Chicken Restaurant Flies to the top with its LEED Gold Certification

One of my favorite fast-food restaurants in Fort Worth has achieved LEED Gold status one year after opening. The Chick-Fil-A in Montgomery Plaza was recently certified with LEED status.  According to a press release put out by the company, it is the first restaurant in Fort Worth to receive this achievement. Also, as a result of this success, Chick-Fil-A plans to build four more LEED restaurants.  

The release goes on to say “The initiative places emphasis on four main areas of operation: cup recycling, energy and water efficiency in existing restaurants, sustainable new restaurant development and sustainable supply chain.”

Some of the technologies used to achieve this status include low-flow plumbing fixtures and an underground cistern. The Cistern collects rainwater which is used to water the landscape. These technologies create as much as a 40% reduction in water usage.

Mt favorite quality when visiting this restaurant is the sky-lights. This feature allows more direct sunlight which reduces the need for lighting and in turn reduces on electricity consumption. The sky-lights, paired with windows and energy efficient appliances helps the restaurant save about 14% in energy consumption.

This restaurant chains shows everyone in the food industry that it is possible to build sustainably and create a more positive environment for the future.

REFERENCES

http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/03/13/2918410/a-fort-worth-chick-fil-a-seeks.html

http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Pressroom/Press-Releases/leed-release

From Trash to Treasured Energy

One company known picking up trash is leading the way in an alternative source. Waste Management, the trash giant, has spent extensive time and money to develop ways of taking landfill gas, something they have readily available and transforming it into usable energy. According to Waste Management’s web site, “using landfills, we produce over 550 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power more than 444,000 homes. This amount of energy is equivalent to offsetting over 2.2 million tons of coal per year.”

The process works by capturing the gases naturally released from the landfill and harvesting it into a renewable energy source.  Essentially this company takes our trash, and turns it into our treasure= energy.  Waste Management has plans to expand its alternative energy capacity to power over  two million homes by 2020.

REFERENCES

https://www.wm.com/sustainability/renewable-energy.jsp

Hybrid What?!?!?

When you think of hybrid vehicles you think of a Prius which is a small four door car. You do not typically think of 18-wheelers carrying tons of product all over the US. However, a large international company has invested in just this. Coca-Cola started changing its US fleet in 2008 from traditional diesel trucks to hybrid trucks. They are slowly adding more to the fleet and have almost 200 hybrid trucks running product all over the US.

A US government organization, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), tested the hybrid truck against the diesel truck and came up with some interesting results.  According to the data, “The 13-month field study, the hybrid group had a 13.7% fuel economy improvement over the diesel group.”

The report also indicated Coca-Cola was getting a positive Return on Investment (ROI). The cost to operate the hybrid trucks was 24% less than operating the diesel trucks. This indicates that Coca-Cola realized real savings from the beginning of use of the hybrid trucks.

Big companies also have lots of choices for where to direct their money. It’s nice to see a Fortune 100 company recognizing the importance of giving back to the environment one truck at a time.

REFERENCES

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/avta/publications/hd_library.html

http://www.livepositively.com/#/transportation

Make recycling Count with Recyclebank

If you are a Fort Worth resident like myself, then you have two city issued bins- one for trash and a black bin for recycling. You pay the city every month to empty these for you on a regular basis. However, one of those bins can play you back for using it- your recycle bin. The City of Fort Worth has partnered up with Recyclebank, an online community that has members register, earn point and collect rewards.  Members, like the residents of Fort Worth, earn points when they recycle.  You can use points towards gift-cards or donating to a cause or school.

The web site also offers users the ability for members to earn extra points through different learning modules and inviting friend to join. Recyclebank is committed to education.  It has a program called Green Schools.  According to its web site, Recyclebank rewards grants to schools that can use the fund for environmental projects. Members can donate their points towards a school and make the world a greener place.  

 I joined Recyclebank when the City of Fort Worth offered it to its residents. So far, I have been able to cash in my points for a gift-card to go out to eat.  This program is easy- I just have to recycle and then watch the points add up.

REFERENCES

https://www.recyclebank.com/

Sprinkle away the water savings

When you think of water conservation, many people think of low-flow plumbing fixtures or rain barrels. These technologies do decrease your water usage but not like evaluating your sprinkler system. According to an article in The Courier of Montgomery County, as much as 80% percent of water is wasted because of a sprinkler system.

  

Many municipal water districts (MUD) and city water organizations are worried about the impact of this on their decreasing water supplies. Some utilities though have a found an answer: WISE Guys. Water Irrigation System Evaluation is what wise stands for. This is part of the Vepo LCC Company. Essentially, certified irrigation specialist come to a business or home and evaluate the sprinkler system.

