Regional reports: Pacific Coast

In this issue...

Oregon serious about clean energy and green buildings
Cylvia Hayes, 3E Strategies (OR)

Community park construction with cob
Martin Wallace, Fourth St. Co-op (WA/NY)

Oregon

Oregon serious about clean energy and green buildings

By Cylvia Hayes, 3E Strategies

In Oregon, sustainable development is finding itā?Ts strongest foothold in the areas of green building and renewable and efficient energy. The state is actively involved in formulating a Western Governors' Global Warming Initiative along with Washington and California. As part of that effort, Oregon is now crafting a statewide renewable energy initiative.

Governmental, non-profit and industry collaboration in the clean energy field is growing. One great example is the Central Oregon Renewable and Efficient Energy Economic Development (CORE3D) project. This is a joint project of 3E Strategies and the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, with strong participation from the business community and the Governorā?Ts Economic Revitalization Team. CORE3Dā?Ts purpose is to strengthen the renewable energy industry in the nine county Central Oregon corridor. This region possesses a unique diversity of renewable energy resources including wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and small scale hydro potential. Already more than 100 renewable and efficient energy companies are located in the region. However, they have been hampered by inadequate communication and collaboration between sectors, lack of a unified message and strong voice when addressing governmental and economic development agencies and underdeveloped marketing capacity. The CORE3D project will provide the networking facilitation, marketing support and policy assistance to overcome these barriers. Efforts are currently underway to construct the stateā?Ts first irrigation canal, small scale hydro facility in Bend and a grid-tied biomass to energy plant in Lake County.

Oregonā?Ts solar sector is relevant both to the growing renewable energy cluster and the green building movement. Through tax credits and cash rebates provided by the Oregon Department of Energy and the Energy Trust of Oregon, the state now offers some of the best incentives in the nation for installing solar hot water and photovoltaic systems on commercial and residential buildings. Oregonā?Ts reputation as a leader in solar was strong enough to attract the American Solar Energy Societyā?Ts National Solar Conference to Portland in July of this year.

Strong solar incentives are only one aspect of the stateā?Ts commitment to green building. The capital city of Portland has mandated that all new public buildings must be LEED certified. The Earth Advantage residential and commercial green building certification program, a project of Portland General Electric, is gaining statewide momentum. And, the Portland Office of Sustainable Developmentā?Ts G-rated green building program and the Building Green Council of Central Oregon recently launched online green building resource directories. One very encouraging development was the recent decision by the Central Oregon Builders Association to present green building awards as part of its annual Tour of Homes. This is a very mainstream, largely conservative organization that recognizes the importance and practicality of green building. It is believed to be the first time in the country that a builders association has implemented green building awards.

Due in part to Oregonā?Ts status as a national leader in green building, GreenBuild 2004, the international green building conference will be held in Portland in November. In addition, the state has set the bar for the country with its annual Green and Solar Homes Tour, part of a national event. This Fall, ten communities across the state will hold tours giving people first hand experience with energy efficient, environmentally sound, non-toxic, passive and active solar homes. This event has grown so rapidly over the past few years, that the 2004 issue of the accompanying magazine is being expanded into the first ever comprehensive, statewide green building magazine. Distribution of the 2004 Green and Solar Homes Oregon magazine will begin in early September.

Washington

Community park construction with cob

By Martin Wallace and Gary Pupurs

This is a tool shed that I spearheaded with the help of the folks at Linden Orchards (a neighborhood group that identified land for a park and, with the help of a city land grant, purchased it to become part of the parks and community gardens system) and Catherine Burke. Catherine is a cobber who has her own business in Seattle, the Natural Building Collective. She leads and educates local folks to creatively transform the places where they live using cob and natural plasters. In addition to leading the group that built this shed, she has helped to build a cob bench for a cafe, and she has built a house up in Canada. Cob construction, popular in Western Europe, has been growing in the Northwest over the past ten years.

Contrary to what you may expect, cob houses are not built from corn cobs, but from lumps of earth mixed with sand, clay, and straw, similar but superior to adobe construction. While certainly unconventional, using such historical techniques with natural, non-toxic materials have many benefits, including excellent insulation, low-tech affordable construction using less energy, and completely renewable and recyclable materials. Cob also easily lends itself to organic shapes, such as curved walls, arches and niches, that are difficult or expensive to construct with conventional building techniques. (More info on cobbing can be found at The Cob Cottage Company and DeaTech Research websites.)

Catherine will be one of the leaders at an upcoming Straw Bale Construction Workshop on Camano Island, WA, this September 23-26, 2004. The workshop is being hosted by Living Shelter Design, Architects, based in Issaquah.

Jim Sykes took the photos. I thought other CitNet readers might find this project interesting. It fits right in with the sustainable movement, and I have high hopes of building something of cob right here in NYC! Stay tuned...

