Anonymous
May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

Jon Stewart
I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.

Arnold Schwarzenegger
I love Thanksgiving turkey... it's the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts.

Rapa (-;

Hello all,

I just want to wish everyone on our forum a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving, and may your holiday be filled with family, friends, food and good cheer.

Sincerely, Rapa (-;

The Group,

Wishing you the best Thanksgiving

RB
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

For the Soul

ARIRANG (32 West 32nd Street, third floor) prepares chicken with vegetables and noodles cooked in a casserole ($49.99).

A FEW truths existed in my house growing up: baseball games were worth watching only when the Yankees won, lateness was inexcusable, and the chicken soup from Second Avenue Deli was the best cure for a cold.

Readers’ Opinions

What's Your Favorite Chicken Soup?

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

 

RUSS & DAUGHTERS (179 East Houston Street ), makes chicken soup with carrots, celery, dill and egg noodles from a century-old family recipe ($4.95).

 

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

 

GRAND SICHUAN (229 Ninth Avenue) has shredded chicken and pea-shoot soup ($9.50).

 

Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times

 

YUEN YUEN (61-A Bayard Street) offers black chicken soup with ginseng ($7.95).

 

Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times

 

PYLOS (128 East Seventh Street) makes avgolemono, Greek egg-lemon soup ($6, or $5 at lunch).

 

Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times

 

EL MALECÓN (4141 Broadway, at 175th Street) offers sopa de pollo ($4.50).

 

This last had the most staying power. We lived just a couple of blocks from the deli, and every time I felt a bit feverish, I would savor Second Avenue’s “Chicken in the Pot”: enough tender boiled chicken, sweet soft carrots, noodles and savory broth for three or four sniffling souls.

So when I found myself, in this swine-flu-fearing fall, home sick for the day, my body ached with craving. The reality of being an adult hit when I discovered that Chicken in the Pot delivered to my East Village apartment would cost about $40 — $22.95 for the soup, a $10 delivery charge and a generous tip for anyone who carried it up the six flights. That seemed a bit extreme for nostalgia or medicine, so I forced myself out of bed and down to Russ & Daughters, the legendary appetizing store nearby, where a pint of Jewish penicillin is $4.95.

“We like to keep it to its pure elements,” Niki Russ Federman, a fourth-generation co-owner of the place, said of the carrots, celery, dill and egg noodles in her century-old family recipe. “I mean, this was certainly the panacea when I was a kid, and it still is.”

Chicken soup was prescribed for respiratory problems as long ago as the 12th century, by the physician and philosopher Maimonides. Many since have studied its curative properties, including Dr. Stephen Rennard, who conducted laboratory tests with a recipe passed down from his wife’s Lithuanian grandmother and found that the soup affects the movement of white blood cells to help fight infection.

It’s not a total healer, more of a symptom-soother, and there is not a matzo-ball monopoly: many of Manhattan’s ethnic restaurants feature a similarly beloved elixir. Share your favorite chicken-soup spots around the city, or a favorite recipe, at nytimes.com/dinersjournal.

ARIRANG (32 West 32nd Street, third floor), whose patrons include Korean pop stars, is a mecca of chicken soup. My glasses fogged up when Chicken Kar-Jeabe with handmade long noodles and dough flakes ($9.45), a huge metal bowl of steaming goodness, was placed in front of me. The different-size noodles gently danced on the surface, along with thinly sliced potatoes, onions, strands of scallion and a hint of garlic. “It’s good for when you don’t feel like you want to eat anything,” Changil Kim, co-owner and cook, said. At the next table, four Korean officemates shared a chicken with vegetables and noodles cooked in a casserole ($49.99), a stunning platter of mushrooms, greens, sprouts and spices arrayed around a pot with a whole chicken inside. Being sick can have its perks.

GRAND SICHUAN (229 Ninth Avenue) has shredded chicken and pea-shoot soup ($9.50) that is fresh and bright, with a hint of ginger and nuttiness. My whole body gently hummed, and my head felt slightly clearer after a couple of spoonfuls. The manager, Frank Chu, attributed the soup’s renewing taste to the freshness of the chicken, which is killed only hours before by a vendor in Chinatown: “It’s special chicken; when you chew on the meat, you can feel the difference.”