After the evaluation, the specialist recommends changes to decrease water usage and increase efficiency of watering yards. This in turn, saves the consumer money on their monthly water bill and also the municipality water can be conserved.

Several MUDs are offering this service to their members for free. A typical evaluation if the MUD is not paying for it ranges from $55-$80.

REFERENCES

http://www.vepollc.com/wise_guys.aspx

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/news/article_b96b1717-da2f-5cfe-99fc-8898eda30b2d.html

New River creates Vision for the Future

My favorite presentation was seeing the Trinity River Vision (TRV). Shanna Cate, presented to our class at the office of the TRV. She took us through the plans for the river as well the steps it would take to get to the final product. I love the idea of the TRV and think it is a great project for the City of Fort Worth. Shanna talked about all the agencies involved in this project. In additon to federal, and state agencies, the local government has supported the effort as well. Below is a video of Mayor Betsy Price speaking on the project.

Shanna talked about several of the events to bring the community together and promote the project. This project goes beyond bettering the city. It is a huge creator of social sustainability. It gets people from the community out from their homes and into the Trinity River. People come together to clean up with the river on trash-day as well as enjoy a concert during the Rockin the River summer concert series. Pictures of these events can be seen in the link below.

http://www.trinityrivervision.org/trvblog?Year=2012

My husband has a personal connection with this project. Five years ago, he worked in Washington DC for Congresswoman Kay Granger. He personally worked on proposals for funding of this project.  This project is a huge undertaking and requires lots of money to complete. It is through the hard work of people passionate about the City of Fort Worth that this vision will become a reality over the next decade. We live close by the Trinity and enjoy walking our dogs along the trails.  I cannot wait to dine next to river or take a ferry to the Stockyards one day.

REFERENCES

http://www.trinityrivervision.org

Happy Workers Happy Company

Jerry Burbridge is an expert in LEED and saving companies money through sustainability. He spoke to my class about an interesting topic: Space Planning and the benefits of tele-working. Jerry currently is contracted by the Department of Homeland Security for Border Patrol. He is a project manager that manages new construction and leases for the government. He has decades of experience on space planning for a variety of industries.

Jerry talked extensively on how much space companies need per worker. In the government, the amount of space is determined by job description.  Everyone in same the category receives the exact same amount of office space. The government is looking at ways to cut back on amount of space used in order to save money as wellas create a smaller carbon footprint. One of the ways they are doing this is through tele-working.

Teleworking or telecommunting is defined as "the use of home computers, telephones, etc. to enable a person to work from home while maintaining contact with colleagues, customers, or a central office." By having a workforce telecommunte companies cut down on the amount of office space needed as well as the amount or cars communting.  Several people in my class commented on how productivity and happiness increases in those individuals who telecommunte for part of their job.

I work for Coca-Cola. We have policy that certain departments are able to take advantage of this. For example, a department has everyone sign up to work from home 1-2 days a week on different days of the week. All employees that I know that take advantage of the program love it. The only downside I have seen for my company is that when everyone is in the office for weekly meetings, we experience a shortage of conference rooms at times. However, this problem is small and the benefits of teleworking far out-weigh the problem of conference room space.

I never looked at the benefits of teleworking in regards to sustainability before Jerry spoke. I sincerely believe teleworking is a great concept and all companies should try to adopt it on some level.


REFERENCES

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/teleworking

Getting Social on the Street

When I think of DIY, I think of HGTV or crafting, not a social movement to promote social sustainability in the urban setting. However, DIY Urbanism is just that. My class had the pleasure of hearing about this concept from two individuals: Rik Adamski and Debby Stein. Rik took us through the basics of the concept and showed some entertaining example of it.  One of the examples he told was of individuals feeding a parking meter and filling the parking space with something other than a car. For example, a pin-pong table or yoga mats.  This movement is called "parklets." Below is a parking spot turned sitting/ eating area for people (picture from blog on DIY Urbanism).

Debby Stein used “Build a better block” when deciding how to revamp the Riverside area in Northeast Fort Worth.  According to its web site, “The "Better Block" project is a demonstration tool that revisions an area to show the potential to create a great walkable, vibrant neighborhood center. The project acts as a living charrette so that communities can actively engage in the "complete streets" build-out process and develop pop-up businesses to show the potential for revitalized economic activity in an area. Better Blocks are now being performed throughout the country, and have helped cities rapidly implement infrastructure and policy changes.”

