Synapse: This Week's News for LA’s Best Buildings

DOE Announces $11 Billion in Energy Cost-Savings from Better Buildings Initiative Partners

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced nearly $11 billion in energy-cost savings by more than 950 public and private sector organizations in DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative. To date, partners have saved nearly 1.8 quadrillion British thermal units of energy, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 27 million homes in America over one year.

Electrification Can Supercharge California’s Post-COVID Economy

Clean energy can be the economic engine for California. We already lead the U.S. in solar energy and electric vehicle deployment, and rank fifth in wind power. These industries, plus energy efficiency, have made our clean energy workforce the nation’s largest and attracted many of the world’s most innovative clean tech companies. Much of this success is because California climate policy is America’s most ambitious, targeting 40% fewer emissions by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2045.

Bloomberg's Liam Denning: Fighting Climate Change Means Fighting Racial Injustice

Bloomberg columnist Liam Denning describes the ways in which the fight for climate change and racial justice are closely intertwined, revealing how communities of color are disproportionately harmed by the effects of climate change, particularly air quality. In his piece titled “Fighting Climate Change Means Fighting Racial Injustice,” shared here with permission, Denning shares his experience visiting the city of Watts which ranks among the worst 5 percent of California’s districts in terms of pollution, as well as details the city’s history of civil unrest during the 1965 Watts riots and 1992 LA riots.

To Make Offices Safe During COVID-19, Buildings Need a Breath of Fresh Air

The coronavirus thrives inside. A Hong Kong paper found that of over 7,000 COVID-19 cases, only one outbreak was contracted outdoors. In Seoul, an infection cluster was so concentrated that even on a 19-floor building, the outbreak was contained to just one floor, and almost entirely on one side of that floor. The data seems to indicate that infections occur in dense inside areas with shared airspace, compounded by recirculating that air — the definition of a modern office building. 

A Long-Simmering Water Battle Comes to a Boil in Southern California

If…you live in Los Angeles — or Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix or Salt Lake City — you drink water from the Colorado River. You probably eat vegetables grown with Colorado River water, and maybe you eat beef fed on alfalfa grown with Colorado River water. When you switch on a light or charge your phone, some of the electricity may be generated by Colorado River water.

Colorado River Aqueduct (Source: LA Times)