YUEN YUEN (61-A Bayard Street), a Chinatown spot where English is of little use, has black chicken soup with ginseng ($7.95), which is known for the energy it provides. Sipping the pungent, amber broth, you have the distinct feeling that you are doing something good for yourself. Nan Lu, a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, said the black chicken is at the core of the healing benefits. The chickens are literally black — black boned, black skinned, with dark meat — and weigh only a couple of pounds plucked. The soup is not good during a cold, because the ginseng and chicken would “cover the illness inside the body,” Dr. Lu said, but should be consumed once every week or two through the winter to ward off illness.

PYLOS (128 East Seventh Street) makes it clear that chicken soup is not only for the sick. The avgolemono, Greek egg-lemon soup ($6, or $5 at lunch), tastes elegant while still feeling nourishing and homey. The citrusy, creamy broth coats your throat and lingers in a way that clear broth cannot. Chunks of chicken and orzo fill out the taste, and extra pepper provides a nice nasal clearing. Diane Kochilas, who has written numerous cookbooks and is the consulting chef, explained her new spin on an age-old recipe: “The leeks and celery give it more depth of flavor, and we add sort of a gourmet touch, finish it with a little bit of Champagne, which adds acidity and crispness.”

EL MALECÓN (4141 Broadway, at 175th Street) has a television that was tuned to a cooking show on how to prep a chicken for roasting when I visited, but José Ovando, who has been cooking the soup for 14 years, needs no lessons. The Dominican sopa de pollo ($4.50) is comfort in a bowl, with meat falling off the drumstick and thigh bones into a light-brown broth seasoned with cilantro and a bit of adobo. It’s made to order, in a way: Patrons can specify less yuca, more broth. Mr. Ovando said the secret is mashing the starting ingredients so the flavors saturate the water.

Source: NYT

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/nyregion/22soup.html?hp

Rapa (-;

 

The Wet Side of the Moon

 

Maxwell Loren Holyoke-Hirsch

PICTURE a habitat atop a hill in warm sunlight on the edge of a crater near the south pole of the Moon. There are metal ores in the rocks nearby and ice in the shadows of the crater below. Solar arrays are set up on the regolith that covers the Moon’s surface. Humans live in sealed, cave-like lava tubes, protected from solar flares and sustained by large surface greenhouses. Imagine the Moon as the first self-sustainable human settlement away from Earth and a high-speed transportation hub for the solar system.

We can finally begin to think seriously about establishing such a self-sufficient home on the Moon because last week, NASA announced that it had discovered large quantities of water there.

While we have known for decades that the Moon had all the raw chemicals necessary for sustaining life, we believed they were trapped in rocks and thus difficult to extract. The discovery of plentiful lunar water is of tremendous importance to humanity and our long-term survival.

There have been 73 missions, manned and unmanned, to the Moon, and understanding its chemical composition, particularly finding water, has always been a priority. So why haven’t we seen significant amounts of water until now?

The answer lies in the Moon’s rotation. Unlike Earth, which rotates on a significant tilt to the Sun, the Moon is barely tilted at all. At the poles, some hills remain in permanent sunlight while some troughs are always in shadow. When water lands in sunny spots, perhaps carried by comets or asteroids, the water transforms directly into gas; if it lands in shadow, the water freezes and can remain indefinitely. The lack of light explains why spectrometers — instruments that can be used for remote water detection but rely on reflected light to do so — never picked up on the water.

This changed last month, when NASA shot a satellite into a permanently shadowed region on the Moon’s surface, throwing a plume of material containing water up out of the shadow.

From the perspective of human space exploration, that water is the most important scientific discovery since the ’60s. We can drink it, grow food with it and breathe it — by separating the oxygen from the hydrogen through a process called electrolysis. These elements can even be used to fuel rocket engines. (Discovering water on Mars was not quite as significant because the major hurdle to establishing permanent settlements there is the eight-month journey.)

Creating a permanent lunar habitat is important primarily for our species’ survival. Humanity needs more than one home because, with all our eggs in one basket, we are at risk of low-probability but high-consequence catastrophes like asteroid strikes, nuclear war or bioterrorism.

But it would also lead to valuable technological and other advancements. Consider the side-effects of the Apollo program: it drove the development of small computers, doubled the number of doctoral students in science and math in about a decade and marked a new stage in relations between the Americans and Soviets.

