FEBRUARY LUNCH PROGRAM
"Incorporating Native Plant Landscapes into Green Building Design"
Dr. Lou Verner WIldlife Biologist, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

Thursday, February 15, Noon - 2pm, Virginia Center for Architecture, 2501 Monument Ave. (map)
Lunch Provided Free For Members, $15 for Non-Member. RSVP's are required for members and non-members to rsvp@jrgbc.org.

Although often ignored or neglected, the landscape should be an integral feature of every green building design.  Ironically, traditional landscapes are anything but green. (more)

2007 GO GREEN Competition
Entry forms and fees due February 16th, submissions due March 30th.  JRGBC seeks Virginia designers' projects for display and discussion that illustrate regional efforts to integrate environmentally responsible design methods and materials into the built environment. Jury includes Frrank Harmon, FAIA and Gail Lindsey, FAIA. For more information, please click here. Awards and Forum, Friday, April 20, 2-5pm at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens.

2010 IMPERATIVE GLOBAL TEACH-IN
Tuesday, February 20, Noon - 3:30 pm, Virginia Center for Architecture, 2501 Monument Ave(map).  Bring your own bag lunch, and plan to arrive by 11:45 AM. RSVP to info@aiaric.org no later than Friday, February 16.
Don't miss the 2010 Imperative Global Emergency Teach-In addressing global warming and climate change. The Teach-In is an interactive webcast broadcast live from New York ...  (more)

"GREEN DRINKS " JRGBC SOCIAL
On the last Thursday of every month, the JRGBC hosts a "Green Drinks" 6-8pm @ Legends Brewery. Our first get together was a great success. Come and be a part of the action again, or for the first time on February 22nd. See Greendrinks International for more info.

THIRD ANNUAL JRGBC GREEN BUILDING AWARDS LUNCHEON
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 Time and Location TBA.

JRGBC HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDING GRANT
The JRGBC will be awarding a $10,000 grant to promote the inclusion of green features to K-12 schools and affordable housing projects in Central Virginia. Applications must be postmarked no later than April 5, 2007.  Awards will be made no later than April 30, 2007.  Please click here for an application and additional requirements.

IPCC Adopts Major Assessment of Climate Change Science
Paris, February 2, 2007, “Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis”, assesses the current scientific knowledge of the natural and human drivers of climate change, observed changes in climate, the ability of science to attribute changes to different causes, and projections for future climate change. (more)

Green Legislation before the Virginia General Assembly
What can you do to help promote good stewardship of our taxpayer dollars?  Well, you can get in touch with your Delegate and your Senator, and ask them to advocate for "green" legislation. Visit JRGBC's advocacy link and find your legislators and send them e-mails with just a few clicks.

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY LOW-IMPACT DESIGN GRANT
The Chesterfield County Department of Environmental Engineering, Water Quality Section & The Friends of Chesterfield’s Riverfront are sponsoring a Low Impact Design (LID) grant opportunity to encourage engineers and developers to seek innovative design solutions for the reduction of pollutants, volume and velocities of stormwater to adjacent streams and rivers within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Full construction plans must be submitted for County review and approval no later than January 1, 2008. Construction of the project must be completed by April 15, 2009.Approximately $140,000 is available for the application of LID for development plans. The County intends to award up to five grants ranging from $25,000 to $50,000. (more)

LEED-NC TECHNICAL REVIEW WORKSHOP
April 6, 2007, 8:30am - 5:00pm, Piedmont Virginia Community College, Charlottesville
Instructors: Bryna Dunn and John McFarland. For more information, click here. To register click here. For instructions click here.

MIDDLE JAMES ROUNDTABLE WORKSHOP
Co-Sponsored by Clean Virginia Waterways Thursday, March 8, Longwood University Lankford Student Union, 10am - 3pm. Registration Begins at 9:30am. Click here for an agenda. Click here for a registration form.

Lawmaker Moves Into Solar-Powered House
Virginia Senator Frank Wagner is staying warm at his temporary address, even in below-freezing weather and without a traditional power supply or fireplace. The Virginia Beach Republican, a proponent of alternative energy sources, is living for a week outside the Science Museum of Virginia. (more) The house is Virginia Tech's entry from the last solar decathlon.

National Sustainable Design Expo
April 24-25, 2007, National Sustainable Design Expo featuring EPA's P3 Award  National Mall, Washington, DC. Hundreds of the country's most innovative college students will showcase their designs for sustainability on the National Mall in Washington, DC, along with our P3 partners and other sustainable technology developers. This will be a unique opportunity to meet more than 300 university students from around the country who will be exhibiting their designs for a sustainable tomorrow. 

The winners of EPA's P3 People, Prosperity, and the Planet design competition are bringing their projects to the National Mall in Washington, DC to compete for the 3rd Annual P3 Awards. At the Mall event, you will see novel designs for green buildings, new ideas for bringing clean drinking water to undeveloped nations, innovative fuel cell technologies, and much more.  (more)

Smart Growth Implementation Assistance
Free technical assistance available! Are you trying to encourage specific smart growth techniques? The Development, Community, and Environment Division in U.S. EPA's Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation is responding to this need by issuing a request for applications for the Smart Growth Implementation Assistance program. Through this program, a team of multidisciplinary experts will provide free... (more).

Green Schools are the Hottest Market for Green Building
McGraw-Hill Construction Releases the Education Green Building SmartMarket Report at the Council of Educational Facility Planners International's 5 th Annual High Performance Schools Symposium. CEFPI and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) were co-sponsors of the report.  MHC focused on the education sector because of the specific sensitivities children have to indoor air pollutants and environments as well as the amount of time students (at the K-12 and university-levels) spend in these buildings.  (more)

New Dates for Greenbuild 2007
Greenbuild 2007 in Los Angeles will be held November 7-9, 2007. (more)

New Executive Order Requires Federal Agencies to Reduce the Environmental Impact of Federal Buildings
The executive order mandated by President Bush calls for the head of each federal agency to reduce "energy intensity" (energy consumption per square foot of building space) by 3 percent annually through the end of fiscal year 2015, or 30 percent by the end of fiscal year 2015. (more)

LEED Projects Growing in Virginia
To date, at least 14 green building projects in Virginia have received USGBC LEED Certification, and over 60 are registered with USGBC to pursue LEED certification in the future.  View the full lists...

Help EPA Document Energy Savings in New Building Design
ENERGY STAR Challenge Team with EPA and ENERGY STAR to report the intended energy use of buildings designed by your firm. It's that easy. Bring your whole-building energy simulations to table. Help us show that our built environment can use less energy.

1. Select your most energy-efficient design projects,
2. Determine the design's energy efficiency rating by using Target Finder,
3.  Projects with an energy performance rating of 75 or higher achieve Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR and are eligible for the Challenge
4. Submit eligible design projects to EPA by March 2, 2007.

EPA will recognize design firms on the ENERGY STAR web site, in nationally distributed publications, and at national and local events. (more)

VRA is Holding a License Plate Design Contest
The Virginia Recycling Association is holding a design contest for a license plate to be offered by the VA DMV.  Other environmental license plates include Chesapeake Bay, Clean Special Fuel, Wildflower and several Wildlife plates. This new plate will show support for recycling, raise awareness, and provide funds to the VRA for its important work. What a great advertisement for recycling across the state! (more)