Greening08

Da Mayor

2008-06-24T12:24:00.000-07:00

We're slightly remiss in noting this later in the day... Mayor Francis G. Slay of the City of St. Louis made an unscheduled appearance at the GTH conference this morning, with some remarks for those assembled for the morning's kick-off. Usually, the Mayor's site follows up with some comments, or two, on his appearances and we'll track those mentions over the next day/two.

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Sure enough, here's a link to comments on the Mayor's site.

A quality moment's rest

2008-06-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Herman Miller for the additional seating options, scattered through the America's Center for the past few days.

After a nice, long walk from Point A to Point B... a Herman Miller moment is most enjoyable.

Video: GTH 2008 Highlights

2008-06-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

Video: David Bertorelli

2008-06-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

MTV @ the Expo

2008-06-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

The trade show is being covered by blogger Steven Smith of MTV, who is using Arcturis' Chrissy Hill, the chair of GTH's communications committee, as guest host and interviewer.

You can find the video blog of this effort online in about a week's time, at MTV's Think sub-channel. Here's a link to the Missouri page there, and to an article about Chrissy from earlier this summer.

Wal*Mart: Diamond Sponsor

2008-06-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

The Diamond Sponsor for GTH 2008 is Wal*Mart, a company represented through the conference's three days in the exposition hall.

Wal*Mart's online presence offers a variety of information about the corporation's work in the field of sustainability.

In fact, one of the sub-channels of the site is decidate to just that phrase, and here's the link to Wal*Mart's Sustainability efforts.

At the expo, Wal*Mart was showing off its reusable bags, which are currently in play throughout the company's stores.

Here's a blip about the impact they're having:

Every year, nearly one trillion plastic shopping and grocery bags are used around the world. The vast majority are then sent to a landfill. To help reduce the number of plastic bags that are wasted each year, and to engage our customers in helping us reach our sustainability goals, we introduced reusable shopping bags in October 2007.

Made from 85-percent-recycled content, the bags hold more than twice the amount of an average plastic bag. Customers can find the black reusable bags in Wal-Mart stores and purchase them for $1 each. At the end of their life-span, Wal-Mart will recycle the bags.

Our estimates show that during its average five year lifetime, a reusable bag can eliminate the need for at least 100 disposable plastic bags. To date we have sold enough bags to eliminate the need for at least 400 million disposable plastic bags. In April 2008, as part of Earth Month, Wal-Mart gave away 1 million reusable bags, reducing the need for another 100 million disposable bags.

Q/A with Pat Justis

2008-06-24T09:23:00.001-07:00

The chair of GTH was found in the expo hall during the morning hours of Tuesday, attending to various tasks, greeting the passing parade of attendees and generally taking in the overall feel of the conference from as many vantage points as possible. We grabbed a few moments of his time between those tasks, to get a state of the conference, with the afternoon sessions the only remaining elements of GTH.

GTH: How would you categorize the success of the conference to this point?

Justis: Very successful. I'm very happy. I've talked to a lot of exhibitors that are happy, to a lot of speakers and attendees. I've been to workshops and sessions and could not be more pleased. Maybe a little bit more pleased, but not very much more pleased.

GTH: What did you learn from prior conferences - either attending, or just hearing from people - that helped you try to adapt and improve this one?

Justis: A few things. Greening the conference as much as we can. The other thing was making sure that people had time to take in the exhibits and take in the new technologies and existing businesses, what they offer to help get the job done. And just logistically, not being too spread out, so that people have time to get to exhibits and workshops and food and events. All those kinds of things, I think, we've addressed pretty well.

GTH: The flipside is that I'm sure people from Detroit are intrigued by what's happening and what works. What are you telling those folks?

Justis: We've been telling them that as soon as we're finished paying the bills, we'll be happy to talk to them and to pass that along. We haven't really talked a lot about details and lessons learned, yet. We have talked about speakers and things that they might bring back. Like the Greensburg, KS, group, having them come each year to give an update.

GTH: Any personal highlights?

Justis: The City Museum was my favorite place. Second would be tied, between Ray Anderson and the Greensburg, KS, folks who were so inspiring in their message. I wouldn't have wanted to miss those, they were fantastic. Really balanced approaches, but visionary in moving us in the right direction. You don't always get the visionary, soul-searching stuff and they definitely hit the target on that.

GTH: Last thought, then. What would you like people to take out of all this, other than just the three days in the convention hall.

Justis: I'd like them to take away the imperative of what we have to do, that we have to change the way we are doing business. We can't do business as usual. And, hopefully, we can connect them with techniques on how to follow that imperative, how to get it done.

Greensburg GreenTown

2008-06-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

Before May 4th, 2007, Greensburg, Kansas was home to 1400 people, a handful of schools, numerous farms, shops and amenities. After a tornado ravaged the town, destroying 90% of its structures, Greensburg (located 2 hours west of Wichita) decided to rebuild--only this time, they decided to do it green.

At Tuesday morning's session, Daniel Wallach, founding Director of Greensburg GreenTown, hosted a panel made up of Greensburg's former Mayor, John Janssen; the school's Superintendant, Darin Headrick; and the City Administrator, Steve Hewitt. Speaking to a large, captive audience in Ferrara Theatre, the panel discussed their initiatives, challenges, hopes and decisions that have all played a crucial part in the LEED-certified reformation of a ruined town.

Most of the townspeople fled after the natural disaster, but many have returned, becoming completely involved in the rebuilding of the place they once called home. Not quite at the end of the school year last May, children were displaced from their classrooms, but the town built temporary facilities after considering the effect bussing them to other cities could have on the community as a whole.

The panelists also discussed the great cost at which LEED buildings are built. "It's not $.5 for Coke or a quarter for a candy bar--Middle America is expensive." Greensburg hopes to have 4 or 5 certified green structures, including its city hall, museum and a business incubator. The in-depth website, www.greensburggreentown.org, offers thorough information on the plans, its staff, its history, and ways to donate.

"You didn't hear the word 'LEED' a lot in Middle America," joked Steve Hewitt, "but you do now."

Q/A with Dan Kopman (Schlafly Brewery)

2008-06-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

During the City Museum "dessert party," you couldn't miss the Schlafly Brewery stand, just inside the main doorway. There, co-founder Dan Kopman greeted people with: a) beer; and b) information about his company's intriguing role in St. Louis, along with a commitment to consistently greening its brewing operations. We stole Kopman away from the taps long enough to get a few minutes' of conversation.

GTH: We posted something up the other day about Schlafly and your environmental practices. Tell us about your philosophy in that vein, as a company.
Kopman: Local. It wasn't by design. Ten years ago when we were planning our new building, or you planning what we wanted to be as a brewer, we weren't thinking, "oh, we need to be green." We were thinking "how many nights do we want to be in a Super 8 in Omaha?" Let's just sell our beer locally, not other parts of the country. There's good beer all over the place in this country. Our long-term plan was to focus on our market. And everything we've done to this point has really been in the spirit of that mission. If we support other local food companies by buying their products and selling them at Bottleworks or if we have our farmer's market, where we tie farmers to consumers, it's all about encouraging people to consume locally. It's not about spending a lot of money to be green, it's just about doing it. Does that make sense?

GTH: But there are extra efforts like the garden at the Bottleworks that seem to dovetail into that effort, too.
Kopman: When you're growing it next to where you're serving it, that takes the lowest amount of fuel necessary to get it to the restaurant. It was a bad parking lot that needed repaving. It was cheaper to tear it up and do a garden, than to repave it. And we had plenty of parking spaces, so we didn't need more.

GTH: To what degree does your clientele understand this philosophy, as opposed to simply liking the food and the beer?
Kopman: They wouldn't come back if they didn't like the food and the beer. You can be as green as you want to be, but at the end of the day, you have to produce a certain level of quality that people want to come back for. We've always done that. That's always our mission: to brew some of the nation's greatest beer, right here in St. Louis. That hasn't changed. It's really pretty simple from that perspective. We're not trying to be something we're not.

GTH: Can you give us a sense of the conversations you've had with people tonight?
Kopman: They're impressed to see there's another local brewery. A lot of people come not expecting to find another brewery. That doesn't take away from what the city's largest brewery is doing; they do so much for the city, as everyone has heard about recently. But we're very comfortable in our role as St. Louis' other brewery. So there's been a lot of that discussion, explaining to people what our role is, and that we're not aspiring to be anything more. That's really important: to be comfortable in the clothes that you wear. And try not to wear someone else's clothing. And buying fewer new clothes is environmentally sound.

Q/A with Mike Roberts Jr.

2008-06-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

We ran into Mike Roberts Jr., a developer and political candidate, at the City Museum. Roberts, 29, was more than willing to talk about his work and the inspiration he's gotten from attending GTH and we were happy to get those perspectives.

GTH: Tell us about your interest in green issues, generally, and where it began.
Roberts: It began with a concern with the environment. We have a lot of issues with greenhouse gases and people who are generally not educated enough about how they can benefit by recycling. As a developer with the Roberts Companies, we've decided to go green. We built the first single-family subdivision in St. Louis, called Roberts Place using insulated concrete forms, geothermal heating/cooling systems, energy sustainable building materials. We're also building Roberts Tower, which is the first Gold LEED certified mixed-use tower in Downtown St. Louis history. And we're building future buildings to at least be energy sustainable.

GTH: In terms of environmental efforts also being good business, can you address that a touch?
Roberts: There was a time when it was too expensive to build green, if you will, but because of the demand, manufacturers in the world are starting to mass produce energy sustainable materials that are cost effective for the business developer. But what's also great about it is that you'll recover your cost through lower utility bills and tax credits that you may get through legislation passed recently. And it's great for PR. It's good PR for developers, which is a good thing.

GTH: Do you think younger candidates and officeholders will come around to this way of thinking in the next couple years?
Roberts: I'm running for State Representative in the 64th District here in the City of St. Louis and my number one initiative is green tax credits. I want to incentivize the state and the City of St. Louis, to where everyone's home, their residential and commercial buildings, are energy sustainable. I believe the younger generations to come, those even behind me, will be aware that we need to do something right now. Our environment is suffering. We have to offset high fuel prices, so that people can continue to live a high-quality life.