Above is a video from the founder of Build of a Better Block talking about projects done in nearby Dallas.  Like the original, Debbie got local businesses involved. These businesses got excited about beautifying their neighborhood and got other people involved.  Debby stressed that so money was raised, but mostly the community got involved and did the majority of the work.  The Riverside Arts District is the result of their effort. Quant shops and art galleries have gone up.  The community has unified together to make their neighborhood a destination for artists and creative thinkers.

I have lived in Fort Worth for about three years and I have never been to this part of town. After hearing Debby speak about Riverside, I told my husband about. We are planning on driving out there over the weekend to check it out. Community is really important to me. I love the idea of the community taking on the role of keeping up with the neighborhood instead of leaving it for the government to do.  When communities come together, it creates a sense of purpose and pride in the place you call home.

REFERENCES

http://betterblock.org/about/

Riverside Arst District Facebook Page

http://urbantimes.co/2012/05/cnu20-report-diy-urbanism/ 

Cowtown through the Years

Fort Worth Texas is nicknamed "Cowtown."  Through the years it has undergone some changes to its buildings and structures. Two architects from Jacobs took us through the history of Fort Worth and how the city was/ not truly sustainable in its building choices.  We started off our tour in downtown Fort Worth in the rain.  Fire-station Number One has been preserved and turned into a museum to show the history of Fort Worth. This exhibit shows 150 years of Fort Worth's history.  Our tours focused on three  main time frames.

Fort Worth One is what you think of as the wild west. Structures were built sharing walls and were typically single story with windows facing certain directions. These windows were used to an air flow circulating in the building.  These buildings were made of wood, which came from trees nearby.  When trees were cut down, new trees were not planted to replace the lost trees and the people did not think about the future of those trees during that time period.

After the railroad was built, new types of building made up the city of the Fort Worth. Bricks and other materials were brought in on the railroad.  Fort Worth's new building were typically a couple of stories and made from brick. These building had glass windows. Since the materials were imported, the architects pointed out the lack of sustainability with these buildings as well.

The final era of Fort Worth has created the most diversity in the building structure. International structures like those pictured below went up next store to the classic brick structures in period 2.  However, the materials used to build these buildings were imported and unsustainable.

I spent two years living in downtown Fort Worth. I never noticed the different materials used to build downtown in the way the architects described it.  I have a deeper respect for the older buildings in the city and a sense of disgrace for the glass sky-scrapers that make up parts of the city. When I build my house someday I want to use local materials that add to the environment instead of something that takes away. I love the idea of using limestone from Austin or reclaimed wood from East Texas.  This tour showed a new perspective on downtown Fort Worth.


REFERENCES

http://www.fwmuseum.org/150-fort-worth-history

Brew Responsibility

"Great Beer, Great Responsibility" term that MillerCoors stands by. My class started its Saturday off at the MillerCoors brewing facility in South Fort Worth. This is one the largest MillerCoors breweries in the United States. Larry Johnson, the Sustainability Engineer is one of the people who gave the tour.

We started at the beginning of the beer making process, getting materials from trucks and rail-cars and went all the way to end- watching pallets move around the warehouse. I was unfamiliar of everything that went into making beer so the tour was a great learning experience. The only downside to the tour, was no photography. 

In regards to sustainability, MillerCoors is making it a priority. They are seeking to be a top sustainability business in the beverage industry like my company: Coca-Cola. In order to do this, MillerCoors has inacted a variety of programs.

One of these programs is highlighted on their sustainability web site.  According to the web site, the company takes wastewater and turns it into energy. "MillerCoors uses wastewater as a source of renewable energy. At our Fort Worth Brewery, we generate biogas from wastewater.  We use the biogas in place of fossil fuels to power our boilers and to generate electricity. "

Another program that MillerCoors has is a unique take on recycling. During the beer-making process, a protein-rich residual is created.  The brewery does not throw this way. Instead they sell it to ranchers who in turn use it to feed cattle. This sustainable effort is my favorite by far.  I love the idea that cows are munching on leftovers from the near-by brewery.  YouTube shows a video of just how much the cows like the spent grain from the brewery.

Much of the efforts at MillerCoors are really interesting. However, I do not see myself feeding cows with my waste-products or taking my used water and creating renewable energy out of it. The brewery did remind me about the need to recycle my cans and cardboard. It showed that big companies do care our environment and the impact they have on future generations. Overall, this was a great experience and the beer tasting was delicious. 


REFERENCES

http://www.millercoors.com/Great-Beer-Great-Responsibility/Home.aspx 

Solar Energy Expertise

So many of the buildings we have toured have used solar panels as part of their sustainability efforts. Mark Thompson, from Green Ox Energy, is the Director of Sales and a solar energy expert. Green Ox Energy is "a full service commercial, residential and utility renewable energy solutions provider that makes renewable energy more flexible, accessible and affordable." 

