June 18, 2019
Monthly Forum: Water Energy Nexus
Most people wonder how much energy it takes to heat up water. However, people rarely consider how much water it takes to produce energy or to produce our food and other manufactured goods. These are questions this forum will attempt to answer in order to help participants understand their true water and energy usage. Join us!
Date: Wednesday, June 19, 2019 Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM Place: TOTO Showroom, 20 West 22nd Street, 1st floor, New York, NY 10010
REGISTER HERE! (more…)June 17, 2019
Monthly Forum April Recap: Policy Action on Climate Change
by Theresa Baker & Jessica Bartolini
On April 17th, GreenHomeNYC presented its Annual Patty Noonan Memorial Policy Forum at the Hafele Showroom. This year’s focus for the Forum was Policy Action on Climate Change, which also centered around the Green New Deal legislation recently introduced by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The three presenters shared personal activism stories as well as highlights of the work their organizations are doing on topics such as the transition to clean energy, bridging the gap between energy and affordability, and reducing carbon emissions in the U.S.
The event opened with Daphany Sanchez, who is the Founder and Executive Director of Kintetic Communities Consulting. The decision to found her company was catalyzed by her and her family’s experience during Superstorm Sandy, which devastated the Staten Island home they had recently purchased. She witnessed first hand the inequality in her community and saw how difficult it was for many to receive help or to be prepared for this kind of devastation. As a result, she now works with utilities and government agencies to develop efficiency solutions to create financial, environmental, and health benefits to underserved New Yorkers.
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May 9, 2019
Monthly Forum: Building a Resilient Future
Enormous problems of the future are making their way into the present-day at an accelerating rate. From aging infrastructure failures to climate-related catastrophes, from significant human population shifts to energy supply interruptions and more, we collectively face the daunting task of keeping up with the myriad changes happening all around us.
Adaptability will be critical in order for future generations to thrive. But what are we doing in order to achieve that? What projects, technologies and policies are advancing that effort? What is happening on the ground and out in the field to help us build that resilient future? We will be exploring these questions and more in our upcoming Monthly Forum!
Join GreenHomeNYC on May 15th to hear from professionals on the front lines of developing a more resilient physical infrastructure for our communities, and learn about the impact their efforts have in creating a more sustainable future for NYC and beyond!
Date: Wednesday, May 15th, 2019
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Place: Fujitsu Airstage, 1450 Broadway, 42nd floor, New York, NY 10018
REGISTER HERE!
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April 9, 2019
Monthly Forum: Policy Action on Climate Change {Patty Noonan Memorial Policy Forum}
Many people now accept the concept of climate change as a reality and recognize that it is being accelerated by man-made activities. With each passing day, the time to make actionable change to reverse these trends is running out. The Green New Deal, a major policy initiative championed by Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is one example of a bold new policy idea that has been introduced as a solution to climate change
Come join us at GreenHomeNYC’s April forum to hear from change makers and policy drivers who are bringing forth some of these much needed solutions to Climate Change, and what you can possibly do to help their cause!
Speakers:
Daphany Rose Sanchez, Executive Director, Kinetic Communities Consulting
David Xia, Sunrise Movement Member
Leticia Colon de Mejias, Founder and CEO, Energy Efficiency Solutions
Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Venue: Hafele Showroom, 20 W. 22nd St, New York, NY, 10010
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!
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January 30, 2019
Monthly Forum Recap: Green Catwalk 2019
By Jenny Dranetz, Photos by Dan Yafet
GreenHomeNYC kicked off 2019 with our classic Green Catwalk forum, highlighting new technologies, innovations and processes to address and combat climate change in the coming year and beyond. This year’s Catwalk featured six speakers from a host of industries, including solar, communications, and permaculture.
Presenting first was Colin Touhey, the CEO & Founder of Pvilion. Based out of Brooklyn, Pvilion designs, manufactures and installs flexible solar products. Pvilion thinks of solar as a cell, not a final product, and this view plus the flexibility of the cells has allowed them to take on creative, non-traditional solar projects, including curved building facades and other complex structures as well as clothing. These designs are self-sustaining and can be permanently built into a structure, such as on a façade or over a bridge like the Cascades Solar Pedestrian Bridge in Florida, or be installed temporarily for events like music festivals.
Colin Touhey of Pvilion sharing some solar fashion(more…)
January 6, 2019
Monthly Forum: Green Catwalk 2019
Happy New Year from GreenHomeNYC!
As 2019 gets going, we’re starting off the year with our classic Green Catwalk forum, where we bring in speakers to present on new, innovative, unheard of, and just plain interesting topics, technologies, trends and organizations within the sustainability space. This year we will include presentations on solar fabrics, water efficiency and sustainable plumbing, as well as strategies to effectively discuss sustainability and climate change, among other topics. Join us!
