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 Ascent
at Talus,
built by Intracorp, is the most recent multifamily
project to certify as Built Green. This development
of 112 townhomes is part of the Talus,
community in Issaquah, a 650-acre development on
the east slope of Cougar Mountain that is in the
process of certifying as a Built Green community.
The homes incorporate Built Green™ features
such as windows oriented to make the best use of
capturing the sun, airtight building methods to
lower energy costs, building materials that produce
healthy indoor air quality, and landscape design
that maximizes water use such as using compost
soil amendments and mulch landscape beds.
New
Members
Associated
Earth Sciences, Kirkland – Geotechnical,
hydrological and soils engineering
Integrated
Financial Solutions, Renton – Offering
a suite of financial services
JBL
Construction, Langley – Custom
remodeler on south Whidbey Island
Marpac
Construction, Seattle – Specializing
in multifamily projects
Opperman
Design, Seattle – Updated
information on this client-oriented,
green home design solutions
for residential design, remodels and
additions
Redman/CJ
Design and Construction, Mercer
Island – Design/build
architectural design, construction
and interior design
Strandberg
Construction, Anacortes – Environmentally
friendly residential builder and
developer
Welco
Lumber, Shelton – Cedar
products from small diameter, young growth Western
Red Cedar grown
in Western Washington
View
our current
members.
Events
Friday
thru Sunday, August 6-8
Donations
Accepted for Charitable Surplus Sale
MBA is accepting
donations for its Building Materials Surplus
Sale, scheduled for Aug. 6-8, which benefits the
Master
Builders Education Foundation. Donations of appliances,
flooring, windows, paint, plumbing fixtures,
roofing, siding, tools, insulation, drywall and
other new
or like new materials can be dropped off August
4-5 at
Sand Point Magnuson Park, Building 30, from 8
a.m. to 5
p.m. Green materials are welcome! The
sale will be open to the public the weekend of
August 6-8 at the same location
at 6310 NE 74th Street, Seattle. For further
information, please
contact MBEF Director Rylee
O’Brien at
425.460.8214.
Thursday,
July 1
Marketing
Orientations
MBA members can get the most out
of their memberships by attending a free one-hour
marketing orientation, held on the first Thursday
of each month. Designed to help you build business
with the other 3,600 MBA member companies, these
complementary sessions are offered by MBA’s
Sales & Marketing department. The next orientation
will be held July
1 at 10 a.m.
Please contact Pam
Worner at 425.460.8217
for further information.
Other
Upcoming MBA Events
- Thursday, June 10 GMD/Crab Feed
- Monday, June 14 Remodelors™ Council Golf
Tournament
- Saturday, June 19 REX Awards
- Tuesday, June 22 Snohomish County Builders
Breakfast
- Wednesday, June 23 Sales and Marketing
Council dinner
MBA
Calendar of Events is posted at the bottom
left of the homepage.
For
more information, contact James
Cadungug at 425.460.8213.
Green
Roof Tour
 Green
Roof Tour Draws a Crowd
The Green Roof Tour held
recently by the Northwest
Ecobuilding Guild was a huge success! Built Green
Executive Committee member Jon
Alexander of Sunshine
Construction in Seattle provided
one of the tours’ stops at a garage/workshop
that he retrofitted with a green roof. Says Alexander, “It
was quite an amazing experience having 120 people
looking at my roof over a couple-hour period. It
was a lot of fun and was great to see the tour
more successful then I could have imagined it to
be.” In addition to the 120 people that viewed
Alexander’s roof, 25 other people toured
roofs in the south end of the county.
Resources
Renewable
Energy Analysis Software
Our neighbors to the north
have created a preliminary feasibility
analysis software to evaluate Renewable Energy Technology
(RET) projects quickly and effectively, and it runs
on readily-available Microsoft Excel. Users are able
to prepare a preliminary evaluation of the annual
energy production, costs, and financial viability
of RET projects anywhere in the world. The software
can be used to evaluate the energy production, life-cycle
costs and greenhouse gas emission reductions for
various types of energy efficient and renewable energy
technologies compared to conventional energy projects.
In addition to the software, the tool includes product,
cost and international weather databases; an online
manual; a case study based college/university-level
training course and electronic textbook. The program
includes wind energy, small hydro, photovoltaics,
biomass, solar and ground-source heat pumps, among
others. Download software for free.
