The local high school is doing a vast 5yr renovation and building project.
This is a building that was originally  built for occupancy in fall of
1952.  It is costing $55 million to do this but I believe it is much less
expensive than the all new building that was proposed at one time.  We are
adding a 2nd story to part of the building and some of the--not original
but addition--building had to be torn out and start over but most is being
renovated.  Also have built a whole new Technical Education Center which is
what used to be Vocational Education.  Just keep changing names as one name
gets known as the place where kids can learn something practical with which
to earn a living.  We have several really good programs there and are
adding new ones as money permits.  They are hoping to add a masonry class
in the next few years.  Know any good masonry teachers who would like to
start a program from the ground up?

I think the rule of thumb is 3# of grain to each # of turkey, not sure if
that is live wt or dressed.




At 12:28 PM -0500 11/26/04, Dan Becker wrote:
On 11/25/04 2:15 PM, "Cuyler Page" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

What is meant by "embodied energy" ?


Several years ago the school system's Facilities Department stunned us with
an 11th-hour proposal to demolish our neighborhood 1920s elementary school
(after all previous discussion had been renovation) at a meeting on the
Monday evening before Thanksgiving; they would be seeking approval for the
proposal at the December 1 Board meeting. Needless to say we did not spend
our Thanksgiving holiday watching moon rises and moon sets; instead my
neglected visiting family members watched us engage deeply in strategy
planning efforts.

But I digress. One of the issue points in our communique to the school
board discussed "embodied  energy" (sorry Ralph, desperate people will
grasp at any straw to avoid being identified solely by their sweatshirt
slogans):

Issue:  Energy and life-cycle cost of renovated structure


The renovation of Underwood School conserves more than just dollars.  It
also conserves energy and landfill space: as Preservation North Carolina
states, "preservation is the ultimate recycling."


Energy is not measured just by the amount required to tear down and build
anew.  It is also measured by the "embodied energy" existing in the current
facility. It required energy-both human and mechanical-to create the brick
in the wall of the building.  That embodied energy is being thrown away
(even while we exhibit concern about long-term energy shortages) when a
building is razed.


Public entities should be guardians of scarce resources.  The U.S.
Department of Defense effectively makes this point:

Each building within our inventory represents a significant amount of
"embodied energy"-the amount of energy invested in the [construction] and
improvements to the facility. The shell of a two-story brick residential
structure contains over 1 billion Btu's of energy in construction materials
alone.  This is equivalent to about 8,000 gallons of gasoline.  The
replacement of a building results in the loss of that "embodied energy,"
plus the added energy cost to demolish the building, remove and dispose of
the debris, and manufacture, deliver, and place materials for a new
building.  DoD, the Services and the nation benefit when we conserve our
energy investment by reusing historic structures.  The process of
rehabilitating a historic facility consumes less energy than new
construction.  And, the energy costs of operating a rehabilitated structure
vs. a new structure are effectively equal.


Also, the process of rehabilitating a historic facility to meet current
operational standards consumes less energy than new construction.  Even
when major repairs, additions, or alterations are needed to achieve use and
energy conservation goals, they generally require less energy than
demolition and replacement of a historic structure.

The Benefits of Cultural Resource Conservation, U.S. Department of Defense


How can we teach our children to recycle by placing little storage bins in
the cafeteria, while unnecessarily filling the landfill with the entire
building?  What kind of an example are we setting?

No less an authority than the US Dept. of Defense! Not exactly known as an
apologist for preservation. If a two-story residential shell (assume 2,000
sq. ft.) is 8,000 gals. of gas, then our 78,000 sq. ft. two-story solid
brick wall school is roughly the equivalent of 312,000 gallons of gas,
which at $2.00/gallon equates to $624,000. Not exactly turkey feed.

Sign me,
dan i wonder how much turkey feed it takes to make a 40 pound turkey and
how big is ruth's oven anyway becker

--
Ruth Barton
[log in to unmask]
Dummerston, VT

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