Mark talked about the basics of electricity as well as where our electricity comes from. I found it interesting that most of our energy comes from coal. Texas does not have large supplies of coal so this material has to be brought in from places like West Virginia. Mark also said large amounts of our electricity comes from nuclear generators. My father-in-law worked for Areva which managed the plant in Glen Rose so I am familiar with this. The thrid growing source of energy that has potential is wind energy. I lived in West Texas for five years and have seen the wind mills go up all over West Texas. I love seeing them turn and produce electricity. However, I am disappointed to learn there is not enough transmission lines to utilize all of the energy the wind mills produce. Below is a picture of the wind mills found in West Texas.

Mark went on to discuss some of the basics of solar panels, For example, he went into detail with the location of the panels. I knew that this was important but I did no realize that the panels have to be tilted to reach maximum efficiency. I also learned that the energy created from the panels has to be changed from DC to AC through the use of an inverter.  Below is a picture of the solar panel tubes used at the BRIT.

Mark highlighted the affordability aspect of this technology. I always assumed solar panels were expensive, which they still are. However, there are several incentives from the government as well as electric companies like ONCOR that help bring down the investment in the technology. Two locations we visited, stated that they received a credit from ONCOR. Those locations are Bedford Library and Tarrant Regional Water District. I personally feel that the cost for the panels is still really high, when they are only 18-24% effective. I believe I would seriously consider this type of technology when the panels come down in cost and increase in efficiency. One question someone asked was really interesting to me. Someone in the class asked what happens to the panels once they are used up? I think this is a question that the solar community does not have an answer for yet but needs to think about for the future. Eventually these panels will have to be replaced and it is important to have a plan in place for what to do with the old panels.   I personally enjoyed learning more about solar panel technology from an expert in the field.

REFERENCES 

http://www.greenoxenergy.com/about.html

http://www.depts.ttu.edu/uc/windenergy/ 

Tarrant Regional Water District

Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) was the last tour for our class. In 2009, this non-profit built a LEED Gold building to house its operations.  This building is a prime example of sustainable efforts.

The first piece of technology you notice is the stained concrete. According to our tour guide, it is sealed with beeswax. This type of flooring is durable and environmentally friendly. Another type of flooring the TRWD used was made of recycled soda bottles. It is cut into tiles.  By using tiles of material for the floor, the TRWD only has to replace a tile if it is damaged instead of a the whole floor. Pictures of both types of flooring are below.

Stained Concrete Floor

Carpet made from plastic soda bottles

Since I work for Coca-Cola, I love hearing about recycling products like PET bottles. I wanted to find out more information on this type of carpeting.  Mohawk, a well-known flooring manufacturer has several types of carpeting made from recycled soda bottles. According to its web site, this carpet is durable, stain resistant and of course friendly to the environment. Mohawk, even has a YouTube video showing the process of turning the plastic bottles into carpet. You can see the video below.

When my husband and I design our dream house, I hope to be able to incorporate stained concrete as well as this type of carpet made from recycled plastic bottles. Another technology you hear about in regards to sustainability is rain barrels. TRWD has 3 rain barrels that collect all the run-off from its roof. The water collected is used to water its landscape. The landscape used is local and can survive with little water and lots of heat. Below are pictures of the rain barrels and landscaping.

Laura, our tour guide, said it only takes one inch of rain to fill the rain barrels. This is a simple technology anyone can do. The water saved can be used to water plants and yards. This in turn saves on the treated water we use which helps the environment and community we live in. The TRWD understands the importance of sustainability. This is prevalent in the building they built and the technologies they use.

REFERENCES

http://www.trwd.com/

http://www.mohawkflooring.com/flooring-products/carpet/everstrand.aspx

Botanical Research Goes Platinum

The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) calls Fort Worth its home. It's home is a LEED Platinum building. This is one of the only LEED Platinum buildings in Texas. My class was fortunate to receive tours from two of BRITs ambassadors. As soon you pull up the BRIT building you see native Texas landscape and prairie grass native to this area of Texas.

The location of the landscaping as well as parking spots was planned on purpose. Our ambassador explained the parking lot was laid out this way in order to minimize the amount of run-off.  The parking lot is broken up by green space and slopes downward. The green space catches the rain water so it does not drain into the street.

