Built Environment: Indow Window

You ever have an experience in your past that for some reason some person will never let it down and they always have to remind you of it? Well, years ago as a wee lad (3 yrs old), I had a Christmas that I received bookoos of toys. They built up as a mounded fortress around me. And for some odd, confused and directionless reason, I cried for the shear number of options and overwhelming state I was in. My parents still remind me of my spoiled upbringing to this day. But I have still yet to see how that was my fault, as if I brought it on myself. I wasn't the one who brought me into this world. I wasn't the one who gave myself tons of gifts.

Yet, somethings never seem to change. I find myself in the same situation as I was when I was 3. I have the opportunity to choose a topic for the Built Environment but I am surrounding by so many options, and the Built Environment is where it is at for me! So I must be picky and choose something for the sake of getting the job done. We have so many blog options and routes with the Built Environment, and for this entry I will choose a sustainable product to review. 

When looking to renovate and revamp our house, there are many additions and modifications that we can take to improve our energy efficiency. One of the improvements we may make is with our window employment. 

The Indow Window is a great alternative for those seeking to replace single pane windows with double pane windows. Many older homes have distinctive window styling and it would not do a historical home justice to replace with any ordinary window. And when trying to replace the originals with a double pane of the same character, the art of replacement can cost much more than anticipated. This expensive endeavor is exactly why Sam Purdue sought out to create an inexpensive competitive alternative. What it basically comes down to is that, the original single pane windows are left in place. There is no extraction and replacement of the originals. Instead, a Indow Window is inserted into the window casing on the inside of the house as the additional pane. The Indow Window is virtually unrecognizable unless close scrutiny is underwent. 

The Indow Window consists of a glass pane with a seal around the edges. This seal is slightly larger than the case but is intended to be "wedged" into the case to create a seal that reduces energy loss and air transfer into the house that is comparative to double-pane windows. What results an extremely inexpensive alternative. When Sam Purdue first conceived the idea and developed it, he was attempting to replace the windows of his own home in Portland for more energy efficient alternatives. He found out that it would cost nearly 35K to replace the windows in his house. So began Indow Windows. Now, a customer who has 14 average size windows can take the Indow Window option and pay $2,400 to replace them as opposed to the more expensive options that may be place in front of them. 

To see a video of Sam Purdue and the Indow Windows in his house, please watch the video below. 

I recommend watching the videos on the Indow Window website as they show the ease of use and simplistic beautiful incorporation into the window case. These are not some cheap duct tape solution. They are quality and good-looking additions to the house and an extremely viable option. If we are judging this product with our sustainablity hat on, it is a hands down win. Economically, it packs a powerful efficiency punch at a fraction of the cost. Environmentally, it saves energy and reduces the need to dispose of the old windows. Socially, saving money makes people happy, especially when it looks good too!

http://top10greenbuildingproducts.com/2011/indow-windows/

http://www.indowwindows.com/index.php?s=1

Climate and Air Quality: Adverse Effect

All right, so just track with me for a bit. We understand that pollution is a problem. The definition from wiki is "the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem." The effects of pollution have been recounted many times over. They include:

• Smog
• Acid Rain
• Air quality reduction
• Global Warming
• Loss in Soil Fertility
• Loss of Plant and Animal Species
• Etc.

Pollution is bad. We can not attribute anything good to it. Pollution has been able to be traced originating in China and finding its destination all the way in the valley in California. There have been 527,700 deaths in India, 50,000 in the US, and 750,000 in China that are attributed to the effects of pollution. http://www.evsroll.com/Interesting_air_pollution_facts.html

How do we stop pollution? There are plenty of answers. Stop polluting! Car pooling. Proper Vehicle Maintenance. Alternative Energy Sources. Recycle Recyclable Materials. Use Environmentally Safe Products. Another weapon against pollution is our natural ecosystems and the plant life they contain. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/ways-to-prevent-air-pollution.html

Let's take plants for example as a solution. Plants soak up the CO2 and other harmful gasses for their natural uses and emit oxygen in return for the CO2 that the plants consume. Plants need CO2. Other life needs oxygen. It is interesting to look at the reduction of rain forests and other high density forests around the world and consider our loss. There goes our weapon! Nevertheless, prudent individuals seek to replenish the earth and plant any kind of foliage to green up the earth and improve air quality. Honorable endeavor. 