In addition, our first volunteer orientation of the year will take place right before the event, starting at 6 PM. If you’re interested in joining GreenHomeNYC as a volunteer, please sign up at https://greenhomenyc.org/get-involved
Date: Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Place: TOTO Showroom, 20 West 22nd Street, 1st floor, New York, NY 10010
We highly encourage attendees to register in advance, as fees increase at the door. If registering at the door, credit/debit card is strongly preferred.
December 11, 2018
October Forum Recap: Passive House High Rise
By Jessica Bartolini; Photos by Olha Peralta
High-rise Passive House buildings were the subject of GreenHomeNYC’s monthly forum in October. The three presentations provided attendees with an overview of what implementing Passive House standards looks like in real life.
Gahl Sorkin Spanier of the Association for Energy Affordability (AEA) kicked off the evening with a presentation on how best to go about building a high-rise Passive House (PH) project. Kevin Brennan, formerly of AEA and now co-owner of Brennan Brennan Insulation and Air tightness, joined Gahl in sharing learnings from Passive House projects and training. AEA recently worked on an 86-unit PH affordable residence for seniors in Queens, in partnership with the non-profit organization HANAC.
Kevin Brennan & Gahl SpanierGahl emphasized the importance of holding training for the various trades building a PH project, noting that the main sources of air leakage are often at details where trade responsibilities are unclear. It is key, therefore, that training not only instill understanding of PH requirements, but also recognition of the importance of collaboration and coordinating across trades. Another takeaway from AEA’s experience is that training should not include more theory or math than necessary. Gahl noted that any general contractor personnel in a supervisory role should not only receive training, but also be empowered to teach others.
November 4, 2018
November Forum: Sustainability & Art
Art and sustainability intersect in many ways. Art permeates our culture and can serve as a platform to talk about issues like climate change as well as the spaces and cities which hold these artworks.
At one interface, an artist’s media choice and material sourcing can implicate connections to nature and convey valuable messages on sustainability. As energy efficiency and space usage becomes more critical, the built-environment which holds art (e.g. museums, galleries) seeks to reconcile current energy-related issues. Museum alliances have been created to collectively issue goals, while academic institutions are researching the status of museums and ways to create sustainability progress. On a larger scale, art institution sustainability goals interconnect with the sustainability goals of a geographic area.
At the November forum focused on Sustainability & Art, we will hear from artists, academia, and the American Alliance of Museums about their work, and the steps of museums and cities to create a more sustainable art world. We invite you to join us and to think about ways art can move you or your community towards speaking out about an issue of importance and ways your art community can become more sustainable.
Date: Wednesday, November 28th, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Place: ThoughtWorks, Inc. 99 Madison Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Our speakers will include:
Sharon Gaber, American Alliance of Museums, Environment and Climate Network Chair
Emily Rea, Artist
Raphael Gernath, Master’s in Urban Studies/Affairs, SciencePo
Andrew McWilliams, Tech/Video Artist
Register here!
We highly encourage attendees to register in advance, as fees increase at the door. If registering at the door, credit/debit card is strongly preferred.
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September 29, 2018
October Forum: Passive House High Rise
Passive House (German: Passivhaus) is an international high-performance building standard, which results in the most energy efficient buildings in the world. While the standard was conceived in 1988, by 2010 there were only 13 certified structures in the U.S. (compared to over 25,000 across Europe). As of 2017 though there were over 1200 certified structures in the U.S. and that number is growing rapidly. In a time where the energy landscape is shifting towards more sustainable practices and consumers increasingly see the value in using less energy, the Passive House standard stands as a shining beacon, guiding builders towards a better way.
Passive House buildings are designed and built in accordance with these building science principles:
Continuous insulation throughout the entire building envelope
Extremely airtight building envelope
Energy recovery from building ventilation
Minimal space conditioning
This month GreenHomeNYC plans to move beyond just discussing how these buildings are designed though and jump into conversation on how and why they are built.
Please join GreenHomeNYC on October 17th to learn about the challenges of implementing these principles in the building process!
Refreshments will be served
Date: Wednesday, October 17th, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Place: Hafele America Co., 20 West 22nd Street, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10010
Register here!
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September 28, 2018
August Forum Recap: The Community-Driven Sustainable Economy with Hunter Lovins
By Pamela E Berns
On August 23, 2018, in partnership with the Bard MBA in Sustainability Program, GreenHomeNYC proudly presented global sustainability pioneer and founder and president of Natural Capital Solutions, Hunter Lovins. Dubbed a “green business icon” by Newsweek, Lovins is a renowned author and has been a champion of sustainable development for over 35 years. She has consulted on business, economic development, sustainable agriculture, energy, water, security, and climate policies for scores of governments, communities, and companies worldwide, and now teaches Sustainable Management at the Bard MBA. Her keen ability to both grasp the biggest picture and dissect the smallest components of that picture with laser precision have made her what Time magazine has called “a millennium hero for the planet.”
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