  To achieve net zero energy, the design focused on six key aspects including a high-performance building envelope, daylighting, geothermal HVAC & hot water generation, on-site solar panels, an efficient operations and maintenance plan, and an Energy Star rated kitchen for all those delicious school lunches.

The design of the school is meant to encourage and teach sustainable practices at a young age. There are four main hallways in the school each focused on making students a part of the experience.  The “geothermal hallway” and “solar hallway” both have exposed portions of the system complete with gauges so the students can monitor the performance of the systems.  The other main hallways focus on rainwater collection for plumbing, and recycling.

The school is being constructed now, and the progress is being monitored by a live webcam on the school’s website.  Pretty cool stuff, check in every now and then.

Given the aforementioned time crunch, and a small marketing budget we wanted to design something attractive and professional, and do it quick.  I was able to accomplish this by using Apple’s Iweb software, my new go to for short on budget, short on time projects.  While the site lacks the functionality and content management system that I generally like to have in the websites I develop, it fit the customer’s needs perfectly.

The site is live at http://www.ladolcevitacorolla.com , if you want to check it out.  The site is pretty basic right now, but we hope to get more content and functionality over the course of the season.

Finally Corolla, NC has a delicious Italian restaurant!

When the ship was completely uncovered in December, archeologists have had a chance to photograph, measure and study the structure, and track it’s likely path.  The wooden pegs that held this ship together are one of the key factors that have allowed them to date the ship, as most English ships of that era were held together with iron spikes.  They estimate the ship to have been a merchant  vessel about 70 feet long carrying an armed crew of about 10.  Local beachcombers armed with metal detectors have found all kinds of other “booty” in the nearby area including musket balls and coins dated as far back as 1601 in the vicinity of the remains.

Local curators have decided to try to save these remains and preserve them, possibly even trying to reconstruct the ship based on the archeologist’s findings.  Last weekend a big local effort to dig out the structure and transfer it to a more secure location off the beach was a complete success.  The remains now are sitting in the Corolla Historic Village, where a new corridor is being constructed for viewing and reconstruction.

As a kid growing up around the Outer Banks, I always had a fascination with Pirates and old ships, so this news certainly caught my interest.  I took a ride to the new site yesterday to get a better look and snapped a few pictures.  It will be interesting to see what comes of all this.

I have been working with one of my clients to develop a social media based marketing plan for the web.  My first draft of this presentation was a B-school style masterpiece; 15 pages full of graphs, charts, and industry lingo bound and ready for the boardroom.  When I first presented the plan the proverbial light bulb never went off, leaving a lot of blank faces.  Knowing the point was important to get across, I went back to the drawing board.  I decided that I would cut out the specifics of the plan and present it conceptually, in a format that was as visual as possible.

Now that I have explained what I wanted to accomplish, and some basic steps, my client is fully onboard preaching the benefits of social media to anyone who will listen.  We are working through the steps, and accomplishing some pretty significant results along the way.

Here is my final presentation to the client, in a short, sweet, and straightforward format. I have altered it a little to avoid confusion, but the nuts and bolts are still here.  Read through it, I think these same principles can apply to other businesses looking to market to the social web.

A few months ago, I wrote a post about the logical steps of a green retrofit.  The point of my post was that despite the “it” factor of alternative energy, going for solar panels right off the bat doesn’t make much sense.  Yesterday, I read a post from Musings of an Energy Nerd, that approached the same issues graphically .

Above is the “Pyramid of Conservation”, which originated from Bob McLean, CEO at Hunt Utilities Group, which he created for Minnesota Power.   The pyramid is meant to help customers understand where to start when taking on an energy efficiency or retrofit project.  There are ten levels of the pyramid, and the most effective way to achieve energy efficiency is to start at the bottom and climb up.  The levels at the bottom of the pyramid provide the foundation that allow the levels above to gain maximum benefit.