GTH: What your take on the conference? Have you picked up anything new? Or has anything been confirmed in your mind?
Roberts: Yes to both. I did pick up a few new items today. I'm intrigued by a way to waterproof insulated concrete forms with a material that is recycled. It creates a film that is waterproof. And the new cork flooring. I remember when it was the regular tan color. Now it's every color you could imagine. And they're really doing some fun things with cork flooring. In terms of confirmation... is this a fad? Or it is something that's moving throughout the country? People are excited about these green initiatives. They're good, clean ways to help the environment, to save money and it's neutral. You don't have to be a Republican or a Democrat. It's right down the middle. It's just a good thing for us.

Video: Recycling Run

2008-06-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

Hotel greening

2008-06-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

One of the tasks undertaken by volunteers at the Greening the Heartland Conference was making recycling a greater component at the America's Center and at neighboring hotels. That's been an interesting process, for members of the local Earth Day organization and the EarthWays Center. Earlier, during the lunch break, we accompanied a trio of volunteers on their recycling run to a nearby hotel and it was fascinating and entertaining, both.

We'll have some video on this effort by tomorrow afternoon.

By the by: props to the people making that effort happen, as it requires equal measures of diligence and patience.

St. Louis Community College Tour

2008-06-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

Though we were unable to attend the 3.5 hour round trip to the newest St. Louis Community College campus in suburban Wildwood, we at least want to note that tour taking place today. As one of the exhibitors at the trade show, we spoke briefly to a member of the college's staff and she said that the registration at the new campus was exceptional, with a number of the students making note of the green construction of the building. So much so, in some cases, that they were bringing back their folks, just to show off the designs and concepts.

Here's a link to the Wildwood campus of St. Louis Community College.

And, if anyone on the tour is reading this, we'd invite their comments below.

Neal Peirce on St. Louis

2008-06-23T11:48:00.001-07:00

Nationally-syndicated online and print columnist Neal Peirce, a member of the Washington Post's stable of writers, has penned a piece about St. Louis. The article, which boosts our city's revival, is slated to run in print editions of the Wash Post and other pubs this coming weekend, apparently. The online version of the story, though, is accessible today.

Here's a link to "St. Louis: After 52 Years, 'All America City' Again."

Video: Brandyn Jones, Vice Chair of GTH

2008-06-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

Earthworms on KDHX 88.1 fm

2008-06-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Seeing Jean Ponzi of KDHX today reminded us to pop up a note about Earthworms. A staple of Tuesday night programming on KDHX in St. Louis, Earthworms is one of the nation's longest-running environmental radio shows.

Those of you not from St. Louis - or those of you otherwise occupied on Tuesday nights - can access the last four episodes of this show at the program page for Earthworms at KDHX.org.

Q/A with John O'Brien

2008-06-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

GTH attendee John O'Brien is a St. Louis native, working for a Chicago firm. Interested in the products and services offered at the expo hall, we caught up with him between the aisles and chatted about some of his goals at GTH.

GTH08: Tell us about Grace Associates.
O'Brien: I'm a project manager for a real estate developer based out of Chicago. Currently, I manage the Blu City Spaces project in Downtown St. Louis. It's a 13-story, residential high rise. It's a rehabbed building. Other than that, I'm out looking for the next project.

GTH08: What's of interest at the conference? What brought you here today?
O'Brien: I'm currently in the process of getting LEED certified, that's what got me the entree with the US Green Building Council. I decided this would be a good thing to attend because we're thinking about doing some similar, high rise projects and we'd like to change a couple things if we replicate that building with some other buildings.

GTH08: What's been of interest to you at the trade show?
O'Brien: I was surprised to see the amount of general contractors here, getting a foothold into sustainable design and green building. That's awesome. There are some very innovative plumbing products that I didn't know were out there, yet. Those are very applicable to what I'm doing.

GTH08: There are still "a-ha" moments then, with products and services that you didn't know about?
O'Brien: Yeah, yeah. There's this innovative pipe that I was talking about that works in new construction and rehabs. It's pretty energy-efficient. There are a couple other ones that I've seen. There's some solar panel design over here that I haven't seen yet, and I'm a newbie to solar panel design. They're using them in ways (and at prices) that I didn't know were possible. That's been interesting.

GTH08: As a St. Louisan, tell us your impressions of the importance of this event and all the people that are coming into town?
O'Brien: Yeah, it's nice to have here. It's quite an honor to be the host city for such a thing. It's nice to be outside the box, a little bit. We can be egocentric in a lot of ways and it's nice to have some people come in to tell us how things are going right in other places.

Q/A with Matt Sepic

2008-06-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

KWMU reporter Matt Sepic was a participant in today's proceedings, as emcee for the morning welcome session. We caught up with the young newshound in the exhibition hall and touched on a variety of topics.

GTH08: Can you tell about your involvement in the conference?
Sepic: Well, Brandyn Jones asked me to be the emcee and I was glad to do it, because green building is the future. Look at the price of everything, from fuel to building materials. I'm rehabbing a building in the Shaw neighborhood in South St. Louis and everybody that's done any kind of construction knows it's getting more expensive to do it. Going green and reducing waste is going to be a necessity, in just the economics of the situation.

GTH08: So this has a direct, personal appeal, then?
Sepic: Somewhat. Yeah, I'm not an architect. I'm doing this on the margins and learning as I go, but I've been interested in construction and this crowd's certainly public radio-friendly, so I'm glad to do it.

GTH08: Tell us about this morning's event.
Sepic: I was really interested to hear from Ray Anderson from Interface, a carpet company. It's a really resource-based industry, with lots of resource needs for carpet fibers. This guy has figured out ways to reduce the environmental impact of his operation. And he's making money at the same time. If you can do that in the carpet business, then any large corporation can follow his lead. I'm really impressed by that.

GTH08: What about the impact of this taking place in St. Louis? What's it mean to the town?
Sepic: I think it's great. This is a city that - and I don't know this as a fact - as far as rehabbing, it's one of the leaders, especially with the state tax credits. It's a natural fit for St. Louis, which is recycling buildings, essentially. It's important for us to talk about sustainability, waste and reusing buildings again.

GTH08: For people from outside St. Louis, would you like to give a plug about 90.7?
Sepic: I would. It's the NPR station here. Looking around, I think that we have many members here.

Urbanreviewstl.com

2008-06-23T08:41:00.000-07:00

One of St. Louis' blogs dedicated to the built environment is urbanreviewstl.com. Blogger Steve Patterson is at the Conference, as referenced in a quick post yesterday. Smart and tart, the blog seldom pulls punches, so we look forward to reading Patterson's comments in the next few days.

Patterson says of his site, "It's basically my take on the city and development. I don't hold anything back. I put everything out there and people are free to disagree with me in comments, and they often do. It's a good discussion."

Green Building Bike Tour

2008-06-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

Q/A with Joyce Gorrell

2008-06-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

One of the folks you might meet upon your arrival at the registration desk, or someone you'll meet as she's simply jetting around the convention hall, is Joyce Gorrell, administrative coordinator for the EarthWays Center and one of the key volunteers at GTH.

GTH08: So, Joyce, what's your involvement over the next few days?
Gorrell: My exact involvement is volunteering in administrative coordination. I'm excited to see people arrive and get details.

GTH08: You've been working the desk for a little while now...
Gorrell: I have been working the desk and it's a bit slow right now, but tomorrow morning things will pick up, when all the workshops start. Some pretty big speakers are on-hand in the morning and the exhibit hall will be set up.

GTH08: What's your sense of what's exciting people right now?
Gorrell: I know for a fact that at 850 registrants confirmed prior to on-site registration... this is the largest number any Greening the Heartland has brought in. I think it's great that St. Louis can be such a destination point for all the great Midwest chapters.

GTH08: As someone who's certainly a great advocate for St. Louis, is there anything you'd like for people to take away about this town?
Gorrell: I'd like them to take away a sense of pride in a city that's got a leg up on a lot of coastal cities, when it comes to green building. We've got the Alberici headquarters, which is world-reknowned, and other institutions that are popping up left-and-right. It's beyond a lot of people's realizations of what is going on here. Hopefully, it'll get people revved up, to continue on a course of green building.

Green Building Bike Tour

2008-06-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

With the number of LEED-certified and green buildings in St. Louis on the rise, Tim Montgomery thought a bicycle tour of such establishments would be an ideal intro to this year's Greening the Heartland Conference.

Montgomery, an architect with TMA Architects, LLC, and Dr. John Sweet, trustee of the Wm. A. Kerr Foundation, lead 30 bikers from the St. Louis riverfront (now mostly under water) 11 miles west to University City, stopping at numerous sustainable buildings along the way.

They began their tour at the Kerr Foundation building, a former bathhouse built in 1895, that has been converted into a Platinum LEED-certified space, one of only two in St. Louis. With a rooftop garden, skylights, bamboo flooring and St. Louis' first wind turbine, this multi-use building is set in the city's industrial area, just north of the casinos and east of Highway 70.

After a lunch and some drinks, the group headed west to Grandel Square where they received a short tour of the EarthWays Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to environmental education. It is located in one of the city's rapidly developing urban areas, Grand Center. At Earthways the group was shown more application for green living, from energy-efficient lightbulbs to recycled flooring to composting capabilities.

Next stop: Bowood Farms, an urban greenhouse and farm that grows its own vegetables and plants on site and in Pike County, Missouri. Formerly an auto repair warehouse, Bowood, located in the Central West End, also sells its own grass-fed bison.

Then onto the Solae and Cortex buildings, set in the middle of the Barnes Jewish hospital complex just south of the Central West End. All sides of both buildings are covered in windows, thus supplying natural light to nearly every work space.

After a quick break for some locally-brewed Budweiser, the tour rode north to the Roberts Place Homes, a gated housing development with high-efficiency windows, bamboo flooring, and geothermal heating and cooling.

Final stop: The Loop's Big Shark Bicycle Company, one of St. Louis' largest and most active bike shops.

Q/A with Spencer Finch

2008-06-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Director of Sustainable Development for the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Spencer Finch will facilitate questions with Jaime Lerner on Monday, June 23. In the halls of the America's Center, we grabbed a few moments with Spencer to discuss this unique opportunity to hear from Jaime Lerner. He'll not be able to attend to GTH 08, but we'll now have his presence.