Imagine what we could learn from living on the Moon permanently. On its far side, shielded from the Earth’s radio noise, there is a quiet zone perfect for radio astronomy — which allows us to see objects we can’t from Earth. Out of necessity we could develop bacteria to extract resources directly from the regolith — a useful technology for Earth as well. And an international venture could open a new era of global cooperation.

Almost as surprising as NASA’s announcement is the lack of attention it has received. Thirty years ago, a development like this would have been heralded as one of humanity’s greatest discoveries. Perhaps the indifference is partly because of the disappointment of astronomers, amateur and professional, who tried to watch NASA’s October blast through their telescopes, but couldn’t see the plume. Or perhaps it’s a symptom of our age, that the problems that bedevil us on Earth limit our interest in other worlds — just when we need them (and the inspiration they offer) most.

Hadrian’s Academy unearthed?

ROME — As is known, Rome never stops surprising us, and the treasures that are still covered by layers and layers of earth, streets and pavements are hardly imaginable.

The most recent and rather important discovery is the white marble flight of steps found during excavations undertaken in the course of archaeological surveys for Line C of the underground railroad in Piazza Venezia.

After the discovery of the building that perhaps supported Nero’s rotating dining room on the Palatine, excavations for Line C of Rome’s subway brought to light a building that, according to the first hypotheses made by archaeologists, is thought to be Hadrian’s Academy, built in 133 A.D. to host poets, rectors, philosophers, men of letters, scientists and magistrates.

Hadrian, or Publius Aelius Hadrianus, ruled from 117-138 AD. He was an avid philosopher who was commonly referred to as one of the “five good emperors.” Hadrian’s Wall, in Northern England was built after a great war in what was then called Britannia.

It was an unexpected find as there is no trace of this building even in the Forma Urbis Romae, the map of ancient Rome engraved on marble slabs in the days of Septimius Severus (2nd Century A.D.). One of the sources used by archaeologists is the archaeological map created in the early 20th Century by the scholar Guglielmo Gatti. On this map Gatti in fact rediscovered a late-ancient domus and a little further south a number of monumental structures, which were really therefore the beginnings of the now hypothesised Athenaeum.

At the center, where the emperor and the poets wrote verses, is a granite floor with ochre coloured listels. These are the same kinds of floors used for the libraries Hadrian had built to the sides of Trajan’s Column fifty meters further along.

Now, the hypothesis that the Athenaeum may be in that never previously excavated corner of Piazza Venezia is extremely fascinating for history, archeology and architecture buffs.

Source: Blast

http://blastmagazine.com/the-news/world-news/2009/11/hadrians-academy-unearthed/

Rapa (-;

Proof of activity 3,000 yrs ago

Moscow: A material evidence of human activity dating back 3,000 years ago has been reported in New Jerusalem monastery near Russian capital Moscow.

"Archaeologists have found ceramics produced back in the times of the Bronze Age, or about 800 years BC, as well as some artefacts made after Christ's birth," the monastery's abbot, hegumen Theophilactus has said.

One of the finds is jewellery of the 11th century. Numerous new finds are directly related to the monastery's history, or rather, to the period from the mid-17th through to the end of the 19th century.

"They give us a clear picture, for instance, of the ceramic ovens the monastery had and of the dishes they used here," hegumen Theophilactus told Itar-Tass.

The list of finds includes cannonballs, a silver hoard and separate coins.

"There's even a gold coin minted at the Hungarian royal court in the 15th century," the abbot said.

"This wasn't a coin for monetary circulation, though, it was a gift article, which the king would present only to the people close to him."

"Also, the workers have found the cobbled floor of a pond that was dug in the 17th century during the rule of Patriarch Nikon," Theophilactus said adding "its floor was reinforced with a 50-centimetres-thick layer of clay."

Source: Zee News

http://www.zeenews.com/news580630.html

Rapa (-;

Death certificate is imprinted on the Shroud of Turin, says Vatican scholar

(Claudio Papi/Reuters)

A reproduction of the shroud. The original is regarded by many as a medieval forgery

Source: Times On Line

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6925371.ece

Rapa (-;

For those of you who have missed Josh’s live stream video last week at the Greenbuild International Conference, well you can see it now, it is located in their video archive.

http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/Speakers/archived-videos/2009-videos/josh-bernstein.aspx

Enjoy!

