President Obama’s stimulus plan that targets $5.5 billion for green building projects is welcomed news for all Americans -- today and tomorrow.
President Obama’s latest stimulus plan has targeted $5.5 billion for green building projects and another $300 million to invest in fuel-efficient vehicles. This is welcomed news for our sustainable/green-building industry. It’s also good news for all Americans. These dollars will not only create needed jobs, but will begin to reduce the damage to the environment from unhealthy buildings and vehicle pollution.
Specifically, the stimulus calls for $4.5 billion to convert federal buildings to high-performance green buildings, $750 million to renovate and construct federal buildings and courthouses, and $300 million to renovate and construct land ports of entry.
What does this mean for you and me? It means a superior workplace that is healthier for a million federal employees across the US. The federal government is taking the lead in incorporating the principles of sustainable design and energy efficiency into all of its building projects.
The private sector should pay close attention.
The goal is to require that all new federal construction projects and substantial renovations must be certified through the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.
Projects will exceed basic LEED green building certification, by achieving the LEED Silver level. LEED is a set of nationally-recognized requirements for certifying that a project is indeed green.
These funds will also send a clear message that President Obama means to walk the green talk.
So what does this mean for you? As a consumer it means green is not just a nice idea. It’s real. And more and more, it will become a part of your everyday life. It also means that each of us must become students in learning how we can each participate in this process in our homes and businesses.
The educators of this green transition will be the local designers and builders. Each of us in the building trades is no longer just a designer, a builder, or a product provider. We now are sustainability consultants, energy-efficiency contractors and green building product providers.
It’s incumbent upon each of us “in-the-know” to know everything we can about how our companies can best provide consumers with cost-effective green products and services. It’s not going to be business as usual.
The stimulus package represents an enormous opportunity to ramp up the building business. New jobs will be the result today. Even better, we’ll clean up our world and reduce energy costs – leaving a better home for our children tomorrow.
The details about funding mechanisms, such as tax credits, rebates, and low-interest loans, are now becoming apparent. I’ll update these developments in the next EcoWall blog.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
“Here it is” – Eccolo Design firm launched
Eccolo Design has opened a brand new design studio in Santa Barbara. The father-son led firm is owned by Wally and Matthew Hofmann and offers clients two decades of combined design and build experience.
Eccolo Design LLC offers the full spectrum of residential design services including interior, land planning, and landscape design.
Prior to launching a sustainable projects career, Wally was founder and publisher of the Mammoth Times weekly newspaper. Matthew is a graduate of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo where he received a Bachelors’ degree in Architecture and studied a year in Florence, Italy. The company’s name, Eccolo, is pronounced “echo-low” and is Italian for Here it is.
“Green building is ‘all the buzz’ in the design industry, but it’s more than just a fad” said Wally, “we consider sustainability a minimum requirement that all quality architecture must achieve.” The partners have been designing, building and remodeling high-end homes in Santa Barbara, Montecito and Mammoth since the 1980s.
Wally believes it’s one thing to say you design and build “green,” but it’s another to have completed the rigorous requirements of sustainable certification practices. Both partners are LEED Accredited Professionals, and Eccolo is a member of the US Green Building Council.
“We specialize in developing projects that explore innovative methods of design that are beautiful, affordable, and respectful to the earth and its resources,” said Matthew. “A residence should be as much of a representation of where it is as to who lives in it.”
To find more information on the firm and to see samples of past work, visit www.EccoloDesign.com or call (805) 845-5775. Also, don’t miss the chance to read their Blog to get the latest updates on the firm.
Eccolo Design LLC offers the full spectrum of residential design services including interior, land planning, and landscape design.
Prior to launching a sustainable projects career, Wally was founder and publisher of the Mammoth Times weekly newspaper. Matthew is a graduate of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo where he received a Bachelors’ degree in Architecture and studied a year in Florence, Italy. The company’s name, Eccolo, is pronounced “echo-low” and is Italian for Here it is.
“Green building is ‘all the buzz’ in the design industry, but it’s more than just a fad” said Wally, “we consider sustainability a minimum requirement that all quality architecture must achieve.” The partners have been designing, building and remodeling high-end homes in Santa Barbara, Montecito and Mammoth since the 1980s.
Wally believes it’s one thing to say you design and build “green,” but it’s another to have completed the rigorous requirements of sustainable certification practices. Both partners are LEED Accredited Professionals, and Eccolo is a member of the US Green Building Council.
“We specialize in developing projects that explore innovative methods of design that are beautiful, affordable, and respectful to the earth and its resources,” said Matthew. “A residence should be as much of a representation of where it is as to who lives in it.”
To find more information on the firm and to see samples of past work, visit www.EccoloDesign.com or call (805) 845-5775. Also, don’t miss the chance to read their Blog to get the latest updates on the firm.
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