Submitted by: Tamara Dalton - Communications Committee

On March 8, 2012, the Treasure Coast Branch of the USGBC hosted a joint program presented by the Florida Green Building Council (FGBC), the Treasure Coast Builders Association (TCBA), and the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC).  Once again, we enjoyed the hospitality of the Brown Center at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce.  In addition to meeting our new members and guests, we learned more about the upcoming Generation Green “Green Apple Awards.”  The Green Apple Awards ceremony took place Saturday, April 21^st from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at Fort Pierce Central High School.  Story, pictures and videos coming soon! Thank you for the support from our sponsors and entrants for a wonderful turn out!

Cindy Hall, the President of the Florida Green Building Coalition, gave us a great overview of the FGBC rating system, and how it compares and contrasts with the LEED rating system.  The FGBC has enjoyed a continuous expansion since its inception in 2000.  Its voluntary, consensus-based standards have been endorsed by the Florida Legislature, the League of Cities, the League of Mayors, and the Florida Home Builders Association.  Similarly to the LEED rating system, FGBC offers independent third party verification, and is based on a point system.  By contrast, the FGBC certification offers standards that are climate-specific for Florida’s environment, and it recently released Green Home Retrofit Guidelines to address existing housing stock.  For more information about the FGBC, explore their website at http://www.floridagreenbuilding.org

We were introduced to the National Association of Women in Construction by the Tri-county Chapter President, Lisa Seavey, along with their recent essay winner and other local members.  What began as a local support network created by sixteen women in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1953 has become an international organization with more than 170 chapters serving 5,500 members.    In addition to the many professional benefits of membership, NAWIC members have opportunities to provide mentoring, and contribute to the education of youth through K-12 programs and competitions, and scholarships for students pursuing construction-related studies.  More information about the NAWIC is available at http://www.nawic.org

The highlight of our evening was the presentation by Ben Ellis, PE, LEED AP, and Principal of Ellis Consulting Engineers in Lake Worth, Florida.  In his presentation entitled Anatomy of a Building: Water Use, he made the point that there are water conservation techniques that go beyond simply selecting low-flow fixtures and other common water use reduction strategies.  Specifically, Ben used his local project experience to illustrate how high-rise buildings can save millions of gallons of water by increasing the bleed cycles of their chiller towers, and reusing the resulting condensate water instead of discarding it.  Discussion in the room then turned toward ideas to entice high-rise condo boards and building managers to initiate these types of conservation efforts.  Besides the economic incentive to save money, it was noted that stroking the egos of unit-owners with a little friendly competition between neighboring buildings goes a long way towards the end goal: conserving our precious water resources.  For more information about Ben Ellis, see his website at http://ellisconsultingengineers.com

Join us next month for another informative and engaging gathering of the Treasure Coast branch of the USGBC!