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Comment by Bill Silva on July 26, 2009 at 10:44pm

This tariff is not surprising. There was a similar to a situation many years when anyone "tapped" in the IPL transmission power grid. I think at at that time it was called Wheeling. Utilities were forced to eliminate this tariff by the feds which meant anyone could use the power lines as long as there was proper connections at no cost.

Comment by Laura Ann Arnold on July 26, 2009 at 9:50am

Join Us for an Indiana Renewable Energy Association (InREA) Intro Feed-in Tariff Webinar --Aug. 5th @ 2 pm EDT

*Want to know what the buzz is about Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) or advanced renewable energy contracts?
*Did you miss the Indiana Renewable Energy Association (InREA) reception and meeting with FIT advocate Paul Gipe last September in Ft. Wayne?
*Want to know more about how FIT's compare to other policies such as net metering and a renewable electricity standard (RES) to promote renewable energy development?
*Did you know there is a feed-in tariff (FIT) proposed by Indianapolis Power and Light (IPL) currently pending before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC)?
*Want to know more about the state legislation introduced during the 2009 Indiana General Assembly on advanced renewable energy tariffs and the prospects for 2010?

InREA members Chris Striebeck with IDS of Indianapolis and Laura Ann Arnold with The Arnold Group of Indianapolis are planning an Intro Webinar on FIT's. This webinar will cover an introduction to FIT's as well as a status report on recent FIT proposals in the US and abroad.

We anticipate scheduling additional webinars on this topic with additional speakers as well as other issues related to renewable energy development in Indiana.

Don't miss this important event. SIGN-UP TODAY!
The FIT webinar is scheduled as follows:

How Advanced Renewable Energy Contracts aka Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) can bring clean energy jobs and promote more rapid deployment of renewable energy resources and distributed generation (DG) in Indiana.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

2:00 EDT

Register for this webinar to receive 1) call-in information and 2) written materials. Please e-mail us at info@indianarenew.org.

Comment by Bill Silva on July 25, 2009 at 8:44pm

With the new LEED regulations, it is going to be more difficult to become LEED accredited and "green" and receive tax incentives. You are going to have to be able to prove it after the building or home is built via energy monitoring, inventory, recycling, etc. over an elapsed time period.

Comment by Patricia C. Coleman on July 24, 2009 at 10:39am

I hope you are all thriving and enjoying summer. My note is an update on "Simply Healthy". Bloomington, IN - The 4th Annual "Simply Healthy: Creating Sustainable Communities" Simply Living Fair and Wellness Expo (http://www.indianaholistichealth.net/wellnessexpo.htm) focusing on Living Simply Well, Community Building, Eating Local and Eating Healing Meals will take place November 12-14th, 2009. This year’s keynote presenters are Diana Leafe Christian, Editor of Communities Magazine and author speaking on “Ecovillages, Who They Are, Where They Are and Why They Are Important and Transition Towns; and Dr. Kellie Osmon, Acupuncturist, Chinese Medicine Doctor and Herbalist, speaking on the Healing Properties of Foods. Vendors will be set up in the Showers Building adjacent to the Farmers Market where many hundreds of people come each Saturday, they will be displaying wellness practices, services, green businesses, natural building, local resources, and products; Workshops from one to three hours for mind, body and spirit will cover a wide range including health, wellness and simply living tools. The 2nd annual Local Food Dinner cosponsored by Food Works for Middle Way House will featuring food from local growers and producers (make reservations early as last year many had to be turned away); Community Conversation Moderated by Marti Crouch with Diana, Kellie and other community leaders; Children’s program and Healing Sound Concert with opening words by Rev. Maryanne Macklin featuring Tom Roznowski, Alain Barker, Daryl Breeden with Steven Pollit, Deb Phelps, and others.

“Simply Healthy” offers opportunities to sponsor, volunteer, speak, exhibit, demonstrate, explore, listen, learn, have fun, eat and play! It is a goal of the Indiana Holistic Health Network and Local Food Bloomington (nonprofit Green Dove Network (a “project” under the umbrella Center for Sustainable Living) – allied with the Just Peace and Green Sanctuary Task Force of the Unitarian Universalist Church) and other Simply Healthy Conveners to educate and inspire through the exploration of some of the many possibilities available locally and beyond that can be utilized to support our becoming healthier, and growing more sustainable local economies and communities.

For more information Contact: Patricia C. Coleman, Indiana Holistic Health Network for Simply Healthy Fair at mail.ihhn(at)gmail.com or simplyhlthy(at)gmail.com or visit http://www.simplyhealthyfair.net

Comment by Jeff Echols, CGP on July 23, 2009 at 12:15pm

Frank,
I'm not knocking "the Standards." We have both LEED AP's and CGP's in our office and are well versed in both the NAHB/ANSI and various LEED Standards. And I applaud efforts by many builders around the world, yourself included, to build sustainably. I'm simply saying that there is more to the equation than doing what it takes to earn the appropriate number of points to earn a standardized level of recognition. Admittedly, much of this "more" is beyond the control of the Architect or the builder. Lynn's examples of the CFL's and extra refrigerators are perfect. But, take Al Gore's house as another, albeit extreme, example. Green home? Maybe. Sustainable home? You be the judge. But then factor in concepts such as Carbon Neutrality, Energy Offsets, Green Power, etc. and you can quickly see that “Green; Yes or No” is not an easy question. Nor is it, in my opinion, THE question.

