water conservation

With major improvements in the world of artificial grass over the last several years, it’s easy to find a product that looks and feels fairly natural – or at least more natural than the original stuff, the stuff that felt like stiff, nubby, industrial carpeting.

But one of today’s synthetic grass products goes beyond simply looking and feeling natural. NewGrass® artificial lawns (www.newgrass.com) are green in every sense of the word. NewGrass® is proud to be a member of the Green Building Council, an ally in the EPA’s GreensScape Program and the only artificial lawn that is Certified 100% Eco-Friendly, from the way the grass is manufactured to the company’s pledge to properly recycle any lawn installed by an authorized representative at the end of its useful life.

In nutshell, here are six reasons NewGrass® is as green as it gets when it comes to synthetic lawns:

1. Conserves Water. As much as 70% of the average U.S. homeowner’s water bill goes toward outdoor watering – and that usually means keeping a natural turf grass green.

2. Protects Groundwater. With no need for potentially harmful pesticides and fertilizers, NewGrass® helps protect groundwater and storm drainage runoff. In addition, the bio-engineered EnviroCel™ backing of NewGrass® enhances direct drainage through the backing, further reducing runoff of rain and snowmelt that could affect surrounding foundations or natural gardening.

3. Reduces Petroleum Consumption. The EnviroCel™ backing of NewGrass® is primarily derived from domestically grown soybeans (in themselves a renewable resource). This backing reduces by nearly 90% the amount of oil-based compounds in the backing compared with earlier generations.

4. Totally Recyclable, No Nylon. The blades of NewGrass® GreenAware varieties are 100% polyethylene – no nylon! - and are 100% recyclable. 5. Aids Fight Against Global Warming. For every square foot of NewGrass® installed, the company makes a donation to the Carbon Fund, a non-profit organization that is leading the fight against global-warming climate change.

5. Aids Fight Against Global Warming. For every square foot of NewGrass® installed, the company makes a donation to the Carbon Fund, a non-profit organization that is leading the fight against global-warming climate change.

6. LEED Credits. With its EnviroCel™ and BioCel™ backings, NewGrass® may contribute to total ratings under LEED credit for New Construction in several categories.

NewGrass has been featured on Bob Vila, The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television, Fine Living TV’s American Shopper, Makeover and a Movie and a special Think Green episode of Designing Spaces  on We tv and TLC - The Learning Channel.

This symbol could soon become as common and EPA’s other conservation program--Energy Star. The EPA launched its WaterSense program in 2006. The program seeks to “enhance the market for water-efficient products and services by building a national brand for water efficiency.”

WaterSense is a program for water-only products like toilets, faucets, and irrigation systems. It does not include appliances like dishwashers or clothes washers that use both water and energy; these remain under the Energy Star program. In 2007, the EPA released WaterSense specifications for high efficiency toilets and bathroom sink faucets. Specifications for showerheads are currently being developed.

WaterSense is poised to become very popular in the green building community. In its proposed changes to several LEED rating systems, the U.S. Green Building Council removed some specifications for water saving credits and replaced them with “WaterSense-certified fixtures and fixture fittings should be used where available.”

Could this symbol become as ubiquitous as the Energy Star symbol? Only time will tell.

===========================================================
GreenerBuildings News: May 22, 2008
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Welcome to the latest edition of GreenerBuildings News. We are committed
to bringing you the latest information and resources on the full
spectrum of environmental issues related to buildings and facilities.
Log on to http://www.GreenerBuildings.com for more up-to-date news,
tools, case studies, and other resources related to greener building
practices.

A full-color, graphic version of this newsletter is available online at:
http://greenerbuildings.com/enewsletters/2008/greenerbuildings/index.htm...

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= FEATURES AND COLUMNS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Building the Way to Water Efficiency
By Lara Abrams Melman
http://greenerbuildings.com/feature/2008/05/22/building-way-water-effici...
With water supplies nationwide feeling the heat, facility managers,
municipalities and innovative companies are working together to make water
conservation easier and more effective than ever before.

Green and Mean: Responsible Property Investing in a Tough Economy
By Jeff Feinstein and Michael Butler
http://greenerbuildings.com/column/2008/05/13/green-and-mean-responsible...
property-investing-a-tough-economy
Our national building infrastructure poses some major challenges to the climate
fight, especially when the economy makes investors hesitant to take on new
projects; but here we explain why green buildings are among the best investments
now -- and any time.

=-=-=-=-=-=-= THE LATEST GREEN BUILDINGS NEWS =-=-=-=-=-=-=

Office Depot's Building Prototype Earns LEED Pre-certification
http://greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/05/21/office-depots-building-proto...
earns-leed-pre-certification
The LEED Portfolio Program is designed to create a volume certification path to
allow companies to incorporate LEED attributes into a prototype design before
implementing across several buildings.

