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Early Honors
In its first year, Andalusia at Coral Mountain in La Quinta has won two Gold Nugget awards at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference and has been named among America’s Top 100 Premier Properties by Links Magazine, GolfWeek’s Best Residential Courses, and Desert Golf Magazine’s Top Ten Private Courses. Even its advertisement won an award: the Grand Award for Best Color Ad for a Master-Planned Community at the 24th annual Elan Awards, presented by the Building Industry Association’s Sales & Marketing Council of Greater Los Angeles & Ventura Counties.
Green Rooms
Though SUVs get a bad rap from environmentalists, buildings consume far more energy: a whopping 65 percent of all electricity and 40 percent of all raw materials. Fortunately, eco-friendly construction is on the rise, with 5 percent of commercial construction meeting standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. (54 cities and 23 federal agencies have adopted LEED standards). Ten percent of new homes satisfy the federal government’s Energy Star guidelines, making them nearly one-third more energy efficient than regulations require. (Source: E — The Environmental Magazine)
Road ENV-y
Get ready to break open your piggy bank. Sometime in the second half of this year, Intelligent Energy of Great Britain will put the world’s first purpose-built fuel-cell motorbike on the market for “below $10,000.” The ENV (Emissions Neutral Vehicle) is about as loud as a home computer, has no gears, and can travel at least 100 miles without refueling. Its top speed in testing was 50 mph, though that number is expected to increase through refinements. As for color, your choices are black supergloss and iridescent white.
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