A Slice of Red Hook Turns Green
by Kavitha Rao & Jeff Golden

Editors' Note: When AboutTown first heard that an idealistic peace-promoting group was building a co-housing development in Tivoli, we at first wondered whether the ghost of Dorothy Day or Jean Delabigarre had wandered home to the riverfront community. We soon discovered that Tivoli was merely the mailing address of the Common Fire Foundation, and its cooperative building would be located in Upper Red Hook. Nonetheless the mission of this nonprofit organization-- to build a diverse and powerful movement of people with a shared commitment to create a more just and sustainable world, or as co-founder Kavitha Rao says, "to make it easier to be good in the world"--is certainly worthy of Tivoli's illustrious social visionaries.

New York City's skyline will be changing over the next few years as the second tallest building in the city is completed some time in 2008. Remarkable for its stature, the tower at One Bryant Plaza is garnering headlines already for an even more remarkable accomplishment. It aims to be the first high-rise office building to earn a Platinum Certification from the US Green Building Council. That's the highest rating that can be garnered under the most widely accepted standards for environmental responsibility in construction.

A little closer to home, a much more modest, yet arguably more important model of green building, is stealing much of the tower's thunder. A non-profit called the Common Fire Foundation is constructing a residential building, a few miles east of Tivoli, that's on track to earn a Platinum Certification of its own--two years ahead of the skyscraper. That will make it the first in the entire Northeast and one of only nine nationwide to earn Platinum.

While an environmentally-responsible skyscraper has a certain flashiness and is an important model for sustainability in the city, the Common Fire building has immediate relevance as a model for the rest of New York and the Northeast in general. And it's coming at a pivotal moment in Hudson Valley's history.

The Importance of Green Building for the Hudson Valley
Dutchess County's population grew by 8 percent over the last decade and land consumption increased by 18 percent. Residents and local governments are taking unprecedented steps to preserve the natural environment and rural character of the region, to curb sprawling growth, and to provide for utilities' needs in the face of this staggering growth. Yet little has been done to link these efforts with the profound impact the kinds of buildings being constructed have for the Hudson Valley residents of today and for many generations to come.

People's choices about the buildings they live and work in have the greatest impact on the environment of any single decision they make as individuals. In the United States, buildings account for 36 percent of total energy use and 65 percent of electricity consumption; 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions; 30 percent of raw materials use; 30 percent of waste output; 12 percent of potable water consumption

Increasing energy demands have led to the proposal of 65 new power plants throughout New York. Yet the Hudson Valley suffers some of the worst air quality in the nation, due in part to coal-burning power plants in the Midwest and the two that are still generating electricity locally (Danskammer and Lovett plants). The Indian Point nuclear plant presents environmental problems of its own, including massive fish kills over miles of the Hudson River caused by the plant's discharge of heated water.

Meanwhile, because of the volatile organic compounds used in traditional building materials, particularly paints and adhesives, the Environmental Protection Agency classifies indoor air quality as one of the top five environmental health risks today. All this despite breakthroughs in building technology that allow people today to maximize health and environmental performance, as well as economic performance. A recent study showed that constructing a "green" building generally costs the same as other custom-built homes, while providing dramatic savings in utilities costs over the life of the building, especially as energy costs continue to rise. And generous incentives are available through NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Enthusiasm in the western USA is so great for green building that California and Arizona have mandated that all new public buildings be designed and built to earn silver certifications from the US Green Building Council's rating system--two levels of performance better than the already laudable basic certification. The towns of Scottsdale, Arizona and Portland, Oregon have mandated that all new public buildings earn gold certifications. Yet in all of the Northeast there are only 21 buildings that have received green building certification and of those four merited a silver certification, and only three earned gold.

Common Fire's Platinum Green Building
The Common Fire building is projected to earn the first platinum certification in the Northeast by scoring over 52 points across the six categories of the USGBC's evaluation framework. The building will receive all 17 points in the first and most important category, Energy and Atmosphere. Common Fire's building will use 60 percent less energy than a standard building, thanks primarily to advanced insulation and the use of geothermal heating and cooling, the process of piping a liquid through the earth to either absorb or discharge heat as needed thanks to the earth's constant temperature about ten feet underground.

The building will produce at least 50 percent of its electricity needs on-site with solar panels and it will receive an "innovation point" for purchasing the rest of its electricity from wind generators, something anyone can specify when selecting their electrical provider. The building will also be getting the maximum score in the Indoor Environmental Quality category, since Common Fire will use paints and adhesives that contain no volatile organic compounds or VOCs (these healthier products are generally available if you ask a variety of local suppliers). Common Fire's strategies of providing plenty of daylight, outdoor views and excellent ventilation in the building are other commonsense ideas.

Common Fire will be earning another innovation point in the Sustainable Sites category thanks to a conservation easement it's placing on 29 of the acres to forever protect them as the natural habitat. In the Materials and Resources category, Common Fire is going out of its way to ensure that at least 50 percent of its wood is Forest Stewardship Council Certified, i.e. that it has been certified as lawfully harvested without violating indigenous or workers' rights, has been sustainably harvested, etc. FSC certified wood can be challenging to find, though a surprising amount of it turns up increasingly in local lumber stores.

Common Fire will earn all five of the available points in each of the remaining areas, Water Efficiency and Innovation & Design Process.

The Common Fire Housing Co-op
Beneath the shine of the Platinum Certification and within the high-tech densely-insulated walls of the building will be a beautiful space dedicated to nurturing the people who nurture our local community - the Common Fire Housing Co-op.

For over a century, housing co-ops have allowed people to come together to be more efficient with their time and money, to exercise more democratic control over their home environments, and to support each other in shared interests. The Common Fire housing co-op will provide a vibrant and nurturing home for eleven people with a diversity of interests, skills, backgrounds and ages, all with a shared commitment to serving their community and the environment.

The 3600 square foot building will have three residential wings, each with two or three bedrooms and a bathroom. There will be a shared central kitchen, dining room, two living rooms, a courtyard and a porch. The co-op is scheduled to open in January of 2006 and is currently recruiting the first set of residents.

For more information or to help support this work contact Common Fire at www.commonfire.org.