Rethinking Dunes (and Codes) after Sandy

(Note: Scroll to the bottom of the post for hurricane-related courses from RedVector.)

Hurricanes Sandy and Andrew were very different storms more than 20 years apart, but they will have an impact on the way local governments build for decades to come. Andrew spurred major wind mitigation rethinking. Early indications point to flooding and storm surges as being the thrust of Sandy’s legacy.

To that end, seaside communities from Fire Island to Atlantic Beach are reevaluating their dunes strategies. In the recent past, not every community was willing to pony up several million dollars for mounds of sand that would disrupt views and ruin the fun for surfers. But Sandy changed a lot of that thinking.

Long Beach, NY, turned down dunes six years ago. Myriad local opinions drove the city council to vote it down unanimously. Neighboring beach communities to the north and the south swallowed the cost and voted it in. The Army Corps of Engineers designed and built the 15-foot-tall dunes where approved.

The result?

After the storm blew through, Long Beach (with a population of 30,000 people) suffered more than $200 million in damages. Nearby towns with dunes saw a fraction of those damages. Even where the dunes were breached, scientists and community leaders say the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Damage estimates and comparisons between the towns are still being calculated, but the wheels of emergency federal funds are already moving forward with dunes projects. Local government is ready to approve the measures. There is a good chance this won’t be the only policy revisited after Sandy.

When Andrew rolled through South Florida, strict building codes were enacted that reverberated throughout the state. Those in high-risk counties strapped down their roofs and purchased specially-designed doors and windows. Even builders hundreds of miles away from the affected area were impacted by revised codes. And the state’s property insurance landscape has forever changed since the storm.

RedVector training helped architects, engineers and construction companies in Florida adjust to the new restrictions. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on any changes in the Northeast as well. In the meantime, we have a variety of courses designed to keep your customers safe, including:

Coastal Engineering: Hurricanes - The Basics

Coastal Engineering: Storm Surge

Costs and Benefits of Natural Hazard Mitigation 

Earth Dynamics: Tornadoes 

Emergency Management Guide 

Hurricane Damage: Wind vs. Water Determination 

Hurricane Mitigation: Design and Construction Lessons 

And our package:

15 Hour Coastal Engineering and Hurricane Design Package with Ethics 

  

Source: New York Times

LMS and Change Management

You know the eye rolls. The restlessness. They come just after you announce a training class. It’s training malaise! And it isn't welcome in a training-intensive medical environment.

Developing a corporate attitude that welcomes training is just another type of change management. We've all had to learn new policies and procedures and eventually they become second nature.  Training will follow a similar course in an anti-training environment. There will be resistance. People will say they don’t have time. Eyes will roll. Management needs to take action. How?

1)      Is your staff tech-savvy?  Unless your office is tech-savvy, your change management could meet with fear and frustration. Make sure you get over that hump before dragging an LMS in the mix (Pssst! www.smartteam.com can help).

2)      Hold managers accountable. You know what? If my manager thinks a program is a joke, I’m not wasting my time on it. Period. Tackle your managers first, get them on board and the rest will follow.

3)      Meet on it. Taking courses in solitary confinement can make for drudgery and less learning. While the act of sitting through an online course might seem independent and self-contained (headphones, a quiet study area), people don’t often learn like that. Hold offline meetings before or after lessons to review key takeaways. The social interaction will encourage teambuilding and make the lessons more meaningful.

4)      Certificates! I love certificates. I want to reach milestones, get documentation and check items off my to-do list. I’m not alone. Track what training everyone takes and reward good behavior. Our LMS makes it so easy and quite powerful.

5)      Communicate. Even the most training-centric corporate culture will forget about the LMS if you do. We have a million other things to get done, how are you going to hold my attention long enough for me to train after that first month?  Remind me. Email me. Leave posters in   the break room. Post reminders on the intranet. Create contests. Update me in the newsletter. Add a bill-stuffer to my paycheck. If   you continue to be on board with the program, so will I.

Purchasing, creating and perfecting your LMS takes so much time.  But it doesn't end after the programmers send it over. You’ll need to manage it on an ongoing basis like anything else. RedVector will take care of the courses, but you need to take care of your employees.

Holiday Trees: Live or Artificial?