EPA Recognizes Energy Efficient Building Designs
http://greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/05/20/epa-recognizes-energy-effici...
building-designs
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the latest building
projects designed with energy efficiency in mind.

Starbucks Sets New Goals for Renewables, Green Building
http://greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/05/15/starbucks-sets-new-goals-ren...
green-building
Starbucks wants to slash energy consumption in its stores by 25 percent and buy
enough renewable energy certificates to satisfy half of its stores’ energy
needs, all by 2010, the company said Wednesday. All new construction will
incorporate green building principles.

Green Builders Spell Out Zero Carbon
By Sam Bond, Edie News
http://greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/05/19/green-builders-spell-out-zer...
The U.K. construction industry is calling on government to re-write the rules
after concluding that three quarters of new homes are unlikely to meet voluntary
targets which would see them having no carbon emissions.

eBay Bids on Solar
http://greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/05/12/ebay-bids-solar
eBay's North Campus is now the home of 3,248 solar panels in a 650-kilowatt
system that will supply 18 percent of the campus’s power, saving the company
about $100,000 in electricity costs in its first year of operation. The company
used the solar energy system's unveiling to tout its first LEED-Gold building,
which also is the city's first.

Energy Efficiency: Overlooked and Misunderstood
http://greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/05/16/energy-efficiency-overlooked...
misunderstood
A new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy finds
that energy efficiency during the last 30-plus years has been paid little homage
and future gains are threatened by inaction. U.S. energy consumption at the end
of 2008 is expected to total half of the energy consumed in 1970, the report
found.

EPS Corp Unveils Tracking System for Facility Energy, Carbon Emissions
http://greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/05/16/eps-corp-unveils-tracking-sy...
facility-energy-carbon-emissions
The energy and carbon management company's new monitoring system gives
manufacturers a detailed look at emissions from products and facilities.

ASHRAE Aims for Energy Efficiency in Data Centers, Warehouses
http://greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/05/14/ashrae-aims-energy-efficienc...
centers-warehouses
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers
recently launched two guides to move these structures toward reduced energy
consumption.

Earning LEED-EB Costs Little: Report
http://greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/05/13/earning-leed-eb-costs-little...
A survey of owners and managers of facilities that have received LEED-Existing
Building certification say the majority of measures associated with the process
are no-cost or low-cost actions.

New Study Compares Green Building Rating Systems to AIA's Sustainability Goals
http://greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/05/09/new-study-compares-green-bui...
rating-systems-aias-sustainability-goals
The American Institute of Architects sees how the three main green building
rating systems compare point-by-point with its criteria for what it says a green
building system should include.

Wal-Mart Set to Measure Energy Use of 20 U.S. Capitols
http://greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/05/09/wal-mart-set-measure-energy-...
us-capitols
Through a partnership with the National Governors Association, the "Greening
State Capitols" program will provide energy audits in 20 U.S. state capitols to
identify ways in which they can reduce energy consumption.

MORE OF THE LATEST NEWS... http://greenerbuildings.com/current/daily-news

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= TOOLS & RESOURCES =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Innovations Review 2008
http://greenerbuildings.com/resources/resource/innovations-review-2008
The first edition of what will be an annual report looks at innovative,
effective green business strategies, such as ways to take advantage of renewable
energy and make a net-zero energy office, that are both good for business and
the environment.

MORE TOOLS & RESOURCES... http://www.greenerbuildings.com/resources/

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= FEATURED EVENT =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Pharos Project Green Materials Selection Workshop
http://greenerbuildings.com/resources/calendar/2008/05/16/pharos-project...
materials-selection-workshop

Host: Cascadia Region Green Building Council
Date: June 19, 2008
Location: Portland, Ore.

This half-day workshop tackles the issues and challenges inherent in
understanding green building materials and products.

MORE EVENTS . . . http://www.greenerbuildings.com/resources/calendar

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= GREENERBUILDINGS AND YOU =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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By now we all have practical, water-saving shower heads installed in our bathrooms, right? But those of us who consider our bathing rituals to be one of the great pleasures of the day might want to take it one step further. Kevin's outdoor shower is a fun feature that sees daily use by humans and canines returning from walks on the beach. You can get a simple, attractive portable model at Target, for $89, and if you want an outdoor shower that heats itself for free, you can have one for about $10, though it won't win any beauty contests.

But for pure aesthetic appeal, it's hard to beat the Dream Light showerhead from Jaclo, pictured, which The Hardware Aisle dubs "the Xanax of Showerheads." Programmed LEDs provide a chromatherapeutic light show while you bathe. A boon for the coming Seasonal Affective Disorder months.

You can find out more about showers in Episode Nine, which is all about water, and check out new video all this week.