A team of experts in green building design and technologies present: Keeping the Gold in the Community. Members from Sustainable Arizona's High Performance Building Team will present ways for the city, developments and home owners to save money by reducing their water and energy use.

For Immediate Release

April 4, 2006
Contact: Tom Kociemba - 623.533.4071
Tom@Kociemba.com

Green is Coming to Mohave County

Bullhead City, AZ: On April 17, a team of experts in green building design and technologies will conduct an information session for city officials, community leaders and developers in the area. It will be a four-hour session beginning at 8:00 AM at the Laughlin Ranch Club House. The theme of the session is: Keeping the Gold in the Community. Members from Sustainable Arizona's High Performance Building Team will present ways for the city, developments and home owners to save money by reducing their water and energy use as the area grows.
The presentation is sponsored by the Laughlin Ranch Sustainable Development Council, the Windy River Institute and Sustainable Arizona. "We want to thank David Lords, Ron Hubert and Melanie DeBo for arranging this opportunity," said Tom Kociemba, High Performance Team leader. "We're looking forward to doing what we can to help this community keep more of their money while they grow…instead of allowing it to leave the community in the form of excessive payments for energy and water."

Those invited to the event include: tract and custom home developers in Bullhead City, Kingman, Lake Havasu City and Laughlin, representatives from the city planning, water and building code departments, the Chambers of Commerce from the area, regional consulting firms and local architects, as well as, the City Councils from Bullhead City, Kingman, Lake Havasu City and Laughlin, and officials from Mohave Community College. "We want to be sure to reach the key decision-makers in the area," explained Kociemba. "There is a great opportunity here for everyone to benefit from sustainable growth in this region."

The session will begin with an understanding of planning and designing sustainable communities. Ron Hubert will present the Sustainability Principals of Laughlin Ranch. Joseph Smyth, a world class sustainable city planner and architect, will present important principles for sustainable design that should guide future growth in the area. The following presentations will highlight some innovative green building approaches and technologies. The new systems are designed to conserve water, reduce energy use or manage wastes while saving money and providing luxury and convenience to the homeowner.

According to a 2004 report from the California Energy Commission, a single water management system, the Metlund D'MAND System, can save homes more than 20 gallons of water per day. That is 7,300 gallons per year per home. In a community of 20,000 homes, that one system can save the community $4,800,000 per year in water, electricity and waste costs. That money saved is then available to be spent supporting the local economy.

"Communities invest a lot of resources in bringing business to town and very little on preserving their citizens capital," said David Vette, member of the team from Sustainable Arizona. He will be presenting information about ground-source heat pumps which the U.S. Department of Energy rated the most energy efficient way to heat and cool a home. Other presenters will discuss water saving and purification systems, solar powered-high efficiency cooling systems with an independently tested EER of 37.5, new energy-saving wall and insulation systems, building integrated solar thermal technologies, waste water reclamation and more.
The session is a collaboration between the Laughlin Ranch Sustainable Development Council, Windy River Institute in Golden Valley and Sustainable Arizona. Sustainable Arizona is a nonprofit education and resource council that helps communities, businesses and individuals achieve sustainability. Melanie DeBo, founder of the Windy River Institute, brought the issues of development in Mohave County to Sustainable Arizona and encouraged them to become involved. Their High Performance Building Team responded with the offer to work with her and Laughlin Ranch to engage community and business leaders in the dialogue on sustainable development.

To learn more about Sustainable Arizona, economic development, green building, water and energy conservation and other issues around the state, visit www.sustainablearizona.org. The agenda is also posted on the Sustainable Arizona web site.