'Green Walls'

We have Green Roofs, why not Green Walls?
A French botanist, Patrick Blanc, designs Plant Walls for hotels and museums around the world.
His trademarked Plant Wall concept involves layers of plastic, metal, and air to for stability, temperature control, and circulation. The plants grow in small pockets and a hydroponic system of plastic pipes provides water and nutrients.

'Blanc attributes his growing success to a shift in thinking about cities and urban spaces. "We need to reconcile city dwellers' needs and nature's needs," he says. And with space increasingly at a premium in cities, gardens have to go vertical, he says. While high-profile commissions have made Blanc famous, he envisions far more modest applications for Plant Walls: in parking lots, housing projects, train stations, and even underneath bridges.'

'Redefining the Urban Jungle' by Amber Haq
October 4, 2006 BusinessWeek

NOAA admits that humans are having an influence on the climate

A statement was released from the NOAA that 2006 was the warmest year on record in the US and that the long term warming trend is linked to greenhouse gases from human activities. In past years the link between climate trends and human activities was played down, but now the NOAA and other government agencies are making an effort to be clearer with the findings.

‘Agency Affirms Human Influence on Climate’ by Andrew C. Revkin
New York Times 1/10/07


Go to American Forests Personal Climate Change Calculator and Find out Your impact on the Climate and How many trees you should plant each year to nuetralize your impact.

Green Buildings

The US Green Building Council certifies buildings as environmentally friendly with the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards. The Green Building trend has been growing but mostly in new construction rather than renovation of existing buildings.

The Rose Smart Growth Investment Fund – an environmentally friendly investment fund- focuses on updating existing properties in areas close to mass transit. Projects are planned and targeted in Seattle, Baltimore, Boston to Washington, Rocky Mountain Region, and Chicago.
They found that renovations including updated heating/cooling systems, replacing old windows with double hung windows, removing carpeting, ‘light shelves’, and providing improvement manual for tenants reduces the operating costs over time and increase property value.

‘Finding the Green In Building Renovation’ by Lisa Chamberlain
New York Times 1/10/07

The Chicago Center For Green Technology is certified at the U.S. Green Building Council LEED Platinum level.
Christy Webber Landscapes "Rancho Verde" 12-acre former brownfield site is a LEED Gold-rated project.
Go to the US Green Building Council to find out more about the LEED certified projects in Illinois.

Green Technology Meets Digital

Dell computer is calling on the computer industry to foster the planting of trees. "Plant a tree for me" program will donate $2 for every notebook computer purchased and $6 for every desktop. The money will be given to the Conservation and Carbonfund to buy and plant trees.

January 10, 2007
"Dell Says Plant a Tree, Help the Environment" By DAMON DARLIN
New York Times 1/10/07