Des Plaines River - Green Images

Des Plaines River Trail - Green and Sustainable

Right when we started, this egret flew over We took on the Des Plaines  River Trail again, starting from the Wadsworth Road access and heading north to Rt. 173. We (mainly me) were trying to walk further each time we went out. This was a roundtrip distance of about five miles.

There were a lot of open spaces, sprinkled with stands of oaks. This was about the time that temperatures were starting to rise every day. Not too many insects, either.
It was nice that halfway up, there was a water pump, for horses. Didn’t see any riders that day, but there was evidence that we walked around.

As I walk, besides trying not to die of heatstroke, I try to observe the whole scene and remember advice on photography. Occasionally, I remember to look back to where I’ve been (Look behind you – there might be a better shot!) At Rt. 173, there is a car-parts lot on the west side of the trail. Coming up on that point, I remembered that little nugget and turned around.

To my surprise, there in a tree was a Baltimore oriole! I hadn’t seen one in years, not since Massachusetts, and there was one that I would have missed if I didn’t turn around! I got two out-of-focus shots before it flew off, but I was happy. New addition to my digital bird album!

I think it was on this walk, that I really started watching the treetops for movement, and listening for bird calls. This led to lots of sightings of new birds, and sometimes decent photos, and actually helped the walk go faster and easier – the halts for picture-taking didn’t count as rests, but they helped!


Another new bird for me? This duck and her family was swimming in a small pond close to where we started. I didn’t see a male, though there was an American coot in a tree nearby. I had to come home and look it up – a wood duck! Another new bird for me!

They were swimming around and still there when we came back

Des Plaines Sustainability Report

Des Plaines Releases Sustainability Report

The City of Des Plaines is pleased to announce the completion of its first-ever Sustainability Report. A collaborative effort between City staff, elected officials and community representatives, the report details projects Des Plaines has undertaken over the past decade to reduce its environmental impact, explores best practices for new opportunities, and identifies the targets that will bring the City to its goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The report will be available on the City’s website www.desplaines.org/sustainability beginning on Earth Day, Friday, March 22, 2013.
Funding for the report was provided by a grant from the US Department of Energy, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), issued in 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Thanks to the work Des Plaines has undertaken through this grant, the City has received other benefits, including free energy audits of the City Hall and Public Works facilities. For additional information on the Sustainability Report call Des Plaines Civil Engineer Derek Peebles

 

Oakton's New LEED Building

Oakton Community College Science and Health Careers Center - New LEED Building

In 2014, a new building will rest beside the lake at the heart of Oakton Community College’s Des Plaines, Illinois campus. The 93,000-square-foot facility will celebrate the campus, which sits within a forest preserve, and reinforce the college’s commitment to sustainability.

The three-level center, widens as it rises to create a new campus gateway and reduces the building’s footprint (i.e., the amount of land it occupies). This tiered strategy also shades the building’s windows, as well as a plaza beside the lake.

The Oakton campus https://www.oakton.edu/ is next to the Des Plaines River flood plain. Designers used piers to raise the building seven-and-a-half feet above ground; during floods, water will actually flow beneath the building.

A Healthy LEED

Oakton will seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for the facility from the U.S. Green Building Council. The facility’s high-performance systems maximize solar heat gain and mitigate winter winds. For instance, one system uses exhaust air to preheat and cool supply air. This cuts heating and cooling loads. The daylight harvesting system brings natural light to 75 percent of the classrooms, while an energy-generating photovoltaic sunshade keeps the building cool during summer months.

LEED Replacement

Federal Government Looking To Replace LEED by a different standard

The U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design may be usurped as the sole green-rating program endorsed by the U.S. General Services Administration for federal buildings.
In what has become a protracted review of the federal government’s use of green-building systems, the GSA published a notice Feb. 5 in the Federal Register seeking public comment for an additional 60 days on how the government uses third-party certification systems. It is at least the third attempt by the GSA to gain insight into public attitudes.
The GSA owns 1,500 commercial buildings nationwide and leases space in another 8,100, representing 370 million square feet of occupancy. The federal government as a whole owns or leases approximately 370,000 buildings with more than 3.36 billion square feet.
The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act mandates that the GSA recommend to the U.S. Secretary of Energy every five years how the federal government can best use ratings programs and other tools to ensure the nation’s largest user of commercial buildings is operating a “high performance” portfolio.
In the law’s initial implementation, the GSA recommended the LEED program alone to the Energy secretary. But as part of the first five-year review, completed last May, the GSA evaluated two additional systems, the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge and Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes.  

The federal government has been a leader in the green-building movement, reducing its own energy and water use by substantial margins, said Jason Hartke, vice president of national policy and advocacy at the U.S. Green Building Council.
But federal agencies including the GSA are under presidential executive order to do more, to “lead by example” to cut greenhouse gas emissions and exist sustainably while “leveraging” the federal government’s unique position in the marketplace to encourage development and production of “environmentally preferable materials, products and services …”
Interest in the GSA’s decision has been intense not only within the government’s ranks but also those of the private sector. The American Chemistry Council complained that the federal government should not rely solely on LEED after a proposed update to the LEED system was to include more requirements surrounding the use of chemicals in building materials. After its own internal review, the GSA convened an ad hoc “discussion group” that included its representatives and others from the departments of Defense, Energy, Agriculture, State, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency.
That group has concluded, after multiple meetings and two public hearings, that none of the three standards meets all of the federal government’s needs but that parts of Green Globes and LEED fit best.
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HOME INSPECTION IN CHICAGO

Greenest Home Inspections in Chicago

A professional home inspector can play a very important role when you are buying your next house. An inspection helps a buyer understand the condition of the residence. It also helps the seller provide accurate information, which helps make the sale. Because a home is such a major purchase, you will need to exercise considerable discernment. Here are a few pointers to help you avoid pitfalls.