Rapa (-;

Not 'unknown,' Bernstein shares exploits with local audience

STAFF PHOTO BY CINDY FORREST

Josh Bernstein attracted hundreds to Birchwood Manor for the Town Hall of Morris Lecture Series.

Josh Bernstein traveled out of the "Unknown" and into Morris County last week when he appeared at Birchwood Manor to address hundreds of area residents. The event was the Town Hall of Morris Lecture Series 34th season opener featuring the host and executive producer of the Discovery Channel's series "Into The Unknown."

Born Feb. 24, 1971, Bernstein is an international explorer, photographer, author, survival expert and television host. Like a real-life Indiana Jones, he has traced the Ark of the Covenant from the caverns of Jerusalem to the mountains of Ethiopia, searched for the Holy Grail in the bowels of Nazi Germany, and communed with tribal chiefs in the darkest jungles of the Amazon Rainforest.

He has ventured deep underground with NASA scientists to explore the origins of life on Earth and has hunted with alleged cannibals by moonlight in the forests of Papua New Guinea — all in a quest to uncover some of the most fascinating mysteries of our planet.

His hobbies and interests include technical SCUBA diving (cave and wreck), photography, blacksmithing, and occasionally working on his FJ45 Troop Carrier Landcruiser, which he converted to run on waste vegetable oil and even sky diving. Asked what he wouldn't do his answer was swift and definite – bungee jumping.

Local interest

High schools throughout Morris County are invited to bring students to each of the town hall lectures. This month, students and their teachers from Mountain Lakes, Boonton and Hanover high schools attended.

Mountain Lakes High School senior Grant Davies said he wanted to hear Bernstein in the hope of getting some survival tips.

"I'll be going to Virginia Military Institute next year," he said, "and I'm hoping that his insight into survival training would help me."

Jilian Sabatino, a freshman at Boonton High School, was drawn to the lecture by Bernstein's adventures.

"Travel and seeing the world has always interested me," she said.

Obviously a passion shared with Bernstein who has traveled more than 500,000 miles by train, plane, bus, bike and camel to over 50 countries, exploring the biggest mysteries of the planet in pursuit of knowledge and discovery.

The event is also attended by hundreds of the regular subscribers of the lecture series and sometimes guests who attend in their place. One first timer using a friend's ticket was Margaret Stuart of Montville, whose thoughts about the presenter were likely shared by many of the other women.

"I came because I watched his show and thought he was really cute," she said, "but he turned out to be amazing and really interesting too."

Boundless biography

Bernstein's television career began in 2005, when he debuted as the host of a new adventure-archaeology series called "Digging for the Truth" on The History Channel. The series quickly became the highest-rated original series in the network's history, and Bernstein continued to host "Digging" for two more record-breaking seasons. In 2007, he moved from The History Channel to Discovery Channel, to begin working on "Into The Unknown."

In addition to his work on television, Bernstein is also the president and CEO of BOSS, the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. Based in the small town of Boulder, UT, BOSS is the oldest and largest wilderness survival school in the world. He first attended BOSS as a student in 1987 and, over the past 22 years, has advanced through the ranks, becoming president and CEO of the company in 1997.

At BOSS, participants challenge themselves on survival courses up to one month in length, learning primitive skills like how to make fire without matches, build shelter from local materials, and turn river rocks into cutting edges. Under Bernstein's direction, BOSS has consulted on many television and Hollywood productions, including a number of reality shows and all of the island survival scenes for Cast Away starring Tom Hanks.

Born and raised in New York City, Bernstein has two degrees from Cornell University (B.A., anthropology and psychology). After graduating from college, he spent a year in a post-graduate program in Jerusalem studying, among other things, mysticism and ancient texts.

Town Hall is a nonprofit, independent organization maintained by a volunteer Board of Directors and its sole activity, an annual series of four lectures, is totally supported by the fees of its subscribers.

Source: North Jersey.com

http://xrl.us/bf7jje

Rapa (-;

 GreenBuild 2009—Something For Everyone

            Last week Coachella Valley Green joined approximately 28,000 other people at GreenBuild 2009 in Phoenix, AZ to hear the latest green news, learn from some of the best sustainable educators, and discover the most innovate environmental products in the world.  GreenBuild is the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) annual conference and expo and is considered the world’s largest of its kind.   After attending several workshops and speaker sessions, walking for miles in the exhibitor area, and meeting green enthusiasts from around the world, the experience exceeded expectations, re-inspired commitments toward living and working green, and confirmed that building green is a critical, growing and profitable industry for our country.