Many people eschew them for the real thing. But if the rush and madness at a local home center’s Black Friday sale is any indication, they are here to stay. Artificial Holiday trees. The $50 doorbuster sold out within nine minutes of the early store opening.

No, thank goodness I wasn't there at the sale. I bought my artificial tree earlier that week. But I've been having environmental guilt.

Artificial Tree?

Is the tree in my living room the best I could have done for the environment? I use reusable bottles, reusable coffee mugs, reusable plates, forks and knives. Is a reusable tree the same?

A Google search shows why my environmental Spider Sense is tingling. Many people don’t think artificial trees are helpful to the earth. Made in China. Shipped stateside. Contains dubious chemicals. Never degrade in landfills. The list goes on.

Live Tree?

So a live tree? Purchased at the same home center? Those trees get trucked in. Then a fire hazard. Then you hope your town will mulch them and not dump them in a landfill. On the upside, less pesticides than I expected. But it helps if you know your grower, which leads me to...

Cut it Yourself?

Home centers aren’t the only places for live trees. You can cut one down like my uncle’s family.  They get an ultra-fresh tree with less fire hazard. Personally, I worry about squirrels coming home with you. But they haven’t had issues and have decades of holiday chopping under their belts.

 Bulb Tree?

Lastly, the Internet greenies point to bulb trees. These are live trees that the nursery digs up, wrapping their roots in burlap. Then you bring the whole thing home. But there is a lot to think about when you buy a tree and make it a houseplant for a week. How to keep the roots wet? How to plant it in the frozen soil outside on December 26? How long can it stay inside the house (wow, you really should read this article: http://cin.ci/TxwpIV)? Also note that balled trees are really heavy. Like a 6” tree can be 200lbs. Check it out:  http://bit.ly/QCenbg

So my environmental guilt is well founded. But my cats can climb this tree as well as any other one, so at least they are happy. If you are in a Tree Quandary of your own, check out these articles for a little research:

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/christmas-trees-picking-greenest-options-synd2?click=pp

http://environment.about.com/od/greenchristmas/a/christmas_trees.htm

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20121201/LIFE08/312010014/Get-your-tree-real-fake-or-freshly-cut

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/18/a-fake-vs-a-real-tree/

Fast Track to Green

The Patent Process can be a long one. There are blueprints to submit, research to be reviewed and so much more. But if you have a green product? Get ready for the fast track!

Did you know that the US (and many other countries around the globe) has a specialized patent process when it comes to green products? Called Fast-Track, it was instituted in the US in 2009 and the green patent process has been buzzing through red tape and waiting lines ever since.

A study by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development came out this fall and found that worldwide the programs have been delivering on a faster patent wait time. The study shows that the quicker process is usually requested by start-up companies seeking to get new technologies out there. Additionally, fast-tracked patents are more likely to be granted, according to the study.  

This is important for a startup.  Getting a patent can lead to product going out the door faster or investor capital arriving on a company’s doorstep quicker than no patent.

The effort and budgets needed to decrease wait times were approved based on climate change concerns brought forth in the Kyoto Protocol. They are hitting the mark. The study shows that the majority of patent applications are climate change-related. Of these, renewable energy technologies are the most often requested.

Could the next big thing come from a fast-tracked patent? The world is hoping it will. The UN and the signers of the Kyoto Protocol will be hearing updates on it in Quatar this week and next.

LEED Moves with the Times: new changes to the CE Program

When designing LEED, the USGBC knew they were building a program that would have to move quickly with developing technologies. The newest change is a just-announced easier and more effective education experience for current LEED professionals.

(If you are seeking LEED credentials,the path is still the same.  Train up,take a test. In fact, you can do so right here: www.redvector.com)

If you already hold the LEED certification however, you know you need to take courses every one or two years to keep your credentials. And that audit period when you turn everything in can really stink. Sometimes you find you took courses that didn’t apply to you. Other times you find you are missing a couple hours and need to drop everything to take care of it by the deadline.

