Going to green on the Web
Abundant information about greening can be found on the Web. Some resources:
Green Home Guide: The U.S. Green Building Council, administrator of the LEED ratings, launched this site last week as an educational tool for consumers. It offers a primer on sustainable homes, an introduction to the Leadership in Education and Environmental Design residential ratings as well as links to other green home programs. Note that the URL ends in “org,” not “com.” www.greenhomeguide .org
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Regreen: The American Society of Interior Designers and the USGBC have teamed up to provide information on sustainable practices that pertain specifically to remodeling. Draft best-practices guidelines will be open for public comment until Dec. 10. Organizers hope to release completed guidelines in the spring. An ASID spokeswoman said the site is scheduled to go live this week. www.regreenprogram .org
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Carbon calculators: Several websites offer estimates on your ecological footprint on Earth. The Environmental Protection Agency has the unfortunately named Personal Emissions Calculator, which can be accessed through the Green Home Guide home page or via www.epa.gov/climate change/emissions/ind _calculator.html. Another measure of carbon dioxide is at www.climatecrisis.net/take action/carbon calculator.
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Global Green USA: The Santa Monica-based education and advocacy group has a virtual open house tour. www.global green.org
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Greenbuild365: The U.S. Green Building Council also has launched an educational site with streaming video of keynote speeches from the organization’s Greenbuild conference last week. Much of the content is geared for industry professionals, but it’s still worth checking out. www.greenbuild 365.org
