While certified green theatre may still be an anomaly, the live entertainment design community is discussing its environmental impact, as well as broader notions of sustainability, both online and in person. Yesterday, Live Design magazine published a blog post (the first in a series) from lighting designer and theatre consultant Curtis Kasefang on the concept of “sustainable theatres.” Kasefang’s notion of a sustainable performance space can be summed in up in one word: reuse.

READ MORE >>

Yep… so much so that US Environmental Protection Agencies WaterSense program (an ENERGY STAR for water) has addressed the issue by making the flushing urinal the first commercial product for which it’s developed standards. According to the EPA, “Approximately 65 percent of the estimated 12 million urinals in the United States are old and inefficient. While the current federal standard for commercial urinals is 1.0 gallon per flush (gpf ), some older urinals use as much as five times that amount!”

READ MORE >>

As a former resident of Las Vegas, I can attest to the obvious: with its air conditioned high-rise hotel/casinos, massive water features, and cookie-cutter gated developments as far as the eye can see, Sin City isn’t exactly a model of resource efficiency. Of course, many places aren’t… but Vegas’ unique combination of resource scarcity and excess of, well, excess creates a compelling case for more sustainable development. Water issues alone demand a rethinking of how Las Vegas can survive, much less thrive, in a natural environment that isn’t particularly hospitable to human habitation.

Mayor Oscar Goodman and other city leaders seem to be wising up to these challenges, and developments like the CityCenter project represent efforts to maintain Vegas’ standing as a tourist destination while recognizing the costs of business as usual. On Tuesday, Goodman announced the next step towards a more eco-friendly Las Vegas: the public/private partnership Green Chips.

According to the organization’s web site, the mission of Green Chips is pretty straightforward: “In response to the needs of the global environment, Green Chips is helping local residents and businesses take real steps to reduce environmental impacts in our own community.” Concrete plans outlined so far (but yet to be formally announced) include low-interest loan programs for homeowners and businesses, a regional summit “on conserving energy in Southern Nevada,” and (of course) selling green gaming chips to raise funds.

Is it enough? Hard to say at this point — Vegas enters this race with some pretty big hurdles to overcome. Those challenges make this intiative all the more exciting, though: if Las Vegas can successfully navigate them, it could serve as a model to other communities. That’s a bet worth taking…

via KVBC and the Las Vegas Review-Journal

Image credit: http2007 at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

The House’s passage of Waxman-Markey (aka the American Clean Energy and Security Act) isn’t just a step forward in moving the United States away from addiction to fossil fuels, and towards a cleaner energy economy; it’s also evidence that President Barack Obama plans to fight for many of the campaign promises he made on energy and the environment. Candidate Obama laid out a very ambitious and comprehensive approach to energy policy, recognizing that it’s intimately tied to environmental concerns and economic growth and development.

READ MORE >>

Friday’s passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) signaled a definite shift in US policy towards energy use and climate change. Though the bill had its detractors — most notably Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and even progressive Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) — ACES, or Waxman-Markey, set new standards for clean energy adoption, energy efficiency, and, most notably, greenhouse gas emissions.

READ MORE >>

Most tips and suggestions for living more sustainably focus on your home. That makes sense, as you have the most control over the energy and other resources you use there. But what about the office? Have you noticed practices there that make your inner greenie cringe, or even scream?

The US Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program has just released a video featuring eco-lifestyle guru Danny Seo discussing ideas for bringing green to work.

READ MORE >>