         It would be impossible for any one person to experience everything that GreenBuild provides.  Perhaps that is why it offers so many things for so many people.   A large focus of the conference featured world-renown environmental speakers and workshops, plus a huge selection of classes to aid in obtaining LEED certification.  LEED stands for (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) and is both an accreditation for professionals and a green building rating system.   Beyond that, a number of special events were offered including an opening night celebration, a Green Salon fashioned after the Actor’s Studio, and even a Green Building Job Fair.  Coinciding these happenings were two convention center floor areas of extensive exhibits which featured environmentally focused products from sleek bamboo flooring to geothermal pump systems.

Opening Celebration

            The opening Plenary Celebration showcased former Vice President Al Gore, USGBC President & CEO Rick Fedrizzi and Singer Sheryl Crow.   Held at night at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the balmy evening started with an address by Fedrizzi who stated, “Our work should not be defined solely by the number of LEED certified homes, offices, schools and neighborhoods.  It is about the people inside of them.  Green Building is about the families who must weigh their power bill against their grocery bill; it’s about workers who labor in buildings that take a toll on their bodies and spirits; and it’s about kids who spend their entire childhoods in toxic classrooms.”  He then rallied the crowd of nearly 30,000 attendees to remember that, “Green building affects everyone everywhere.”

            Al Gore, fresh from publishing his new book “Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis” then suggested that the crisis that we face with our climate, economy and security issues within our country, are all based on our dependence on carbon based fuels and that green building is an essential solution.  He finished by saying that future generations will look back at us in this time and ask one of two questions.  They will ask, “What were you thinking?  Didn’t you see the entire North Polar ice cap melting before your eyes? Did you not care?  Or they will ask,  How did you find the courage to rise up and solve a crisis so many said was impossible to solve?”   While complimentary toward the green building community in general, the serious and broad nature of the talk offered little in the way of motivation or inspiration.    Luckily, singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow topped off the evening with an hour-long concert of her Grammy winning favorites. 

Workshop & Master Speakers

            One of the challenges of attending GreenBuild is deciding what to attend.   One workshop of interest, “Mining the Urban Environment: Navigating the Re-Use Opportunities” featured speakers National Benjamin from Planet Reuse, and Steve Baer, USGBC Steering Committee Member and Green Consultant.   Both speakers encouraged the reuse of building materials even though it is one of the more difficult point generators in the LEED system.  Benjamin stated that 40% of all trash going into landfills today comes from the design and construction industry, so there is a lot of room for improvement.  Steve Baer said that, “By 2030 we will have demolished 82 billion square feet of current US Building stock.  That will take as much energy as California uses every 10 years.”  His motto is, “reuse, recycle, reduce and redevelop.”

            Another speaker of note was Peter Gleick, said to be the world’s leading expert on water.   He pointed out that “We desperately need a new way to think about water.”   Gleick recommends that we need to be able to calculate our water footprint as much as our energy footprint because only then can we set standards and try to lower our usage.  Of note is that fact that 49% of the water in our country goes to cool power planets.  Gleick says, “Thinking about water efficiency along with energy efficiency is a double benefit.”  He was also hopeful in the fact that new data shows that usage is not tied to population growth or GDP growth.  Instead, when sustainable systems and designs are in place we can grow our economy without increasing demand.

            Josh Bernstein, TV host of the Discovery Channel’s “Into the Unknown” and world explorer was a favorite and one of the few sell-out presentations.   He started by asking, “What can we learn about the environment and its challenges from past cultures.”  The answer to that is evident in such cultures as the ancient Mayans and the people of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) who both were unable to stop the effects of environmental decline in spite of being highly advanced.   Bernstein added, “We (humans) have a tendency to understand that the end might be coming and not act.”

            According to Bernstein, the world is at an ecological crossroads.  He also believes that the need has never been greater for an Environmental Movement, a true paradigm shift, but that the shift can’t just be a shift in thinking.  Bernstein said, “the shift has to be more than just building a green home, it has to be a ‘feeling’.  It’s not just a technological movement; it needs to be an emotional movement.  We need to get people to care.”    As a person who has traveled the world and studied traditional cultures, Bernstein finished by saying, “This planet will only succeed if we care about ourselves and the planet.”

