GREENING SYNAGOGUES RESOURCES

Green Architecture Resources

Hiddur Mishkan – Construction Choices, Energy Use & Audits
Assembled by Nathan Martin and Fred Scherlinder Dobb for JRF, 11/02

Redesigning and retrofitting an existing building to reduce its energy and environmental impact is both a challenging and rewarding process. Greener buildings are a good long-term investment. They are healthier places to spend time in, cost less to operate, and represent the translation of our values into concrete actions. We are including some initial resources that could be useful getting technical support and learning about what opportunities exist when thinking about improving the building.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Buildings Site & Energy Star Congregations -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designed a program to help houses of worship become highly energy efficient. The Energy Star Congregations program offers technical and consulting support, information on opportunities, and links synagogues into a national network of religious organizations working on improving their buildings. In addition, the EPA provides general information on green buildings in a single portal website designed to give convenient general information on the topic.

Green Buildings Information Council -- a Canadian non-profit that disseminates information about energy and environmental issues in the building sector. GBIC is itself small, but has extensive international links; through this Web Site comes broad range of information from other sources and organizations around the world, all separately identified.

Green Building Concepts -- a source of reports and guides for building an energy and resource efficient home, and knowing why sustainable building, or green architecture, is important to ameliorate greenhouse gas emissions.

Oikos: Green Construction Source -- Oikos offers solid information on energy efficiency and sustainable building construction. The site offers architects, designers, building contractors, consultants and consumers detailed information on products and techniques.

U.S. Green Buildings Council -- The USGBC provides services to its membership and constituents, including building owners and managers, product manufacturers, architects/engineers and others interested in the greening of buildings and the communities in which they reside. The Council provides membership services to these organizations to enhance their businesses, including information sharing, networking opportunities, business leads, and publicity.

Using Green Building Consultants -- Find them in your area (they’re there!). In PA for example, Scot Horst of Pennsylvania Power and Light (Horst@SevenGroup.com) audits synagogues and churches. There is a qualified network of consultants who work in various areas.

U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy -- Energy efficiency clearing-house offers information and assistance to a broad audience (builders, consumers, educators and students, businesses, government agencies, entrepreneurs) on a wide range of topics by providing publications, customized responses, and referrals to energy organizations.

Environmental Building News Magazine -- EBN is an international publication on environmentally sustainable design and construction. The website features news, a calendar of events, an annotated "green links" page, and highlights from past issues, including many detailed product reviews.

Green Building Resource Guide -- In this guide, mainly for homebuilders, each of the nearly 600 product listings includes a brief product description, icons representing categories of environmental benefit, contact information for the manufacturer, and a cost comparison with its most likely conventional alternative. Icons identify nontoxic, recycled-content, resource efficient, long life-cycle and environmentally conscious products. You can order the Green Building Resource Guide in two forms: a reference manual or a CD-ROM database.

Energy Crossroads -- a general database on energy and environmental information including green buildings.