Goal For The Green

I recently received this important ground-breaking information and wanted to be sure and share it with you before the New Year!

HINES ANNOUNCES LARGEST NET-ZERO ENERGY COMMERCIAL OFFICE BUILDING IN U.S.

 LPL Financial at La Jolla Commons to

Produce More Energy on Site Than it Uses

Deutsch: La Jolla aus der Luft, Aufnahme Richtung Nord-Osten (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Recently in San Diego, Hines-the international real estate firm, and equity partner  with J.P. Morgan Asset Management, announced that the 13-story, 415,000-square-foot building under construction at La Jolla Commons in San Diego will become the nation’s largest carbon-neutral office building to date. The new building will achieve carbon neutrality on an annual basis through a combination of high-performance building design, directed bio-gas and on-site fuel cells that annually will generate more electricity than the building and tenant will use.  While there are other small net-zero buildings in the U.S., LPL Financial at La Jolla Commons will be the largest and most ambitious net-zero office building in the U.S. developed for lease.

The building will be fully leased and occupied by LPL Financial, LLC, the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer*, a leading RIA custodian, institutional service provider and a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA).  It is being developed and will be owned by a partnership of Hines and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management.  Construction began in April 2012 and completion is scheduled for mid-2014.

The building design incorporates a highly efficient under-floor air system, advanced curtain wall materials and many other features that reduce the energy required to operate the building.  The fuel cells, acquired from Bloom Energy, will generate approximately 5.0 million KWh of electricity annually, which is above what the building will consume.  Total on-site energy production will be roughly equivalent to generating the electricity required to power 1,000 San Diego homes.  The fuel cells convert methane into electricity in a non-combustion process.  Sufficient methane for the system will be acquired from carbon-neutral sources, such as landfills and waste-water plants, and placed into the national natural gas pipeline system. This system will contribute to California’s ambitious goal of deriving a third of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

About Hines:

Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The firm’s historical and current portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes 1,208 properties representing more than 488 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments.  With offices in 104 cities in 18 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $23.8 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Hines is also a world leader in sustainable real estate strategies, with extensive experience in LEED, ENERGY STAR, BREEAM, Haute Qualité Environnementale and DGNB green building rating systems.  Visit www.hines.com for more information.
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UPDATE: Yesterday, was our launch day on Amazon.com for this book, and here are the results in a 24 hour period.
“Co-author in THE GRATITUDE BOOK PROJECT:CELEBRATING 365 DAYS OF GRATITUDE, a #1 “Hot New Release” on Amazon.com.”

Blessings of an Attitude of Gratitude

Spread an attitude of gratitude this Holiday Season. THE GRATITUDE BOOK PROJECT 2013 Edition, is here in time for holiday gift-giving! (And, guess what… I’m in it!)

When I was first invited to participate in The Gratitude Book Project: Celebrating 365 Days of Gratitude 2013 Edition, I knew it was something I had to do. 

It’s so easy to get caught up in everyday life.  Sometimes, even just the little things are easily taken for granted. This book project, was the perfect way to let those I love and care about, know what they mean to me. It was a special way for me to show my appreciation. What we say, can often be forgotten in an instant, but the words we write down on paper can live on forever!

You can also help us make this book an Amazon.com best seller

If there is someone on your list who is hard to buy for, or you just don’t know what to get for them, this book is your answer.  The Gratitude Book Project 2013 Edition, is the perfect gift.  Each entry is like a “thought of the day” about gratitude. It is a collaborative book sold on Amazon.com and featuring over 300 authors answering the question “What are you grateful for?” in 200 words or less.

The Gratitude Book Project: Celebrating 365 Days of Gratitude 2013 Edition,is a perfect gift.  You can still get it in time for the Holiday at Amazon.com.  You will find it to be an inspirational and “timely” book.  Given the tragedy in Newtown, CT. last Friday, this book will have just the right passage to help lift spirits. It is that inspirational pick-me-up to help us all to be grateful for the here and NOW, while helping us to remember to live in the moment!

In keeping with the spirit of the project, proceeds from national book sales at Amazon.com will be split among these three charitable and deserving organizations:
• ASPCA for the prevention of animal abuse
• Feed America
• Women for Women International
Remember the more Amazon.com buyers we have, the more these organizations will benefit! Get your copy today!

UPDATE: Congratulations to ecodads for achieving their funding goal of $20,000, with 6 days left to go.  So far, there are 69 backers and $20,562 pledged for the project of making Touchable Textbook Apps a reality!

For the past few months, Michael Leifer, a Cultural Anthropologist, has been creating some really fun and Educational (Interactive Textbook) Apps for Kids and Teens, with his friend Jory Prum, (who has worked with Jim Henson / Muppets, Pixar and Lucas Arts).

Here’s a demo video link that they put up to give it a kickstart :   Kickstart, is a crowd funding way to help promote your idea or project.  Note the deadline is in nine more days, and Michael and the ecodads group is very close to reaching their goal. Currently, their project is 77% funded.  It will be funded if at least $20,000 is raised by 8:39AM on Thursday, December 27,2012. They only need $4,535 to make this happen! Your support of this project, can help make a difference in educational needs across the country.

The California next-generation parenting movement ecodads® co-founded by Michael Leifer, have created a new form of fun Interactive Textbook (iBook) Applications for the Apple® iPad® called “Touchable Books.”  They target and engage the iGeneration of digital-native students. These iBook modules bring to life classroom units with touch-based local habitat maps, 3d views from atop the Golden Gate bridge, time lapse cinematography, videos from award-winning directors, interactive slideshows, an instantly accessible glossary, flashcards, games and content review quizzes. A demo video of the technology, full description and strategic roll-out plan for the apps can be viewed at the Kickstarter crowd-funding project.

For the 1st set of iBooks, they have selected a landmark CURRICULUM called “Education and the Environment” (which has been unanimously-approved by the CA State Board of Education and is for K-12th graders).  It also works with Common CORE and STAR Testing Education Standards, so teachers can easily integrate these apps into their classrooms.

The K-12 curriculum is comprised of 85 units teaching select science, history and social science academic standards. Naturally, the successful elements of this effort could be utilized to benefit schools across our country, AND produce generations of environmental stewards, that learn and seek environmental jobs of the future.

I would like to encourage you to review the video demo and brief plan, and to consider lending your support. What better way is there to give educators a wonderful way to merge experiences in the classroom with enriching activities in school gardens, parks, aquariums, and science centers, than with these interactive apps?

According to CalRecycle Director Caroll Mortensen, “Our biggest challenge in bringing the EEI to teachers and students is the high cost of printing and distribution. The proposed EEI apps will significantly reduce costs and give students an improved and interactive environment-based curriculum.”

If we as a nation are serious about providing our students a world-class education, be it home school or whatever option we choose, we need a plan that leaves no school and no child offline, or left without this option.  This is achievable, by making these apps widely available, and by reaching the funding goal.

Together, with your help and support, we can collectively demonstrate a new guiding model for the antiquated textbook publishing industry.  This can and will improve both our student comprehensive and education system overall, and it can happen nationwide.  Lets invest in our children, their future, and a green future for everyone. Together we are working toward many brighter tomorrows.

Related articles

• Touching Base with Touchable Books, a Kickstarter Project