Exhibition Hall

            The exhibit halls at GreenBuild are intimidating.  Not only did they cover the entire basement of the Phoenix convention center, they also nearly filled the third floor as well.   All told there were 1,100 exhibitors with one report saying that amount was 25% more than previous years.  In spite of the economy, and the fact that most convention numbers are down for 2009, GreenBuild Expo attracted a wide cross section of products and companies from around the world.   There were huge companies with such well-known names as Honeywell, Herman Miller, Kohler, McGraw Hill, and Waste Management.  There was also hundreds of small to medium sized businesses representing everything from Big Ass Fans to Dolphin Watercare Systems, from WAXIE Sanitary Supply to Rainforest Alliance, from Office Depot to Arizona Correctional Industries.  The list was overwhelming.

            To GreenBuild’s credit, they do provide a complete booklet with company listings, maps and other information to guide attendees to booths of interest.  Yet, for such a large area to cover it is impossible to adequately explore the entire Expo within the allotted time given.   The best approach is to thoroughly study the guide in advance and make choices about what and when to visit applicable booths.

Feedback From Attendees

            Bill Waring from Sustainable Strategies in Honolulu, Hawaii had attended several GreenBuild conferences before.  When asked what he thought of the 2009 version he said, “I wish I had more time here…I think it is a great show.   The networking opportunities have been the biggest surprise. I am perpetually 10 minutes late because I am meeting such interesting people.”  When asked about the seminars Bill said,   “There have been some that have been good, and there have been others where people are telling the audience things that they already know.  I find more value in ones where I am actually learning something.”  When asked about the Expo he said, “The exhibition itself is good, I’ve seen a lot of these vendors before but there are a couple of new ones…there’s a lot going on with rainwater harvesting which excites me living in a tropical environment, I’m glad to see that that’s really starting to kick in.” 

            Kristin Palmer, LEED AP from True Living Ventures in Pasadena, attended GreenBuild for the first time under the Young Professionals Designation.  She said, “This is my very first GreenBuild and I am fairly new to the green building industry so this is another one of those opportunities for me to learn.  The one thing that surprised me about GreenBuild is how many other young people are here. It seems to be the kind of industry that is attracting a lot of young graduates and other young people who know this is not only going to be a huge industry and money maker, it’s going to be a necessity with what is happening in the world anyway.”   When asked about the Expo she said, “I walked around a little bit and am sort of overwhelmed by the amount of materials that are out there, but also very encouraged that there are those options for green building.  Having the market so full of options helps to bring the costs down.”

            Both attendees were excited about the community of GreenBuild.  Kristin said, “I wish people could experience the community feeling.  I think sometimes when we’re out there alone and pushing for this you feel unsupported. Coming to GreenBuild shows you that you’re not alone and that there is an entire movement and industry behind you.”  Bill agreed and said, “You’re not convincing people here. Instead of educating people, we are actually getting educated.  I spend so much of my time advocating and trying to help people understand and it’s really nice to be among a bunch of people who already get it.”

            Kenny Dickerson, a Coachella Valley builder, attended a portion of the conference as a representative of one of the products he distributes locally.    He was pleased with what he observed and said, “I think we already have in the valley the best green products available on the market.”

            Local author and green architect, Eric Corey Freed participated as a speaker in one the educational sessions, as well as a panel speaker on an evening presentation concerning Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).   Freed liked best about GreenBuild that “everything was contained within a 3 block radius and, for a moment, Phoenix resembled a sustainable downtown community.”  When asked whether the Coachella Valley could learn something from the conference he added, “I think GreenBuild is a wonderful statement about the power and size of the green community.”

Main Street Green

            The theme at GreenBuild 2009 was “Main Street Green—Connect the Conversation” and USGBC clearly advanced that goal.  About the only downside to GreenBuild is the hefty price tag and time to attend, but even that is offset by offering one day passes, entrance to the exhibit area alone, or student and young professional discounts.  The USGBC is clearly reaching high with its ability to educate, advocate and advance the green building industry.  But it wasn’t just about business.  Although subtle, a message of social equity, environmental stewardship, and providing sustainable places to live, work and play was also evident.  If anything, GreenBuild is an example of how sustainable and eco-friendly building, working and living is assuredly a big part of our future.