USGBC heard the critics. Often enough that they made to following modifications to the recertification process:

• Reporting will get easier: RedVector and other providers couldn’t report what courses you took to the USGBC on your behalf. That was your job. An annoying job full of paperwork that could sometimes resemble doing your taxes.
•  USGBC will be allowing RedVector and others to report directly for you, if you so choose. That could save you a lot of headaches in the future. We will alert you when they open that up. Right now it is still in the future.
•  Forms: You know those reporting forms? They should be getting better by having less for you to fill out.
•  Activity Types: this was where you were taking classes that you didn’t need. No more. They have reduced the activity types to four categories: education, LEED project participation, volunteering and authorship. Volunteering has a 50% hour limit and the other activities have no limit.
•  Website changes: their site is looking much better these days, check it out. https://new.usgbc.org/leed/credentials
• Free Stuff! Take a free 6-hour webinar and you get one free BD+C, ID+C or O+M specialty credential. If you already hold one of these, take the course and get another. No matter what designation you hold you’ll get 6 hours credit free (even Green Associates). Register here: https://new.usgbc.org/leed/credentials/leed-ap/upgrade
• Another piece of good news for Green Associates? There are no more eligibility requirements, anyone over 18 can take the courses and test.

So there you go. LEED continues to change with the times. And RedVector promises to stay on top of all changes and help to make the LEED credentialing process as painless as possible.

What? Haven’t’ taken all your CEcredits yet? You’re not alone, head over to RedVector.com for some refreshers.

Gardening: not just for the front yard anymore

I want to start a new garden. No, I am not talking about a new flower patch in the yard. I am talking about my roof.

Green roofs - roofs covered with vegetation instead of asphalt shingles - are everywhere these days another green trend that has taken hold in urban areas and could be featured in a suburban outpost near you. Granted, green roofs in the ‘burbs are a little far off. They make more sense in the concrete jungle, where roofs already often have a hotel pool or a sunbathing deck installed. Why not some flowers too?

Another reason they make sense in the city: Cities get steamier in the summer. A field of green not only looks more refreshing to the eye, but it cools off a surface that would usually absorb and radiate heat. The interior of the building often stays cooler too, by about 8 degrees.

Green roofs got a boost in the late 1990’s when a particularly sweltering Chicago summer claimed over 700 lives in the city. Mayor Daley declared “heat islands” in the cities caused the heat wave to be more severe than it had to be. One way the heat islands could be cooled off was with green roofs, he said. Soon after, Daley announced the city hall would be the site of a large green roof. Since then, they have grown in popularity.

How do the plants get up there?

In the U.S., green roofs are much more likely to be on a commercial building (think hi rise), however green roofs are available for a single family home. A little Internet research showed a variety of methods, most coming over from Europe, where residential green roofs are more common.

While in my head a green roof installation is a lot like laying sod on top of my asphalt shingles, it is more complex. First of all, my sod roof would slip right off in the first rain. One company has overcome that with a series of trays that lead down to a succession of moisture barriers that wick excess water away to gutters leaving plants watered but not inundated. They look a bit like nursery pots.  

Toyota has developed Roofing Squares that look like very high-tech sod. The squares feature plants on top, a moisture-wicking layer and even a little tread on the bottom. These squares are made to snap together. At $43 a pop they don’t come cheap but they are pretty cool.

But what about my roof?

Sadly, I finally realized that a green roof is a bit heavy for my 1980’s rancher to handle. But leaps forward in the creation of high-tech green roofs and with science backing up the cooling effects on your home and utility bill, I think it’s only a matter of time before my roof is blooming. Maybe if I am lucky, I can put goats up there too.

Way More than a Bucket List

At Greenbuild this month, when walking in the entrance to Moscone North on Howard Street, you’ll see it. The slabs of chalkboard will be at the hall entrance. Show attendees will be waiting in line. It’s not another talk. Not another green display. Chalk in hand, some participants may be dashing off something carelessly, others will be more thoughtful. All will be completing the sentence “Before I die…” This is Public Art.

The project was begun by Candy Chang in New Orleans in Feb. 2011. After experiencing the loss of someone close to her, she got to thinking about what was truly important in life. What was really imperative to do before she died?

In this dark time, she began to wonder what was important to her friends and neighbors. Through a series of events she painted an abandoned home with blackboard paint. She stenciled “Before I die I want to ____” on the blackboard over and over again. She left pieces of chalk by the boards.

An amazing thing happened. People wrote. It was more than a bucket list. People shared hopes and dreams on it. Hearts opened. A writer wanted to be published. An ex-husband wanted his ex-wife back. A lover wanted to hold “her” one more time in his arms. Someone just wanted to “understand.” Each night the blackboard wall was washed off. And each day the boards filled up again.

