Governor’s Award For Pollution Prevention

Southface and the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association’s EarthCraft House program have received a 2002 Governor’s Award for Pollution Prevention. The Department of Natural Resources, Pollution Prevention Assistance Division (P2AD), along with the Georgia State University Environmental Policy Studies Program, announced the award. Jimmy Palmer, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 4, and P2AD Director Bob Kerr presented the awards to the winners, including Southface.

The Governor’s Award is presented each year to organizations that demonstrate outstanding leadership and commitment to Georgia’s environment through innovative pollution prevention efforts. Pollution Prevention is elimination of waste at the source where it is first produced. Pollution Prevention includes practices that reduce the use of raw materials, water, and energy through conservation and reuse. Georgia’s manufacturing industries, government facilities, academic institutions, commercial businesses, nonprofit groups and citizens are eligible for the award. Winners are acknowledged for their role in reducing waste at the source and obtaining superior results in pollution prevention.

In addition to EarthCraft House’s contribution to improving Atlanta’s air quality and reducing the amount of waste going into its landfills, the program is also responsible for improving the indoor air quality of EarthCraft House homeowners. Educating builders on the advantages of building green leads to homes that are healthier than typical new homes. By reducing air infiltration and duct leakage, the health risks of radon, dust and other airborne contaminants are significantly reduced.

There were 405 EarthCraft homes certified from July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002. The emissions saved by building this many homes to EarthCraft House standards are equivalent to 428 cars’ annual emissions or sequestering 585 acres of forest! Since September 2002, the EarthCraft House program has certified 705 homes.

New Georgia Energy Code In Effect January 1, 2003

The Georgia Energy Code is undergoing a change that will be based on the residential IECC-2000 and commercial ASHRAE 90.1-2001 regulations. The revised code was passed on October 9, 2002, and will go into effect on January 1, 2003. All residential and commercial builders will be required to build to the standard in the new code. Southface has been given a grant from the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) in cooperation with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct a series of workshops to educate people about the code. Southface will travel across the state to provide these day-long workshops through April 2003. Building code officials, residential builders, commercial builders, engineers, architects and others interested can register for a workshop by contacting Jessica at Southface Energy Institute, 404/872-3549 ext.107 or e-mail energycode@southface.org. See inside back cover for workshop dates and locations.

DOEs ‘Building For The 21st Century’ Highlights EarthCraft House

Executive Director Dennis Creech illustrated a “blueprint for a healthy, comfortable, affordable home that cuts utility bills and protects the environment” as he spoke about Southface and the EarthCraft House program in September. In front of a national audience, Creech took part in the U.S. Department of Energy and National Building Museum sponsored lecture series, explaining how EarthCraft certified homes reduce pollutants, improve indoor air quality and lower utility bills. Southface is a leader in transforming the marketplace, promoting high performance homes. The EarthCraft program allows builders to choose from a mix of environmentally friendly construction measures best suited for individual projects. Please see page 23 in the Southface Journal for information on the next EarthCraft House training.

Southface Welcomes New Staff, Fellows and Interns

Abigail Paine joined the Southface team as communications coordinator. She graduated from the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications with a B.S. in Public Relations. She has a wide range of communications experience, including agency and non-profit public relations and corporate communications. She is excited about taking on Southface Journal responsibilities, as well as implementing communications strategies to enhance programs such as Greenprints and EarthCraft House.

Sean Enright, EarthCraft Fellow, became interested in the environmental aspects of home energy issues during a year spent at Western State College. At the University of Minnesota, he was one of the first to enter the new Residential Building Science and Technology program. He is one class away from becoming the program’s fourth graduate.

Doug Iverson, Southface Fellow, has worked as a digitizing map technician, interactive television coordinator, landscape assistant and educator to people of all ages. With a graduate degree in Environmental Education, his interests are in energy and sustainability policy. Doug also traveled throughout the U.S., studying impact of civilizations on nature.

Corinne Benedek, Intern, graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Cornell University. In the past she has worked in North Carolina for a small timberframe building company.

Maggie Leslie, Intern, graduated from Warren Wilson College with a B.S. in Environmental Studies and a concentration in Sustainable Agriculture. After working in elementary education and organic agriculture, she completed a Sustainable Building Design Advisory course in Seattle. Maggie aspires to design and advocate ecologically viable communities for people, plants and animals.

Diana Pendergrast, Intern, recently graduated from Davidson College with a B.S. in Physics. In the past two years she has studied abroad in Ecuador, taught science to orphans in the Dominican Republic, lead outdoor trips in Costa Rica, and biked across the United States. She is dedicated to protecting our natural resources, land and people who live on that land. She will be at Southface for three months before leaving in December for an organic farm in New Zealand.

Katrina Rumbold, Intern, graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Resource Ecology and Management. Katrina spent a summer learning hands-on at a biological field station and spent a semester in Costa Rica studying aspects of sustainable development. Katrina is interested in environmentally friendly building, environmental education and urban design. Eventually she would like to take all that she has learned back to Costa Rica.

Chris Truong, Intern, graduated from UCLA with a degree in Classics. She studied at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, where she learned about efficient heating and cooling in desert environments. She has lived and traveled throughout Canada and looks forward to learning about environmental design at Southface before pursuing graduate studies in architecture.