While a lot of this may seem like common sense, people get it wrong all the time – installing solar panels on an inefficient home.  I am all about expressing things visually, so while this may seem pretty straight forward, it is still a nice reference.

Note that the top levels of this pyramid are the areas where the government incentives historically come into play.  For the first time, the bottom levels have been targeted by the government with the HOMESTAR program proposed last month.

Merchantsofrock.com, a music blog that I have been developing this winter has launched, and is now available for public viewing online.  The website reports on independent music, providing news, album reviews, and also provides few music streams for the visitors.  On the back end of the site, we are developing a fully functional store and shopping cart, which will be properly launched next month.  In addition to developing the site, I am very excited to be included as a featured contributor on the site.

Business customers take notice here, as this site is a great example of the extreme flexibility and functionality that the Wordpress platform provides.   The site is completely optimized for search engine optimization, and the ability to update content with ease provides visitors a reason to check back on the site regularly.  This is what a content management system based website is all about: search engine placement, increased visitor frequency, and social media accessibility.

For he first time ever, a climate change-related bill has been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives.  Now that the bill has moved on to the Senate for approval, the music industry is trying their best to get involved.  An organization called “Music for Action” has teamed up with Bonnaroo and several great (and a few not so great) artists to provide the “Best of Bonnaroo” collection.  The collection is available for free download, all they ask in return is for you to send an email to your senator, the president, or your local paper supporting the climate change initiative.

They have pulled together a pretty cool website at http://www.musicforaction.com that pulls together some of the facts about the initiative, and links to send the emails.  They even have pre-written email templates if you aren’t much for writing letters.  The compilation itself is pretty cool with performances by Wilco, Gov’t Mule, Phish, Death Cab, My Morning Jacket, Guster, and more.  See below for the full list.  Click Here to Go to the website and download the compilation.

Wilco – Bull Black Nova
Pearl Jam – Animal
Jack Johnson – Inaudible Melodies
Dave Matthews Band – Rapunzel
Death Cab for Cutie – Cath…
Ani Difranco – Fuel
Phish – Kill Devil Falls
Gov’t Mule – Banks of the Deep End
O.A.R. – Delicate Few
MOE – Not Coming Down
Raphael Saadiq – 100 yard Dash
Bob Weir & Ratdog – Throwing Stones
The Disco Biscuits – And the Ladies were the Rest of the Night
The Decemberists – The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid
My Morning Jacket – Oh! Sweet Nuthin’
Guster – Happier
Phil Lesh & Friends – Box of Rain

Yesterday after touring a training facility at Savannah Technical College, President Obama announced the details of the proposed “Cash for Caulkers” plan, formally known as the HOMESTAR Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program.  The program is meant to help homeowners improve their property and use less energy along the way, create construction jobs and to continue to grow the market for green products.   The Obama administration expects the program to create tens of thousands of jobs while saving the equivalent of the entire output of three coal power plants each year.  Consumers in the program are estimated to save between $200 and $500 per year in energy costs, improving the comfort and value of there homes along the way.

While that is all well and good, what people want to hear about are the rebates – so here you go.  Rebates will be delivered directly to consumers, not in the form of a tax credit like most other “green” programs.  Most of these rebates will actually be made at the point of sale, like an instant rebate.  Below are the details on the different levels of rebate:

Silver Star Rebates – $1000 – $1500

Meant for consumers opting for simple upgrades such as insulation, water heaters, HVAC units, window, roofing, doors and duct sealing.  These customers will be eligible for a 50% rebate on their purchase up to $1,000 – $1,500.  It has been proposed that these rebates can be combined, and the consumers can receive a maximum of $3,000 per home.  To be eligible for the rebate, products need to be made in the U.S. and installed by certified contractors.

Gold Star Rebates – $3000

For customers looking to make a more comprehensive overhaul, there is a $3,000 rebate proposed for a whole home energy audit and retrofit tailored to achieve a 20% energy savings.  Consumers can also receive additional rebate amounts for energy savings in excess of 20%.

