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PRESCOTT GOES GREEN!
By Tena Overaker Green Business is Good Business About a month ago, I was able to sit in on a steering committee meeting for the proposed Greater Yavapai Branch of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Comprised of local businesses, non-profit organizations and the city of Prescott, the main mission of this organization is to communicate and educate both businesses and the public on sustainable planning and development practices. “USGBC is the nation’s foremost coalition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. Green building increases productivity, group health, conserves the earth’s resources and costs less to operate and maintain.” When I think Prescott, I don’t necessarily think “green.” In fact, I was beginning to think Prescott was nearly immune to the green movement beginning to sweep the nation. After this meeting, I realized Prescott is more green than I realized, and that the local green movement is by no means new, though it continues to grow and expand. Green business is good business. An Educated Market In an otherwise slow real estate market, Rob Israel has stayed busy, having created a niche by marketing himself as a green realtor. What is a green realtor you may ask? As well as being a licensed state realtor, Rob Israel has completed a national certification program which makes him a certified Eco-broker as well. This certification program offered by Eco-broker International focuses on three main areas: environmental, energy and marketing issues as related to sustainability. According to Israel, green homes are few and far between in the Prescott area. “I find homes that meet my buyers’ criteria, and then educate them on how to make that home more green.” For sellers, he can direct them on how to “green up” their home before putting it on the market.  The suggestions for greening up a home are surprisingly simple, ranging from landscaping solutions using drought tolerant native plantings and updated irrigation methods, to fixing water leaks and using energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs instead of traditional light bulbs. There are a lot of green materials out there to utilize when renovating, allowing you to make your living environment more healthy and habitable. For more information on how to make your home green, you can subscribe to Rob Israel’s newsletter at: (PrescottGreenRealEstate.com). Education is Rob Israel’s focus. “The construction, maintenance, operation, and rehabilitation of human shelter uses more energy and natural resources than any other industry in the world.” To reduce the negative environmental impact this has, “we need to work on how we construct human shelter.” Israel helped found the Prescott non-profit design school Ecosa Institute with mentor Antony Brown. Antony Brown studied with Paolo Soleri of Arcosanti (Arcosanti.org), and incorporates Soleri’s arcology concept (architecture plus ecology) into the program. The school offers semester long programs which focus on sustainable design, architecture and master planning; the only design program in the country devoted entirely to sustainability. (ecosainstitue.org) Local Green Organizations Israel is also a member of the local Green to Gold organization (Green to Gold Business Network). A grass roots non-profit organization whose goals are to educate, advocate and support local businesses to become more green, socially sustainable and environmentally sound. They believe in promoting and supporting socially responsible business, and encourage buying locally as “a local economy is a sustainable one.” Green to Gold is having a big networking expo on April 25th at Prescott College, where member organizations will have displays exhibiting how their businesses are pro-actively green, as well as information on how your business can become more green. For details, go to greentogoldbusiness.org, or see Pop Rocket’s Earth Day event calendar. Central Arizona Renewable Energy Network (CAZREN) is another local nonprofit green networking organization. They conduct educational workshops, distribute information and provide referrals regarding renewable energy and green design to the general public and professionals. Current informational outreach projects include the creation of a Yavapai County Green Building Directory, “providing the county with a helpful resource,” and “generating an overall awareness to the aspects and benefits of sustainable community development.” According to Dan Fairbank, Assistant Director of CAZREN, “CAZREN is interested in acquiring members and talking to rotary organizations, corporate businesses, philanthropists, and all individuals that believe renewable energy information should be more widely distributed and implemented therefore cutting back on our general reliance on finite fossil fuels.” Fairbank also states that though the organization really likes to stay in the realm of renewable energy and green design, they “just recently (February 2008) combined efforts with Yavapai County Contractors Association (YCCA) and brought representatives from the Salt River Materials Group, Hanson Aggregates, LSSA Architecture, and others for a seminar on High Flyash Concrete. He describes it as “a very successful experience as experts demystified the product and its uses.” CAZREN has a workshop coming up on May 17, 2008 on Solar Electricity: Building Your Own Low-Cost Solar Water Heater at the Prescott College Crossroads Center. For information you can contact Executive Director Derk Jannsen at 928- 778-2828, or visit their website at cazren. org. Green Design Firm Catalyst Architecture (CatalystArchitecture.com) is another local business dedicated to green building and educating the community about green building principles and sustainability. Catalyst architects designed the James Learning Center, a building that serves as the campus hub for the Highlands Center. “The Highlands Center for Natural History is an environmental education organization, which features quality outdoor science education, reaching over 10,000 children and adults each year.” (HighlandsCenter.org) This 4250 square foot building was awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification by the USGBC on February 8, 2008. This is the first building in the city to achieve LEED rating at any level, the first in Yavapai County to achieve the gold rating and one of only eleven LEED gold projects statewide. Catalyst Architecture Partner Matthew B. Ackerman says it is all about making informed decisions. “Understanding things like how the sun moves across the sky and how simple materials store and release energy is basic to designing an energy efficient structure. Ancient builders intuitively understood many of these principles and they built their structures accordingly, even in the harshest climates of Arizona.” The LEED Green Building Rating System awards points based on sustainability, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation in design. The James Learning Center is a perfect example of how gorgeous green can be. You can subscribe to Catalyst’s newsletter at catalystarchitecture.com where they feature a green product of the month, tips for green builders, local green events and lectures as well as national green news. (The SKETCH_PAD©) A Growing Green Network Rob Israel, CAZREN and Catalyst Architecture are all members of the proposed Greater Yavapai Branch of the USGBC. Joining them are Larry Levenson, Global Building Systems; David Solomon, local builder and faculty member of Yavapai College; Laurel Reidel, Ecosa faculty member and instructor at Yavapai College; Michael Wacker, owner of Aspen Grove Construction, Deborah Lesnefska of Thomas Reilly and Associates; Charlie Arnold of Bright Star Arizona; Jason Hale of Core Structure Group: Bruce Roscoe, Marvin Windows; and Michael Frerking, Living Systems Sustainable Architecture. Click here to view the original article. |
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