Green building and eco-sensitive design is currently at the forefront of our modern ethos. What this means for the green builders, contractors and architects of NY, and the world, is a period of dramatic change and challenge is ahead if not already begun. A change in the way we think about new buildings and construction, …
The Living Building Challenge- Winner of the 2012 Buckminster-Fuller Challenge Read More »
In my early twenties I was a vegan for ethical reasons. It only lasted a year because I did not know how to eat a good vegan diet. But ever since then I have been a vegetarian who eats meat….Yes I know that makes no sense. Anyway, now as a New York green contractor I …
Check out this dude. A real druid. A magical builder. Sunray Kelly [Building] is all about the human consciousness to me. Its about our evolution more than the buildings themselves. Sitting in NY city watching this fellow green builder in the woods of Washington, I can’t help but long for those sounds of birds and …
Finally, a way to pursue the “triple bottom line” (people, planet and profits) with legal backing! It is called the Benefit Corporation (as opposed to a normal C or S Corporation for example). Signed into NY legislation by Governor Cuomo the new law allows businesses to be recognized and filed a for more than their financial …
Benefit Corporations law signed and active in New York State! Read More »
Eco Brooklyn was recently invited to join an international group focused on creating global environmental standards. Aptly called Global Environmental Standards, the group is a wide spread collection of organizations interested in creating fair and transparent standards to help the environment. We were invited to participate in the making of global green construction standards. The …
Unable to sleep at 4am in New York I came accross this video of an abandoned town renovated by a small group of utopians. It is one of the most inspirational green building stories I have seen in a long time. So often green building is housed withing the capitalistic context where it is just another product to …
First 2000, and now 2012: Years in which people think the world might possibly end. The world probably won’t end with a bang, but might just crumble beneath the accumulated consequences of our actions. Meanwhile, American politicians’ opinions of science, especially climate science, are at an alarming low. Sometimes TV makes me wonder if there …
Since the Occupy Wall Street events this fall I have immersed myself in information that questions existing paradigms and searches for solutions to current problems. I’ve always done this, and as a green builder I do it on a daily basis, but the recent Occupy Wall Street events has given my ongoing education a focus and timely reference point. …
We’re Brooklyn-based green builders dedicated to turning our local neighborhood green, but we’re always following the latest developments in global standards for more sustainable living. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) met in Durban over the past two months in order to hammer out a plan for extending the Kyoto Protocol. The …
Postponing the Debate: Tentative progress in Durban Read More »
As New York green contractors we follow the latest developments in NY building codes very closely. Yesterday, the New York City Council enacted three proposals from the Urban Green Task Force. The new codes, effective July 1, 2012, mandate more stringent regulation of waste, recycling, and pollutant filtration, representing a step forward for green building. …
Breaking news: NY City Council enacts proposals from Urban Green Task Force Read More »
