Putting the "Green" in Greensburg: A Tornado-Ravaged Town Reinvents Itself
Can a small Kansas town leveled by a twister revive its fortunes by becoming an energy-efficient, eco-conscious community?
Putting the "Green" in Greensburg: A Tornado-Ravaged Town Reinvents Itself
- TREES VS. TWISTER Greensburg's Peace Lutheran Church meets in a manufactured modular unit set onto a wooden frame foundation on the site of its former church, ringed by empty lots; it plans to rebuild eventually. Some of the city's trees survived the May 2007 twister, but are worse for the battering. EMILY GERTZ/© SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- TOWARD NEW STANDARDS NREL project manager Lynn Billman, intern Alexander Dane, and architect–engineer John K. Holton have been offering Greensburg guidance on rebuilding the town’s businesses and homes to be highly energy-efficient as well as consulting on the adoption of a green building code. At a meeting in December with Greensburg Mayor Bob Dixson, City Administrator Steve Hewitt and other city officials, the NREL team recommended that Greensburg adopt the National Green Building Standard (NGBS), an emerging code developed by the National Association of Home Builders and the American National Standards Institute, and adapt it to the town's particular needs. Like LEED, the NGBS has four levels and contains prescriptive standards—a construction project accumulates "points" toward certification—as well as performance-based standards that are assessed after completion. Building to NGBS Bronze would result in considerable energy efficiency, as well as better indoor air quality, land use and other positive environmental impacts. It would also qualify both builder and homeowner for various federal and state clean energy and green building incentives that help to bring down construction costs. "If we are truly going to be able to market the brand of being Greensburg," Dixson says, and attract new residents who share the town's green vision, "we have to prove that we're walking the walk." EMILY GERTZ/© SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR? The Silo eco-home was much further along by the time GreenTown and Armour Homes dropped a car on it from a height of 60 feet, on April 9, 2009. The stunt demonstrated that the home could withstand a 160,000-pound impact on its roof or side -- a useful quality in a region prone to tornadoes. EMILY GERTZ/© SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- A STRONG SILO Florida-based Armour Homes has designed and built the Silo. The home is being built using materials and techniques similar to those used for grain silos; its concrete walls and cylindrical shape will give it the strength to resist winds up to 200 miles (320 kilometers) per hour. EMILY GERTZ/© SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- "SOLAR"-POWERED The incubator opened on April 24, 2009 after about six months of construction. It rents about 10 spaces to small businesses, and provides them with technical assistance to help rebuild Greensburg's economy. Rents are $0.45 per square foot upstairs, plus $75 for monthly utilities, $0.60/$24 for utilities downstairs. Among the new businesses returning to Greensburg via the Incubator are the Kiowa County Journal newspaper, and a massage therapist; an attorney, a financial advisor, and a stained glass studio. EMILY GERTZ/© SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- RENOVATING THE ROBINETT The S. D. Robinett Building, built in 1915, was the only structure in Greensburg’s business district to survive the May 2007 tornado. Owners Gary and Erica Goodman hope to operate an antiques store on the first floor and live on the second. Their energy-efficient renovations include extra attic insulation, along with installing an environmentally friendly furnace and new windows. The Goodmans are also using less toxic paints and putting in a low-flow toilet to conserve water. EMILY GERTZ/© SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- ARTS AND EFFICIENCY The 5.4.7 Arts Center, located in the center of Greensburg, is Kansas's first LEED Platinum building. Designed and built by University of Kansas architecture students, it gets energy from three 600-watt wind turbines connected to a bank of batteries, along with photovoltaic panels on the roof. Three geothermal wells control heating and cooling. Passive energy-efficient systems, including a four-inch- (10-centimeter-) thick concrete floor, exterior UV-blocking glass, and a green roof enhance the structure’s light environmental footprint. The center does double duty as Greensburg's community center EMILY GERTZ/© SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- A MAYOR'S SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY Bob Dixson, mayor of Greensburg, believes that although going green will improve the town's economy, "the main thing is that it's the right, prudent, responsible thing to do. It's about being good stewards of the resources that we've been blessed with on this Earth." EMILY GERTZ/© SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- ECOTOURISM IN KANSAS? Daniel Wallach, founder and director of Greensburg GreenTown, hopes to fund and build 12 homes, each featuring different architecture and green features. He envisions Greensburg as an ecotourist destination for people who want to book stays at the homes and "try on" green living. GreenTown has also coordinated donations of ecofriendly building supplies for rebuilding local homes. EMILY GERTZ/© SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
