Environmentally Friendly

Everything "green," from our homes to cars to clothes, is all the rage these days. And a green office might not be far behind. In a recent survey of 2,473 workers, 33 percent said they would be more inclined to work for a green company than for one that does not make environmentally friendly efforts. (The survey by employment agency Adecco has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.) "People are becoming more sensitive and connecting the dots on how the company behaves," says Bernadette Kenny, chief career officer at Melville, N.Y.-based Adecco.

The Maryland State Department of Education is conducting a search for the next set of environmentally friendly schools to compete for the title of 2013 National Green Ribbon Schools, a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education that recognizes schools' efforts to have students become environmentally literate and conscious. The state began participating in the federal program last year, and was one of only six states to have all four nominees receive a Green Ribbon, according to the department, who also noted that in 2011 Maryland led the nation in becoming the first state to include environmental literacy as a graduation requirement.

Amy Milauskas and Carol Tortella want to do more for the environment than hang up public-service announcements and oversee traditional recycling campaigns. The two Wilde Lake Middle School teachers were among nearly 40 Howard County educators who attended a training session offered this week by the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education on how schools can join its Green School Recognition program. Ten Howard County schools are members of the program, which encourages schools to adopt more environmentally friendly practices and infuse environmental content into the curriculum.

It sounds like an oxymoron: a "green" parking lot. But behind the Visitors Center in downtown Annapolis is a new parking lot designed to be environmentally friendly. With six rain gardens, two solar-powered payment machines, recycled construction materials and a permeable surface, the lot is meant to be an improvement over its predecessor — better able to manage storm-water runoff and blend with the Historic District. An improved parking area was part of the city's plan for the Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference & Visitors Bureau's center that was overhauled a few years ago, as a way to provide short-term parking for visitors, businesses and stores on the section of West Street close to the tourist-laden Main Street hill.

When developer Michael T. Rose decided to build his vision of an environmentally friendly neighborhood in Bowie, he was fully aware of the growing backlash against any type of development."

A green building tax credit for businesses that construct or renovate their commercial or industrial properties with environmentally friendly features could be included in the legislative package the Carroll County commissioners ask state legislators to pass during the next General Assembly session. Carroll County's proposal comes as several area jurisdictions, including Howard, Montgomery and Baltimore City and County, are enacting green building standards. While Howard County will require that any proposed commercial building of 50,000 square feet or more obtain certification through the U.S. Green Building Council, Carroll officials said they would keep these environmental goals optional.

A consensus on legislation to promote residential environmentally friendly development has emerged among Howard County Council members, who are scheduled to vote on the measures Monday. The tentative agreement was suggested by Councilwoman Courtney Watson, an Ellicott City Democrat who pushed for progress toward an agreement at a nearly three-hour council work session Wednesday - the second session this week. The council is working toward votes on a package of five bills and resolutions - and 18 possible amendments - designed to promote more environmentally friendly commercial and residential buildings in the county.

As sport utility vehicles and other gas guzzlers motored by on Key Highway yesterday, proponents of "green" technology showcased a new breed of automobile on Rash Field. Some are small and spacey - like George Jetson's car but with wheels and a solar panel roof. Others, such as the Honda and Toyota hybrid-fuel vehicles on the market, won't stand out too much in parking lots. The vehicles, on display today at a festival sponsored by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, run on sun, hydrogen, electricity and even vegetable oil; the "greasecar" conversion system that Justin Carven sells uses old cooking oil thrown out by restaurants.

As sport utility vehicles and other gas guzzlers motored by on Key Highway yesterday, proponents of "green" technology showcased a new breed of automobile on Rash Field., Some are small and spacey - like George Jetson's car but with wheels and a solar panel roof. Others, such as the Honda and Toyota hybrid-fuel vehicles on the market, won't stand out as much in parking lots. The vehicles, on display today at a festival sponsored by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, run on sun, hydrogen, electricity and even vegetable oil - the "greasecar" conversion system that Justin Carven sells uses old cooking oil thrown out by restaurants.

Standing in the exposed-brick lobby of Howard County's government offices, Peter Z. Garver points out the building's many environmental offenses. The place wastes bucket-loads of water. The windows, the lighting, the restroom fixtures are all so wrong. So is the maintenance crew's cleaning solution, for that matter. It will be Garver's job to change all that. Helping aging buildings go green is not a flashy undertaking. Garver, a contractor leading the county renovation project, has just emerged from a meeting about keeping debris out of ductwork and achieving efficient flushing in the bathrooms.