This was the part I was wanting to get to. With that quick run through of pollution, its effects, and our weapons against it. Lets take a look at an interesting study. In the International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, a study was published that "suggested that we can improve city environments by planting trees down the middle of streets provided that they are not too close together." What was shown was that there is an adverse effect that occurs due to the trees and a restriction of air circulation. In urban environments, multi-storied buildings are developed along the streets and result in a phenomena called urban canyons, so called because of the walls of concrete that are put in place. Scientists tested in laboratories using  air tunnels to see the effect that occurs with overcrowded landscaping. What they found out was that the trees actually restricted the polluted air that rested inside the "urban canyon" and would not allow fresher air to circulate into the "canyon." An adverse effect occurred in comparison to that which was desired. 

Now I know that this is special case and almost poking fun at the environmental efforts, but I think it is worth the consideration. Though our efforts may be noble, we need to understand what is feasible and what will be effective. Sustainability in its broad sense requires a past, present, future focus. It requires a reflection on where we have come from, a good plan and modeling to ensure that our efforts are not just blind and out of good spirit. There must be results to our efforts otherwise we operate in vain. 

Sources

Too Many Trees Article http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720105127.htm

How Can You Help? http://www.lastormwater.org/siteorg/residents/howucnhp.htm

Agriculture: A Sustainable Focused University

A few years back I had the opportunity to go to a Business Policy class trip to Costa Rica in 2008. We toured the Chiquita Banana plant and I had no idea the size of a plantation until I had seen it with my own eyes. Banana trees were everywhere; acres and acres and acres. I thought we were lost. It was the Amazon. The panthers were gonna find me. And eat me. I find it fascinating to see the source of much of my edible consumption. It is one thing to consume, it is another to see where it grows. I will forever rave about the succulent flavor and moment of bliss that overtook me when I ate a banana that had ripened on the tree as opposed to the store. This moment occurred a few years earlier in 2005 in Papua New Guinea. I can not even begin to explain to you the difference. You truly are missing out.

Since my enlightening moment in Papua New Guinea and my re-connection with my banana fondness in Costa Rica, bananas demand a new respect and watchfulness. Which is exactly why I am writing about bananas. Bananas are obviously a tropical production, and interestingly enough, 26.2 of the 95.6 million metric tons are produced from India. The rest of the production is spread throughout southeast Asia and Central and South America. Indias production level shocked me! But with a 1 billion plus population, and a landmass that boasts much tropical region, that is to be expected. And still, Costa Rica remains the homeplace and pride of banana plantations and production, so much so, that a special non-profit university has been created for the efforts of Sustainability. This university is Earth University.

Earth University was started more than two decades ago with a mission "to prepare leaders to contribute to the sustainable development of the humid tropics and construct a prosperous and just society." There vision has been to follow the three pillars of sustainability by having its actions "aimed at building a future in the humid tropics and its communities achieve social, economic and environmental well-being. Since its conception it has graduated 408 students with degrees in Agronomy. These students come from all over the world, mainly from tropical regions, to learn about sustainable efforts in agricultural production and take their knowledge back to their homes and become the effective leaders that sustainability commands.

A project of Earth University has been its 600 acres "Green" banana plantation that was acquired with its purchase of the lands for its University. Their goal has been to produce a better banana for the planet which will include the eradication of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, the vision of 100% organic production and general sustainable practices. One practice that the University employs is the recycling of banana bags. Many of the competitors have said that it would be impossible but since their success, many of those accusing competitors have adopted the same practice. One competitor, Dole, has recycled 1,900 tons of plastic a year! Remarkable!

Still, with the heart and vision that they have, one problem eludes them. There is a fungus, black sigatoka, that shrinks bananas and eventually kills it. Another problem is a worm-like nematode called Radopholus Similes, that attacks the roots and causes the banana plants to suffer malnutrition. But Earth's farmers have produced fertilizers that utilize "effective microorganisms"-benign bacteria, yeast, and fungi that crowd out nematodes and minimize disease. Protection of my beloved bananas.

Earth University's practices have been mimicked around the world and they are looked at as leaders of sustainable development. Earth University proves to provide an opportunity for the world to have a localized  focus and seek out an education and skill set that ensures the sustainability of the local community. It's not all about conservation. It's not all about society. Its not all about the money. It's all of them combined in an equitable distribution of focus and effort.

Sources:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080506-bananas_2.html
http://www.earth-usa.org/Page5365.aspx
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080422-earth-university.html

Administrative & Operations: WHAT?!? Document Management and Sustainability?!

Reviewing the slide show for our 6th module, Administration and Operations, I noticed an item subject to sustainability which was "Records Management". This definitely caught my eye because this is exactly what I do for a living currently. Day in and Day out I consider my efforts and objectives of my consulting engagements to be revolved around making everything electronic, search-able, and disposing of records as necessary. Not once have I considered what I do sustainable. Enlightening!