My favorite part of this building is the "Living Roof."  The roof has thousands of plants growing on it. Our ambassador explained that hundreds of these square bins hold the plants on the roof. The species range from types of flowers to grasses.  The make-up of the roof has changed since it was first planted. This is because birds and the wind have brought in seeds from maybe plants not originally on the roof. Below are some pictures of the roof. I personally was very curious about the time it takes to care for a roof like this. I asked if the roof had to be mowed. The answer was yes- plants had to be cut back so the roof could be maintained and not get out of hand.

A living roof is not a sustainable technology I think I will have in my future home. However, I really like another technology the BRIT displayed: the use of recycled cedar as a wall decoration. In the entrance inside of the BRIT is a huge wall of wood. This wood is from recycled cedar called sinkers.  These trees sunk in a river after being cut down several years ago.  Someone then came in and fished out these trees  out of the river and used them to create the wall at the BRIT. I love this whole process of reclaimed wood. The wall is absolutely beautiful and I would love to have something like it as a statement piece in my home.  

The BRIT was a great place to visit. It shows how some of the more creative technologies of sustainability like the living roof and reclaimed wood wall. This building is the perfect example of sustainability maximized. 

REFERENCES

http://www.brit.org/ 

http://www.KrantzRecoveredWoods.com/WhyRecovered.aspx

Sustainability from an Expert

Amari Roskelly was our first speaker of the class. Less than two weeks ago she was a student in the sustainability program. The sustainability program is how Amari got her position at Jacobs Engineering as the Sustainability Coordinator.  Amari was the perfect first speaker. She took us through some basics of sustainability.

Sustainability says that everything we need for survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly on our natural environment. She went on to specify three spheres of sustainability including social, environmental and economic.  Sustainable efforts are measured by different organizations including LEED. Amari is an expert in LEED so she focused on this measurement system.

I have heard of LEED but did not know how it worked. Amari showed us that buildings essentially rake up points by using different sustainable technologies and then they become certified by LEED. I found it interesting to see that the government has started to mandate that its new buildings be LEED certified. I always thought private corporations adopted practices and procedures much faster than the government. It is refreshing to see the government cares about its footprint on the environment.

Amari’s job includes several government projects. One of the most interesting ones to me was the Air Traffic Control Tower in Fort Carson, Colorado.  According to Amari's notes, this facility used several LEED building techniques including:

• Improved Building Envelope
• LED Lighting at the Building Exterior and Interior
• Automated Lighting Controls and Day Lighting
• Energy Recovery Ventilation
• Low-Flow Plumbing Fixtures
• Building Automation System
• Transpired Solar Collectors
• Solar Photovoltaic (PV) (on building)

Since I am unfamiliar with building envelopes I decided to research what they were online. According the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions a "building envelope is the interface between the interior of the building and the outdoor environment, including the walls, roof and foundation- serves as a thermal barrier and plays an important role in determining the amount of energy necessary to maintain as comfortable indoor environment relative to the outside environment." I never considered how important this was to a building sustainability so I am glad Amari pointed it out in her presentation to our class.

REFERENCES

Amari Roskelly

http://www.c2es.org/technology/factsheet/BuildingEnvelope 

Community Comrades- Southeast Fort Worth Inc.

Allen Smith, Executive Director of Southwest Fort Worth, Inc. (SEFWI) spoke to my class. Southeast Fort Worth, Inc is “a collaborative effort formed by the Fort Worth Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce to bring private-sector economic development to Fort Worth’s southeast quadrant.”

This organization protects a specific type of sustainability: the social aspect. Before this class, I did not think that sustainability had a social aspect to it, but it interests me to learn more about the subject. The Southeast part of Fort Worth, the region that the organization promotes, lacks grocery stores and jobs. As a result, most income generated by its residents is spent in other areas.

Allen spoke directly on the subject of a food desert. According to the CDC web site, a food desert is an area that lacks access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk, and other foods that are part of a healthy diet.

Several politicians including Michelle Obama have spoken out about food deserts. This is seen in the video above. I believe that tackling the problem of food deserts in southeast part of Fort Worth will help sustain the community for future generations. SEFWI was able to get Walmart to come in and build a super center. This one project will help overcome the battle of food deserts.

Another project that I found interesting, was the repairing of homes in the area. I love the idea of the community helping its neighbors. The SEFWI web site highlights several homes impacted by this project. They show before and after pictures and highlight specifically what work was done. Below is a before and after picture of one of the homes that benefitted from the project

 

My husband and I love the idea of taking something old and fixing it, instead of tearing it down and starting from scratch. Our home that we currently live in is over 60 years old. Over the year several improvements have been made on it. My hope is that in 60 years our original home will still stand.

REFERENCES

www.southeastfw.com

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/FoodDeserts/