No Furnaces but Heat Aplenty in 'Passive Houses'

DARMSTADT, Germany — From the outside, there is nothing unusual about the stylish new gray and orange row houses in the Kranichstein District, with wreaths on the doors and Christmas lights twinkling through a freezing drizzle. But these houses are part of a revolution in building design: There are no drafts, no cold tile floors, no snuggling under blankets until the furnace kicks in. There is, in fact, no furnace.

Downtown Ends Building Boom in New York

Nearly $5 billion in development projects in New York City have been delayed or canceled because of the economic crisis, an extraordinary body blow to an industry that last year provided 130,000 unionized jobs, according to numbers tracked by a local trade group.

Biomass fuels to the rescue?

Nobody loves biomass. When talk turns to global warming and the green movement, it's hardly ever mentioned. Biomass can be garbage (literally) or wood chips or sugar-cane remnants or grass.

Still, among energy experts, biomass has some strong supporters, and for good reason: Right now, virtually all the renewable-energy power in Florida comes from biomass, including three plants in Miami-Dade and Broward.

What's more, it's cheap -- cheaper in some instances even than coal, which is generally considered the nation's least expensive way of producing electricity but is also the biggest producer of greenhouse gases that scientists say are heating up the globe.

How to make your own green cleaning products

By Annie B. Bond

Most modern synthetic cleaning products are based on age-old formulas using natural ingredients that were passed down through the generations because the chemistry was right. Going back to the original naturally derived ingredients is a way to make cleaning products that work, don’t pollute and save you money. Most are found in your kitchen cupboards. Mix and match with well-chosen and environmentally friendly green cleaning products found in health food stores, and you can easily and simply transform your home into a non-toxic and healthy haven.

Non-toxic cleaning can give you a deep feeling of gratification in knowing that your family’s health is protected, and that your home is a place for your bodies to rest and recuperate rather than promote harm.

In Union Square, How to build a Holiday Market

LATE in the evening on a mid-November Wednesday, when Union Square was dark and quiet, a mild-mannered, blue-eyed man named Eldon Scott stood near the bronze statue of George Washington with a surveyor’s wheel in his hand and counted out six paces. Fishing a nub of yellow chalk from the pocket of his green zippered fleece, he stooped down to make a T-shaped mark on the paving stone.
Moving through the park, Mr. Scott mapped out where the edges of booths would sit for the Union Square Holiday Market, which opened the Saturday before Thanksgiving and runs until Christmas Eve.

Audit: NYCHA Capital Program in Trouble

AUDIT: NYCHA CAPITAL PROGRAM IN TROUBLE

An internal report by the inspector general over the Housing Authority says management lapses and cost overruns will severely curtail plans to repair the city’s aging stock of public housing.

Cost overruns and management lapses plague a $780 million plan that outsourced the administration of much of the New York City Housing Authority's construction program, according to internal memos obtained by City Limits.
The problems have contributed to a drastic scaling-back of the work that NYCHA will complete under a crucial initiative to rebuild its aging housing stock. The number of construction projects NYCHA can afford could shrink by as much as 75 percent – leaving thousands of public housing residents in need of new roofs, better kitchens, improved wiring and more.

The memos, penned this autumn by inspector general Robert McSweeney, who is charged with NYCHA oversight by the city Department of Investigation, and former NYCHA chairman Tino Hernandez, indicate that NYCHA management was alerted to the problems years ago but has moved slowly to take corrective action.

Study: Leaner Nations Bike, Walk, Use Mass Transit

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Jim Richards is no kid, but he loves to ride his bike. At 51, he has become a cycling commuter, pedaling 11 miles from his home in the suburbs to his job in downtown Knoxville.

"It really doesn't take that much longer" than driving, he insists.

And he gets 40 minutes of exercise twice a day without going to the gym, which he attributes to a 20-pound weight loss.