Photo Credit: Rene Ehrhardt
“This is about a different way of doing business,” said Jennie Nevin, a 31 year old who formerly worked as an investment specialist for Merrill Lynch. “It’s certainly different from Wall Street, where it was all about what you did. This is all about what we can do.”
What Ms. Nevin is referring to is a co-working space called ‘Green Spaces’ that is home to about 20 entrepreneurs (many of whom are in their 20’s) of environmentally centered start-up companies. The office, founded by Ms. Nevin and her partners (who are also very young: 29 and 30) opened in September in TriBeCa, New York and provides the perfect setting for green brainstorming. Another ‘Green Spaces’ was recently opened in Denver, Colorado and a third should be underway in Los Angeles in the near future. Read more…
Image Via The New York Times, SERA Architects
Imagine an 18 story (200 foot tall) building covered in vertical vegetation that changes with the seasons… Sound almost like a modern-day fairy tale, right? Well, in Portland, Oregon it’s more like a science that, in 2013, will become reality. The Federal Government is beginning a $133 million renovation on its main federal building that overlooks the downtown plaza. Thanks to Obama’s federal stimulus package last year, which promotes environmentally friendly projects, this federal building will soon be green in more ways than one. Read more…
H. Koppdelaney
New green technologies and the desire for sustainable living have become the resource for a new renewable energy project soon to be underway in 2010. The project is known as the Sahara Forest Project, a center that will work as a model for the development of larger scale green complexes intended to be built in deserts around the world. The idea is to provide a sustainable “oasis” for desert communities. Scientists are deliberating between arid sites in the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and the U.S. to be the first to host this experimental facility. As with most new green developments, the project has stirred up controversy amongst environmentalists and specialists. Read more…
While environmentally friendly building has become a worldwide trend, rarely is Asia a popular topic when it comes to green construction. The majority of the building in the region consumes more energy then those of developed countries- and therefore has a substantial environment impact. If buildings use more energy than any other sector as well as contribute to climate change, and China alone is said to currently be contributing over half of the worlds new floor space, eco-friendly features should be a major point of interest. Serving as a leader in the region, Tapei 101 of Taiwan (the world’s tallest completed building) will hopefully set a positive example of green construction in the Eastern part of the globe. Equipped with a solar powered roof and other green features, the skyscraper stands alone not only in height, but in its environmental characteristics. Read more…
Photo Credit: Rennett Stowe
While progress towards solutions to climate change are being made with trends such as electric cars, carbon credit trading, solar panels and windmill energy; it is a simple building strategy that could offset billions of tons of CO2. The concept that is cutting costs and emissions is the “cool roof,” which is a shiny plasticized white covering on roofs that rely on the principle that white objects absorb less heat than dark objects.
The movement towards cool roofs has demonstrated how beneficial this small change in construction can be to benefit one’s energy bill. Studies are showing that white roofs reduce air-conditioning costs by 20 percent, making it one of the most affordable shields to global warming. Read more…
It appears that San Francisco is beaming with success from its one-year-old solar energy incentive program that was set into place last July. Since its installation one year ago, there has been an increase of 450% in applications for solar installations in the city. It is the first of its kind in the U.S., and hopefully will set a precedent for all cities throughout the country. Read more…
Two Years ago a devastating tornado ripped through the small Kansas town of Greensburg. The entire area was leveled to the ground and its population of some 1,400 people had to start from scratch to rebuild the place that they called home. Instead of bringing out the old blueprints of the buildings that had once panned the region’s modest skyline however, city officials and community members decided to try a greener approach. The re-resurrection of this small Midwestern town is now underway, and it is being done so almost entirely with environmentally friendly structures and technology. Read more…
Photo Found at Solar Cities
Zamalek, a lush island in the Nile, is a neighborhood of Cairo that thrives from tourism and trade. However, its’ prosperity is deeply contrasted by the impoverished areas that surround it. Only a small distance away lies an expansive slum called Manshiyet Nasser, which is characterized by overpopulated, narrow streets and poor housing. Tens of thousands of people struggle to survive here amongst the trash that flows from Zamalek. Yet, ironically, this impoverished city has become defined by the environmental action its’ community members have taken to survive. Read more…
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