As Canada’s energy capital, energy companies place a great amount of emphasis on responsible energy consumption and sustainability within Calgary. To prove the focus and emphasis a success, Calgary’s newest high-rise office towers, Eighth Avenue Place, has received recognition for its eco-conscious construction. As the following article suggests, the Calgary high-rise office building has been presented a LEED Platinum pre-certification for its environmental design, and is arranged to become the first LEED Platinum high-rise office building in Canada, and second in North America.

(Article Source the Calgary Herald by Mario Toneguzzi)

One of Calgary’s newest highrise office towers has received recognition for its environmental design.

Eighth Avenue Place, a 49-storey, 1.1 million-square-foot building owned by Alberta Investment Management Corp., Matco Investments Ltd. and SITQ, has been awarded a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum pre-certification and is slated to become Canada’s first and North America’s second LEED Platinum highrise office building.

LEED is an internationally recognized green certification system.

The project was originally pre-certified Gold in the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Core & Shell rating system. It has been pre-certified for the second time at the Platinum level as a result of a series of building innovations.

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Since its invention made by Thomas Edison in 1879 the incandescent light bulb has been the typical household light bulb for years, and has remained virtually unchanged since. However, with recent movements made by governments worldwide, passing measures to prohibit the sale of the traditional 100-watt incandescent light bulbs for general lighting have come into effect due to the waste of electricity and poor energy efficiency.

As the following article suggests, counties universally are starting to light up the world in a different way. While not all countries are bringing the incandescent light bulbs to a standstill, California has set minimum efficiency standards for lighting one year ahead of federal standard to ban the incandescent light bulb, encouraging the use of more energy efficient lighting alternatives.

(Article Source environmentalleader.com)

California put changing the light bulb on a fast track, implementing a law one year ahead of a federal standard, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, to ban the traditional 100-watt incandescent light bulb. The law goes into effect in all states starting in 2012.

By implementing the law one year earlier, the state says consumers will save $35.6 million in electricity and 10.5 million incandescent bulbs will not be sold.

California wanted to speed up the process in order to get on track with its other environmental goals, according to the CEC. The new year brings on the enforcement of CAL Green building codes that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalent) by 3 million metric tons equivalent by 2020.

Also in step with the upcoming change, retailer IKEA has stopped selling and stocking incandescent bulbs, the first retailer to halt the sale of all such lights, according to a news release.

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Eco fees charged to Ontario manufacturers and importers of electronics have seemed to cause a stir nationally as concerns over the taxes have heightened, and leave many wondering whether or not they have been overcharged.

An eco fee, as the below article indicates, is used to pay for the collection, transportation and processing of wastes, and was enforced in July to only be suspended three weeks later, and then permanently abolished in October.

Despite the fee removal in October, eco taxes are still found on all electronic products and catching a number of consumers by surprise. It is quite apparent that action needs to be taken, and quickly, in order to not only resolve this public matter but to also return consumer confidence.

(Article Source moneyville.ca by Ellen Roseman)

Richard Piche bought a clock radio for $8.99 and was charged an eco fee of $2.75 – “a ridiculous tax on such a small product,” he says.

After returning it and getting a refund, he checked with Ontario Electronic Stewardship, an independent agency set up under provincial law to divert waste items from landfill.

He found the eco fee on clock radios had dropped to 40 cents on Dec. 1 (from $2.75 before), well before he bought the item on Dec. 6.
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The idea that green has become the new black is hard to shut out, especially since an increased number of real estate agents, investors, home builders, home buyers and homeowners have jumped on the bandwagon for greener home solutions. It has been estimated that environmentally conscious homes have jumped in number by nearly 30 per cent between 2005 and 2006, which makes up roughly 5 per cent of North America’s housing market to date.

But, why green home? And what exactly are the advantages of living in an eco-friendly residence? These are questions that many may come to ask, especially when presented the option to green architecture. While the majority of people have heard about building green and can understand the benefits, the below article highlights how they believe there’s a divider between residing in a green home and buying one. If you’re one of these people, don’t let the myths fool you and your green conscience.

(Article Source proudgreenhomes.com)

Government agencies and non-profit organizations all around the world collect data that regards pollution; however, the public has been provided little opportunity to apply the data in everyday life. The following article explores a new website launched, Emitter.ca, that collaborates on an open data project concerning federal government information and allows Canadians to locate chemical facilities in their neighbourhood that emit noxious waste and compare emission rates to other facilities throughout Canada.

(Article Source the Leader-Post by Hanneke Brooymans)

News Release | November 3rd, 2010 | For Immediate Release

Planet Panels Develops Environmentally Friendly Home in Record Time
Calgary based environmental manufacturer erects a new infill duplex in only 3 days

Calgary, Alberta (November 3rd, 2010) – In an effort to demonstrate their efficiency, Planet Panels has completed the development of a duplex in Calgary, in three days. The infill duplex was erected using Planet Panel’s fully fabricated panel systems. “We wanted to demonstrate how quickly and easily our homes are constructed, without sacrificing quality,” stated Planet Panels President, Jim Klus “our panel systems are created for quick yet extremely precise development.”

Both sides of the duplex, measuring in at 1,725 square foot each, were created in less than three days. “We take pride in providing “green” and energy efficient home building alternatives for homeowners looking to minimize their impact on the environment without compromising style and comfort.” commented Shawn Miller, Production Supervisor at Planet Panels.

“The project reflects our focus as an eco-friendly company. We hope that this project demonstrates to Calgarians that the option to develop an environmentally friendly home is available within their city” concluded Klus.

Planet Panels fully fabricated panel system consists of custom built panels that are stencilled, labelled and delivered logically stacked for rapid assembly. Planet Panels homes boast “no draft” wall systems, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, precision building, reduced heat loss, and improved energy efficiency. (more…)

The forestry and wood products sector is a vital part of Alberta’s growing economy, and the lack of assistance in strengthening and diversifying the wood product sector in the province has been cut short.

The following article explores the Government of Canada’s recent announcement that they will be working in partnership with other orders of government and FP Innovations (a forest product sector research and development institute) to allow Alberta wood manufacturing companies the access to FP Innovations’ research and technical knowledge through a $1.3 million funding agreement.

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