Going Green

Time for Geothermal

HealthySpacesRx Editor — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:51:11 +0000

Much of the media and investment community has been focused on the potential for electric cars and solar in the last few years. The cleantech community invested about 60% of venture capital in the second quarter of 2009 in the transportation/fuel and solar energy sectors. One source of energy that hasn't gotten the research dollars in recent years but could provide a source of reliable, relatively cheap energy is geothermal. While generating a significant amount of geothermal energy is years away, Geothermal Heat Pumps are a proven technology and could provide immediate benefits to energy conservation, especially for campus settings like hospitals and long-term care facilities.

USGBC to Require Buildings Seeking LEED Certification to Provide Performance Data

HealthySpacesRx Editor — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:30:36 +0000

The US Green Building Council sent a press release out today announcing that all buildings seeking LEED certification will be required to provide energy and water usage data on a recurring basis as a precondition to certification. The new requirements will be part of LEED v.3, which all registered projects will be required to follow starting June 27.

LEED for Healthcare: Worth It?

HealthySpacesRx Editor — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:28:40 +0000

One of the biggest consumers of energy (about 40%) are buildings, of which about 18% are commercial structures. Since healthcare facilities have such intensive energy needs, especially hospitals which are 24-hour facilities, is getting a LEED certification worth the added expense and effort?

Green Furniture

HealthySpacesRx Editor — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:28:11 +0000

Perhaps you are considering renovating your medical office and one of the things you are evaluating is purchasing furniture. Healthcare furniture has to serve a specific function, such as storage for medical supplies or perhaps even a nurse's station. Unfortunately a lot of furniture these days is built poorly and with materials that are not earth-friendly. Thankfully, it is possible to find functional healthcare furniture that is sustainable by design.

Healthy Spaces Means Green Spaces

HealthySpacesRx Editor — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:00:29 +0000

Today we are inaugurating a new section of the blog called GreenSpacesRx. This section will be covering how the Green Movement is impacting the healthcare community. Hopefully, it will also become a resource for healthcare professionals who would like to explore greening their environments.

There are numerous areas where the healthcare community can adopt sustainable practices. From CFL bulbs to LEED-certified facilities, an industry that contributes 16% to the nation's GDP has ample opportunity to contribute to the Green movement. The healthcare industry has a special obligation to spearhead sustainable, non-toxic practices. We will look into issues, products and services that can help with this effort.