Coachella Valley Local Narendra Patel Takes Green Around The World 

     

     It is one thing to talk about green design and construction and quite another to walk into a building that feels alive.  Such is the work of local architect and visionary Narendra Patel.  Patel has called the Coachella Valley desert his home since 1981 and from the very beginning he gradually but consistently integrated green practices in every property he designed.   Now, over 20 years later, his green, unique and fluid designs are part of the Coachella Valley landscape as well as winning recognition on the other side of the world.  Not bad for a CV local who started designing green merely because it was the “right thing to do.”

“In the beginning,” according to Patel, “I was green.  I hated the idea of waste.”  That waste included everything from energy to construction.  Actually, Patel didn’t become a green architect—he designed properties the way he thought they should be designed from conception.  Patel started out creating designs that avoided waste of any kind.  Also of special importance to him was crafting high indoor air quality and fitting the property to the land.   In other words, Patel didn’t attempt to sell anyone on going green, he was merely green before most us even realized that green was cool.

            While the bulk of Patel’s designs have been luxury homes, he has a large number of impressive commercial buildings dotting the Coachella Valley.  Of special note is the Henderson Community Building in Palm Desert, which is registered as a LEED Certified Gold Building*.  It has also been selected as a Green Building of America Award-winning project.  In alignment with Patel’s basic green criterion, the 6,300 square foot building contains such features as solar energy, natural air circulation, resource conservation and minimal waste.  Still, the true beauty of the building is the how organically the property sits on the desert.  There is no doubt that it belongs there.

            After two decades of building luxury homes and commercial buildings in the desert, Patel is now taking his version of green out into the international market.  He frequently calls that version, “Ecologically progressive architecture…or eco-tech with a combination of technology, material and engineering.”  But interestingly enough, he is usually hired based upon his designs rather than his green and sustainable devotion.  According to Patel, “Green architecture doesn’t need to be boring—in fact it has to be aesthetically pleasing.”  Once the client sees the end product, the basic green features are not an issue.   Then after the basic design has been approved, Patel and his team attempt to work to convince the client to utilize more aggressive green features like solar.

            One of Patel’s current projects is a Net Zero Green Hotel in Guangzhou, China, which is being touted as “the most sustainable hotel in the world where extreme green will meet extreme luxury.”   The property, owned by private investors in China will contain over 350 hotel rooms and 500,000 square feet.  The sustainable elements will include three large wind turbines, a fuel cell power generator, transparent photovoltaic windows, it’s own gray-water recycling system and all natural materials.  The property is currently in the final design stages and it is expected to be complete in 2012-2013.    Patel has described the distinct and fluid design as, “a sculpture in the air.”

            Again, Patel was not hired to design this building as a “green” building.  There were actually three other architectural designs already completed for the hotel before the investors asked Patel to provide input. Patel honestly explained that if they wanted an iconic landmark building, they needed a new design.  After that, it was relatively easy to convince the investors in China that a five-star zero carbon hotel would be the landmark they were looking to create.

            Like many of us, Patel believes that green in the future has become a necessity.    “In time, sustainable design concepts will simply be incorporated as inherent attributes of standard practice,” says Patel. “‘Going green,’ might be the buzz phrase today but ultimately, it will become a survival skill.”  Patel also thinks of himself as a “risk-taker.”  He says that if he believes in adding yet untried products to his design, he is willing to fight for them.   That bravery has clearly paid off in his work.

            When asked about future projects Patel says he is exploring projects where he can have a larger impact on people’s lives.  That’s why he is looking into more hotel projects, as well as public buildings.  Those types of buildings consume large amount resources and effect the environment of the community around them quite dramatically.  When asked what he would like to see happen here in the Coachella Valley he admitted he would like to see some of the Indian Nations and their corresponding casinos be built green.

            On a recent trip to China, Patel had the opportunity to speak to architectural students at a local university.  According to Patel, these students were the highest achievers and quite brilliant.  They are excited and eager to build as sustainably as possible.  However, the most intriguing question they asked was, what do you recommend we do to practice green architecture?  Patel told them that besides being a good architect, they also needed to be good salesmen and educate their clients.  An architect can’t just think and design, they must communicate those ideas.  A person can talk as much as they want, but unless our ideas are implemented, it doesn’t do much good.

            That is a message we can all use as we go about creating the green.

Source: Coachella Valley green

http://coachellavalleygreen.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=114

Rapa (-;