Upcoming Workshops and Conferences

Global climate change will impact how cities and counties rebuild themselves. Governor Schwarzenegger has joined with Google Earth to provide an interactive map showing the impact of global warming on California.  The tool, available in September, is previewed as a video, Climate Action in California, at:http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10408583-54.html

Publications and Resources

New Interactive Websites

Global climate change will impact how cities and counties rebuild themselves. Governor Schwarzenegger has joined with Google Earth to provide an interactive map showing the impact of global warming on California. The tool, available in September, is previewed as a video, Climate Action in California, at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10408583-54.html

US Department of Energy considers California "a model for the potential of alternative and renewable energy sources. In fact, California's Mojave Desert is home to the world's largest concentrating solar power facility, while three of the Department of Energy's National laboratories are located elsewhere in the State." The latest figures for each Recovery Act Project sponsored by the Department of Energy broken out by State/Territory are updated on a weekly basis. Click Here http://www.energy.gov/california.htm

Notices

Deficit-Plagued State Continues At Full Speed On Environmental Regulation William Fulton, CPDR Vol. 25, No.03 February 01, 2010  http://www.cp-dr.com/node/2578
California’s  chronic budget deficit – currently $20 billion per year or more– is being juxtaposed against an new laws and regulations including AB32 and SB375. Regional water quality control boards are also instituting much tougher permitting for storm-water runoff. 

The Secret Life of Buildings, Greensource Magazine November 2009  Life-cycle assessments gauge the cumulative impact of a building’s materials and its operations—and they could be the future of green-building standards. http://greensource.construction.com/features/other/2009/0911_Life-Cycle-Assessment-1.asp

Upcoming Events and Conferences

Green California Summit  - March 15-17th. Sacramento Convention Center
Essential resource to support State and local governments efforts to meet the challenges of managing energy and water resources, and to create clean and sustainable communities throughout the state. To register, visit http://www.green-technology.org/gcsummit/index.html

Green Finance Series, Part One: Investment Analysis of Green Building USGCB NCC announces the first workshop in a four-part series focused on underwriting and structuring green building investments. Designed to benefit real estate investors, brokers, financiers, entrepreneurs, attorneys, accountants, and developers who work (or expect to work) on sustainable development projects and want to understand how the LEED rating system impacts the economics of their projects. Four Part Series:

1. Investment Analysis of Green Buildings, March 3rd
2. Financial Considerations for Existing Building Retrofits, April 7th
3. Understanding and Communicating the Financial Case for AEC, Coming in April
4. Raising the Bar: Green Investment Fund Strategies, Coming in May To register visit:  http://www.usgbc-ncc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=242&Itemid=264

Engagement for Sustainable Communities and Climate Change Online Conference March 24 & 25
Sponsored by the American Planning Association’s Public Engagement Interest Group and PublicDecisions, this conference showcases engagement ‘best practices’ today in support of sustainability including; policymaking (e.g., green building codes), re-tooling of comprehensive plans or other land use plans in response to climate change, designing programs that create and monitor local sustainability indicators and community-wide alternative energy programs. All sessions have been submitted for AICP continuing education credits from the American Institute for Certified Planners. Registration is $25 USD per session or $99 USD for the entire two-day conference. Full-time students/faculty members can register for $49 USD. Registration is open to the public at http://engmt4sust.ning.com/

Publications

The Green Standard: Standard for the Design of High Performance Green Buildings, Except Low Rise Residential Buildings Information on Standard 189.1: www.ashrae.org/greenstandard
From site location to energy use to recycling, this standard will set the foundation for green buildings through its adoption into local codes. http://www.ashrae.org/publications/page/927

Beyond Green Building: How to Get Deals Done in the New Era of Sustainable Community Planning and Development prepared by Partnership for Sustainable Communities http://www.p4sc.org/
This report was prepared especially for developers and related professionals by Partnership for Sustainable Communities (PSC), providing timely information on land use and green building and supporting policy development that will advance the cause of higher-density zoning and greater availability of affordable housing. Interested in receiving a copy of this report?  Join the PSC mailing list by clicking http://www.p4sc.org/Join_Our_Mailing_List.html PSC will also send newsletter updates on land use policy, community acceptance of affordable housing and sustainable development.

The Sustainable Sites Initiative: Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks 2009. This report, which is the culmination of four years of collaboration by a diverse group of experts in soils, hydrology, vegetation, materials and human health and well-being, establishes criteria for measuring and rewarding sustainable land practices that will enable built landscapes to support natural ecological functions by protecting existing ecosystems and regenerating ecological capacity where it has been lost. The pilot rating system addresses all stages of the site development process from site selection to landscape maintenance.

The Case for Sustainable Landscapes is a companion document that provides a set of arguments—economic, environmental, and social—for the adoption of sustainable land practices, additional background on the science behind the performance criteria in the guidelines and performance benchmarks, the purpose and principles of the Sustainable Sites Initiative, and a sampling of some of the case studies the Initiative has followed.  To Download a free pdf version of the report and companion document, click http://www.sustainablesites.org/report/

BART (Oppose: OPR)

Natural Resources Defense Council, 
Environmental Defense Fund

Irvine Water Ranch District

Sonoma Co. Transportation 
Agency, Sonoma County