green building

Minnesota Powershift: Connecting Communities, Creating Change

You betcha, Powershift will soon be making a visit to the great state of Minnesota. The home of nice people, hotdish, Garrison Keillor, the Democrat-Farmer-Labor party, community wind, the highest voter participation rates in the country, and the Mall of America now has its very own Powershift!

Minnesota Powershift 2008 is much more than a conference. It is part of a process of building people power around a vision for a clean energy economy and a sustainable future that can unite rural farmers, inner-city residents, labor leaders, small businesses, students, and local governments. It is a recognition of our own role in making change, bridging the gaps between our personal lives and the sweeping changes that must be made. Its time to build a climate positive society, one that has moved beyond “limiting the damage” we do to the global environment and oppressed communities and instead engages proactively and eagerly in the opportunities inherent in a post-carbon society.

Two Twin Cities Green Landmarks on Tour: The Green Institute & District Energy

On August 19th the Southeast Clean Energy Resource Team toured two green landmarks in the Twin Cities: The Green Institute’s Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center Building in Minneapolis and District Energy in St. Paul. Let me take a few moments to share with you what we learned!

Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center

 
Visit Web site From 1:30-2:30pm our group toured The Green Institute’s Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center. The Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center (PEEC) is The Green Institute’s flagship and a national model of comprehensive sustainable design. The building was a pilot for and helped inform the creation of the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (USGBC’s LEED), which has in the last ten years risen within the green building movement as the preeminent national green building standard.

37 Minnesota Energy Efficiency & Clean Energy Projects Receive CERTs Mini-Grants

CERTs Mini-Grants Awarded In April 2008, the Minnesota Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) received over 90 submissions for this year’s Request for Proposals to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. This represents nearly a twofold increase in the amount of proposals submitted for spring of 2008, and attests to the tremendous wealth of clean energy projects happening in communities across the state.

Each of the six greater Minnesota steering committees (NE, NW, Central, WC, SW, SE) reviewed the proposals submitted in their region, and through a rigorous process selected 37 projects that highlight a variety of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. CERTs staff wish to commend our steering committee members for all the hard work and many hours of volunteer time they put into this effort.

Building Science as a Guide to High Performance Housing

Dan Thiede live-blogs this session at the Minnesota Green Communities third annual statewide GREEN BY DESIGN Conference. View all conference presentations here.

Presenter: Pat Huelman, University of Minnesota Cold Climate Housing Program

Pat tells us how—if we can sharpen our pencil of building science, and better engineer—we can get better building performance while spending less money.

R.T. Rybak, Ellen Anderson, & Van Jones on Green for All

Dan Thiede live-blogs this session at the Minnesota Green Communities third annual statewide GREEN BY DESIGN Conference

R.T. Rybak highlights Minneapolis and Minnesota steps toward green development, and gets us all fired up, Ellen Anderson discusses legislative intiatives and the merging of economic and social justice issues with energy issues, and Van Jones talks about building a green economy for all.

Meeting the Challenge of Climate Change

Dan Thiede live-blogs this session at the Minnesota Green Communities third annual statewide GREEN BY DESIGN Conference. View all conference presentations here.

Facilitator: Dane Smith, Growth & Justice, former Star Tribune writer
Panelists: Ellen Anderson, Senator, State of Minnesota | Edward A. Garvey, MN Office of Energy Security, Department of Commerce | Barb Thoman, Transit for Livable Communities

The panel will review the recommendations of the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group, provide updates on policy actions responding to those recommendations, and discuss their implementation. There will be plenty of time for discussion!

Development in the New Energy Economy

Dan Thiede live-blogs this session at the Minnesota Green Communities third annual statewide GREEN BY DESIGN Conference. View all conference presentations here.

Presenters: Russ Adams, Alliance for Metropolitan Stability | John Bailey, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund | Michael Haynes, Green Broker & Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota | Lynn Hinkle, Retired UAW leader, Ford Plant Green Redevelopment | Karen Monahan, Sierra Club & EJAM

How can Minnesota Communities continue to grow and develop while maintaining a low carbon footprint?

MN Green Communities Demonstration Projects: Lessons from the Field

Dan Thiede live-blogs this session at the Minnesota Green Communities third annual statewide GREEN BY DESIGN Conference. View all conference presentations here.

Facilitator: William Weber, UMN Center for Sustainable Building Research
Panelists: Kim Bretheim, LHB | William Freitag, Wilcon Construction | Rick Goodemann, Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership | Matthew Hendricks, Aeon | Rick Klun, Center City Housing Corporation

Measuring Performance in Green Projects

Dan Thiede live-blogs this session at the Minnesota Green Communities third annual statewide GREEN BY DESIGN Conference. View all conference presentations here.

Presenters: Rick Carter and David Williams, LHB, Inc.

Integrated Design: Helping to Achieve Affordable Green Homes

Dan Thiede live-blogs this session at the Minnesota Green Communities third annual statewide GREEN BY DESIGN Conference. View all conference presentations here.

Presenters: Brad Kruse, Weis Builders (Contractor) | Gretchen Camp, BKV Group (Architect) | Heather Gay, Kandiyohi Development Partners (Consultant) | Joel Salzer, Lutheran Social Service of MN (Owner)

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