by jboullion | Jul 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the Green Squared Building Association:
Our group is devoted to promoting more energy-efficient and earth-friendly buildings in the River Valley Area.
We are builders, architects, building material manufacturers, contractors, consultants,
and other interested individuals.
Our Guiding Principles:
Efficient use of energy and water
Use of local materials and labor
Use of renewable energy and resources
Durability of Construction
Reuse and Recycling of materials
Creating buildings that are healthy for occupants and the environment
Founding Members:
Julie Kardatzke
Julie Kardatzke Architect, LLC
408 West Leeson Street, Spring Green, WI 53588
608 588 7105
email: juliekardatzke@verizon.net
website: JKarchitecture.com
Jim Birkemeier
Timbergreen Farm
S11478 Soeldner Rd
Spring Green, WI 53588
608 588 7342
email: Jim@timbergrowers.com
website: TimberGrowers.com Local Wood
David Schinke
David J. Schinke Contruction, LLC
3881 Schreiner Rd
Spring Green, WI 53588
608 583 2737
email: dschinke@merr.com
Log Homes, Timber Frames, Standard Construction
Alex Greene
Red Beard Lumber, LLC
PO Box 88
Spring Green, WI 53588
608 354 2585
email: alexander.m.greene@gmail.com
Red Beard Lumber – Spring Green, WI
Nate Robson
Robson Construction
E4655 Ruetten Dr.
Spring Green WI 53588
(608)574-1171 email: nrobson72@charter.net New Construction, Remodeling, Windows, Siding, & Decks.
Bryan Butteris
Butteris Construction and Woodworking, LLC
3698 Sinbad Rd
Dodgeville, WI 53533
608 574 8810
email: Bryan@Butteris.com
website: www.Butteris.com
Custom Homes, Timber Framiing
Jerry Anding
ASAP Heating and Cooling, LLC
Spring Green, WI 53588
608 588 2727
608 370 2727
Sales, Service, Installation of Heating and Cooling Systems
by jboullion | Jun 30, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a brief guide published by Focus on Energy:
Cities and towns across Wisconsin are seeking ways to address concerns about global climate change while improving the environment and their local quality of life.
Environmentally-friendly or “green” options for communities have long included programs to encourage recycling and the purchase of recycled products, improving public transportation and developing new zoning ordinances that reduce urban sprawl.
Recently, many communities have begun to seek strategies for achieving carbon reduction goals as a way of becoming greener. Because fossil energy use is the primary source of carbon emissions, communities are turning to energy efficiency and
renewable energy to make their energy production and use more sustainable.
The guide answers the following questions:
WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE ENERGY?
HOW DOES SUSTAINABLE ENERGY PLANNING FIT
INTO OTHER GREEN COMMUNITY GOALS?
HOW DO COMMUNITIES GET STARTED?
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES
by jboullion | Jun 30, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a brief guide published by Focus on Energy:
Cities and towns across Wisconsin are seeking ways to address concerns about global climate change while improving the environment and their local quality of life.
Environmentally-friendly or “green” options for communities have long included programs to encourage recycling and the purchase of recycled products, improving public transportation and developing new zoning ordinances that reduce urban sprawl.
Recently, many communities have begun to seek strategies for achieving carbon reduction goals as a way of becoming greener. Because fossil energy use is the primary source of carbon emissions, communities are turning to energy efficiency and
renewable energy to make their energy production and use more sustainable.
The guide answers the following questions:
WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE ENERGY?
HOW DOES SUSTAINABLE ENERGY PLANNING FIT
INTO OTHER GREEN COMMUNITY GOALS?
HOW DO COMMUNITIES GET STARTED?
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES
by jboullion | Jun 29, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the Iowa Renewable Energy Association (I-RENEW):
I-Renew’s Energy and Sustainability Expo 2009 will be a celebration of the change that persistence can bring. We’ve got a lot to celebrate. We’ll start by emphasizing the continued growth of green jobs in Iowa and finish by presenting a full spectrum of alternative energy and sustainability options.
Kate Gordon, Vice President of the Center for American Progress, is one of two keynote speakers. Ms. Gordon was, until June of this year, Co-Director of the National Apollo Alliance. The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of labor, business, environmental and community leaders working to catalyze a clean energy revolution that will put millions of Americans to work in a new generation of high-quality, green-collar jobs. Kate is nationally recognized for her work on the intersection of clean energy and economic development policy, and especially for helping to shape the modern definition of “green-collar jobs” as “well-paid, career track jobs that contribute directly to reserving or enhancing the environment.” She has a long history of working for economic justice and labor issues. She serves on several boards, including the Midwest Agriculture Energy Network and the National Green Industries Policy Retreat.
by jboullion | Jun 29, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article in Walworth County Today:
DELAVAN TOWNSHIP — A totally “green,” 19-room, luxury bed and breakfast inn being developed in Delavan Township will be the first of its kind in the Midwest.
The Green Leaf Inn, located off Wisconsin Highway 50 and west of Wisconsin Highway 67, plans to open in the summer of 2010 and will make Walworth County a major point of interest for the burgeoning eco-tourist movement.
The Inn will incorporate green energy sources, renewable and sustainable materials and practices, and environmentally responsible land and water use, according to a news release
That is the goal of Catherine McQueen and Fritz Kreiss, the owners of the Green Leaf. The couple has been in the energy industry for more than 17 years, and has been involved with the green energy movement from the start of their professional partnership, but the hospitality industry is a whole new field for them. With the Green Leaf, they’ve jumped in feet first.”
“Walworth County is a wonderful location,” Kreiss said. “Within easy driving distance to the three major population centers in the area (Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison), yet still relatively unspoiled. Lake Geneva was one of the most popular tourist destinations in the area in the 20th Century. We want to set the stage to keep it that way in the twenty-first.”
Their goal is to meet the highest standards for green building in all aspects of the Inn’s design and construction. The list of technologies and practices involved has proven to be daunting. “We had a background in green energy: solar, wind, geothermal, biomass,” says McQueen. “One of our early business ventures involved combined heat and power (CHP) units. But sustainable building, sustainable landscaping, water use, renewable materials, low-impact practices…we’ve put together quite a list of things to consider.” With no previous experience in the hospitality industry, they’ve also had to learn about aspects of zoning and permitting that were new to them.
“We want the Green Leaf Inn to be a learning center,” says Kreiss. “I think we can say it has already succeeded in that respect.”