The program will require contractors be certified to perform these efficiency installations, but there is no word yet on exactly what certification is required.    The program also includes support to state and local governments to provide financing options to consumers so they can afford to make these investments.

At the moment, this is just a plan.  I will try to continue to post updates on this as it presses forward and more details come forward about the plan.

My wife and I have been spending some time in Folly Beach, SC this summer – just outside Charleston.  The beach here is really cool, and there is a long walk that leads to the Morris Island Lighthouse, which stands on the southern side of the entrance to Charleston Harbor.  The lighthouse is really unusual in that it stands a few hundred feet offshore, and is surrounded by water.  There are a lot of rock barriers on the beach, and we took this shot of the lighthouse with the rocks in the foreground.  I thought it came out pretty cool, so I figured I’d throw it up here.

As for the lighthouse itself, I was interested and did a little research on it.  It was constructed in 1876, and at that time was 1200 feet from the water’s edge.  Construction of jetties to protect shipping channels into Charleston Harbor in 1889 altered the currents which resulted in the erosion of Morris Island, and the lighthouse being surrounded by water.  The shoreline reached the lighthouse in 1938 (1200 feet in 50 years!), making it no longer safe to be manned at which point it became automated.  The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1962.  Hope you enjoyed the history lesson, I for one found it pretty interesting.  A nice example of how rapidly things can change when man starts messing with the currents.

Ecohome magazine just did a nice write up on trends in green building for the coming year.  Around the new year, I wrote about some other publications and analysts predictions in terms of green trends, but Ecohome got a couple extra weeks to look into the crystal ball and predict the trends for the year.  It is a really good list focused on trends specific to green home building.  Below is a summary of the seven major trends.

1. Water Conservation – Water supply is becoming an increasingly talked about concern for the coming decade, especially in the hot and dry southwestern states.  New standards including the EPA’s WaterSense guidelines, and California’s new green building code call for water efficiency measures aimed to reduce homes’ water use by 20%.  As more efficient faucets and fixtures continue to become the standard in new homes, Dual flush toilets and Rainwater runoff storage units will gain popularity.

2. Green Remodeling – While new construction has dominated the Green Building landscape for the last decade, retrofitting existing homes with energy efficient improvements is one of the most significant trends for the coming decade.  The government has boosted funding for energy retrofits, and the USGBC has recently launched the LEED for Homes.

3. Solar Products – As demand continues to rise and the price of photovoltaics continues to drop, solar will continue to trend upwards.  More and more companies are creating new solar and PV technologies that are more attractive and easier to install.  Bills like the “Million Solar Roofs” initiative introduced in congress show that  State, local and federal tax incentives don’t seem to be going anywhere.

4.  Zero Energy Homes – As the home building industry attempts to mount a recovery, cutting edge designers and builders will try to create more net-zero homes to set themselves apart from competitors.  These small but ultra efficient homes are popping up more and more, and are designed to consume 90% less energy than a regular home.  As energy prices continue to hike, the cost of these houses are becoming more and more justifiable.

5. Energy Monitoring – You knew computer technology had to make an appearance on this list somewhere.  Web based monitoring programs with real time data are becoming increasingly feasible and prevalent.  Smart meters and grids are expected to go a long way toward changing homeowners’ perceptions and behaviors.  Even Google is getting in the game with the Google Power Meter.

6. Super Efficient Windows – The technology in windows has grown to the point of near perfection with regards to energy lost.  The technology is there, and the time has come for these super high performance windows to catch on with homeowners. Serious Windows’ ThermaProof windows for instance insulate as well as R-13 insulation.  As the windows catch on to a larger audience, the price will continue to trend downward.

7. Heat Pump Water Heaters – These units have been available for over 20 years, and are two or three times more efficient than a conventional heater, but the increased price has kept buyers away.  As the net price goes down, and the price of energy rises, these units should continue to thrive.