GTH08: Tell us about your involvement with the proceedings tomorrow.
Finch: I'm a little bit of a last-minute guest. Jaime Lerner, one of the main speakers, couldn't make it. We've made arrangements to have him here, at least virtually, if not here in reality. I'll give a little intro, then we'll play one of his lectures, which he gave in Philadelphia two years ago. Then, in the afternoon, we'll catch up with Jaime; we'll call him on the phone and we'll do an audience Q-and-A with him directly.

GTH08: Our understanding is that there was a lot of excitement about his attendance, so to have him in even this form is a positive.
Finch: I think it is, I know that it's always a coup when someone gets him to speak. I know that two years ago we brought him to Philly. And in the clip we'll show, he got a standing ovation and really helped spark some changes that have changed the city in the past two years.

GTH08: Can you give us a sense of what energized, or motivated people so much?
Finch: I guess if you show up, you'll see why. My easy way to describe it is that he looks like Santa Claus without the beard. For some reason, you see him and right away you like him. He really knows what he's talking about and he's accomplished something that attendees are hoping to accomplish. With very limited resources, he was able to build what people say is the world's most-sustainable city, in a developing country like Brazil. I think it's really amazing what he helped make happen in his hometown.

GTH08: What would be a best-case scenario for what happens tomorrow?
Finch: I hope people get a sense of how difficult some things are, but also how easy some things are to do. One piece of advice that Jaime likes to repeat to everyone is "just start." The first step is always the toughest. Once we get started, we all kind of know what we want our cities to be, what we want our world to be. If we just take the first step, things will get much easier.

Flickr

2008-06-22T12:42:00.001-07:00

You'll notice a new badge at the right side of the screen, featuring our most recent flickr photos. We'll be adding bits of content all during the conference, so be sure to click on that button, which will take you to the flickr site. Up now are some pics from today's bike tour.

Being edited right now: our first piece of original video. Be on the lookout for that shortly.

STL Spotlight: The Good Stuff, v. 3

2008-06-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

If you're interested in mid-century modern design in St. Louis - and there's no small amount of it, particularly in St. Louis County - Toby Weiss has a site for you. Lots of pics, lots of anecdotal material, lots of calls for keeping this architecture standing and appreciated. It's tobybelt and you can find it right here.

Prettywarstl is the alias of Tom Lampe, a St. Louis photographer who is a prolific flickr user, but sorts down the really intriguing stuff into a stand-alone site dedicated to the rare, the lovely, the curious, the quirky.

If you're looking for information and news on St. Louis' GLBT community, you could do a lot worse than first checking into the Vital Voice. Though the paper's moved into a different, more all-inclusive (yet still progressive) direction in recent months, the GLBT focus is still there. The paper's distributed around town, including pockets of Downtown, but you can also get all of the info online.

Speaking of newspapers...: A couple days ago, we highlighted the St. Louis photographer and all-around visual artist Bill Keaggy. Well, the Riverfront Times, STL's alt-weekly, just wrote up an entire cover story on the fella. How's about that?

Lumiere Link

2008-06-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

We're not here to advocate gambling, certainly. But it has to be said: if you're looking to spend a few minutes wandering the area around America's Center, you might want to pop into the Lumiere Link, just east of the Center. The underground tunnel (with people mover), opened in the past few weeks, leading you into the Lumiere Place Casino and entertainment plex. And again, you don't have to gamble to necessarily make the trip a worthwhile: make it a people-watching experience.

After passing through the variety of shops and the casino, itself, on the first floor, we'd recommend a walk across a small pathway, leading you into the the Four Seasons Hotel. Once there, take the elevator to the rooftop, the eighth floor. That area's got yet another bar and restaurant, along with a rooftop view that's definitely worth taking in. You get a nice panorama of Laclede's Landing to the east, Downtown STL to the south and a large slice of the Mississippi River, which is rather large these days, for sure.

Did we mention the Link is open 24-hours.

New Exhibitors & Sponsors

2008-06-22T08:20:00.000-07:00

The American Institute of Architects St. Louis Bookstore
911 Washington Ave., Ste. 100, St. Louis, MO, 63101
www.aia-stlouis.org
314-621-3484

Earth Share of Missouri
1222 Spruce St., Rm. 3.310, St. Louis, MO 63103
www.earthsharemo.org
314-621-6182

Lockheed Martin (Silver Sponsor)
107 Hermes Rd., Ste. 105, Malta, NY 12020
www.lockheedmartin.com
518-429-0121

Uponor/Specified Systems, Inc.
11832 Dorsett Rd., Maryland Heights, MO, 63043
www.specifiedsystems.net
314-770-0053

Program Addendum: Jaime Lerner

2008-06-22T08:15:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce that although Jaime Lerner could not join us in person, special arrangements have been made to share a video of a presentation by Mr. Lerner made in Philadelphia at the Sustainability Forum.

Spencer Finch, Director of Sustainable Development for the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (a colleague of Jaime Lerner and one of the Sustainability Forum coordinators) is here to introduce the video and facilitate questions with Mr. Lerner live via phone in the Afternoon Breakout Session which will reconvene in the Ferrara Theatre.

Therefore, the morning Master Speakers Series will now extend until 12:30 p.m., instead of 11:45 a.m., followed by lunch in the Exhibit Hall.

Welcome to GTH 2008

2008-06-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

Greetings.

GTH 08 Blog Central has been established at the America's Center!

If you have tasty tidbits, please send us a note @: greeningconference08@yahoo.com.

Look to this space for frequent updates on programming, weather-related changes to events and (near) live-time updates from the halls.

We look forward to serving those here at the conference, and those of you checking in remotely.

Old North: national press

2008-06-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

Old North St. Louis got some national play on a digital source, NRDC's Switchboard. As evidenced by the comments section, the neighbors are pretty jazzed about this piece, as a slice of the area's residents have chimed in with thoughts. We've posted about this neighborhood before, so it's nice to see that the area, just north of the convention site, is getting some wider-than-STL "ink."

Here's a link to the piece, written by Kaid Benfield.

As a teaser, here's the lead:

Every now and then I run across a story that is so good, that feels so right, that I thank my lucky stars for the freedom NRDC gave me to evolve my career into working for better, more sustainable communities. This is such a story, and it reveals an historic, diverse, inclusive neighborhood that is reclaiming its identity, restoring its infrastructure, empowering its residents, and securing its future. The community wins, and so does the environment, because the Old North neighborhood in Saint Louis is the very antithesis of sprawl.

Post coverage

2008-06-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has chimed in with a timely piece on GTH today. If you don't pick up the daily paper, we'll save you the 75-cents with a link to the piece on STLtoday.com.

Kim Massie

2008-06-20T15:52:00.000-07:00

We want to remind all attendees that the party at the City Museum on Monday evening, from 7:30 - 10:30 is one that's not to be missed. In addition to the sheer audacity of the space, itself, there's a performance to point towards: that one of Kim Massie.

We'll give you a sense of her talent. You can, for example, check out her eponymous website.

Or you can watch a bit of video, recorded at the aucoustically-stellar Sheldon Concert Hall, part of a performance captured by local PBS affiliate KETC. We'll embed the video here:

Exhibitors

2008-06-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

To date, we've been remiss in not listing the businesses and organizations taking part in the exhibition hall. Many of the folks involved in this end of the conference have obviously spent a good bit of time and energy on bringing their wares to the conference and we certainly hope you leave time to check out those products and services.

Here's a list of the exhibitors.

Ray Anderson: The Corporation

2008-06-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

For those interested in the address of Corporate Track Master Speaker Ray Anderson, some interesting notes can be found at the website of the Canadian documentary "The Corporation." On the provocative film's website, you can read additional notes about Anderson's feelings on corporations and their need for environmental stewardship.

Here's a link to a pdf transcript of that interview.

GTH Spotlight: Scott Horst

2008-06-18T10:00:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, June 24; 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.

SCOT HORST, PRESIDENT, 7GROUP
8:30 - 9:00 a.m.

Scot Horst serves as chair of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Steering Committee and is widely recognized as a leader in the sustainable design movement. During his chairmanship, he has overseen the development of LEED for Core and Shell, LEED for Schools, Revisions to LEED for Existing Buildings, LEED for Neighborhood Development, LEED for Homes, LEED for Healthcare and extensive work on the next version of LEED that will establish a new structure for a single LEED known as the LEED bookshelf. This structure will normalize all LEED rating systems to 100 points, add a regional category, intentionally weight the credits, fix credits and align credits and submittals across all rating systems. He has also guided a revised and holistic structure for developing LEED through a new committee structure.

Mr Horst also serves as President of 7group a green building consultancy and the Athena Institute International, a non profit organization that focuses on sustainable materials and life cycle assessment.

Mr. Horst will speak on the LEED rating system and its role in market transformation. He will show how LEED is the center piece of a growing movement in the United States and will speak about the nature of that movement.

Online Registration...

2008-06-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

... for GTH closes tonight at midnight. Please check the main website for details on the various packages that can be secured on-site, as there's still room at the conference for, say, you!

Another STL Brewery

2008-06-17T09:44:00.000-07:00

While St. Louis has been abuzz with stories about the potential InBev acquisition of Anheuser-Busch, another local brewery might be of interest to you, especially since their products will be the ones offered at the City Museum this coming night.

Schlafly Beer is a locally-produced brand with two brewing facilities in St. Louis. The older of the two is located Downtown, at the corner of Locust and 21st, a nice little walk from America's Center. With a brewpub, two music rooms and some of the brewing operation on-site, this Downtown STL venue is a popular after-work gathering place, with a host of community-oriented events booked into the multiple nooks of the Tap Room on weekends and evenings.

The Bottleworks is the newer operation, with several years of operation in suburban Maplewood. It hosts everything from cult films to poetry, with tours of the brewing operation scheduled several times a day. Adapted from an abandoned grocery store, the space has anchored the burgeoning Maplewood commercial district. It, too, features a large restaurant, with indoor and outdoor seating.

What's particularly notable about Schlafly is the company's commitment to the environment. The Bottleworks has an on-site garden and hosts as weekly farmer's market during the spring and summer. Members of the brewery's senior staff work on a local CSA and head up the slow food movement here. The company sends out a regular Green Notes e-mail, highlighting everything from the pub's organic food recipes to notes about internal greening operations.

Clips

2008-06-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

Greening the Heartland was featured in a recent edition of the Alton Telegraph, the piece penned by the estimable Jill Moon. Here's the article.