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	Regional reports: Pacific Coast In this issue... Oregon serious about clean energy and green buildings Cylvia Hayes, 3E Strategies (OR) Community park construction with cob Martin Wallace, Fourth St. Co-op (WA/NY) Oregon Oregon serious about clean energy and green buildings By Cylvia Hayes, 3E Strategies In Oregon, sustainable development is finding itā?Ts strongest foothold in the areas of green building and renewable and efficient energy. The state is actively involved in formulating a Western Governors' Global Warming Initiative along with Washington and California. As part of that effort, Oregon is now crafting a statewide renewable energy initiative. Governmental, non-profit and industry collaboration in the clean energy field is growing. One great example is the Central Oregon Renewable and Efficient Energy Economic Development (CORE3D) project. This is a joint project of 3E Strategies and the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, with strong participation from the business community and the Governorā?Ts Economic Revitalization Team. CORE3Dā?Ts purpose is to strengthen the renewable energy industry in the nine county Central Oregon corridor. This region possesses a unique diversity of renewable energy resources including wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and small scale hydro potential. Already more than 100 renewable and efficient energy companies are located in the region. However, they have been hampered by inadequate communication and collaboration between sectors, lack of a unified message and strong voice when addressing governmental and economic development agencies and underdeveloped marketing capacity. The CORE3D project will provide the networking facilitation, marketing support and policy assistance to overcome these barriers. Efforts are currently underway to construct the stateā?Ts first irrigation canal, small scale hydro facility in Bend and a grid-tied biomass to energy plant in Lake County. Oregonā?Ts solar sector is relevant both to the growing renewable energy cluster and the green building movement. Through tax credits and cash rebates provided by the Oregon Department of Energy and the Energy Trust of Oregon, the state now offers some of the best incentives in the nation for installing solar hot water and photovoltaic systems on commercial and residential buildings. Oregonā?Ts reputation as a leader in solar was strong enough to attract the American Solar Energy Societyā?Ts National Solar Conference to Portland in July of this year. Strong solar incentives are only one aspect of the stateā?Ts commitment to green building. The capital city of Portland has mandated that all new public buildings must be LEED certified. The Earth Advantage residential and commercial green building certification program, a project of Portland General Electric, is gaining statewide momentum. And, the Portland Office of Sustainable Developmentā?Ts G-rated green building program and the Building Green Council of Central Oregon recently launched online green building resource directories. One very encouraging development was the recent decision by the Central Oregon Builders Association to present green building awards as part of its annual Tour of Homes. This is a very mainstream, largely conservative organization that recognizes the importance and practicality of green building. It is believed to be the first time in the country that a builders association has implemented green building awards. Due in part to Oregonā?Ts status as a national leader in green building, GreenBuild 2004, the international green building conference will be held in Portland in November. In addition, the state has set the bar for the country with its annual Green and Solar Homes Tour, part of a national event. This Fall, ten communities across the state will hold tours giving people first hand experience with energy efficient, environmentally sound, non-toxic, passive and active solar homes. This event has grown so rapidly over the past few years, that the 2004 issue of the accompanying magazine is being expanded into the first ever comprehensive, statewide green building magazine. Distribution of the 2004 Green and Solar Homes Oregon magazine will begin in early September. Washington Community park construction with cob By Martin Wallace and Gary Pupurs This is a tool shed that I spearheaded with the help of the folks at Linden Orchards (a neighborhood group that identified land for a park and, with the help of a city land grant, purchased it to become part of the parks and community gardens system) and Catherine Burke. Catherine is a cobber who has her own business in Seattle, the Natural Building Collective. She leads and educates local folks to creatively transform the places where they live using cob and natural plasters. In addition to leading the group that built this shed, she has helped to build a cob bench for a cafe, and she has built a house up in Canada. Cob construction, popular in Western Europe, has been growing in the Northwest over the past ten years. Contrary to what you may expect, cob houses are not built from corn cobs, but from lumps of earth mixed with sand, clay, and straw, similar but superior to adobe construction. While certainly unconventional, using such historical techniques with natural, non-toxic materials have many benefits, including excellent insulation, low-tech affordable construction using less energy, and completely renewable and recyclable materials. Cob also easily lends itself to organic shapes, such as curved walls, arches and niches, that are difficult or expensive to construct with conventional building techniques. (More info on cobbing can be found at The Cob Cottage Company and DeaTech Research websites.) Catherine will be one of the leaders at an upcoming Straw Bale Construction Workshop on Camano Island, WA, this September 23-26, 2004. The workshop is being hosted by Living Shelter Design, Architects, based in Issaquah. Jim Sykes took the photos. I thought other CitNet readers might find this project interesting. It fits right in with the sustainable movement, and I have high hopes of building something of cob right here in NYC! Stay tuned... Return to top	Cylvia Hayes is Director of 3E Strategies in Oregon. 3EStrategies is a Bend, Oregon based, not-for-profit organization with a mission of accelerating the transition to sustainable building, energy and economic practices. They can be reached at info@3estrategies.com or (541) 617-9013. Martin Wallace is a CitNet member living in New York City and an active volunteer at the Fourth Street Co-op.
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