NAHB
Provides Stormwater Permitting Requirements Fact
Sheets to Its Members
Are
you a member of the National Association of Home
Builders? If so, you now have access
to stormwater
permitting requirements for 27 states, including Washington.
From
the Director
Idea
Home Survey
The numbers are in! On opening day of the Puget Sound
Energy Built Green Idea Home, Analytical
One and Fusion
Partners surveyed
almost 200 visitors for their impressions of green
homes. Here are a few of the results in a nutshell:
- $20,000 premium NOT a barrier in this price range
($560,000)
- Most important features to visitors:
1.
Controlled ventilation for clean air, followed
by
2.
Use of renewable/recycled materials
3.
Clean water & water conservation
4.
Low-emitting materials
5.
Energy
efficiency
6.
Built Green certification
-
The newspaper
insert in The Seattle Times motivated most to
visit.
It is not insignificant that Built
Green certification is Number Six:
while consumers
want and expect
higher indoor air quality, energy
efficiency, water conservation
and the wise use of resources,
they also want to be assured that they’re getting it. The builder’s,
remodeler’s, developer’s or designer’s
signature on the Built Green project checklist provides
that extra reassurance.
So,
if you’re not already part of the program,
I hope you will consider
joining us in our quest to create homes that
exceed
building codes and provide
homeowners with years of
healthy, quality living, while protecting
the precious
Northwest environment. Join
Built Green forms are posted
on our website homepage. Robin
Rogers, Program Director
 Now
there’s a way you can show your customers
you’re taking the lead in making sure Washington
will remain the beautiful place it is by using
a little of your green to "buy green."
Green power, that is.
For
a limited time, electric customers who sign up
for PSE’s Green Power Program
will receive two bags of coffee and a mug,
compliments of Batdorf & Bronson
Coffee Roasters. Offer good while supplies last.
For
more information on PSE’s Green Power Program
visit the website or
call 1.800.562.1482 to
speak with an Energy Advisor. Current PSE
Rebates.
MBA
University
Friday,
June 18
Energy
Star Northwest Learn at Lunch – A
special introduction to the new Energy Star Builder
Option Package specifically designed for the Northwest
will be presented from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the
MBA. The cost is $20 with lunch provided.
Thursday,
June 24 - Garden Lovers
A
Better Way to a Beautiful Yard: Five steps to
healthy easy care to lawns and gardens Cost is $25 on
Thursday, June 24
from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.
Friday,
July 15
Introduction
to Built
Green provides an overview of
the entire program from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at
the MBA. The course is free and open to anyone.
This course (or equivalent) is required
for certifying a Built Green project.
Wednesday,
July 21
Marketing
and Financing Green Construction is geared
toward sales agents,
builders and other industry partners to help
leverage “green” options
for the benefit of everyone. Three and one-half
clock hours are offered. The course, taught by
Jolyn Davis
of Burnstead Construction and Dave Porter of
Countrywide Home Loans, is scheduled from
9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m and costs $70.
Download
our MBA
University Spring Education Catalog. Contact us
by email or
phone at 425.451.7920 for information
or to register. |
These
new replacements are expected to reduce tunnel
bus fuel consumption
by 750,000 gallons a year,
and save approximately $3.5 million annually
in fuel
and maintenance costs. The hybrid buses operate
on both Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD)
and electricity
that is generated within the vehicle and stored
in batteries on the roof. The design eliminates
the
need for overhead wires inside the "tunnel" in
downtown Seattle, which will facilitate the tunnel
retrofit to carry both buses and light rail. All
will be on the road by the end of the year – 213
will be deployed by Metro and 22 by Sound Transit.
Scientists
Request Addition of Species to Endangered Species
List - Five
species of wildlife have been requested to be removed
from a “waiting list” of
endangered species, including the Oregon spotted
frog, the basalt daisy, northern wormwood,
Umtanum desert-buckwheat and white bluffs bladderpod,
according
to the Center for Biological Diversity. A coalition
of prominent scientists, artists and environmentalists
filed 1,000 pages of legal documents with the
federal government, requesting that it cease delaying
Endangered
Species Act protection for 225 of the nation’s
most imperiled plants and animals, almost half
of which are in Hawaii. Washington is home
to a total of 3,055 identified species of plants
and
animals, including 41 species listed as threatened
and endangered. This ranks Washington 19th
out of 50 for number of species and 16th for
number
of 