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While it's not STL-related, this News Hour piece on the greening of Pittsburgh would probably be of real interest to blog readers.

Joe Edwards on PubDef: A Loop Backgrounder

2008-06-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

Thinking about the U. City Loop yesterday, we looked for a touch of video on this vibrant area and found a good one right away.

A long interview of Joe Edwards, the Loop's prime visionary, is one piece that quickly showed itself, a recent upload to the local text- and video-blog PubDef. It's got good info - and a quirky, soap opera-like piano track underneath the words. Hmm. Get past that and you'll get a decent sense of what the Loop's about. And we'll remind you that the district's one of the most interesting in town, and is a few minutes from Downtown by train.

Q/A with Lisa Grayson Zygmunt

2008-06-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

How long have you been involved in Greening the Heartland and in what roles?

I founded/launched the conference with Nick Peckham in 2004. Nick, an architect, is a founding member of the Missouri Heartland Chapter in Columbia, MD. The first conference took place in Columbia and attracted approximately 400 people. My company, Resource Dynamics, Inc. (RDI) launched and managed all aspects of the conference and continued to do so for the following two years. Last year in Madison, the conference was combined with an existing conference that the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance ran. The managed all aspects and I was not involved.

What kinds of growth have you seen over the years?

The attendance has not necessarily continually increased. The second year we were in Chicago and had approximately 800 people attend. The following year we were in KC and dropped back to around 400. I understand that the attendance in Wisconsin last year was approximately 700. This year I anticipate that we’ll be somewhere between 700-800.

What excites you the most, personally?

What excites me is the rate at which green building is gaining recognition - the importance of the role it plays in addressing so many issues that are finally on most peoples radar screen’s now. Rising fuel costs, global warming, declining natural resources, economic viability, health and social equity issues - etc. etc. Green building is an important tool that must be incorporated/institutionalized into our building and building management practices. What also excites me is the growing number of people - growing in depth and breadth - in the field. We are far from mainstream, but on a fast track to getting there. It’s been exciting to see the progression from a point from where people thought a green building was the color green to most now have a general concept of what a green building really is.

What particular portions of the proceedings have you enjoyed the most over the years? Are there some events that stand out in your mind as particularly impressive and/or inspirational, a couple years on?

Another thing unique about GTH: it was really on the cutting edge as a regional U.S. Green Building Council event. Until this time USGBC Regional Chapter Conferences/Events were not happening - so to have this type of event originate in the Midwest rather than the typical west or east coast locations is notable.

What is the energy generated by such an event?

I think what stands out at all of the GTH conferences is connection. The people who are in this field are passionate, dedicated individuals who come to this event to connect, learn and grow – so there is a lot of very positive energy that pump attendees up to go back to their jobs not just with new ideas, tools and resources but also with a heightened level of energy and inspiration.

KETC: Loop Streetcars

2008-06-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

St. Louis, like many cities in the mid-20th century, was a city full of streetcar lines. Unfortunately, the lines - featuring cars often built in St. Louis - were put out of commission, disassembled and paved over and our public transit options were lessened in the process. Along with the slow, gradual expansion of the Metrolink system in recent years, there's been a continuing conversation about adding streetcars to the public transit mix, with midtown St. Louis' Grand Center and the Forest Park-to-University City Loop areas the most-mentioned areas for this idea to work.

We should note that the University City Loop's not a far jump from America's Center via Metrolink. You'll be dropped off near the old Wabash Station, and from there, you'd want to travel west, down Delmar. That street's been cited as one of the 10 great streets in America and you'll see a visible amount of construction still taking place, especially in the eastern end of the block (which lies in the City of St. Louis), where the area's first hotel is being built.

We've embedded a few KETC video links lately, and this one's got some info on STL's streetcar past and (hopeful) future.

STL Spotlight: The Good Stuff, v. 2

2008-06-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

Taking shape in a complex of abandoned factory spaces in nearby Sauget, IL, the St. Louis Building Arts Foundation is slowly giving a home to founder Larry Giles' impressive collection of architectural salvage. Hosting a variety of fundraisers recently, the BAF is just hinting at a more public future, with some interesting events planned for the fall. In the meantime, you can visit the organization's site, which "bring(s) together historical awareness with a contemporary concern for the ongoing well-being of the built environment of St. Louis and its surrounding region." You can also visit the Museum's flickr page, which has a variety of fun odds-and-ends, relating to St. Louis' storied past, ala postcards and news clippings. Neat.

A quite new concern, Stlouisgreen.com is a website offering St. Loiusans a chance to explore local, environmentally-sound products and services, as well as a nice blog with helpful hints for day-to-day environmental measures.

Bill Keaggy. His day job is at a hip Downtown "visual thinking company" called Xplane, but his public passions can be seen at his one-of-a-kind website. Bill Keaggy's collections become obsessions, which are then packaged for you to add to your own list of curiosities and hobbies. The man's published two books in the last year-and-change, one on found grocery lists, the other on unloved, tossed-away chairs. And while those pursuits might give you a hint at his eclectic personality, the site, loaded with myriad lists, compilations and projects, deserves a quick glance, at least; though, we warn you, you will be sucked in, so don't visit this site at work, unless you've got some time to kill.

Ordinarily, we'd recommend you use public transit to kick around St. Louis, for your errands and tourist needs, but even though the Scott Joplin House is located not very far from America's Center, a quick cab jaunt might be the best way to take in this off-the-grid-but-in-the-middle-of-the-city State Historic Site. While the home itself is a bit modest, there's a good amount of history here: about St. Louis ragtime, about St. Louis at the turn of the last century and about our shared history, shaped by race, class and passing time. These days, the companion building, the New Rosebud Cafe has been adding live performances to its schedule, often by...

The Black Artists Group. An organization that originated here, BAG was quite active in STL during the late '60s and early '70s, before members emigrated far and wide, joining cultural movements in New York, Chicago and Paris. While BAG was a historical entity, only, for about three decades, a core of musicians and multi-media artists have recently started to perform again, under the BAG umbrella. No two shows are ever the same; the group will, in fact, be performing during GTH, with a Rosebud show on Sunday, June 22, from 7-9 p.m.. You can sample just a touch of their music at their Myspace page here.

STL Spotlight: The Good Stuff, v. 1

2008-06-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

Today, we'll introduce a new, li'l mini-feature that we'll update over the coming weeks. Each time out, we'll point to a handful of St. Louis-centric items that'll hopefully entertain and enlighten you to St. Louis culture and civic affairs.

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You might not often think of poets as particularly and riotously funny, but Aaron Belz has the ability to read at a stuffy gallery one night, before opening at a comedy show the next. His latest work, The Bird Hoverer, is a real treasure and he's been supporting St. Louis poetry through the Observable Books and Observable Readings project over the past half-dozen years. We claim him as our own, though we are sad to see him departing our town for a teaching gig in California later this summer. He's a gem.

For fans of hip-hop, few St. Louis shows bring as much to the table(s) as The Remedy, a weekly staple of community radio station KDHX. The show's description: "Raw hip hop from the past, present and beyond with DJ G.Wiz - the godpops of hip hop & DJ Needles - the godson." Both are among the finest DJs in St. Louis, with Needles just winning the Best DJ category in the popular, annual Riverfront Times Music Awards. You can find streams of the last couple shows at the station's website. Here's a direct link to the show's page.

A compendium of local blogs by and about St. Louisans, the STLSyndicate allows for a quartet of local blogs to chime in at a single aggregator space, with more a dozen contributors taking part in the discussion. Content varies day-by-day, as you'd expect in a town with as many strange and interesting events taking place as we do.

For comics fans, you might want to know that St. Louis has a lively scene of original, underground comic artists, many of them working both solo and as parts of rotating collectives. You can find a fair bit of their work at the University City Loop's Star Clipper Comics, or you can visit the website of the one of the ringleaders of STL comics, Ted May. There, you can find links to blogs and other project pages.

The busiest videoblogger in St. Louis is Bill Streeter, who has had impact both locally and nationally with his Lofistl.com, a compilation of live band recordings and interviews with local and nationally-touring acts. Though his early work sprinkled in a variety of really nice, pocket-sized STL documentaries, his recent posting shows a definite trends towards the musical. If you're into the rock, you'll enjoy some of these clips. Also, we'll post up soon a clip, or two, from his Lofisessions, a series that he's recording and producing at the City Museum.

Q/A with John Burse

2008-06-13T08:29:00.000-07:00

What, in particular, is of interest to you at the Greening the Heartland Conference? Any particular workshops, symposia or speakers catching your eye right now?

Whenever you attend these conferences you have to do everything you can to take advantage of the opportunity to connect with, learn from, and be inspired by like-minded individuals and organization. There are topics across a number of the tracks that are of great interest to me professionally and personally and I see myself being drawn to a lot rof them – so it’s going to make managing time difficult to say the least.

Professionally my work spans both higher education and corporate markets and so it’s of great importance to me to learn from the presenters in these tracks as they represent my clients’ peers. This knowledge better prepares me to serve my clients with a broader and enriched understanding of what’s out there – you have to stay caught up. And of course my involvement with Old North St Louis draws me to the communities track.

In addition to attending presentations, and making a presentation, our firm, Mackey Mitchell Architects will also have a booth, where we will be featuring an effort to revitalize a park in Old North. Each attendee will have a card with some paper flowers. By stopping by to visit and sticking a flower onto our booth display, our firm will donate a total of up to $10,000 to plant shade trees for the park – so this is networking for a good cause. Please stop by to visit.

Of course, you have your own presentation, Neighborhood Transformation: Old North St. Louis and the Crown Village Developments. Tell us about what you plan to incorporate in that discussion.

Our discussion will be an informative overview about what’s been going in Old North over the last few years, the role community revitalization plays in making our region more sustainable, and a sense of the financial wizardry that has gone into reversing years of disinvestment and development inertia. We’ll talk in broad brush terms about the planning principles that have informed the work underway and what we hope to accomplish in the near future. We hope the message is clear – it’s not just the buildings we design but their relationship to one another that helps enhance sustainability.

Each of our 3 speakers has played very unique roles in what’s going on in Old North. Sean Thomas, Executive Director of the Old North Restoration Group comes more from the community development side, David Dodson, Regional Housing Community Development Alliance has a deep understanding of the financing tools that have helped spark the work underway in Old North, and my passion is of course planning and design. So I’m hoping within our 40 minutes we will have something for everyone.

