Utility Tracking and Benchmarking Blog | WegoBlog

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. With the long weekend ahead of us, you're sure to have lots of ways to fill your time, let us help you get the most of your weekend and the newly crisp fall weather with some ideas for a green holiday weekend.  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.

Hurricane Sandy tore through the northeast coastline last week leaving millions without power and causing an estimated $20 billion in property damages according to IHS Global Insight, a forecasting firm. By landing in one of the most densely populated areas in the US, Hurricane Sandy’s powerful winds and torrential downpours hit areas at high-risk for contaminant release into the environment. Superfund sites, nuclear power plants, and oil refineries were all in peril. While the Northeast can breathe a sigh of relief that the risks of a nuclear meltdown at Oyster Creek Plant and landslides in New Jersey were not realized, the greatest environmental impacts of Hurricane Sandy might have been manifested in water contamination.

At WegoWise, we’re always on the lookout for cutting edge energy efficiency initiatives happening across the United States and world.  That’s why today we’re excited to tell you about Architecture 2030, a non-profit organization committed to promoting the reduction of fossil fuel use in buildings.  Well ahead of the curve in 2002, Architecture 2030 issued the 2030 Challenge with an emphasis on spurring rapid innovation in the U.S. and global building sector.

Last week, we looked at how construction teams can reduce their environmental footprint by using good construction waste management practices.  In the second part of this two-part blog post, we’ll look into what happens when a building has outlived its usefulness, and must come down in order to make room for a new structure or land use.  Demolition recycling is an important step in a building's life cycle, as material reclamation and good recycling practices can divert over 90% of the building's material from the landfill.

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. Halloween is right around the corner, but it's not too late to make it a little greener than last year.  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.

At both the beginning and end of their life cycles, modern electronics are a risk to the environment. Both the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S3, today's top mobile phones, are excellent examples of this. The process of putting these devices together starts, of course, with raw materials. The expensive, hard-to-find substances that polish the glass, make the screen's colors pop, and ensure the vibration buzzes are called rare earth metals--and extracting them from the earth can be messy. The refuse, or tailings, left over from mining are mildly radioactive and toxic acids are required as part of the refining process. When disposed of irresponsibly, the waste products from these mines have harmed nearby communities and poisoned water supplies. 

Before your building draws it’s first kilowatt-hour, burns a single therm, or taps a drop of water, it will have already been responsible for tons of waste material left over from the construction process. At the end of your building’s life, things get even worse, as many buildings are demolished and landfilled without taking advantage of the recyclable materials stored within.

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. While your porch tomato plants might not qualify you as an urban farmer, you’ve already taken a step in the right direction. Urban farming season is coming to a close, but winter is the perfect time to plan for next year’s harvest. 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.

In today's blog post we will let the infographics do the talking. Explore energy consumption on a global, national, and personal level with these five infographics.  Let us know which one is your favorite!

In order for a building to be truly energy efficient, the interests of both the owner and tenants must be aligned in favor of sustainability. Unfortunately, traditional lease arrangements often do the opposite, and skew the interests of both parties. For instance, if a lease includes fixed utility costs, the tenant has no financial incentive to use sustainable practices; if the lease dictates that the tenant pays for utilities, the owner has less incentive to pay for energy efficiency improvements in tenant spaces because he or she will not be able to take advantage of the subsequent financial benefits.