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How Net-Zero Buildings Can Help The Climate Crisis

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CURRENT NEWS

The New York Times

A huge city polluter? Buildings. Here’s a surprising fix.

By Brad Plumer 03/10/23

On cold mornings in New York City, boilers in the basements of thousands of buildings kick on, burning natural gas or oil to provide heat for the people upstairs. Carbon dioxide from these boilers wafts…

Axios

Biden to invoke Defense Production Act for clean energy

By Ben Geman and Andrew Freedman 06/06/22

President Biden will shield solar project developers from the costs of potential trade penalties and offer new federal support for domestic panel manufacturing, the White House said Monday.

HuffPost

After championing greener building codes, local governments lose right to vote

By Alexander C. Kaufman 03/04/22

The nonprofit consortium that oversees much of the nation's building codes just gave the construction and gas industries more control over the process.

Yale Environment 360

Can the World’s Most Polluting Heavy Industries Decarbonize?

By Fred Pearce 09/23/21

The production of steel, cement, and ammonia together emit about one-fifth of all human-caused CO2. Technologies are emerging that promise to decarbonize these problem industries, but analysts warn that big challenges remain before the processes…

World Economic Forum

Decarbonizing cities – how to harmonize buildings, mobility and infrastructure

By Francesco Starace and Jean-Pascal Tricoire 01/11/21

An integrated approach is needed to fully decarbonize cities. Digitalization across buildings, mobility and energy infrastructure is key to achieving net zero carbon. Decarbonizing cities will not just benefit the environment, but also the jobs…

Recordonline.com

Unique Passive House project in Newburgh nears finish line

By Lana Bellamy 06/28/20

"I just sequestered myself in here. I was totally out of danger because I told all my subcontractors, 'Don't come in,'" Robinson said, referring to when the COVID-19 outbreak began. "I would just sit here…

Streetsblog Cal

Grants Issued for Affordable Housing, Transformative Climate Communities, Climate Change Research

By Melanie Curry 06/26/20

Strategic Growth Council awards a pile of implementation and planning grants for sustainable, healthy communities

Energy News Network

Kansas City poised to adopt the most efficient building code in the country

By Karen Uhlenhuth 06/25/20

Supporters are optimistic that the City Council will adopt a 2021 code expected to increase efficiency by 10%.

The construction specifier

TAT designs Boston affordable housing to Passive House standards

06/23/20

The new, 55-unit expansion of Old Colony in South Boston is part of a decade-long redevelopment of the Anne M. Lynch Homes at Old Colony, as the affordable housing complex is known. According to the…

State of the Planet

‘Building’ Sustainability for Buildings

By Minji Ko 05/13/20

The Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development was pleased to host John Mandyck, the CEO of Urban Green Council as part of the Spring 2020 Speaker Series. With a mission to transform buildings for a more…

MIT Technology Review

The passive house that’s aggressively green

By Alice Dragoon 04/15/20

This May, residents chosen from a lottery of 2,600 applicants are scheduled to begin moving into 98 affordable housing units in the new Finch Cambridge building on Concord Avenue near Fresh Pond in Cambridge, Massachusetts.…

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BS = Battery and Storage. If you see no icon in front of an entry, it means the entry covers more than one subject.

Join The Dark Sky Movement

05/05/21

The International Dark-Sky Association works to protect the night skies for present and future generations.

The Federal Commitment to Green Building: Experiences and Expectations

03/11/20

This report assesses, for the first time, what the Federal government is doing, in policy and practice, to make its buildings more environmentally sustainable, and provides recommendations for how the Federal sector can make even…

Green Building Policy Options for the Public Sector

03/11/20

Green building is receiving increased attention in the public sector in the United States. Over the past ten years, public sec-tor organizations have gone from “testing the waters” with green building pilot projects to developing…

great neck record

LED Lights In The Village Of Great Neck

04/07/18

Babylon is installing LED lights in all 13,250 of its streetlamps, reflecting a shift across Long Island for energy-efficient lighting. The additional advantage of LEDs in Babylon resulted in making the town safer. The projected…

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MORE NEWS

NRDC

Pittsburgh City Buildings Ready to Go Net Zero

By Wendy Lee and Irene Nielson 11/20/19

Pittsburgh’s Mayor William Peduto signed an ordinance for net-zero government buildings, taking action to save money on operating costs and an important step toward the city’s climate goals.

metropolis

How Nonprofit and Public-Sector Clients Are Driving Sustainable Design

By Deane Madsen 01/03/19

As these three examples of nonprofit and public-sector clients suggest, those at the top can empower architects to make impactful choices, provided they embrace sustainable goals of substance.