So, according to our objectives of Records Management Consulting, I consult a company on the design and implementation of their Records Management program. The primary objectives have to do with, first, legal matters. The driving force in Records Management is the destruction of Records that an organization is no longer required to keep, as determined by legal statutes or by organizational policies. This reduces the risk of the company and diverts the risk of self-incriminating evidence. The next benefit to be achieved is the organization of the organization's content. This is more commonly referred to as Document Management. We will most likely convert every document to electronic format, organize it in a intuitive structure, and set permissions and security. Along this process, it is our goal to reduce the number of documents that remain in a physical format. If possible we would convert them all to electronic. For further understanding of Document Management and Records management practices, I recommend the AIIM website. http://www.aiim.org/

I would like to present some insight into the Records/Document Management practice. I have been involved with many different clients and the consulting company that I work with has consulted many oil and gas companies. I know...we can go crazy on the oil and gas industry, but that is not our discussion here. We have been involved in moving the company along the technology curve and bringing many companies up to date technologically. As I have previously stated, our efforts have been in the Records Management arena. At a specific company, there were physical documents and records that dated back 75 years! It is arguable that documents are vital to a company at this age, but the argument is very rarely won (almost never). You can imagine the number of documents that could be trashed and destroyed over the 75 years worth of paper. Well, we did just that. We got rid of so much. This company was a  70 floor building, and had 10 floors for their corporate operations. Two floors were dedicated to physical documents. Our efforts rid 1 and a half floors of unnecessary documents. You can imagine the energy that was required to keep those documents, retrieve the documents, manage the documents, etc.

According to an AIIM article "The average worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper each year and wastes about 1,410 of these pages. With the average cost of each wasted page at being about six cents, a company with 500 employees could be spending $42,000 per year on wasted prints." There are other statistics to conclude that Electronic Records Management adds to the bottom line. Reducing the number of pages printed out as physical documents also adds to the environmental bottom line. Less resources are used.
http://aiim.typepad.com/aiim_blog/2009/07/8-things-you-need-to-know-when-using-ecm-to-go-green.html

With these new lenses to see my work as sustainable, I now walk on and work on with pride! I am green.

Source
http://www.atlanta-ala.com/en/art/642/

Waste Reduction: Trashy Treasures

It has been said that "one man's trash is another mans treasure." This is certain for many. Just recently, I was on the front porch of my house and my room mate walked up after work. While we were chatting and discussing the day we looked down the sidewalk and noticed a frame for a sofa-bed. Now my friend is fond of his sofa bed but was in the market for a more up to date and sturdier model. We got excited at the prospect of finding a replacement for free, but found out there were some structural issues with the bed. So, we deemed it unworthy for his use. But I realize, that there is something special about finding something for free and putting it to use. Here, we were willing to use someones "trash" as furniture for ourselves. This would have saved us money and replaced the bed my room mate had with a newer stronger frame. Unfortunately, as you know, it didn't work. But we still tried!

Many countless shows have been created to find old junk and deem them as hidden treasures. Shows such as the antique road show, PawnStars, and other shows that have the host scavanging piles of junk and pack-rats treasures for those things that are actual treasure. 

In other places, trash is a different kind of treasure, it is a source of resources, a source of living, a way of life. You will find yourselves those sad individuals who nourish themselves through arguable edible discoveries in the trash. There are others that find items to recycle and reuse for personal use and sell. In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, people resort to sorting through the Steung Meanchy Municipal Waste Dump to find "rubbish" that they can resell, earning them a higher income than they can earn in the rural villages the hail from. These incomes equate to 1 to 1.25 USD per day. http://www.demotix.com/news/78400/steung-meanchey-garbage-dump-phnom-penh

Many locations around the world can be found that have individuals who create a life by resorting to pillaging the dumps and hunting for "another mans treasure." In Guatamala City, Guatemala, there is another land fill that has a fame like the worlds other great attraction landfills. This landfill is nicknamed "the Mine" and people who come to the search out the landfill for treasure call themselves "miners." Here, the treasure is metals--precious metals and other various metals. Trash and waste ends up in the landfill and the waters that flow through the landfill along with the rain cause the trash to shift and the metals to settle on the bottom of the streams that run through the landfill. Miners come and sift through the bodies of water looking for valuables such as gold and silver and other precious metals that they can sell to buyers nearby the land fills. Other metals of lesser value are still collected and sold to buyers. These so called "miners" make roughly $20 per day giving them a better income than they can make at other jobs with more job requirements. 

