Greening Main Street Buildings Resources
By Kennedy Smith | From Main Street Story of the Week | April 2009 | 260
The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program provides a wealth of resources on its website, including a directory of software programs and online tools to simulate the energy savings that might be possible with different types of HVAC systems. http://www.eere.energy.gov and http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/tools_directory/subjects_sub.cfm
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides a rich collection of data and case studies on its website, including information about federal, state and local grant, loan, and incentive programs for environmentally sustainable development. http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/index.htm and http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/tools/funding.htm
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program offers extensive online information about energy-efficient ways to heat, cool, and provide power to commercial and residential buildings, as well as links to manufacturers of energy-efficient equipment. http://www.energystar.gov
The Consortium for Energy Efficiency provides a venue for energy-efficiency practitioners in the United States and Canada to share information and conduct joint research. http://www.cee1.org
The U.S. Green Building Council provides information on the LEED certification program, as well as case studies of green building projects, conference presentations, and research and statistics about green building on its website. http://www.usgbc.org
Smart Growth America provides a wealth of information on public policy practices that encourage energy-efficient development. http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/environment.html
The National Trust for Historic Preservation's sustainability initiative website provides case studies of historic buildings that have boosted their energy efficiency, along with news about sustainability issues and other resources. http://www.preservationnation.org/issues/sustainability/
Walk Score is a web-based tool that calculates the "walkability" of any US address, based on proximity to housing, shops, libraries, transportation, and other services. Not surprisingly, main street districts generally earn relatively high walkability scores. http://www.walkscore.com
The Green Building Finance Consortium conducts research on the economic costs and benefits of sustainable development and provides this information to lenders, investors and the public to encourage investment in environmental sustainability. http://www.greenbuildingfc.com/