For people outside the region, what would you tell them about the developments in Old North St. Louis over the past two, five, or 10 years?

I think when one considers the work of community revitalization one has to consider the principles of what’s behind the work and the energy and commitment of those behind it. Old North’s story of community revitalization is really one of transformation. The plot reads as the classic disinvested inner city neighborhood in which demolition over a few decades has exacted an incredible toll on its physical fabric and yet is a place which endures, has vitality, and a strong will and desire to grow. The work that has gone on in Old North is at a tremendous variety of scales done by a small and committed group of individuals. The driving force in Old North is grass roots based energy which is palpable and I can’t say enough about the level of determination. The principles which have fueled the work are at the heart of what it means to be socially, ecologically, and economically sustainable community.

How has the neighborhood's image changed within the St. Louis region in that timeframe? What particular pieces of the development puzzle drove that impression in positive ways?

I think the work and efforts we and our partners have had underway have earned some incredible press and recognition. In my heart, I think people are really hungry for a positive story, and whether you’re looking at any individual project or the whole chorus of activity, I think one can’t help but be impressed.

To hit one project and say, that’s the key piece that makes it all possible, is really hard to do. We see the world as being an inherently connected set of pieces. The things you are doing today will open the door to even greater things tomorrow. For example, last weekend was the first week of the second year of our neighborhood farmers market – just to touch on this – last years effort was tough, but we learned lessons from it, fined tuned the venture, and brought on more skills and talents and had an incredible first day. As that event grows, right in the shadow of our 14^th Street Mall revitalization project, Crown Square, and more people come into the neighborhood and see what’s going on, doors will be opened to even greater possibilities, and a new story will be told.

What are the best places to learn about ONSL online?

http://www.onsl.org/
http://www.blogger.com/www.savemullanphy.org
http://www.blogger.com/www.savemullanphy.org
http://newoldnorth.blogspot.com/

For the Bowlers

2008-06-12T15:56:00.000-07:00

Surely, someone attending GTH 08 has a passion for bowling. Right? Anyone?

Well, there's good news and bad news here. The good news is that the International Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Downtown St. Louis, not too long of a walk away from the convention hall. The bad news for St. Loiusans is that the quarter-century enterprise will soon be moving to suburban Arlington, TX, leaving our city's core without one of its quirkiest attractions.

Sounds like those of us in town need to finally get down there for a visit. And you (perhaps secret) bowling fans will surely want to amble down to the Museum, whether to roll a frame, or two, or simply to take in the wing dedicated to Hall of Fame Bowling Center Proprietors. (Really!)

Enjoy. Info here.

Q/A with Emily Andrews

2008-06-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

Today, we catch up with Emily Andrews, a member of the GTH 2008 Steering Committee and the Coordinator of the U.S. Green Building Council's St. Louis Chapter. We cover a lot of ground, so let's get right to the Q/A:

What's something that you've learned about, simply from working on the organization of this conference? In effect, have you had any "a-ha!" moments about products, services or trends?

One of the things that's impressed me in working on GTH 08 is how excited people are to be involved. We really drew deeply from our membership for the Steering Committee and subcommittees. People who have never been involved in Chapter activities got involved in planning the conference. It’s really been something for people to rally around and get excited about. Hopefully they won’t be too tired after this to keep up their involvement!

I'm also consistently impressed with all the great work going on around green building and sustainability across the Midwest . It’s easy to get caught up with what’s going on in California , the Pacific Northwest and the East Coast. And it's tough to compare ourselves to those regions. But when you take the time to really celebrate the positive and progressive work in the Midwest , you really uncover a lot of amazing people and hard work.

Are there any specific symposia, roundtables, speakers or sessions that you're particularly looking forward to during the conference?

I'm looking forward to the Greensburg , Kansas session. They have such an inspiring story. If a small town in Kansas can do what they’re doing . . . we can all take a cue from them. I’m also really excited to have representatives from the national USGBC at the conference. Rebecca Flora is the current board chair and she's kicking the conference off on Sunday. She's a great speaker and really has her ear to the ground. She comes from a USGBC Chapter, as the ED of the Green Building Alliance in western Pennsylvania . Her organization has done some really influential work at the legislative level to bring green economic development to western PA. I'm also excited about Scot Horst. He's the Chair of the USGBC LEED Steering Committee. I saw him speak at Greenbuild last year in Chicago and his energy and excitement about green building and transforming the built environment are pretty intoxicating. At some point in his career, he was an opera singer, so he's a real performer and really engages the audience. There are a lot of changes to LEED that will be launched at Greenbuild in November. Most will be very positive – streamlining the documentation and submittal process is sort of boring, but really necessary. The exciting changes will come with the addition of lifecycle analysis credits and regional credits which take into consideration the ecosystem in which you build. I hope we'll get a little bit of a sneak preview of those changes!

There are also a few breakout sessions that look really good:

Staying Green – Staying Competitive – Monday afternoon in the Corporate Track: The Cost of Green is a pretty well-known and well-respected tudy in the green building world that refutes a lot of myths out there that green building costs more. And Jason Hanline, with EMIS, is involved with the USGBC Chapter in Springfield , MO. He'll be talking about a strip mall that’s going green there!

The Chicago Story – Govt Track – Monday afternoon – I always like to hear what's going on in Chicago . The City of Chicago is a real leader in greening their built environment, maintenance and operations

There are also so many local, Chapter members that are giving presentations that I can't possibly single one out. They will all do a great job featuring the transformative work that’s going on in the St. Louis region.

Did the steering committee book this conference in any different ways than past events, in your mind? Are there some emphasis points that are new to this year's event?

While I've not been involved in previous GTH planning processes, I think the Steering Committee took a really different approach. For one, they THOUGHT BIG, setting the bar high and setting some pretty big goals for speakers, sponsorships, etc. And they've done a great job in putting together a really robust program. Having different topic tracks has helped to give the conference a different focus than previous years too. The Steering Committee really wanted to engage corporate decision makers – folks that are making design, construction and building maintenance decisions – in order to give them the tools to build green. I think we succeeded in bringing more folks like that to the table, which is really exciting. The green building movement is about bringing people together to build a good building – about integrating design, construction and the project team. I think the Steering Committee really took that to heart when planning the conference.

Are there any things about Downtown St. Louis that you'd like to point out to out-of-town guests? Any restaurants, sights or sounds that you'd totally recommend to people?

I could probably eat sushi every day, so I highly recommend Wasabi, which is within walking distance of the America's Center. And while we're talking about Asian food, Sen is another favorite – also within walking distance of America's Center. There's some drunken noodle dish there that I love to get with fried tofu. Very spicy with lots of veggies. Also along Washington , the Gelateria shouldn't be overlooked for a late afternoon pick-me-up, you can't really go wrong with some ice cream. And finally, local beer. The St. Louis Brewery and Tap Room is a quick cab ride away and is home to some of the tastiest local beer in St. Louis – Schlafly. We'll be sampling some on Monday at the City Museum

The architecture in downtown St. Louis is very impressive and since this is a green building conference, I would imagine folks would be interested in learning more. The AIA-St. Louis has a great bookstore just up the street from America's Center - http://www.aia-stlouis.org/bookstore.asp - where folks can get great St. Louis centric books on architecture and the built environment. Two buildings near America's Center worth checking out (and these by NO means are the only ones) are the Bee Hat building – because the lions blow steam and I just love that – and the St. Louis Public Library. The Library is such a treasure here. There are some renovations going on right now, but the great hall is worth a look. (I found this cool photo of the lions on flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/raimist/314243981/)

The Mississippi River is an awesome body of water. If you have the time to stroll to the Arch grounds and take in the Mighty Mississippi, it's worth it – especially since it will probably still be high (flooding) come the conference.

I also love to catch live music and some of our city's best blues bars are pretty darn close. BBs Jazz Blues and Soups and the Broadway Oyster bar are a quick cab ride and a longer walk from the convention center. You could catch a local blues act, a national act or an open mic night at either place, depending on night. So bring your instrument if you're a musician and maybe they’ll let you sit in!

Do you get a sense that a lot of folks are finding GTH for the first time this year? What is bringing the conference to their attention?

I think we probably have a lot of first-timers. Of course, the conference gets higher attendance in its host city, so we’re seeing a lot of people from St. Louis who have never attended before. I think the conference program is drawing attention to the conference. We basically have three key note speakers lined up – we’re calling them Master Speakers – but they are all definitely key note caliber! Hopefully, there’s something for everyone at the conference. The sold out exhibit hall is also drawing attention.

Kinder Subs for Blunt

2008-06-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

In most of the early schedules of GTH 2008, it's noted that Missouri Governor Matt Blunt would be among those giving welcoming remarks. His slot will now be filled by Peter Kinder, Missouri's Lieutenant Governor.

You can get a chance to learn about him at his official site.

KETC: City Museum's World Aquarium

2008-06-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

While dipping into the archives of KETC's "Living St. Louis" yesterday, we ran across another apt pick for the blog, a look at the City Museum's World Aquarium. While located in the City Museum, the W.A. is a separate entity, of sorts, with a distinct ticket price. Though not sure of this policy of the night of the big meet-and-greet during GTH08, we can say that the World Aquarium is a unique place, with huge tanks made of all sorts of recycled building materials, house, of course, in a one-time shoe factory. The main support beams of the old International Shoe structure run right through some of the shark tanks in the World Aquarium.

Let's let Jim Kirchherr of Channel 9 pick up the tale below.

Food options in Downtown

2008-06-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

Like many cities, St. Louis has seen a real bump in food-and-drink themed journalism in recent years. One of the primary sources of that information has been Sauce Magazine, a monthly tabloid that features restaurant reviews and features, along with a few general entertainment pieces. In addition to the print publication, the Sauce website features restaurant listings that are second-to-none. Below, we'll link to a whole bunch of options for your walkable lunch-or-dinner needs while in Downtown. The short descriptions with each come directly from the site.

Bon appetit.