The blackboards—now dubbed a global public art project—have appeared in Philadelphia, Orlando, Chile, Germany, the UAE and more. Now they will be visiting Greenbuild in San Francisco.

Don’t miss this opportunity to stop by and leave your mark.

Greenbuild: Will you be there? We will! Nov 14-16 San Francisco.

http://www.greenbuildexpo.org

See other walls and their participants’ thoughts here:

http://beforeidie.cc/site/blog/category/walls/

ET7P8D73J9JK 

Green Car Tour

Electric cars! I know, I know, you’re thinking about the old slow Prius in traffic this morning or the (shudder) Honda Insight of decades past. But that thinking might just change in the next couple of years.

Check out the Greenbuild 2012 Green Car Tour lineup. Conference attendees will have an opportunity to drive one of 14 new electric vehicles, from the new Volkswagen Bug to the much touted Nissan LEAF to more exotic fair like the Fisker Karma. (I mean, have you seen the Karma? Gorgeous.) 

Honda gets the award for having the most cars in attendance, with six models in play. One of their Civic designs has even moved away from the electric concept, riding instead on natural gas.

The wide selection of models seems to say that, while it has taken a bit, car builders have decided to give green a look. Whether it is a more environmental customer or the President’s new 54mpg standard for cars in the U.S. it is hard to tell. Nevertheless, car makers are giving electric cars a try, even if it is just a toe in the water, it could be your future faster than you think.

The current fuel economy rules for automakers selling cars in the U.S. stands at an average of 27.5mpg. That means all cars across an automaker’s lineup have to average 27.5. So for every truck introduced into the U.S. market that is running at 20mpg, an econo car running at 35mpg must also be introduced.

As the MPG laws creep up on automakers, hybrid vehicles will make a difference. At least if they still want to offer big trucks in their lineup. And while 2025 sounds like The Future, it is only 13 years away.

See the completely awesome Greenbuild lineup here.

Will we see you at the show? Nov. 14-16 in San Francisco!

Read more about the 54.5MPG decision here http://www.cnbc.com/id/48829545/Getting_to_54_MPG_Will_Change_What_We_Drive

Green Cleaning: Cheap and Effective

The Healthy Schools Campaign has released the fourth edition of their Quick and Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools. Anyone who has walked down a corridor that has been freshly wiped down with ammonia can appreciate the effort. Read more about it here: http://bit.ly/RKNtKB

But it got me thinking about what happens when the child comes home. How to keep up the green cleaning?

Below are some cheap and effective cleaning recipes that will minimize the collected spray bottles under your sink but still scrub your bathroom tub sparkling clean:

Surface Cleaner:
White Vinegar. Use it in a spray bottle and you have a powerful cleaning tool that kills bacteria and cuts grease but doesn't hurt you. A mix of 50% vinegar and 50% water will clean kitchen counters, floor tiles and anything else you can think of. Many are turned off by the smell, but it fades in 5 minutes and it absorbs odors while it is doing it. I have found this works great on hard water stains and makes my shower walls shine.

Scrub:
Mix 50% baking soda and 50% Borax. Add a little water until you get a consistency like frosting. Use as a scrub in bathroom or kitchen. Also works on toilets.

Scrub#2:
On less dirty surfaces, you can sprinkle baking soda and spray lightly with vinegar. The reaction forces air into all those nooks and crannies and shoves the grime out. Rinse away with water.

Laundry Detergent:
I didn't think it would work, but it does. Doesn't really bubble, don't worry about that.

1/2 cups Borax (in the laundry detergent aisle)
1/2 cups Washing Soda (Arm N Hammer makes it, check the laundry detergent aisle)
1/3 of a bar Fels Naptha (laundry detergent aisle)
Water
Sturdy 5 Gallon Bucket

Boil 4c water in a large pot on medium at a light boil
Grate the 1/3 bar of soap. Stir into boiling water. Stir briskly until melted. A wisk is nice here.
(watch for boiling over. If it does, turn down heat, stir)
Once soap is melted, add borax and washing soda.
Stir. Stir. Stir. 3 minutes or until everything looks dissolved.
Remove from burner and allow to cool a moment.