Comment by Lynn Jenkins on July 17, 2009 at 9:35am

Good Discussion! While you both are addressing the actual building/construction which is the base for a sustainable home, Indiana Living Green trys to inform the home's residents as to green lifestyle. As you say, is a green-built McMansion really sustainable? What good is a LEED certified home if every CFL light is left on in every room all the time? How green is it to have an extra Energy Star refrigerator running in the party room, just for those few occasions when extra cooling for drinks is needed? Sustainaiblity is about both the product AND the wise use of it. It's wonderful to see these discussions...there's a lot more habit changing that needs to be done in our living. www.IndianaLivingGreen.com

Comment by Frank Redavide on July 17, 2009 at 9:05am

Jeff,
I see that you build homes and commercial projects. Have you certified any projects with LEED and/or NAHB? I agree with some of your points, but you really go through the entire process as it is far more comprehensive than you just described. It is a whole house process that incorporates everything and how everything works together.

Comment by Jeff Echols, CGP on July 17, 2009 at 8:33am

In response to Tina's question below: "Any 'green' home builders out there? What makes you green. Is it just LEED? or can you be slightly green without LEED certification? "

First of all, with all due respect to my colleagues, there is no such thing as a "Green Builder" or "Green Architect," there are only "Green" projects.

Second, I think that more important that the rating system (LEED, NAHB / ANSI, Energy Star, etc.) is the big picture; the actual sustainability of a project. Is a "green" project necessarily sustainable?

Many people, myself included sometimes, use the two terms interchangeably. But, especially the way we talk about it today, there is a difference. I read an article a while back that explained it pretty well. The author took the approach of looking at products; what products are "green" and are they also "sustainable?" The example that I liked was the iPod. I love my iPod. Is it a green product? In theory, it reduces the number of CD's manufactured, packaged, boxed up, shipped, sold in big box stores, etc. I'd say yes, it is a green product. Is it a sustainable product? It is manufactured in a region that is famous for horrific environmental standards, under who knows what kind of labor practices, of materials that are so noxious that many cannot even be recycled. I'd say that the iPod is definitely not a sustainable product.

The second point that I think many people don't have a good handle on is related to the "green" and "sustainable" discussion. Although many "green products" are very new and many more are coming into the market place every day, "sustainable" architecture and building is not new at all.

In fact, sustainable building practices are the oldest, most natural forms of construction. It may seem counterintuitive but in a very real way, the "green movement" is more of a correction, to use a financial market term, or coming back to our senses than some great breakthrough.

But this line of thinking has some major implications. We have to understand that as we design and build our new green homes, offices, schools, churches, etc. that just by using bamboo flooring and tankless water heaters we are not necessarily producing projects which are sustainable.

Most good practitioners of "green" or "sustainable" design and building understand that there is a holistic approach that must be taken. You cannot address energy efficiency and create a completely "tight" building envelope without also addressing indoor air quality. If you do, you'll end up with a very "sick" building not to mention its occupants.

In a similar vein, there are a number of builders in our market and others that are building homes that they are heavily marketing as being "green." These are, for the most part, well-built projects with many of the latest, most advanced "green" technologies and products available.

Some are also monstrous, million-dollar estates that will be occupied by three or four people. If these homes are truly "green" are they also sustainable? I would argue "no." Ideas such as those presented by Sarah Susanka in her "Not So Big House" series of writings are just as much a part of the equation as spray foam insulation.

The bottom line for me is that sustainability, by its very definition is a necessity. Forgive me for quoting from our website, but “At WERK, sustainable, or green design + construction integration is a normal part of our process. We believe that 90% of the decisions affecting a project’s level of sustainability are made during the first 10% of the process … the design process. In our view, green design and construction is not just about the incorporation of new technologies and materials, but about the appropriate implementation of sound planning and design practices with the latest technologies, resources, and construction practices.”

www.werk-build.com and our Architect-partners www.haus-arch.com if you’re interested

Comment by Chris Baggott on June 25, 2009 at 2:07pm

sorry, here is the actual link to vote:

http://wrtv.cityvoter.com/standings/best-of-theindychannel-com-a-list/4737/health-and-fitness/bike-shop

Comment by Chris Baggott on June 25, 2009 at 2:06pm

http://wrtv.cityvoter.com/standings/best-of-theindychannel-com-a-li...
Bicycle Garage does a lot for the biking community including financial support of the Hoosier Mt. Bike Association...the people who manually go out and build all the great new trails that are making Indiana such a Mt. Biking mecca. Combine that with great service and prices and they really are an asset to the community.

And great bloggers! http://blog.bgindy.com/blog/bicycle-garage-indy

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