10th Street Italian: Italian
An American Place: American contemporary
Anthony's Bar: Italian, American
B&T Pizza: Pizza
Breve Espresso Company: Coffee house
The Edible Difference: Deli, sandwiches, American, home-style, comfort
Flamingo Bowl: American
Kitchen K: Global fusion, American contemporary
Lucas Park Grille: Steak houses, American contemporary
Mike Shannon's Steaks and Seafoods: Steak houses, seafood, American
Mosaic: Tapas, small plates, global fusion, American contemporary
Rooster crepe.sandwich.cafe: French, desserts, coffee house, American contemporary
Sen Thai Bistro: Thai
Swifty's: Deli, sandwiches
Tigin Irish Pub: Irish, bar and grill, pubs, American
Wasabi Sushi Bar: Japanese, sushi

KETC on Old North St. Louis

2008-06-10T09:03:00.001-07:00

In a couple days, we'll have a Q/A with John Burse, who'll be presenting a session on his neighborhood, Old North St. Louis. We realized while combing through some videos from KETC's "Living St. Louis" - a video magazine on the local PBS station - that there's a short documentary on the neighborhood. In our up-to-the-minute video age, this one's got just a hint of age on it, but producer Margie Newman does a fine job of discussing some of the initial rebuilding efforts in the nabe, and since we've discussed the place a few times on this blog, the short might give you some additional visual hints as to what's happening there.

More Coverage: Think.MTV.com Site

2008-06-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

Chrissy Hill, a member of the GTH steering committee is given a brief profile at the think.mtv.com site, where 50 bloggers and vloggers are covering the 2008 electoral cycle. In the piece, Hill discusses GTH and her involvement in the event, noting that younger folks are continuing to buy into the principles being discussed at the conference.

Here's a link to the piece.

GTH: Radio in STL tomorrow

2008-06-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

A St. Louis public radio station is dedicating an hour of conversation tomorrow to Greening the Heartland, with "St. Louis on the Air" broadcasting from 11 a.m. - noon, CST, Tuesday, June 10.

Taking part during tomorrow's show: Tim Embree, Special Assistant to Mayor Francis R. Slay, City of St. Louis; Mayor Linda Goldstein, Clayton, MO; and Mayor John Janssen, Greensburg, KS.

You can follow the conversation via podcast or streaming, at the station's website, www.kwmu.org.

Art museums in STL

2008-06-08T18:11:00.000-07:00

If in the mood for seeing some art in St. Louis during your stay, there are a number of different options available to you. On the museum front, a handful of spots are definites for any list of art in St. Louis. Unfortunately for those wanting to make a day of it, these five are relatively split up, though all are accessible, to one degree or another, by public transit. SLU, for example, is fairly close to the Metro train stops (Grand), while the Kemper is close to one of the Washington U.'s Metro stops. It's worth checking each of the museum's websites to best determine a course of transit.

In Forest Park:
St. Louis Art Museum http://www.stlouis.art.museum/

In Grand Center:
Contemporary Museum http://www.contemporarystl.org/

Pulitzer Foundation http://www.pulitzerarts.org/

On the campus of Saint Louis University:
Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) http://mocra.slu.edu/

On the campus of Washington University:
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum http://kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/

More on Greensburg

2008-06-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

The University of Kansas has put out a release, detailing some fine news from Greensburg, with the state's flagship university playing a key role in the process.

Here's the lead:

LAWRENCE — The U.S. Green Building Council has certified as LEED Platinum the arts center for Greensburg that was conceived and constructed by 22 University of Kansas architecture students in the Studio 804 graduate design/build program. It is the first LEED Platinum building designed and constructed by students.

The Studio 804 building, known as the 5.4.7 Arts Center, also is the first LEED Platinum certified structure in the state of Kansas.

And here's a link to the whole release.

Spotlight: Ray Anderson

2008-06-06T13:41:00.001-07:00

Some program notes on the appearance of Master Speaker Ray Anderson:

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Each Master Speaker will speak on Monday morning, then participate in a Master Speaker Breakout Discussion session Monday after lunch.

Monday, June 23, 9:00 - 9:45 a.m.
CORPORATE TRACK: RAY ANDERSON, FOUNDER OF INTERFACE

Ray Anderson is founder and chairman of Interface, Inc, the world’s largest manufacturer of modular carpet for commercial and residential applications and a leading producer of commercial broadloom and commercial fabrics. Since 1995, he has reduced Interface’s waste by a third, and plans to make the company sustainable by 2020. Anderson is featured in the documentaries The Corporation and The 11th Hour.

Because the commitment Interface has made is so unique, the community has embraced the company and lauded its efforts. Today, Ray is recognized as one of the world’s most environmentally progressive leaders on sustainable commerce, having served as co-chairman of the President’s Council on Sustainable Development during the Clinton administration; being recognized by Mikhail Gorbachev with a Millennium Award from Global Green in September 1996; receiving in 1996 the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of Year for the Southeast Region and being named in 1997 as the Georgia Conservancy’s Conservationist of the Year.

Here are links to a couple stories that might be of interest, as well:

http://www.gpiatlantic.org/conference/proceedings/anderson.htm
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/14/sustaing.html

Spotlight: Greensburg, Kansas

2008-06-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

We note here that many folks involved in GTH 2008 are interested in the story of Greensburg, KS, which is actively on the road to recovery from a 2007 tornado. We highlight some links and cite the program notes from the GTH schedule:

GREENSBURG, KANSAS – LESSONS LEARNED, OPPORTUNITIES REALIZED
Tuesday, June, 24, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
In May 2007, Greensburg, Kansas was devastated by a powerful EF‑5 tornado. Over 90% of the town’s structures were destroyed. The devastation was so massive with many buildings underinsured or not insured at all; many outside the community questioned whether the community would (or even could) be rebuilt. As it set out to rebuild, a new green vision began to emerge. The success in realizing its’ dream to become ‘the greenest town in America’ has been impressive. Several buildings are being built to LEED standards and the city has adopted a resolution for city buildings to be built to LEED Platinum. The story of the year long recovery in Greensburg will be told from very different view-points: the city administrator, a business owner, the founding Director of Greensburg GreenTown, a community based nonprofit and an educational representative.

========

Greensburg's official website.
Greensburg on Wikipedia.
Greensburg GreenTown - News and Updates.
Overview of greening projects from BNIM Architects.
Extensive PlanetGreen coverage.

"That Cassilly video"

2008-06-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

Having recently discovered the joys of simply embedding YouTube videos in blog posts, we recall that one of our first posts was a nod towards a MayorSlay.com video on Bob Cassilly, the founder of the City Museum. That space is the locale for a big ol' party during GTH 2008 and we wanted to give folks some additional visuals about Cassilly' spot. Here's videographer Carson Minow's take:

A message from Rebecca L. Flora

2008-06-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

Some folks may've already seen a welcome letter to GTH 2008, compliments of Rebecca L. Flora, the Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council. But if you've not seen those notes through other channels, we offer it below.

========

As Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council, it is with great pleasure that I look forward to welcoming you at the Greening the Heartland Conference, June 22-24, 2008 in St. Louis, Missouri. I am proud to note that this conference, sponsored by the Heartland Region of the USGBC, is celebrating its fifth year as a leading regional conference on sustainability and green building.

It has never been a more exciting time for all involved in sustainability work from a broad range of sectors - education, government, corporate and community. On a daily basis we hear the doom and gloom of rising energy costs, global warming, potential food shortages, and water scarcity. These issues are at the forefront of our daily work. Yet, you are the leaders whose efforts are making a difference in addressing these critical issues and whose efforts and positive results will continue to grow through your dedication. It is for these reasons that conferences such as Greening the Heartland are so important to attend as vital tools, resources and success stories are shared and valuable relationships established to help you advance your very important work.

Come to the conference to:

Learn - from an outstanding list of speakers presenting in over 50 sessions and a wide selection of pre and post conference workshops
Tour - outstanding LEED buildings
Experience new products and services in the exhibit hall, and
Network and connect with old colleagues and meet new ones at the receptions and special event at the City Museum.

For more information, visit www.greeningtheheartland.org I look forward to seeing you in St. Louis!

Sincerely,
Rebecca L. Flora
Chair, U.S. Green Building Council

========

We'd also note that a recent article at the website Spatial Sustain would be perfectly tied to this note, as it summarizes recent comments of hers on the topic of Beyond Green Building: A Roadmap for Transforming Our Built Environment.

Saturday: Bike/hike pathway opens

2008-06-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

Drawing a considerable amount of media interest in town over the past week, this Saturday's debut of a new bike/hike extension has local environmentalists and outdoor enthusiasts buzzing, as well. The Branch Street Trestle has long been a sizable, abandoned piece of the sightlines of North St. Louis, but this weekend's event highlights the structure's exciting new life as a link to the McKinley Bridge Bikeway.

You can find full info at the Great Rivers Greenway website.

The key elements, meanwhile, are below:

========

June 07, 2008
McKinley Bridge Bikeway

Description: Biking, hiking, and festivities to celebrate the opening of the Branch Street Trestle and the McKinley Bridge Bikeway.

Times: 10:30--Biking Ride; 11:00--Entertainment; 12:00--Ribbon-cutting processional.

Location: Parking on the Missouri side near Branch Street & N. Broadway, and parking on Illinois side off of Main Street.

Event: 10:30 AM - 2:00 PM

========

Our local PBS affiliate, KETC Channel 9, did a piece on the bike trail last fall. We found it on YouTube and link it here. Runs a crisp 8:17.

Saturday: North City Market opens

2008-06-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

We've been posting a few things about Old North St. Louis, one of St. Louis' truly emerging new neighborhoods and one that'll be featured during the Conference. (It's located, we should note, just a few minutes' bike ride north of the America's Center.)

Especially for those of you in St. Louis, you might be interested in the spring/summer farmers' market that'll be kicking off this Saturday. One of the prime organizers in ONSL sent along the info, and we'll pass it along here.

========

Join us for the Opening Day of the North City Farmers’ Market at the intersection of 14th and St. Louis Avenue . Market hours are 9-noon Saturdays June 7- October 25th. Enjoy fresh produce from New Roots Urban Farm, City Seeds, Burning Cumquats and other local farmers, fresh baked goods from Black Bear Bakery, and locally made craft items.

Special events for Opening Day will include live music featuring Eric McSpadden & Margaret Bianchetta, a cooking demonstration with celebrity chef Alderwoman April Ford-Griffin , free health screenings, a bike give-a-way, and children’s’ activities.

The North City Farmers’ Market accepts EBT cards and has distributed vouchers to local food pantries for redemption at the market.