The U.S. DOE has a nice section related to doing your own home energy audit and home inspection.

First, understand that this review is not an appraisal. An appraisal protects the lenders financial interests and is the banks way of determining if the property is worth what you have agreed to pay. On the other hand, your inspection protects you, the buyer or seller, by identifying structural or mechanical problems with the house.
Buying real estate can be an attractive proposition in an economy where home prices are down tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Would you believe some people only spend 15 minutes deciding on the residence they want to buy? Keep in mind that no purchase is perfect, and you should never buy a home without having it inspected first.
This is especially true if you want to buy one that has gone through a foreclosure. You absolutely must have it inspected. It is possible the previous owner may have sabotaged it in anger over a desperate situation. As astonishing as it may seem, home inspectors have found such problems as headers cut from steps, rafters cut in attics, electric wiring cut, and in one instance reported motor oil had been poured over flooring and carpeting.
The thorough analysis of a home inspection brings to light areas that need attention so unpleasant surprises can be avoided later. Investing a few hundred dollars in now can save you thousands down the road.
The walk-through should take at least two hours and could take as many as six hours. This varies depending on the size of the residence. Your professional service person will examine the foundation, roof, gutters, all types of siding, doors and windows, electrical wiring, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, and appliances. He will be on the lookout for fire hazards, mold, and emissions of carbon monoxide and radon gas.
Though it is not necessarily required, he may also check driveways and sidewalks, the porch, patio, balcony, septic tank, and the garage or other buildings that go with the property. Some of these may require an additional fee.
Your inspector should be properly qualified for your state and local area and should have all the necessary equipment to do the job. You can expect his services to cost roughly $400 to $800, depending on the size of the property and the area of the country in which you live.
The report he provides you should be very specific and detailed. It should not be just a quick checklist. It is a good idea for the report to be accompanied by photographs. Your report should include digital pictures to document the findings. Your inspector should take time to answer any questions you have and define terms you are unsure of.
Exercise caution when choosing your home inspector. While getting a recommendation from your real estate agent may sound like a good idea, consider choosing an inspector yourself. Avoid any possible conflicts of interest by getting an independent inspector.
Ask trusted friends and coworkers for referrals. Listen to their concerns and criticisms as well. Check for recommendations from the American Society of Home Inspectors  http://www.ashi.org/
Verify the inspectors credentials. How long has he been doing business? Does he have a license; what is the license number? 
A home inspector can be worth his weight in gold. When he does his job, he will help you gain perspective about the home you are buying. You need to know the positives and the negatives. That will help avoid pitfalls and keep all parties involved from having unrealistic expectations about the property.

GREENEST ENGINEERING IN CHICAGO

Greenest Engineering Home Energy Audit - What are you waiting for?

Blower Door Test

 A key step to understanding how you use energy in your home is doing a home energy audit.  An energy audit usually means you walk through your home and analyze all the systems that impact how you use energy.  There are two ways to approach a home energy audit: finding a professional or doing your own.
 The U.S. DOE has a nice section related to doing your own home energy audit.  The main strategies they list for people doing their own home energy audits are finding air leaks, looking at insulation, inspecting HVAC equipment, and looking at lighting efficiency.  TheDailyGreen has a nice post on the DIY home energy audit that include a nice checklist to use as a guide (although it leaves off lighting!).
While you can learn a lot from doing your own home energy audit, you gain a lot more by having an energy audit done by a professional.  There are probably three things that a professional brings to the home energy audit that most people just can't do on their own:

• Experience - professionals have done this many, many times, so they know how to make the biggest impact
• Blower Door tests - equipment that measures how air flows through your home
• Thermographic Scan - equipment that shows where heat leaves your home (the high-tech home equivalent to the Black and Decker home leak detector
  

For obvious reasons it is a must that a professional energy auditor have the required experience, but you should question them if they dont have the second and third requirements.  In addition a professional home energy auditor will develop a detailed report for you detailing his/her findings.  While it's hard to verify, chances are a professional energy auditor will save you more money in energy savings than what  their services cost.  It's like a personal trainer; sure, you could do it yourself, but you'd benefit that much more from an expert!
Energy Circle, which is a site with very similar goals to Greenest Engineering, had a great blog related to the top ten lessons learned in doing energy audits.
An energy audit usually only takes a few hours and provides a great understanding of what you're doing well and what needs improvement.  I would recommend doing an energy audit once a year, if not more.  It is important to benchmark how you use energy so you will know how to improve.
If you aren't ready to hire a professional home energy auditor that's fine.  At least take a few moments and walk around your home while thinking about where your energy dollars go.  Energy audits are like a car inspection, they help you see how you can perform better, save more energy and save more money!