Profiles

San Diego State University’s College of Extended Studies is doing its part in the “going green” effort by offering two online courses in its new professional certificate in its Green Building Construction program this summer.   

As the summer begins to heat up, San Diego turns to the tourism industry for a revenue boost to offset the troubled housing market. In the midst of National Hospitality Week, the 15th annual San Diego Hospitality Industry Outlook at the Grand Del Mar set out to explain how to accomplish this.   

With the growing trend of being more environmentally friendly and finding methods to accomplish this, Chula Vista has taken a giant step forward in making the city greener.   

Law firms may not be considered the biggest polluters in the world, but that doesn't mean they can't cut back.   

Blowing the roof off all previous records, the U.S. wind energy industry expanded the nation's total wind power generating capacity by 45 percent last year, infusing more than $9 billion into the economy.   

As concerns about the environment remain front and center among leaders and citizens in all walks of life, the building community continues to make great strides in establishing achievable and lasting standards for environmentally conscious design and construction practices.   

Ledcor Petty Construction LP has just completed a 40,000 square foot project in Murrieta, Calif. Silverhawk Corporate Center is a new Class A office complex, which was developed by San Diego based Silverhawk Partnership LP.   

Hornblower Cruises & Events has voluntarily switched to a domestically produced, environmentally friendly biodiesel fuel after collaborating with New Leaf Biofuels and General Petroleum, the largest distributor of biofuels in Southern California.   

With more than 1,300 homeowners in San Diego County looking to re-build after the October wildfires, San Diego Gas & Electric is encouraging energy efficiency.   

The University of California, San Diego has joined The Green Grid, a global consortium of companies dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data centers and computing ecosystems.   

It was all about giving “power to the people” at Friday’s Orchids and Onions event, hosted by the San Diego Architectural Foundation.   

Hewlett-Packard announced Tuesday an initiative to make its San Diego facility and its employees across the country increase energy conservation efforts with the help of SunPower Corp.   

The County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday to celebrate the construction of a new $4.4 million nature center, which will replace the existing San Elijo facility.   

UTC will be going green in its expansion, and those who don't, may soon be left in the dust.   

The County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation opened Goodan Ranch Center Thursday, its first new green facility.   

What makes a "green" home green? It depends on who is using the word. In the next several months, three nationwide certifications for environmentally friendly homes will be available to builders. But buyers may be confused by the array of standards.   

Last year global warming was a topic of movies, magazines, newspapers and legislation but not, for the most part, of California Environmental Quality Act environmental impact reports.   

The third and final building completing Kilroy Realty Corp.'s (NYSE: KRC) Kilroy Sabre Springs office project incorporates sustainable features including water conservation, energy conservation, environmentally sensitive material selection and improved indoor environmental quality. Currently under construction and scheduled for completion later this year, the 148,313-square-foot building's sustainable building features are designed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certification.   

San Francisco-based commercial real estate developer Jay Paul Co. recently won Developer of the Year and Green Project of the Year honors in Silicon Valley for its Moffett Towers office campus, a 1.85 million-square-foot sustainable construction project designed to achieve LEED Silver certification for all seven office buildings. Jay Paul Co. is embarking on a similar project in San Diego with the 3.2 million-square-foot Summit Rancho Bernardo project, its first San Diego venture.   

With global warming at the forefront of public debate and more Americans than ever before going "green," Oceanside Terraces, a new collection of seaside condominiums in Oceanside, was designed around a series of forward-thinking, eco-friendly features aimed at helping homeowners conserve energy and protect the environment.   

Green building is no longer just a passionate crusade by über-environmentalists or a high-profile move by the corporate elite to boost public image. Sustainable building is moving from fringe to forefront faster than it takes grass to grow on an eco-roof.   

Seven years after it was established, Otay Ranch's habitat restoration and enhancement program is paying ecological dividends on a grand scale. Among the major accomplishments are the first-ever large-scale re-creation of a maritime succulent scrub (MSS) habitat and the largest-ever restoration of the endangered Otay tarplant.   

As President Bush talks vaguely of initiating a clean technology fund for developing countries, the city of San Diego moves forward to develop its own strategy to foster this sustainable approach.   

San Diego home and business owners have been inundated with articles, seminars and conferences on integrating solar electricity to their existing roof also known as Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV). San Diego as a whole understands more then ever how important it is to conserve energy, save the environment and contribute to our ever-growing imperative of being "green." The question most people have once they have made the decision to never pay another electric bill is usually, "What is the first step?"    

"Green" may be a buzzword today, but at Reno Contracting, it's not just a slogan -- it signifies Reno's commitment to building structures that are environmentally responsible and good for its customers.   

The quest to reduce potentially harmful impacts on the environment is rapidly hitting the mainstream. Even with the volumes of information available on the subject, many involved in the building industry are seeking tips from those that can both talk the talk and walk the walk. That said, here are some practical reminders to aid those who may find themselves caught in the minutia when seeking LEED certification.   

A lot of people talk about sustainability.   

Target offers shoppers an unusual message about its gift cards at some stores, advising that they are biodegradable. "Just make sure you spend them first," the displays conclude.   

The world isn't just getting hotter from man-made global warming, it's getting stickier. It really is the humidity.   

The California Chapter of the American Planning Association has awarded a major honor to the city of La Mesa for the Grossmont Trolley Station Project, including the Alterra and Pravada residential developments. The award was presented Oct. 2 at a statewide conference.   

Jim and Robyn Dahlin knew replacing the roof of their home in Greenbrae, Calif., would be expensive. But they hadn't planned to spend an extra $15,000 on solar panels. For that, they have their 8-year-old son, Luke, to thank.   

San Diego Gas & Electric announced it received two national awards for its Sustainable Communities Program, which promotes "green" building initiatives, energy efficiency and renewable energy.   

When Bill and Margaret Oliver decided to take the plunge into solar energy earlier this year, the retired Long Beach, Calif., couple searched for months to find someone who could install 35 newfangled solar panels atop their three-bedroom home.   

San Diego-based Salerno Livingston Architects has designed more than 30 projects for the Zoological Society of San Diego, working closely with the Zoo's architect David Rice and taking great care to create environments that transport Zoo patrons to lands far away while respecting and preserving natural resources.   

Lux Art Institute, the first LEED-certified green museum in California, will open its doors Nov. 11.   

Global venture capital investments in clean technology companies surged to US$1.1 billion in the first six months of 2007 alone, according to a mid-year research by Ernst & Young and Dow Jones VentureOne. Propelled by activity in the United States, 2007 venture capital investments in clean technology companies are now on track to increase by more than 35 percent compared to 2006.   

In California, it has been said that green is the new black. Politicians, lobbyists, celebrities and consumers focus on the environmental benefits of "going green" while buildings, households and businesses respond at lightening speed. To meet consumer expectations that the corporate world engage in environmentally conscientious behavior, today's business owners consider going green not only in response to environmental demands, but also as a symbol of socially responsible behavior.   

The number of LEED buildings has doubled in a six-month period, and the U.S. Green Building Council wants 1.1 million more by 2010.   

When it comes to climate change, the science doesn’t matter anymore. At least according to one analyst, Josh Margolis of CantorCO2e, an emissions trading environmental brokerage firm.