Sustainable North

Gail Koepf and Rocky Reifenstuhl, Fairbanks, Alaska homeowners, are building a new home using sustainable, energy efficient techniques. CCHRC staff are filming aspects of the construction for use in a future “Best Practices” video about homebuilding in the North. The following is the first entry from Gail’s ongoing journal about the project. We will continue [...]

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From the Anchorage Daily News, on Wednesday, November 26, 2008:

With global warming melting the Arctic’s eons-old ice at an alarming rate, shipping and oil companies are looking ahead at how to exploit the new open waters.
For the past 30 years, the summer Arctic ice pack has been shrinking. In 2007, the melt reached record levels. [...]

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From the New York Times on November 7, 2008:
As the world seeks low-carbon forms of energy production to reduce the emissions blamed for global warming, the champions of nuclear power have been re-branding the industry as one of the world’s greenest.
Last month, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency said “nuclear energy is virtually carbon-free” across its life cycle [...]

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BY: Ilya Benesch, Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily Newsminer October 2nd, 2008, Section A3
With winter on the horizon, the wood burning season is starting to gain momentum and all indications are that it will be the busiest in recent history. This brings up the topic of chimney safety. Since people in Fairbanks [...]

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In an article on www.consumerreports.org, posted on September 29, 2008, Consumer Reports blasted the US Department of Energy “Energy Star” rating system, saying
“A number of test procedures are out of date or problematic,” says David B. Goldstein, codirector of the energy program at the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Part of the reason is [...]

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The first of a two-part series, “A Greener Future”, from the LA Times, September 14, 2008:
Innovations in designing green chemicals are emerging in nearly every U.S. industry, from plastics and pesticides to toys and nail polish. Some manufacturers of cosmetics, household cleaners and other consumer products are leading the charge, while others are lagging behind.
For [...]

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BY: Ilya Benesch, Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily Newsminer September 18th, 2008, Section A3
Crawl spaces are one of those areas in the house that tend to get neglected. The old adage “Out of sight out of mind” might apply here. Unfortunately, this also means that crawl space problems can go unnoticed until [...]

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BY: Ilya Benesch, Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily Newsminer September 11th, 2008, Section A3
Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) systems are a relative newcomer to the cold climate construction scene, yet have become almost indispensible in today’s super-insulated, air tight homes. They are also becoming an increasingly common element in the current weatherization and [...]

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From the Los Angeles Times, September 10, 2008:
Builders have known for decades that white roofs reflect the sun’s rays and lower the cost of air conditioning. But now scientists say they have quantified a new benefit: slowing global warming.
If the 100 biggest cities in the world installed white roofs and changed their pavement to more reflective [...]

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BY: Dave Misiuk, Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily Newsminer August 28th, 2008, Section A3
There are basically four different wood burning appliance types available that are considered “space heating” appliances. These are units which produce direct convective and/or radiant heat that can be used to heat a room, a house or other “space” [...]

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