Ozarks Going Green

People come to compacting from a diverse background and for a lot of reasons. Some are doing it for thrift or simplicity. For others, it is an act of protest against an out-of-control corporate machine. Another cornerstone to compacting is sustainability. Simply refusing to contribute to an unsustainable system is likely the primary motivation for most compacters.

When we moved from California to Springfield, Missouri, we hardly expected to find anything on the cutting edge of sustainability. In our blue-state arrogance, we thought the San Francisco Bay Area had a lock on such things. Matt O'Reilly, the owner of Dynamic Earth outdoor outfitters and developer of the Green Circle shopping center is proving us wrong.

Green Circle is shooting for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum rating. This platinum rating isn't easy to come by, and if he succeeds, O'Reilly's shopping center will be the first anywhere to get that rating.

The shopping center shares parking space with an area church, so no new land is paved for those parking slots. The roof collects and recycles rainwater, Skylights cut down on the need for interior lights, and at every turn, the consumption of resources is managed for the center and its tenants.

It will soon be the centerpiece of a surprising number of area green building innovators and innovations. Local startup company theworkshop 308 LLC is focused on green furniture and green building techniques. The Discovery Center, our local children's science museum, just got its LEED gold certification and local firm EWI plans to build a LEED certified headquarters. It has been a real surprise to us to find how widespread green building techniques have become here in the Ozarks.