Business & Professional

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Greening Of America

There are advantages aplenty in going green in everyday life.

I

t's difficult to open a paper or
turn on the radio or TV and just
move about daily life without
being inundated about climate change,
environmental hazards and information
about living green. Every day, we hear
words that are
becoming part of
our conversation-
al fabric: "carbon
footprint:'"eco-
friendly:'"green
products!'
What does the
green revolution
have to do with
commercial and
Robert
residential
build-
Mattler
ings?
What
does
Special to the
it
have
to
do
with
Jewish News
us? Why should
we care?
Did you know that globally, build-
ings emit the most carbon dioxide per
sector, followed by transportation and
industry? In the United States, buildings
account for 72 percent of all electricity
consumption, 40 percent of all primary
energy use, 39 percent of all carbon
dioxide emissions and 13.6 percent of
all potable-water consumption. The U.S.
Green Building Council (USGBC) was
formed in 1998 with a business mis-
sion to transform the way buildings and
communities are designed, built and
operated, enabling an environmentally
and socially responsible, healthy and
prosperous environment that improves
the quality of life (www.usgbc.org ).

Power Of Green
Over the past six years, Greening the
Heartland has become the Midwest's
leading green building and sustainabil-
ity conference. The conference has pro-
vided an informative and reliable forum
for the most up-to-date green practices
and technologies to be unveiled and
shared both in commercial and residen-
tial building settings. Sixteen USGBC
chapters from the Midwest, which make
up the Heartland Region, held their
annual conference at Cobo Center in
Detroit from May 31-June 2.
At the conference, more than 70
exhibitors displayed products and ser-
vices to the 600 attendees. Local and

out-of-state vendors exhibited new
energy efficient building technologies,
energy-monitoring devices, green roof
systems and cost-effective lighting sys-
tems, all intended to save energy, water,
money and lower carbon dioxide emis-
sions.
Many attendees of the conference
joined Matt Rousch, technology editor
from WWJ News Radio 950 and the
Engineering Society of Detroit,
in partnership with the USGBC Detroit
Chapter, for a WWJ Business Breakfast
entitled "The Business Case for Going
Green!' Presentations were made about
the inefficiencies and excessive energy
consumption of our present-built envi-
ronment, along
with some real-life
examples of how
business, govern-
ment and educa-
tion are imple-
menting green
strategies that are
saving building
owners money
and reducing their
impact on the
environment.
Mayor George
Heartwell of
Grand Rapids, in
particular, spoke passionately about his
city's high-level of involvement with the
greening of their buildings. He noted
Grand Rapids has the most Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED)-certified (i.e., green) buildings
per capita in the country. This is quite
an accomplishment for Michigan's sec-
ond-largest city.

Ltd., based in Hong Kong. As co-found-
er of the David Suzuki Foundation, Dr.
Suzuki is an award-winning scientist,
environmentalist and broadcaster. He is
renowned for his radio and television
programs that explain the complexities
of the natural sciences in a compelling,
easily understood manner. His being
a trained scientist, environmentalist
and television host of CBC's "Nature of
Things" for more than 30 years made
for a thought-provoking, introspective
journey on how humans, as the highest
and most intelligent species on Earth,
have willingly and knowingly set the
table for their own possible destruction.
Suzuki spoke eloquently on how our
consumer society is
focused on wants,
not needs, how soci-
ety has turned its
back on our most-
renowned scientists
and scientific data
over the last 40 years
and that placement of
our economy, above
all other systems, has
led us to the preci-
pice of disaster. He
advocated immediate
change. He advised
all in attendance to
spread the word that lifestyle changes
must either be made voluntarily or they
will be forced upon us in a more drastic
way in the not-too-distant future.
While some believe all this green-
speak is a fad, I see the paradigm shift-
ing toward a future where businesses,
building owners and society as a whole
will become more aware and enlight-
ened, and will embrace the new 3 Rs:
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. L

Buildings
emit the most
carbon dioxide
per sector, followed
by transportation
and industry.

Forum Focus
During the three-day conference,
there were seven conference speeches,
optional tours of local LEED-certi-
fled buildings and more than 30 pre-
sentations split up in four separate
educational tracks that included:
Economic Revitalization; Public Policy
and Resource Management; Regional
Best Management Practices and
Transportation and Technology.
The highlight of the conference was
the featured keynote speech by David
Suzuki, Ph.D., New Data Enterprises

Robert Mattler is a commercial real estate
broker at Armada Real Estate Services in
Farmington Hills. He assists developers,

builders and associated professionals with
the advantages, benefits and cost savings
of green buildings. He also helps place

green-conscious tenants into energy-effi-
cient buildings. He is a LEED Accredited

Professional and a National Association

of Realtors' green designated instructor.
Contact him at bmattler@armadarealestate.
com or (248) 855-1221.

AJC Annual Meeting
American Jewish Committee
Metropolitan Detroit Chapter will
hold its annual meeting 7 p.m.
Thursday, June 18, at the Max M.
Fisher Federation Building, 6735
Telegraph Road in Bloomfield
Township.
Dan Hunter, manager of Oakland
County Planning and Economic
Development, will be the keynote
speaker. He will speak about the
current economic situation in
Oakland County and several eco-
nomic initiatives that the county is
undertaking.
Preceding the talk, board elections
and a short business meeting will
be held. The proposed slate for the
Executive Committee includes: chap-
ter president, Jonathan Frank; vice
presidents, Howard Brown, Bryant
M. Frank, Robert D. Gordon, Robert
B. Labe and Sheldon S. Toll; officer at
large, Lynn Desenberg Heumann; ex-
officio, Kenneth C. Gold.
Newly nominated to the board of
directors for three-year terms are
Robert Bick, Jeffrey Camiener, Rep.
Ellen Cogen-Lipton, Shari Rogers
and David Techner. Re-nominated
to the board for three-year terms
are Keith Bornstein, Howard Brown,
Amy B. Folbe, Jonathan Frank,
Robert D. Gordon, Robert B. Labe,
Sheldon S. Toll and Joshua Yaker.
There is no charge to attend
the meeting but reservations are
required. For information or res-
ervations, contact the AJC office,
detroit@ajc.org or (248) 646-7686.

Kol Ami
Fetes
Volunteer
On June 5, Eileen
Higer was given
the Temple Kol
Ami Volunteer of
1111bia... the Year Award.
Eileen Higer
She and her fam-
ily joined TKA 14 years ago. Her
greatest love is the work she does as
chair of Caring Community rides to
services, meals after a sickness or
death in the family or friendly calls
in a time of need.
Higer has served as a member
of the Temple Kol Ami Board of
Trustees and various committees
and corps. She the bar-bat mitzvah
chair for several years. She has
represented the Temple at Yad Ezra,
Berkley; Cappuchin Soup Kitchen,
Detroit; South Oakland Shelter; and
Ronald McDonald House, Detroit.

June 18 • 2009

A29

