Synapse: This Week's News for LA’s Best Buildings
Low Carbon Leaders: Demonstrating Ways to Zero
We have the technology. We have the expertise. We have the capital. It’s time for radical collaboration.
Flip the Switch: Healthy Buildings Key to Climate Success
Buildings—including our homes and places of work—are responsible for one third of the fossil gas (a.k.a. “natural” gas) consumed in the United States each year. We burn gas and other fossil fuels like oil and propane inside buildings largely to heat the rooms and the water inside them. That adds up to 12 percent of the country’s yearly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Fortunately, efficient electric technology is readily available to replace our old, dirty fossil fuel-burning heating appliances. A new NRDC fact sheet released today explains how this transition that is crucial to fighting the climate crisis can also make our communities healthier and more economically robust.
Want to Save Energy and Fight Climate Change? Try Using Less Water
There’s a classic scene in “The Graduate” where Dustin Hoffman’s character, fresh out of college, gets pulled aside at a graduation party by a well-meaning friend of his parents and told: “I just want to say one word to you. Just one word ... plastics.”
If that scene were written today with sustainability in mind, the word might be “batteries.” Or maybe “hydrogen.”
But it might also be two words: “energy efficiency.”
Update: COVID-19 Related Guidance for Benchmarking and Certification
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way many buildings in the United States operate. We have assessed the impact of these changes on 1-100 ENERGY STAR scores and have updated some of our guidance accordingly. The updated guidance will allow more of you to apply for ENERGY STAR certification while complying with the recommendations of medical experts for reducing the risk of exposure to the coronavirus.
March Top 10 Solutions
The 10 most-viewed resources from the past month from the DOE include a new webinar on climate risk assessments for commercial buildings, a new waste diversion solution from the City of Beaverton, Oregon, plus solutions from partners New York City Housing Authority and InterContinental Hotels Group. Check them out!
