Environmental Law & Policy Center Sets the Standard for Downtown Offices
June 9, 2011 by Matt Baker · Leave a Comment
By Matt Baker
Operating under the premise that ecological progress and economic development are not mutually exclusive, the Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC) advocates for sustainability policies across the Midwest. Founded in 1993, the non-profit, public interest organization has notched a number of victories, especially lately. Illinois utilities, for example, must increase solar energy purchasing starting next year, legislation due largely to the efforts of the ELPC. They also helped broker the nation’s largest urban solar plant, which was installed in 2010 on the city’s Pullman neighborhood. The multidisciplinary staff is now focused on cleaning the Chicago River, installing controls at coal plants and bringing high speed rail to the Midwest.
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For the Uncommon Good
June 9, 2011 by Matt Baker · 1 Comment
By Julie Henning
Celebrating its twentieth anniversary, Uncommon Ground is a vanguard among restaurants seeking to feed Chicagoans seasonably, locally and sustainably.
The greenest restaurant in the city of Chicago, third-party certified by the Green Restaurant Association, Uncommon Ground has been a neighborhood favorite café, bar and restaurant for twenty years. Expanding from the flagship location in Wrigleyville, owners Helen and Michael Cameron opened a second location in Edgewater in 2007.
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Clean Coal Project Makes Another Push for Chicago
June 9, 2011 by Matt Baker · Leave a Comment
By Matt Baker
For the second time this year, the Illinois General Assembly has approved legislation for a $3 billion energy facility. Chicago Clean Energy would be a gasification plant designed to produce substitute natural gas from coal and industrial byproducts. Chicago Clean Energy is an initiative of Leucadia National Corporation, the proponents of the first bill. The gas plant site at 115th and Burley Avenue on the city’s south side is a 140-acre brownfield, the former site of a coke manufacturing plant that went bankrupt in 2001.
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Willis Tower takes Solar Windows to New Heights
June 9, 2011 by Matt Baker · 1 Comment
By Matt Baker
Two summers ago, the owners of the Willis Tower announced an ambitious, five-year, $350 million renovation plan for the nation’s tallest building. The project called for wind turbines, green roofs and solar panels. Every elevator and escalator was to be updated and fuel cells would join next generation boilers to heat and cool the skyscraper.
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2011 Building Green Chicago Conference & Expo
June 9, 2011 by Matt Baker · Leave a Comment
By Jon Sedey
On April 19th 2011, Index Publishing held the fifth annual Building Green Chicago Conference and Expo at the Swissôtel Chicago. After the keynote address, the educational sections consisted of topics ranging from deconstruction, energy consumption and non-potable water sources.
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Modulating Economizers: Recovering Heat, Recovering Profit
June 9, 2011 by Matt Baker · Leave a Comment
By Steen Hagensen
In most boilers today, heat exchange devices, or economizers, pre-heat the incoming feed water with the boiler’s own exhaust gases to maximize efficiency. Over the years, improvements have been made to economizers that now have better heat transfer rates than ever, but it is still only very few boilers that can benefit from their installation. Atmospheric and fan-assisted boilers don’t create a powerful enough draft to force flue gases through the economizer, which makes them unsuitable for economizer installations.
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