Place bucket in sink
Add 6 cups cold water from the tap
Add boiled mixture
Add enough water to fill bucket.
Stir.
Allow mixture to cool overnight outside. Tomorrow it will be ready to use.
Use 1/2 cup per load of laundry. That bucket will last 4+ weeks and

Dish Soap
2 cups laundry detergent mixure above
1/4 cup vinegar (for grease)
Two shakes of essential oil for fragrance.
Combine all. Vinegar might cause a little bubbling, but will subside.

Enjoy!

Do the LEED 2012 Slide

LEED: the green building standard we have all come to know and love. We collect points during the design and build out of the project…the right insulation, the right windows. Then we add up all the values and apply to the US Green Building Council (USGBC) for your building’s certification.

Good system? Bad system? It’s up to you!

The USGBC opened a fifth (!) public comment period from Oct. 2 till Dec. 10 of this year. They want direction, opinions and ideas for the next LEED. During that time you and all your fellow citizens are free to make your voice heard. Chances are they will respond to you personally.

The authors of LEED have always known that it could get better. And with federal government buildings making up a full 7% of LEED certified buildings and 11% of pending approvals, the Feds know LEED pretty well. In fact, government knows LEED pretty well, with local, state and other government buildings making up another 27% of LEED certifications. The GSA likes LEED because it saves on energy costs. The USGBC calls this government leadership at all levels a win for green.

So the LEED 2012 update to the regulations will be super-green, right? Maybe.

While it is great that you have a voice, lobbyists and corporations can also throw their opinions out there. Interested parties currently include – and are not limited to – the American timber producers, PVC pipe makers, plastic insulation makers, vinyl window manufacturers and more. Oh and don’t think those lobbyists haven’t called their representatives in Congress and the House. The great debate has USGBC changing the name from LEED 2012 to LEEDv4, as the original November 2012 go live date has slid back. Perhaps way back.

Have you commented yet? Read up on the areas of change and submit your comments here: https://new.usgbc.org/leed/v4/#comment

Whose voice will be heard? Expect the debate to be loud and long at GreenBuild in San Fran this Fall!

Will you be at GreenBuild? Stop by RedVector’s booth #1733S and pick up your free LEED class! And of course, you know that when the LEED regs do change, RedVector will be the first on the scene with updated classes!

Looking for more details? Stop by the USGBC site or see this site for a great rundown of the LEED Slide.

And the prize goes to…

How is your state for energy efficiency? I’m not talking your state capitol or your area’s DMV. I’m talking about your state. As a whole.

Think about the last building you worked in with the leaky windows. Your spouse’s company with that wheezing HVAC cranked and blowing. What about all those shops you pass by on the way home? The ones with condensation-covered windows from AC turned up too high all summer? And all those residential homes in all those suburban areas with all those old and tired water heaters?

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) took into account all of it when they tallied their energy use and ranked all 50 states. And many states in the union have had their eye on the rankings. It’s a great measuring stick for states that have Green Bills and measures passed in the last few years, including Massachusetts (Green Communities Act of 2008), Oklahoma’s plan to achieve a 20% reduction in energy use, and the widespread adoption of the Energy Efficiency Resource Standard.

This isn’t just some hippie green movement making the rounds. The ACEEE is achieving real and measurable targets in reducing foreign oil dependence, while at the same time creating jobs and promoting economic growth. According to the ACEE, annual savings have topped 18 million megawatt-hours in 2010, a 40% increase from 2009.

So where does your state rank? You know you want to know. Click here:

http://aceee.org/sector/state-policy/scorecard

Day of Service: Where is your project?

Welcome to the first annual Day of Service! On Saturday, Sept. 29, children will be leading the way to a better learning environment in our schools. They’re backed up by parents and teachers who are all working hand-in-hand to stress that Where We Learn Matters.

The concept is a simple one. Ask students and parents to look around their school and find a green project that needs to be done. It could be an edible garden, a schoolyard cleanup or decorated recycle bins. These simple projects are designed to remind school administrators, local officials and community leaders that healthy sustainable schools are important to our children and the community.

The Center for Green Schools is the organizing force behind this largely grass-roots effort. But the emphasis here is not on water efficiency or energy envelopes. The point of Sept. 29 is to wake us all up a little to where children are learning and remind us how much it matters.

