Archive for the ‘sustainability’ Category

January 11, 2011

Maricopa County’s Green Government Collaboration and Transportation Initiatives

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Yesterday, I posted the first half of my interview with Jonce Walker, the Sustainability Manager at Maricopa County and the author of the latest Green Government Program. Today, read how the County collaborates with other municipalities and within its various departments, what specific transportation measures the County is taking to go green, and what other cities and counties can learn from Maricopa County’s success. Blooming Rock: What are some of the coordination efforts you’re undertaking with other agencies and municipalities to implement the Green Government program? For example, I noticed you have tree planting as one of your measures…

January 10, 2011

Maricopa County’s Sustainability Manager Talks about the Green Government Program

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Did you know that Maricopa County has a Sustainability Manager and has adopted a Green Government Program? I didn’t either. Once I met the Sustainability Manager, Jonce Walker, and he told me about their Green Government Program, I was very impressed with what the County has been able to accomplish in a few short years in regards to sustainability. I interviewed Jonce and asked him about the program he’s been instrumental in creating and implementing. Below is part I of our interview, touching on Jonce’s role in the County, the general characteristics of the Green Government Program, its triple…

January 02, 2011

New Year’s Resolutions for a Better Community

by: Jim McPherson

Tweet Today’s post is by Jim McPherson, a follow up to his guest post last week. He helps us kick off the new year with some resolutions on how to improve Phoenix and concrete steps on how to get started. Thanks Jim!… Happy New Year! Here in Phoenix, the sun is out, the sky is clear, and there’s a slight chill in the air. Not bad, not bad at all. It’s also that time of the year to resolve to improve upon the previous year. It’s time to look forward and to move forward. Last week in my post, “Yes…

December 21, 2010

Good News for Energy in 2011 from the New Tax Bill

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Many of the federal tax benefits for clean energy and energy efficiency were due to come to an end on December 31. This was bad news for the green economy because these benefits are often what grease the wheels of clean energy and energy efficiency companies. When these benefits expire, green energy companies suffer, contract or go out of business, taking countless green jobs with them. Below is a list of 4 items that are seeing a benefit extension for another year which bodes well for the green economy (at least for another year): The Treasury Grant Program, a…

December 17, 2010

The Ranch Mine Transforms Old Houses into Custom Homes for Generation Y

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Recently I’ve met a few really talented architecture graduates that haven’t been able to find a job at a firm due to the depressed economy. This may sound like an unfortunate thing, but it turns out that these brilliant graduates are making a much bigger difference right out of school then they ever could have if they just found a job at an architecture firm. An example of a very talented architecture graduate I’ve gotten to know this year is Cavin Costello. He is a Master of Architecture graduate from Northeastern University in Boston and he came out to…

December 14, 2010

What Would Paolo Soleri Do?

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet “The mechanisms channeling life positively may consist of the replacement of comfort and security by joy.” – Paolo Soleri in his book Arcology: The City in the Image of Man This weekend was the public dedication of the bridge designed by Paolo Soleri in Scottsdale on the Waterfront. I attended a special VIP reception before the public dedication and snapped a photo of the man himself. The next day, I attended a lecture on Organic Architecture by Alan Hess and a panel discussion on Soleri’s Principles in Action that included Will Bruder, John Munier, Jeffrey Stein and Peter Zweig,…

November 23, 2010

Finally, Sustainable Landscape Standards for the Southwest!

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Janet Waibel, landscape architect and owner of Waibel & Associates Landscape Architecture, has done something remarkable, something no one has every done before. She has written down and compiled best practices and standards for landscape management in the southwest, in particular, the Valley of the Sun. Why is this such a remarkable feat? Simply because no one has ever written such a comprehensive and consensus-based text on this subject. Our climate is so unique that our landscape has very specific and different needs than anywhere else in the country. Sure, over the years people have figured out how best…

November 16, 2010

Goldwater Institute Standing in the Way of Arizona’s Solar Future

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet From the Phoenix Business Journal today: The Goldwater Institute is again trying to overturn the state’s renewable energy standard. The group is in Arizona Court of Appeals today arguing that the Arizona Corporation Commission overstepped its bounds setting a standard that requires utilities to have 15 percent of their power produced by renewable resources by 2025. The case, Miller v. ACC, focuses on a surcharge to Arizona Public Service customers monthly bills and argues that the ACC breached its constitutional mandate in establishing the requirement. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge originally ruled the ACC acted within its authority…

November 08, 2010

Eric Corey Freed Talks about the Urgent Need for Green Building

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Eric Corey Freed, licensed architect, LEED ap practices a very special brand of architecture called organic architecture out of his firm organicarchitect in San Francisco. Early in his career, Eric studied under an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, gaining an appreciation for and adopting Wright’s philosophy of organic design. In his own practice, he has also become deeply involved in ecological and environmentally responsible architecture drawing from ancient design principles and new technological innovations. He has co-developed the Sustainability Programs at the Academy of Art University and the University of California Berkeley Extension. Eric is the author of four…

October 26, 2010

Small Steps Towards a Sustainable Remodel

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet A few months ago, when the rental unit at the Blooming Rock duplex 3 Palms became available, I got a call from a woman named Theresa who was very interested in the place. But she stipulated that she needed the lease to be on a month-to-month basis because she was moving here from Chicago and wanted to buy a house for the long term, instead of renting. Normally I wouldn’t entertain the idea of a month-to-month lease, but I was intrigued when she told me that she just got a tenured position at a university in a very interesting…