Archive for the 'Environment' Category
Hot on the heels of the SketchUp 7.1 launch a couple of weeks ago, we’re pleased to announce the release of the latest addition to our 3D family: Google Building Maker is a super-specialized, online tool for creating buildings specifically for Google Earth.
Building Maker lets you choose a building to model by looking at aerial [...]
Learn about climate change in this Google Earth introductory tour narrated by Al Gore, the first in a series of Google Earth tours leading up to the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December. For more climate change tours, visit http://www.google.com/cop15
In order to understand more about what the human impact of [...]
The Federal Building in downtown Youngstown, Ohio, features an extensive use of natural light to illuminate offices and a white roof to reflect heat.
It has LEED certification, the country’s most recognized seal of approval for green buildings.
But the building is hardly a model of energy efficiency. According to an environmental assessment last year, it did [...]
When does a Prius have the same environmental impact as a Hummer? The 95 percent of the time it’s parked.
Most people don’t spend time thinking about parking spaces unless they’re looking for one. But these 9′ by 18′ rectangles of urban real estate have a vast impact on North American communities. They affect the economy, [...]
You may have used carbon footprint calculators or ecological footprint calculators; now there is one for calculating your water footprint, too.
The Calculator gives you an estimate of the total amount of water you use, what is called your water footprint. The Calculator takes into account not only the water used in your home, but also [...]
How could a butterfly inspire your next design? Opening keynote Janine Benyus presented the Biomimicry Institute’s new initiative www.AskNature.org at Living Future 09. AskNature is a searchable database of thousands of Nature’s best strategies and ideas–a valuable resource for applying biomimicry to building designs and strategies.
The City has developed and approved two passive design toolkits detailing ways to reduce energy use in new buildings, which are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in Vancouver. The tookits provide best practices for homes and larger buildings for passive design elements such as layout, orientation, insulation, landscaping and ventilation. They are targeted [...]
MacKay, a Cambridge Physics prof, approaches the subject of carbon and sustainability with a scientific, numeric eye. First, in a section called “Numbers, not adjectives,” he looks at all the energy and carbon inputs and outputs in Britain and the rest of the world: this is how many kWh of energy are needed to power [...]
Most of us have heard about LEED for documenting the metrics of green choices in buildings. However, there have been many cases where a project with a high LEED rating still seems to miss the mark on being very green. How might we better measure the sustainability of buildings? What materials are in harmony with [...]
