Twenty Something (Below that is)

One of our usual January cold blasts is in control this weekend. Lower than 20 below zero with wind chills in the 30 to 40 below range. I would feel better about it if it weren't for the last vestiges of the cold I've been living with, every time I'm out I risk an asthma attack due to my heightened sensitivity. The new furnace seems to do the job, and the new ceiling fan helps our woodstove keep up even below zero. Before we installed the ceiling fan we were lucky to keep the house comfortable using just the woodstove at temperatures below about zero, now it was comfortable all day in the house. We have a tall cathedral ceiling area in our living room and the heat from the stove would go right to the ceiling.

Friday I took a trip over to St. Cloud with Evan to visit with one of our clients and some heating issues he has been experiencing. Luckly it was as cold as it was as we were able to identify a significant lack of performance in the storefront glazing system used on the north side of the building. The aluminum frames were COLD! when we went into the unfinished areas we noted a lack of insulation around the framing system and even daylight through parts of the framing system that just let cold right into the spaces. The cold air coupled with the high ceilings and overhead heating system really caused problems, especially in the corner rooms.

Inspiring TED talk

Driving home today (in the MINI 'natch), I listened to James Howard Kunstler speak about the business I am in , that of creating places for people to live. While I am not an architect, I totally get this view of needing to create spaces and comunities that are worthwhile to be in. The importance of public spaces. this is a bit old, 2004, but even so listen to his words about global warming and the change that we will be living with.

I love his quote about how living in the future is "is going to be about living locally."

Blogs and a Cold

Sorry for yet another gap in blogging. Between Aliceon and myself, it
s been over two weeks of colds, coughing, sneezing, and blah. Those that know me know that if a cold gets down into my lungs I can sound like I am about to cough one up about every fifteen minutes. I t has something to do with my asthsma and a dunking I took in Lake Superior 30 years ago - ever since then I have had this issue.

LHB's Green Team steering committee met yesterday and discuss our new year. One of the items discussed was the idea of a blog discussing additional issues of importance to the Green Team and it's audience. This will be a collective blog to keep the work load of a blog down.

Last week several of us went down to Willmar , MN to help with a charrette for a project at Ridgewater College, a 2 year campus, where they wish to remodel reconfigure, remove, and add space to improve space utilization and programs. First phase is about 3.5 million, second is about 14 million - to be finished in 2012.

tomorrow Rick Carter and I are off to present a one day seminar on LEED-NC and B3 to local government officials in Apple Valley, MN under the sponsership of the MN PCA/ I've stocked up on cough syrup and Abuterol so I should be good to go.

Corporate Greening

Aliceon and I have been laughing our way through the holidays by watching 30 Rock on Netflix and now on HULU. There was a really funny episode where the owners of the network the "show" is broadcast on, decided to create a Green Mascot - watch for the cameo by Al Gore at the end.