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Category Archives: Sustainability

Holistic Managed Grazing at Soda Lake

Holistic Managed Grazing at Soda Lake   by Cole Bush   What do a herd of goats and sheep, a man-made lake, and a whole lot of invasive Pampas Grass and Salt Cedar create?  At Graniterock’s “Soda Lake”, this dynamic combination creates an excellent opportunity to practice land management and stewardship that encourages ecological health, [...]

Erosion Control Materials for New Construction Storm Water Permit

  In a post on “New Construction General Permit for Storm Water” (Rockblog, Tina Lau, 7/28/10), Tina writes that the New General Permit has increased the need for additional erosion control products and Best Management Practices. Here, we will breakdown the available products to assist in your storm water management plans.   Depending on your [...]

Green Building Programs Compared Post IV

This is the fourth in a series of posts summarizing the various green building programs currently in use. Earlier posts summarized LEED®, Build It Green, and StepUp2Green. CALGreen Overview: As of January 2011, all California land use authorities must adopt the new California Green Building Standard (CALGreen). CALGreen was adopted into the California Code of [...]

Green Building Programs Compared Post III

This is the third in a series of posts summarizing the various green building programs currently in use. Earlier posts summarized LEED® and Build It Green. Today’s post addresses StepUp2Green. Later this week, we’ll take a look at CalGreen. StepUp2Green Overview: StepUp2Green is an incentive-based program, designed to encourage environmentally-conscious choices in home remodeling projects. [...]

Green Building Programs Compared Post II

This is the second in a series of posts summarizing the various green building programs currently in use. We started our series with a summary of LEED®. Today’s post addresses Build It Green. Later, we’ll be taking a look at StepUp2Green, and CalGreen. Build it Green Overview: Build It Green is a membership-supported non-profit organization [...]

Green Building Programs Compared

Over the next several posts, we’ll be running a series of posts summarizing the various green building programs currently in use. Today we start our series with LEED®. Later this week, we’ll be taking a look at Build It Green, StepUp2Green, and CalGreen. LEED® Overview: LEED® is acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. [...]

Advantages of Light-Colored “Cooler” Aggregates in Roadway Maintenance

Based on research conducted by the University of California, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories, there are many advantages to public agencies using slurry and chip aggregate that is light in color (i.e., grey instead of black). While some people may prefer a black roadway color to lighter colors for aesthetic reasons, there is no question that the use of lighter colored aggregates results in increased durability of the underlying pavement, safety for nighttime driving, environmental benefits, and reduced cost.