Dam Cam

According to American Rivers, the Merrimack Village Dam is in the process of being removed, restoring historic flows to the Souhegan River. Construction and demolition began on July 22 and will continue through August 30, 2008. The project will involve local volunteers to help transplant freshwater mussels and fish during the restoration process, as well as to assist in removing accumulated trash and debris that has accumulated behind the dam. This is one of the largest and most complex dam removal projects NOAA has ever attempted.

One of the coolest things about the project is the live Dam Cam on the project Web site to document the removal progress. Check it out!

Water Conservation Often Overlooked

Green building and improved energy efficiency are both trendy and practical ways for builders to add value to their construction projects. According to a recent article in the Tampa Bay Business Journal (August 8, 2008), an often over looked but critically important design aspect is water conservation. Incorporating water saving technologies can save the building owner thousands of gallons of water a day.

According to the article, some examples of ways that commercial buildings can save money are retrofitting restroom facilities with low-flow toilets and sinks, using more greywater, and reusing condensation collected from the cooling towers used to air-condition the building.

August 2008 Sustainable Environments

F.X. Browne, Inc.'s August 2008 edition of Sustainable Environments has been published. Enjoy!

Greening the Olympics

More than ever before, environmental issues are in the forefront during these Olympic Games. China's environmental problems are well known (air pollution, water scarcity, poor water quality, etc), but to their credit the Chinese have been making a concerted effort to compensate by adopting green building techniques, enacting sustainable community development practices, and making Beijing a model for net zero pollution. According to an article in Scientific American (August 4, 2008), China's efforts to make the 2008 games the first "Green Olympics" include:

• Planting trees
• Closing 1,000 small coal mines before and during the games
• Banning up to a million cars from city streets
• Incorporating green building technologies at the Beijing National Stadium such as a rainwater collection arrangement, a natural ventilation system, and a clear roof with inflatable cushions made from ETFE
• Designing the Aquatic Center (aka the Water Cube) with ETFE pillows, and designing it such that when it has finished serving its purpose as an Olympic venue, it can be converted to a shopping area and leisure center with tennis courts, retail outlets, nightclubs and restaurants
• Powering the lighting outside all seven of the Olympic stadiums, as well as the entire hot water supply for the Olympic Village, by solar and wind energy
• Investing in expensive energy-efficient heating and transportation equipment that will greatly improve environmental quality for decades throughout the city of Beijing and beyond.

Other interesting articles about China's efforts toward a Green Olympics:

Beijing Orders its Pollution to Vanish: Time Magazine, 7/14/08

7 Amazing Olympic Green Buildings: Jetson Green, 8/8/08

For the Olympics, Will Beijing Paint the Town Green?: Treehugger.com, 2/21/07

Visit to the Wild Center

If you've never visited the Wild Center, Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks in Tupper Lake, NY, I highly recommend it.



It is the first museum in New York to be granted a LEED Silver certification for green buildings. The certification is based on a number of demonstration technologies, such as a constructed stormwater wetland


A living wall


A cistern for collecting and storing roof runoff


Permeable pavement


And a green roof.


If you've never seen these technolgies firsthand, the Wild Center offers a great way to learn about them. The museum also makes the trip well worth it.

Posted by: Rebecca Buerkett, Project Scientist, Sustainable Environments Editor