For more information, call 314-241-5031 or check the website at http://www.northcityfarmersmarket.org/.

KMOX: Wednesday, June 4, 10:30 - 11 a.m.

2008-06-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

GTH 2008 Steering Committee members Pat Justis and Brandyn Jones will be appearing on the St. Louis AM radio powerhouse, KMOX 1120 AM, from 10:30 - 11:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, on Wednesday, June 4.

Those of you out-of-town-but-curious, can tune into KMOX via their website, www.kmox.com. You'll be treated to a moment, or two, of advertising before the live audio stream commences.

The host of the show will be longtime KMOX broadcaster Charlie Brennan.

STL on CNN

2008-06-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

An observant and kind reader sent along word that CNN.com, just today, featured St. Louis on the frontpage of the site, repurposing a travel story from "Southern Living" magazine. The un-bylined piece does a fine job of giving some broad overviews of popular tourist spots in our town.

You can find the piece here.

GTH Spotlight: Bike Tour

2008-06-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

While we're on a fitness kick today, we'll also note that an official bike tour will be happening during GTH, on Sunday, June 22, between 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Here's some of the info from the GTH website:

Bikes will be available for rent on this 11-mile scenic tour of the St. Louis area. Bike Rental and Tour: $30.00 (Using your own bike: $10:00.). Cost includes shuttle, drinks and lunch. Start at the Plaza Entrance of America's Center.

Shuttle(s) will take you to the Kerr Foundation for lunch, tour and bikes.

Kerr Family Foundation Building, 21 O’Fallon: The first wind turbine in St. Louis city is among the features that earned the Kerr Family Foundation at 21 O'Fallon Street a platinum rating on the U.S. Green Building Councils Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.

Security Building, 319 N. 4th Street: The Security Building was designed by the Boston firm of Peabody, Stearns and Furber in 1892 and was the home of numerous investment and security companies. The building serves as the company’s headquarters. In late 2007, the building was awarded LEED Silver certification and is believed to be the first such historic building in the state of Missouri.

EarthWays Center (A division of the Missouri Botanical Gardens), 3617 Grandel Square: The EarthWays Home is a three-story Victorian residence built in 1885. It was renovated in 1994 to showcase practical demonstrations of energy efficient systems, recycled products and waste reduction practices.

Cortex, 4320 Forest Park Ave: CORTEX One is a three-story, 165,000-square-foot facility located at Boyle and Forest Park Parkway. The project received LEED certification and Certified Level in the LEED-CS (core and shell projects) category of ratings. In addition, St. Louis Construction News & Review honored CORTEX One with a Regional Excellence Award in the health and science category.

Solae, 4300 Duncan Ave: The Solae Company global headquarters is a 172,000-square-foot, four-story corporate office/lab/pilot plant building located on the CORTEX campus. It is currently registered LEED NC and has embraced sustainable design features. Final LEED NC certification is anticipated in summer of 2008.

Enright Homes, 5351 Enright: The Enright project is two parts - conversion of the Enright School itself into condos, and the infill of 26 homes on to the original ball fields. Each of the homes is designed with ICF as the main building technology, from the basement up to the eaves.

Big Shark Bicycling Company, 6133 Delmar.

For the Runners

2008-06-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

Our guess is that quite a few runners will be in attendance at GTH, and some might be looking for some jogging paths, or tips on where to jog.

We can tell you that Downtown St. Louis is a relatively gentle area, with minimal, small rolling hills. If you've gone on the road and thought, "wow, this city is hilly," that's probably not an idea that'll hit you in the STL.

You can find some maps for the area at walkjogrun.com. When typing in America's Center, we found this map and link.

The St. Louis Track Club offers a pretty complete selection of the running paths favorited by area runners. Many are a bit outside of the City of St. Louis, let alone Downtown, but there are some nice paths here.

A nice blog on STL running can also be found at runstlouis.com. Another useful resource.

For weather forecasts, click on the website for the area's largest metro paper, the Post-Dispatch. It's at STLtoday.com, and you'll want to look at the upper right-hand corner of the homepage for weather info.

May your miles be smooth, our runner friends!

Enterprise and WeCar(s)

2008-06-01T12:52:00.000-07:00

Enterprise Leasing, a St. Louis-based corporation, has been expanding its use of shared vehicles in the STL region, with programs now underway at the main, Danforth Campus of Washington University and in Downtown St. Louis.

Here's some info on the Wash U. piece of the program.

And here's a link to information on the Downtown car-sharing program.

The program's also gotten good marks from a local built environment blogger, at Urbanreviewstl.com.

Be our (virtual) friend

2008-05-31T19:02:00.000-07:00

Say "hello" over at:

Myspace.

Facebook.

And flickr.

Featured: STL Architecture

2008-05-31T18:49:00.000-07:00

The architecture of St. Louis was given a nice, top-line overview in the local daily paper recently. The article, written by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's visual arts critic, David Bonetti, can be found on its online product, STLtoday.com. Here's the link.

In addition to the piece, itself, check out the variety of interesting links in the text box neighboring the article.

Waste Recycling Training & Accreditation

2008-05-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

While the bulk of the Greening the Heartland events will run from June 22 - 24, a few pre- and post-GTH events will be held. We'll give the details on such events here, as well. This time out, we repost a note from WasteCap Wisconsin, which is offering a program on waste recycling and training. Here's that information:

========

Construction Waste Recycling Training and Accreditation Program
Wednesday, June 25 from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. at Holiday Inn, St. Louis

Registration link available at www.wastecapwi.org/training

For more information on Greening the Heartland 2008, visit http://www.greeningtheheartland.org/

To date, more than 200 professionals in 14 states have become WasteCap Accredited Professionals in construction waste recycling.

Across the state and nationwide, owners are requiring construction waste recycling as a part of sustainable building. Contractors who know how to recycle will be at a market advantage. Reduction, reuse and recycling is allowing contractors and owners to use projects funds for building instead of waste disposal. This training will give you the skills you need to develop, manage, monitor, document and promote a successful recycling program for construction and demolition debris. It also provides training to obtain LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) points for MR 2.1 and 2.2.

Contractors, developers, haulers and owners should attend and will benefit from this training. Upon completion of the training, you will be awarded with three-year WasteCap Accreditation in construction and demolition waste recycling through WasteCap Wisconsin . All attendees will receive a comprehensive toolkit containing sample contract language and specifications requiring recycling, recycling market information, monitoring checklists and worksheets for conducting economic analysis as well as WasteCap Wisconsin 's training video highlighting important information on material-specific recycling for construction and demolition projects. REGISTRATION IS LIMITED.

Date: Wednesday, June 25
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Where: Holiday Inn, St. Louis / Greening the Heartland 2008
Cost: $400 for WasteCap Wisconsin Members or USGBC Members, $550 for nonmembers

Registration link available at www.wastecapwi.org/training

Downtown walks, pt. 1

2008-05-30T11:36:00.000-07:00

We'll work with the assumption here that you've got an hour, or two, to kill during an afternoon in Downtown St. Louis. Maybe you've arrived in town a day early, or a day late. Or you just want to take a gander at some D'town sights and sounds during the mid-day.

We'll include a few links here, emphasizing some tourist-ey elements, along with some quirkier picks.

The Arch: You've probably heard of this attraction, or seen it in one of those photo books. It's on the river and it's a close walk. You might want to ride up to the top, or just ramble around the basement museum. Remember: if you don't go, everyone back home will ask why you didn't.

The Bowling Hall-of-Fame and Museum: Not every town's got one of these, but St. Louis does. If you're into bowling alone (or in a league, like we used to do in the old days), then this spot's worth the price of admission. Throw a game, or two, while there.

The Old Cathedral: No one in St. Louis will know what you're referring to with the Basilica of St. Louis the King. They will know the Old Cathedral, a li'l church on the big Arch grounds, with some major historical links to the oldest days of St. Louis. For Catholics, it's your best bet to find Catholic mass nearby.

Blues for lunch (or dinner): A trio of classic St. Louis blues clubs sit just a bit south of the new Busch Stadium, all offering music at night, with a couple of them offering lunch and supper, as well as all the drinks you'd like. If you want to hear legit STL blues, these are good bets for a night of fun. All neighbors, you can find the Broadway Oyster Bar, BB's Jazz Blues and Soups and Beale on Broadway. Since they're all seven-nights-a-week joints, don't worry about walking up to a closed venue.

Eads Bridge: If you want to really experience the Mississippi River, you might want to cross it, on foot, or via the Metrolink. A walk across the Mighty Miss is a pretty fun thing, one that the locals don't often undertake.

St. Louis Public Library: This is one impressive building. Even if you don't check out a book, you may enjoy the vast halls, made from tons of marble. This, the flagship of the SLPS system, draws an eclectic mix of people, we have to say. If you click on either link provided in this entry, you'll also be sent to a walking tour link, compliments of the SLPS.

Sports bars in Downtown STL

2008-05-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

A big reason for people visiting Downtown St. Louis during the summertime is the local baseball team, a little organization called the St. Louis Cardinals. During GTH, attendees won't be tempted to skip out on conference events in favor of a trip to the ballpark. On Sunday, the team finishes up a trip to Boston and after an off-day on Monday, they'll be in Detroit on Tuesday. If you'd care to spend a moment, or two, watching the ballgames on TV, you'll have a few options within walking distance of the convention's HQ.

The Dubliner: 1025 Washington, 314-421-4300. A large, Irish-themed restaurant and bar, with the TVs often turned to sports like soccer, hurling and rugby. Really nice menu and the bartenders are total pros.

Flannery's: 1324 Washington, 314-241-8885. One of the newer bars in the heart of the revamped Washington Avenue, Flannery's has an entire wall of TVs tuned into every sports channel, with a simply-designed space and a popular, streetside patio.

Jack Patrick's, 1000 Olive, 314-314-436-8879. This is pretty much a classic, Downtown-styled sports bar, with pool tables, beer specials and volume, volume, volume. A good-sized space that often features local sports talk stations broadcasting live.

Kitchen K, 1000 Washington, 314-241-9900: A bit more clubby than some of the others on our list, the K-Bar at Kitchen K has a couple of plasmas and some nice people-watching possibilities, through a long bank of windows. Right across the street for the America's Center.

