As flagship buildings, skyscrapers are powerful symbols of what we value as a country. Throughout the past century, prominent buildings from the Chrysler to the Sears have helped tell the story of our nation through architecture. Looking forward, the 21st century is no different, and when it comes to the environmental impact of buildings, looking to notable buildings can help frame the important issues at play.
Tags: Sustainability, News and Policy, Recycling, Energy efficiency, Green living
I love winter. My passion, however, does not extend to the higher utility bills that come along with it, especially since moving into a house that was constructed in 1910 and is essentially a sieve. Despite 2012’s mild winter, our January heating bill reached $318 and last month we paid $187. Yuck.
Corporate environmentalism has been a focus of organizations since the 1980s. Following the first wave of environmentalism that began in the 1970s, corporations, particularly the executive branch, began to realize the business value of sustainability. Since the 1980s, a third wave of corporate environmentalism has emerged. Businesses now recognize that their value increases not just by greening their products and operations, but by engaging employees in this corprate environmentalism as well. According to a National Geographic survey in 2008, more than 80% of U.S. workers said that they believed it was important to work for a company that makes sustainability a top priority.
Tags: Sustainability, Localvore, Energy efficiency, Green living
Whether you want to be a more informed citizen or just want to kill some time before 5 on a Friday afternoon, WegoWise has got you covered. It's been 14 days since Black Friday, so chances are your neighbors have had their lights up for...about 14 days. Show them up this year with an energy-efficient light display. Not only will you dazzle them with your impeccable taste, but you'll have some extra gift money lying around at the end of the month! So peruse our best links, give us some feedback and be sure to share some of the info you just gleaned with other interested parties at the parties you are hopefully attending this weekend. Brought to you by Dan, Nate, Lily, Catherine, Casey, and Joanna.
Tags: Renewables, Sustainability, Recycling, Energy efficiency, Green living
Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) committed to expanding the EPA’s Portfolio Manager software to Canada this June. As it stands now, any building in the world can use the tool, but it will ultimately be benchmarked against buildings in the USA. With this development, Canadian buildings will now be compared against actual Canadian building stock and the analysis will incorporate Canadian source energy and greenhouse gas figures.
There are innumerable blogs out there that post articles claiming to debunk common misconceptions about sustainability (we should know, you’re reading one right now!). A blog post is a great way to introduce a topic and get some discussion going, but is almost never going to serve as a definitive answer to a complex question.
Tags: Sustainability, Localvore, Energy efficiency
Upon hearing the terms "zero energy" or "net zero", one usually assumes that the amount of energy used by a house/building is equal to or less than the amount of energy produced by that house/building.
Tags: Renewables, Sustainability, Construction, Energy efficiency, Green living