Politicians, donors and University of Baltimore alumni joined faculty and staff at the groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for the new John and Frances Angelos Law Center, a $107 million project on Mount Royal Avenue and North Charles Street. Construction of the 190,000-square-foot building is expected to be completed in 2012, making UB's law school the sixth-largest public law school in the country. Speakers including Gov. Martin O'Malley praised donors such as Orioles owner and UB law alumnus Peter G. Angelos, who contributed $5 million to the project in 2008 as well as an additional $5 million in June.

The University of Maryland received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy on Monday for research on environmentally friendly cooling systems. The grant was part of $92 million awarded to 43 projects that the department says will speed innovation in "green" technologies. "These innovative ideas will play a critical role in our energy security and economic growth," said Energy Secretary Steven Chu in a statement. "It is now more important than ever to invest in a new, clean energy economy."

When the owners of Baltimore's Black Olive restaurant began formulating plans to build an inn one block away, the word "green" still referred to a color more than an environmental movement. But in the 10 years that the project has been under development, builders have learned plenty about "eco-friendly" design, including which green features are mostly marketing gimmicks and which really can have a lasting impact. When it opens next year, the $6 million Inn at the Black Olive won't be the first local hotel and marketplace with a green roof or bamboo woodwork.

What's old is new again: Drying clothes on a line instead of in an energy-sucking dryer; collecting rain in barrels to water the lawn and garden; saving kitchen scraps and yard waste to make rich compost. But too many community associations have failed to keep up with the times. Many prohibit these and other eco-friendly (and economical) activities on aesthetic grounds. Others enforce burdensome barriers of approval that might as well be a ban. It's time for state and local governments to step in and protect homeowners' rights to take these sorts of reasonable steps to improve the environment and their pocketbooks.

Standing in the exposed-brick lobby of Howard County's government offices, Peter Z. Garver points out the building's many environmental offenses. The place wastes bucket-loads of water. The windows, the lighting, the restroom fixtures are all so wrong. So is the maintenance crew's cleaning solution, for that matter. It will be Garver's job to change all that. Helping aging buildings go green is not a flashy undertaking. Garver, a contractor leading the county renovation project, has just emerged from a meeting about keeping debris out of ductwork and achieving efficient flushing in the bathrooms.

2 Balto. Co. proposal raises possibility of 4-day week Five-day workweeks could become a thing of the past for some Baltimore County employees. The way County Council Chairman Kevin Kamenetz sees it, four-day schedules and more flexible hours might improve morale, reduce stress, increase productivity and encourage a better balance between work and family life. In a resolution set for a council vote today, Kamenetz suggests the possibility of alternative arrangements that could include compressed workweeks, job sharing and staggered scheduling.

Working for a bank usually doesn't entitle you to free cash. But Bank of America is giving its employees $3,000 - albeit before taxes - when they purchase an environmentally friendly hybrid vehicle. That's on top of a tax credit of up to $3,150 that hybrid buyers get from the Internal Revenue Service. About 4,000 Bank of America employees in Maryland are eligible for the rebate, along with 181,000 employees nationwide. The bank hopes the program will be well-received here, one of the fastest-growing commuter areas in the country.

EL PRADO, N.M. -- Construction on Karin Payne's dream home has stopped.No more hammers pounding dirt into tires. It's been weeks since an empty Bud Light can was screwed into a mud wall.Payne's dream home is a desert Earthship, crafted from recycled materials with power only from the sun and running water only from the clouds. "My goal was to have zero impact on the exploitation of the earth or of people," says Payne, 39, a refugee from West Coast yuppiedom. A baseball cap shields her eyes from the sun and her ponytail from the wind as she sits cross-legged in the dirt looking over blueprints.

Paint. It's about the color. It can give a room an entirely new look, from dramatic to soothing. And nothing does more to freshen a house for sale than the clean luster of newly painted walls. But it's also about chemicals, especially the volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that give off that new paint smell and are considered hazardous to breathe and environmentally dangerous. Some VOCs used in paint are suspected or known carcinogens. Some chemicals, released as the paint dries, damage the atmosphere.

Debbie Reid returned to her car in a county commuter parking lot after a long day's work recently and made discouraging discovery: a $35 parking citation under the wiper blade. The Columbia woman has taken a commuter bus to her job in Washington for the past 10 years. But the commuter parking lots have gotten so crowded in the mornings that she sometimes parks illegally along a curb in the lot at Broken Land Parkway and Route 32. "It's terrible," Reid, 59, said Wednesday evening, in the same lot where she was ticketed.