In the “Green” World, Old is New

Who knew? Linoleum and pile drilling are hot, new sustainable technologies.

At the "Greening the Heartland" Conference, it sometimes seems as if everything old is not only new again - it's often environmentally sustainable.  Greening the Heartland, a regional conference on green building and sustainability in the Midwest, is being held through tomorrow at America's Center in downtown St. Louis,. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) - St. Louis Regional Chapter is hosting this fifth annual event, which is geared toward people interested in greening their town, business, college campus or building.

In the event's exposition hall, Roger Gooch, south central regional manager for Forbo Flooring Systems, explained that his company has been making its "new" sustainable product since the middle of the 19th century. Linoleum is manufactured using linseed oil and wood "flour". It used to be made with cork, but the shortage of good cork is one reason why your favorite wine now has a screwtop. Another name for linseed oil - at least the kind extracted without the use of solvents is flaxseed, which you can buy at any health food store and put on your salad. The primary difference between today's linoleum and the product that readers of a certain age may remember, Gooch said, is the addition of UV coating, which seals the surface and improves durability and sheen.

At St. Louis' Subsurface Constructors, Inc. exhibit the sustainable product was "vibrostone columns".  Subsurface has built a solid foundation (sorry about that) for a national business in the sustainable construction industry by combining a drilled, compacted piling system which reuses the onsite material and additions such as recycled railroad ballast. This system displaces minimal dirt on the site itself and piles on the points when an owner is seeking LEED certification.

Dropping in at the many presentations by national and local speakers and talking with exhibitors and sponsors produced a reporter's notebook full of information:

Rep. Russ Carnahan opened the conference and announced that he and another
representative had just formed the High Performance Buildings Caucus in the
U.S. House of Representatives to advance legislation for  high performing
("green") buildings.

Ray Anderson, founder of Interface Flor, said his company has reduced
greenhouse gas emissions by 82 percent since 1996, reduced water use by 75
percent, and reduced fossil fuel use by 62 percent while doubling its sales
and profits. "If Interface, a petro intensive manufacturer can do it, anyone
in construction can do it," he said.

Ecos Materials, based in Rock Hill, MO, is sells an interior/exterior
sheathing board made from rice hulls and wheat husks that is being used in
multi-family housing in Louisville, KY.

Over 110 employees at McCarthy have completed the qualifications for their LEED professional certification in the last two years.

The facilities managers for the state of Missouri are using software to
better maintain buildings and slash heating, cooling, and lighting bills.

Pay as you go: Leith Sharp, sustainability director for Harvard University,
explained that the university's sustainability office is funded out of the
savings that its projects realize for the university. Turns out that is not
unique. Cleveland's sustainability office is funded the same way - from
savings it can find in city operations. Ditto Grand Rapids.

As general manager of CI Select Flooring, Linda Goldstein has been in the
forefront of carpet recycling and green flooring in St. Louis. As mayor of
Clayton, she finds herself in the forefront of greening municipal government
in eastern Missouri. Clayton now lists LEED certification as a public
benefit that can help a develop get a special public use development (PUD)
zoning classification. The city is now considering regulation to allow
windmills atop highrise roofs.

Chris Klehm, president of E2, said plumbing codes are all so antiquated they
encourage waste and poor performance and block efficiency and
sustainability.

Pheadra Svec, a consultant to KC government, said "We kept hearing  stories that
building codes prohibited green practices, so we took at look at the code
paragraph by paragraph and we found that there was no code nor ordinance
that prohibited anything in LEED. Permit applications for green projects
were getting rejected, but the barrier was not the code."

Solutia is marketing sunglasses for your windows.

More information on attending the conference can be found at http://www.greentheheartland.com

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