Aug 16 2010

Green Building Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program interns will be earning certificates in Hartnell College's Center for Sustainable Construction program on Thursday, Aug. 12.

Alongside their instructor, Jordan Daniels of BuildingWise, LLC, a Moss Landing-based high-performance building consulting firm, 59 Hartnell College student interns have assessed eight local buildings, with the goal of helping them improve building performance and save operations and maintenance costs.

Here are some tips on greener shopping for school supplies from the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit advocacy organization.

Art supplies: Many contain toxic chemicals not suitable for children. Paints should be water-based to avoid solvents and colored with natural, nonmetal pigments. Avoid polymer clays that stay soft at room temperature or can be hardened in a home oven -- they're made from polyvinyl chloride and often contain phthalates...

Dilapidated duplexes sag on Marinas 188-acre Cypress Knolls development parcel. Recyclers have stripped the abandoned Army housing of its copper piping and aluminum window frames. Broken glass, asbestos and lead-based paint have led the city to fence off the hazard on the former Fort Ord.

Now, officials and residents are deliberating which developer can best transform the blight into a vibrant, 722-unit senior living community. And theres no clear winner. In June, the committee that evaluated the two competing proposals split its vote, 5-5. The stalemate leaves the City Council with no clear recommendation.

What started four decades ago as a small drop-off recycling center has grown into a statewide powerhouse for energy conservation with millions of dollars in revenue. Largely through an expanding clean-energy partnership with PG&E, the homegrown environmental nonprofit Ecology Action has seen revenues jump from $4.1 million in 2004 to $13.2 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, the latest available. The group has swelled from a handful of volunteers to 64 employees, with offices in Santa Cruz and Mountain View and more workers operating out of their homes or on sites from the Oregon border to Bakersfield.