Sustainable Architecture
Sustainability and sophistication are the perfect couple for a home to be charmingly green
In Eastside Costa Mesa, California, there is charming “green” home which combines perfectly luxury and sustainability. And the result pays off. The home was recently remodeled from the ground up with the primary goal of conservation, and adheres to the [...]
And the winner of the 2010 European Solar decathlon is…
Virginia Tech for the Lumenhaus! Among the 17 great solar-powered prefab homes that were participating in the contest, showing that completely self-sustaining shelters can easily become a reality, the American project was the winner. The 17 houses were probed, prodded, [...]
A climate superb company
‘How does your carbon performance compare?’ This is the question which welcomes the reader of the 350 Index Results Report 2010, a publication that introduces the new FTSE CDP Carbon Strategy Index Series. The FTSE Group (FTSE) announced last week, [...]
Red buses in London will turn green in 2012
There is no bus in the world as famous as London’s. Since the 1960s the UK’s capital has been going its own way by designing its own vehicle specially for the city use rather than using the bus manufacturers’ standard [...]
Human behavior plays a critical role in reducing energy use
In an interview with Grist, Republican Brian Baird explains his ideas of how psychology should be taken more into account when dealing with climate change. Baird has a PhD in clinical psychology, and argues that “to change the way Americans [...]
Students designed and built a house covered in solar cells
The Solar Decathlon is a competition organized yearly by the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, since 2002. Teams of college and university students can participate by designing and building solar powered houses. The goal is to help [...]
Energy Star for data centers
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is developing a program to foster energy efficiency in data centers. Starting in June, data centers will be able to apply for Energy Star certification. Operators will first have to go through an online test, [...]
Cradle-to-cradle design
One of the most inspiring books I’ve read lately is Michael Braungart and William McDonough’s “Cradle-to-Cradle, Remaking the way we make things”. The authors claim that today’s popular green strategies of using energy efficiently and reducing waste are not enough. [...]
What is ENERGY EFFICIENCY?
Energy efficiency is the relationship between the amount of energy consumed and the products and services obtained. It can be improved by the use of technology, legislation and education. A program of energy efficiency should include the following issues: power [...]
The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act and the environment – Part I
In February 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed by the Congress, and signed into law by President Barack Obama. Its main goal is to spur economic activity and growth, creating and saving jobs. Recovery funds are around [...]
Australia’s Green Loans: promoting energy efficiency
Though renewable energy technologies are being greatly developed, not many people are able to adopt them yet, given their still expensive cost. That’s why governments play a key role in helping both green technology developers, and people interested in improving [...]
Malmo: an example of a green city, in Sweden
Some cities wait for legislation to be passed before starting to evolve to a more sustainable way of functioning. And some others lead the way, and I dare say they will even be an inspiration for those future laws I [...]