Check out the Center’s site for service, Green Apple. Scroll down the home page to do a search for events in your area. Almost 10 percent of all schools in the U.S. have an event, so chances are you’ll have an opportunity to green up a location right in your area.

Be sure to bring a green apple! Take a pic of your child at your project site with the apple and post it to the Green Apple site. There it will join other pictures from across the globe. The projects and sites are very different, but these children all have the same goal: to remind us that Where We Learn Matters. 

Design Festival 2012: Something for Everyone

It's easy to be distracted by sustainable design’s engineering. To be dazzled by the triple-paned windows and the attic’s insulation coefficients. 

But this week it’s the art of design that's taking center stage in London. That’s where the London Design Festival is taking shape and inspiring designers from all walks, including architects, artists and audiophiles. No matter your profession, the art of design is on center stage.

The Sound Portal design is a rubberized black mass in the center of Trafalgar Square, looking perfectly out of place amongst the classical square’s architecture and statues. 

It is the brainchild of think-tank BE OPEN, whose mission is to foster creativity and innovation. Visitors to the portal will be treated to “soundscapes” on some of the most advanced audio equipment in the world. Designers say the point of BE OPEN is to remind visitors to appreciate the sounds as well as the sights of the Festival.

How much adventure can 12 hardwood chairs have? Plenty if they fall into the hands of Royal College of Art students. The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) wanted to advertise American lumber without the usual pop up tent and tradeshow table. Instead, they asked the students to use the lumber in new, ecological and interesting ways. The art installation, called Out of the Woods: Adventures of 12 Hardwood Chairs, coincide with research the AHEC is doing into the Life Cycle Assessment of their products. See more on the research as well as pictures of the 12 chairs here.

And then there is the installation by the artist Kris Ruhs. The German artist has filled a post-industrial display building with swaths and piles of shredded tires, inner tubes and other recycled and found materials. Sounds like a junk yard, but the installations remind you that all these materials can be graceful again in the right hands. Called Landing on Earth, the installation makes the user think about all the materials routinely tossed away in our daily lives and how they can come alive again. 

Inspired installations, each with a message to think beyond the everyday in your design.

Reinventing the Toilet with Bill Gates

Last week the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced the winners of its Reinvent the Toilet Challenge with the top prize going to a solar powered model built by the California Institute of Technology.

The California Institute of Technology team won a $400,000 grant last year that enabled them to produce a toilet which can run without water and does not generate any pollutants – for only about 5¢ per day per user. As the winner of the Reinvent the Toilet challenge, the Caltech team won another $100,000 to perfect the device.

Caltech’s toilet is like any other toilet at the surface. The magic happens after the flush, rather than going into a septic tank or sewer, the water and waste is collected in an electrochemical reactor. The reactor, powered by solar panels, breaks down the waste into hydrogen gas, water, and solids. From here, the gas can be used to generate electricity, the water can be reused, and the solids, being inert, organic material, can be used as fertilizer.

Second place in the challenge was won by Britain’s Loughborough University for a toilet that produces biological charcoal, minerals, and clean water, earning them $60,000. The University of Toronto secured third place, earning $40,000, with a toilet that cleans waste, returning nutrients and clean water.

The goal of the challenge was to produce a low-cost toilet than can capture and process human waste without running water, sewer or septic access, electric connections, or sewage treatment systems. Being free of all these amenities allows the technology to be applied to developing areas of the world where it is needed most.

"Worldwide, there are 2.5 billion people without access to safe sanitation – including one billion people who still defecate out in the open and more than one billion others who must use pit latrines." – Bill Gates

Gates said he hopes that some of the new technologies will be commercialized within the next 2-4 years.

Could Thorium Power the Next Generation of Nuclear Reactors?

Nuclear energy has been a necessary evil, providing power in a way that is cleaner and more efficient than coal, but leaving hazardous waste and weapons-grade byproducts that pose a risk to everyone. However, there is a way to produce nuclear energy without any weapons-grade byproducts and waste that is only radioactive for a few hundred years rather than hundreds of thousands of years – and we’ve been able to do it since the '50s. The answer is Thorium.

Named after the Norse god of thunder, thorium could be the key to the 'greening' of the nuclear power industry. In addition to safer waste, thorium has a number of other benefits. It is 4x as abundant in nature than uranium, roughly 8% of which is located in the US. It is fertile, rather than fissile, which means reactions can be stopped when necessary making it virtually impossible to use as a weapon in a terrorist attack. Additionally, it even generates more energy per ton than uranium.