It is amazing to see the difference in lifestyles, in what is acceptable in society as a way to make ends-meat. Beyond that, people are choosing to operate as trash miners over traditional jobs because of the greater income possibilites, regardless of the contamination and potential death risks. The water is toxic and contaminated, yet the miners dive beneath the water and surface with the toxic foam clinging to their face. The piles of trash are always being eroded by the oncoming drainage waters and will potentially fall over on top of miners. Oftern, miners die due to these avalanches of trash. The mining still continues. 

Now I look at this in awe of why people have to resort to this to survive. Is this my problem or theirs? Or even if its not needed to survive, is there no better option? I would say there is. But something to think about....why are they finding things that obviously have a value beyond their disposed state. The gold, silver and precious metals are obvious, but there are other places that people find objects that can be recycled or reused. This shows at a minimum that we have room for improvement in our waste management strategies.

Sources

• http://educationviews.org/2011/11/05/guatemalas-toxic-river-of-trash-that-is-attracting-thousands-of-miners-risking-life-in-search-of-gold-and-jewellery/
• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2057891/Guatemalas-toxic-river-trash-attracting-thousands-miners-risking-life-search-gold-jewellery.html
• http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/11/dangerous_work_the_mine_in_gua.html

Transportation: A Denser Dallas?

I have noticed the DART buses for some time but have never truly utilized buses as transport outside of the traditional school bus trip to the zoo. But, within recent years the DART system has begun to serve a purpose in helping me get to locations that would normally be a pain for me to navigate, park, pay, fight traffic, and etc. such as the State Fair of Texas or other events occurring in the Deep Ellum Area. I have used the DART train system to supplement my travels and it definitely helps when you are trying to pool more than a carload of individuals to a single location. We normally say "Hey! Carrolton DART Station on the 6 pm train!" This makes it easy on everyone and there is less of a coordination effort.

Alot of my experience with public transportation lies in other cities such as Chicago and San Francisco. I know "The City" of the US is New York City, but I haven't made it there yet. Soon. Very soon. In these other cities I thoroughly enjoy the use of public transportation and its ease of use. The first benefit is not needing a car and being able to navigate every corner of the city through this all access public transportation system. It has made tourism easy and accessible, as well as entertaining by having to navigate with maps and learn the system of the unexplored city. Every time I go to one of these cities I meditate on how I could bring back a piece of the city and improve Dallas to make it a world class city where others would want to visit the city for its attractions outside of the typical economic and job appeal. I have viewed public transportation as one of these things that could be improved. 

The three cities I listed (Chicago, San Francisco, New York City) all seem to have something in common and to me, it makes their public transportation system a success. These cities have a grid-plan type development. I've noticed them before but didn't understand the importance of such a design. As our notes say, these truly create a walkable city and promote for easy public transportation. I see Dallas' lack of a grid-design to be a challenge in our public transportation system, something that we will have to be creative with in order to create a public transportation system that is competitive to that of NYC. 

I would also like to note that when I think of US cities with great public transportation systems, I think of the three listed. A commonality between the three are that they are all water front cities and the organic city growth follows an interesting pattern that is different than our beloved Dallas, an inland city. These 3 cities are land locked to one side and we tend to find denser populations and high-density development in water front cities. Dallas has the privilege of expanding on all sides and increasing density at a later point. But I must admit, I do wish Dallas had higher density developments that mimic these three cities. 

We can see the maps using the links below:

New York City

http://mapsof.net/map/new-york-city-subway-map-metro#.T4OlE5mmgrU

Chicago

http://albanypark.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/ctatrainmap.png

San Francisco

http://z.about.com/d/sanfrancisco/1/0/U/N/-/-/sanfranciscomunimap800.jpg

Dallas 2030 Plan

http://www.dart.org/ShareRoot/images/newsroom/jpgs/DART2030Map26oct06.jpg

I've recently had a look at the DART 2030 Plan which I am happy to see underway. This plan includes additional routes that connect a selected 13 city spread throughout the Dallas area which include an additional 43 miles of rail service to add to the already existent 72 miles of track. As I have said in my introduction video, my main focus on sustainability is in its relation to community development in the urban environment. I am excited to see the advancement of the DART system and its effect on the development of the built environment and its effect on economic development as well, giving Dallas a whole new flavor to life and an offering that supplements other major cities. We have the city. We have space. I believe that with a directive towards investment in public transportation we will see a more densely populated city interior. Something that I can't wait to be a part of. Side thought......increase in land values? I think so. 

Intro Video