Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Austin Texas Rainwater Collection System

We recently installed this rainwater collection system and hammock trellis for Bradley and Jennifer Linscomb in Allandale. The large rainwater collection tanks fit well into his backyard design (You almost don't notice them at first!).

Rainwater collection system installed by E Green Group
Our client is experimenting with an innovative system called aquaponics.  Aquaponic systems create a symbiotic relationship between plants and fish.  The fish fertilize the water used to irrigate the crops, which are planted in hydroponic grow media.  The water filters through the planter boxes where it is oxygenated and freshened before being returned to the fish.  Then as the fish (usually tilapia) grow, you get to eat them too.

Aquaponic system

The picture below shows the creative way he integrated the work of a local artist, Michael O'Brien.  Mike travels around Texas taking imprints of dinosaur tracks.  The recycled water in the system pours over the imprint of an ancient Acrocanthosaurus foot.  The Acrocanthosaurus is about 112 million years old, and is an ancestor of the T-rex.

Close up of the Acrocanthosaurus track.
 
The backyard oasis is complete with a chicken coup filled with some healthy looking chickens which my son was happy to pet!




Monday, July 9, 2012

What is a Green Collar Job?

A main mission of E Green Group is to merge the green movement with the race equity movement through the building of "green collar jobs."

Van Jones is the author of an  inspiring book called "the Green Collar Economy" that explains why merging these issues is so important. So what is a "green collar job?" From a book review on treehugger.com:

"Jones defines a green-collar job as a 'family-supporting, career-track job that directly contributes to preserving or enhancing environmental quality," but is also part of what he calls the "one solution [to] fix our two biggest problems" — namely, poverty and our environmental crisis. You may ask: what does environmentalism have to do with alleviating poverty? According to Jones, it has everything to do with it — and his simple premise has a populist but pragmatic ring to it. By directly engaging working-class, low-income and urban communities in the retrofitting, weatherizing and solarizing of America, not only will they benefit from hundreds of thousands of non-exportable jobs in the emerging green economy, but they will also represent the pivotal force sorely needed to turn America's environmental tide."

This book is great read if you are interested in environmental change and the social change we need to get there! For more info about Van Jones see his website here.
Van Jones, author of "The Green Collar Economy"

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Meeting with Interns


Ben Goldberg and Elizabeth de Regt are the latest and greatest to intern with E Green Group.  We've begun work on prototypes for a standard 1,500 sq ft home, the Colony Park affordable housing/multifamily project, and detailed cost breakdowns for each of them (all Passive House projects).  Ben is part of the undergraduate architecture program and Elizabeth  the master's program (both at UT), although they both have skills, and wisdom far beyond their years.

 
My son, Kazimir,  commending their floor layout.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Nicholas in the Austin Statesman

Today the Austin Statesman, the local newspaper for Austin, Texas, published a front page article about the debate around gray water collection in the area.  They interviewed Nicholas for the article because of his experience installing rain water collection tanks throughout Austin. Equitable Green Group is a big promoter of gray water; the wastewater generated from domestic activities such as laundry, dishwashing, and bathing, can be recycled on-site for uses such as landscape irrigation and constructed wetlands.

From the article:
"'The city doesn't have a realistic view of health risks versus the benefits of the system,' said green builder Nicholas Blaise Koch, who has been trying to shepherd a client's gray water proposal through the city for more than a year."


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