Back in the 1950s and '60s, researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory proved the efficacy of thorium reactors in hundreds of tests, but the work was abandoned when the Military determined they could adapt uranium power for their naval fleets. It was also noted by the research that thorium could not be used to build nuclear weapons, which much speculation has pointed to as the reason thorium wasn’t used.

Today, the focus has shifted from nuclear weapons to green energy technologies, giving thorium a fighting chance. In January 2011, the Chinese Academy of Science launched a Strategic Priority Research Program named the “Advanced Fission Energy Program”. One of the program’s main projects is building a Thorium Molten Salt Reactor (TMSR). A TMSR utilizes thorium energy by the development of molten salt and molten salt-cooled reactor technologies. They expect to have a 2MW TMSR within 5 years and a 1000MW reactor operational by 2035.

Top 10 AEC Firms in Green Buildings and LEED Staff

With the green building movement now in its second decade, green practices have become integral in leading AEC firms. Giants 300 firms such as Gensler, Stantec, and Turner have set the standards for sustainability to the same priority as breathing – they do it automatically. The following charts list the Top 10 Green Building AEC Firms by Revenue and by Accredited Staff.*

Architecture

Top 10 Green Building Firms

Rank	Company	2011 Green Revenue ($)
1	Gensler	392,000,000
2	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	165,750,000
3	HOK	164,680,868
4	HDR Architecture	137,120,000
5	Perkins+Will	131,350,000
6	HKS	119,325,668
7	NBBJ	106,167,000
8	ZGF Architects	75,600,000
9	HNTB Architecture	62,139,956
10	RTKL Associates	60,000,000

Top 10 Green Accredited Staff

Rank	Company	2011 Green Accredited Staff
1	Gensler	1211
2	Perkins+Will	986
3	HOK	854
4	HDR Architecture	802
5	Cannon Design	397
6	SmithGroupJJR	367
7	HKS, Inc.	342
8	IBI Group	313
9	RTKL Associates	242
10	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	235

Engineering

Top 10 Green Building Firms

Rank	Company	2011 Green Revenue ($)
1	Stantec	189,400,000
2	URS Corp.	137,048,000
3	AECOM Technology  Corp.	118,000,000
4	Jacobs	102,496,836
5	Arup	60,960,000
6	KPFF Consulting Engineers	50,000,000
7	Burns & McDonnell	43,747,479
8	Syska Hennessy Group	43,150,000
9	WSP USA	34,500,000
10	Parsons Brinckerhoff	34,400,000

Top 10 Green Accredited Staff

Rank	Company	2011 Green Accredited Staff
1	AECOM Technology Corp.	914
2	Stantec	664
3	Jacobs	559
4	URS Corp.	501
5	Burns & McDonnell	272
6	Arup	233
7	Parsons Brinckerhoff	223
8	WSP USA	200
9	Clark Nexsen	191
10	Dewberry	178

Construction

Top 10 Green Building Firms

Rank	Company	2011 Green Revenue ($)
1	Turner Corporation, The	4,540,280,000
2	URS Corp.	3,875,000,000
3	Clark Group	2,324,000,000
4	Balfour Beatty US	2,137,850,000
5	Gilbane Building Co.	2,085,018,000
6	Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The	1,911,396,378
7	PCL Construction Enterprises	1,730,300,000
8	Hensel Phelps Construction	1,476,940,000
9	Holder Construction	1,061,000,000
10	Barton Malow Co.	1,005,440,388

Top 10 Green Accredited Staff

Rank	Company	2011 Green Accredited Staff
1	Turner Corporation, The	1251
2	Jones Lang LaSalle	1250
3	Gilbane Building Co.	481
4	Balfour Beatty US	446
5	McCarthy Holdings	407
6	DPR Construction	399
7	JE Dunn Construction	390
8	Clark Group	355
9	PCL Construction Enterprises	336
10	Hensel Phelps Construction	325

*Professions listed as Accredited Staff include LEED APs, LEED Green Associates, Certified Energy Auditors and Managers, Certified Sustainable Building Advisers, Green Advantage Certified Professions, Green Roof Professionals, and High-Performance Building Design Professionals.