Tigin, 333 Washington, 314-241-8666. We're catching a trend here, with our third place with some type of Irish tie. This one's got the Irish menu, for sure, along with the soccer and rubgy fixes on the TV, though we anticipate some Cardinals ball on the tube during GTH.

Spotlight: Leith Sharp

2008-05-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

We'd like to note some of the key events, speakers and symposia for the conference, and today we'll note the appearance of Leith Sharp, an Education Track Master Speaker at GTH. Sharp, the Director of the Green Campus Initiative at Harvard, will speak from 11:00 - 11:45 a.m. on Monday, June 23.

We offer a link to Harvard's GCI here. It's an impressive effort.

From that link, a brief bio on Sharp:

Leith Sharp established the HGCI in March of 2000, becoming the Director of this emerging organization. Leith also co-instructs the Harvard Extension School course, Sustainability - The Challenge of Changing Our Institutions. Leith has a Bachelors degree in Environmental Engineering from UNSW and a Master of Education in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University. Leith has worked with universities for the last 10 years to achieve organizational change in the pursuit of environmental sustainability. In 1998 Leith was awarded Young Australian of the Year, NSW Environment Category, for her work in establishing the Environmental Management Program at the University of New South Wales, Australia. In 1999 she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to research best practice in university environmental management throughout Europe and the USA. In 2002, Leith was awarded most outstanding paper for her contribution to the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. Leith has presented at many conferences and events across the US and Australia.

Media taking note

2008-05-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

Our hope was that we wouldn't feel lonely in the press center of Greening the Heartland 2008. And that doesn't seem it'll be the case. Signing on for coverage most recently is GreenOptions.com, which is sending is reporter/blogger to the conference.

On its site, GreenOptions describes itself as such:

"Green Options Media's growing network of environmentally-focused blogs provides users with a broad spectrum of information on and direction for making more sustainable choices in their lives. Launched in February, 2007, Green Options Media has grown into a leader among 'green' web portals by combining news, guidance and community features for a wide audience. Both treehuggers and the 'green curious' will find information they can use and people with whom they can share their journeys towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

"Written by experienced professionals in their fields, Green Options Media's individual blogs engage visitors with authoritative content, compelling discussions, and actionable advice. Users new to the 'green life' can contribute to the conversation by joining in dialogue between our writers and visitors on individual blogs, or by starting their own Green Options Journal. We don't preach to the choir, or require a commitment to our vision: we invite anyone with questions, or simply curiosity, to add their voices to the community, and share their approaches to achieving abundance while lightening their environmental footprint."

Many folks reading this might already have GreenOptions on their own blogroll. If not, click on one of the links in this post. You'll enjoy what you find.

LEED Building in STL: A Growing Trend

2008-05-27T10:07:00.001-07:00

We won't commit the space to the entire list, but there's a growing list of LEED certified buildings and projects. We'll highlight a few of the pacesetters today:

Platinum

Alberici Group Headquarters
William A. Kerr Foundation Office (21 O’Fallon)

Gold

Roberts Office Expansion (Commercial Interiors)
St. Louis Community College – Wildwood Campus

Silver

Centocor BioLogics, LLC (Commercial Interiors)
Enterprise Fleet Operations Facility (Commercial Interiors)
Monsanto, Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise
St. Louis Zoo, Animal Nutrition Center
Security Building (Core & Shell)
Tarlton Headquarters

Certified

Anheuser-Busch Technology Center
CORTEX, Building #1 (Core and Shell)
HOK Headquarters (Commercial Interiors)
Holcim Main Office Building
Renovation of University City, City Hall
Roberts Tower Marketing Center (Commercial Interior)
Sisters of Mercy Convent
Washington University, Earth and Planetary Sciences Building

A greeting - please pass along

2008-05-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

Greening the Heartland, the midwest's premier conference on green building and sustainability, is right around the corner! June 22-24th at America's Center.

We have outstanding master speakers in four content areas: corporate; government; education; and green communities. In addition, we have nearly 50 breakout sessions, tours of LEED buildings, pre-conference and post-conference professional training workshops and an exposition with the latest products and services. Visit www.greeningtheheartland.org to view our entire conference program and to register.

We also have an evening of fun planned for Monday, June 23. It is a dessert and music party at the world famous CITY MUSEUM (www.citymuseum.org), which consists of recycled and unique, found objects such as old chimneys, abandoned planes, construction cranes and "enchanted caves". We will have the entire 600,000 square foot museum to ourselves to climb and explore. In between, you can enjoy nine dessert stations and dance to the music of St. Louis music icon Kim Massie (www.kimmassie.com)

Register today for Greening the Heartland 2008 (www.greeningtheheartland.org). If you have questions, call our hotline at 866-933-4GRN (4476) or email to info@greeningtheheartland.org

We look forward to being your conference host!

U.S. Green Building Council - St. Louis Regional Chapter

Spotlight: "Green Grand Rapids"

2008-05-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

Taking part in the Master Speakers Series during GTH's June 23rd morning sessions will be Grand Rapids, MI, Mayor George Hartwell. He'll be speaking on the intitiatives that Grand Rapids has taken to civically foster a green future for that city.

You can read all about Grand Rapids' efforts in a special section of their city's site here. We'll give you some of the high points, though:

The City of Grand Rapids completed a two-year planning process to update its 1963 Master Plan and Future Land Use Map on November 11, 2002. The Grand Rapids Master Plan contains seven interrelated themes: great neighborhoods, vital business districts, a strong economy, balanced transportation, a city that enriches our lives, a city in balance with nature and partnerships.

These themes were developed based on the involvement of over 3,000 Grand Rapidians in more than 250 community meetings. The Master Plan, a broad-brush policy document that defines community goals for the physical environment of the city, has not gathered dust. It has served, and continues to serve, its citizens well. Developers arrive at the Planning Department with their Master Plan in-hand describing projects that will enhance our community. Neighborhood associations are creating awardwinning area-specific plans that add detail to the “big picture”.

A new Zoning Ordinance that codified Plan recommendations became effective on November 5, 2007. The tenets of Smart Growth, LEED-ND criteria, Transect and Transit-Oriented Design (TOD) concepts, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) standards and the community’s Master Plan vision served as the basis for this code. Community partners, such as The Rapid, have been able to use the document to further their efforts for a better city and receive funding for a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route.

The Green Grand Rapids process will be similar to the Plan Grand Rapids and Zone Grand Rapids processes employed to engage citizens in the creation of a new master plan and zoning ordinance. The City is required to update its Master Plan and Parks and Recreation Plan every five years. Instead of passing a short bureaucratic resolution to update the plans, the City of Grand Rapids Planning Department and Parks and Recreation Department view this as an opportunity to initiate a citywide green infrastructure master planning process called Green Grand Rapids that will focus on quality of life and the physical development of community infrastructure as it relates to greening, connectivity, natural systems, the Grand River, recreation and public health.

STL CVC: 25 Things to do in St. Louis

2008-05-26T12:38:00.002-07:00

The St. Louis Convenion and Vistiors Commission offers a list of two-dozen-things-plus one to do in St. Louis while you're in town. Though we assume many attendees at GTH 2008 will be busy with conferences, symposia and the like, perhaps there's a chance to some of these checkmarks to be taken off the list.Number one on the chart: a ride up to the top of the Arch. This choice and the others can be found right here.

City's Museum's Bob Cassilly: Interview/Video

2008-05-26T12:38:00.001-07:00

If you're from outside the St. Louis region, you might be intrigued by the mere notion of the City Museum, which will be host to the biggest social gathering of the Greening the Heartland Conference. The Museum, which celebrated its 10th anniversary over the past year, is a sight that's best enjoyed in person, though video clips are the next-best-way to get a sense of what this outrageous place is all about.

The website of St. Louis' Mayor, Francis Slay, has a recent video clip dedicated to an interview with the CM founder, Bob Cassilly. Though we can't link directly to the exact video, simply shoot over to this clip and scroll down a few entries, to the featured interview with the one-and-only Cassilly. You'll enjoy the video, trust us.

St. Louis #31: Greenest American Cities

2008-05-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

St. Louis is ranked by one recent online outlet as the 31st greenest city in America, according to Popsci.com, which ranks the top 50 US cities.According to the introduction of the poll (which you can read here):

We used raw data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Geographic Society’s Green Guide, which collected survey data and government statistics for American cities of over 100,000 people in more than 30 categories, including air quality, electricity use and transportation habits. We then compiled these statistics into four broad categories, each scored out of either 5 or 10 possible points. The sum of these four scores determines a city’s place in the rankings. Our categories are:

Electricity (E; 10 points): Cities score points for drawing their energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectric power, as well as for offering incentives for residents to invest in their own power sources, like roof-mounted solar panels.

Transportation (T; 10 points): High scores go to cities whose commuters take public transportation or carpool. Air quality also plays a role.

Green living (G; 5 points): Cities earn points for the number of buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, as well as for devoting area to green space, such as public parks and nature preserves.

Recycling and green perspective (R; 5 points): This measures how comprehensive a city’s recycling program is (if the city collects old electronics, for example) and how important its citizens consider environmental issues.

GTH Registration Extended

2008-05-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

We know you're planning to attend the Midwest's premier conference on green building and sustainability June 22-24, 2008 in St. Louis, Missouri - but just haven't registered yet.That's why we're extending our early registration deadline for Greening the Heartland to May 31st. This is a conference you will not want to miss! We have outstanding master speakers in four content areas: corporate; government; education; and green communities. In addition, we have nearly 50 breakout sessions, tours of LEED buildings, pre-conference and post-conference professional training workshops and an exposition with the latest products and services.

Visit http://www.greeningtheheartland.org/ to view our entire conference program and to register. We also have an evening of fun planned for Monday, June 23. It is a dessert and music party at the world famous CITY MUSEUM (http://www.citymuseum.org/), which consists of recycled and unique, found objects such as old chimneys, abandoned planes, construction cranes and "enchanted caves". We will have the entire 600,000 square foot museum to ourselves to climb and explore. In between, you can enjoy nine dessert stations and dance to the music of St. Louis music icon Kim Massie (http://www.kimmassie.com/).

Register today for Greening the Heartland 2008 (http://www.greeningtheheartland.org/). If you have questions, call our hotline at 866-933-4GRN (4476) or email to info@greeningtheheartland.org.

We look forward to being your conference host!U.S. Green Building Council - St. Louis Regional Chapter