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We spend a lot of time talking about greener power and greener cars here at EcoGeek. It just seems like that's the obvious place to start work. Cars burn billions of tons of gasoline, and greening the grid greens everything that consumes power.
But a report put out by the tri-national (US, Canada and Mexico) Commission for Environmental Cooperation has determined that building greener buildings would do more for the environment than any other single measure.
According to the report, which has taken the last two years to compile, technology that is already available and being implemented across the world could reduce the amount of CO2 produced by buildings by 1,800 megatons per year. That's roughly the amount of CO2 that was produced by ALL CARS AND PLANES in North America last year. There is no other way to decrease our CO2 emissions faster, more significantly or more inexpensively.
Buildings produce the largest piece of the CO2 pie, at 35%. This energy is consumed both in the building phase (8% of CO2 emissions come from the prodution of concrete) and throughout the lifetime of the building's operation. At the fore of lifetime energy use is heating, ventilation and air conditioning, while lighting, water and appliances eat up energy as well.
The crazy thing is, this isn't unproved, still-in-development technology. These technologies, making climate control, lighting, heating and appliances more efficient, are available now. But only 3% of buildings in America currently use these technologies. The report indicates that widespread adoption and retrofitting of older buildings will be necessary but, in the end, not prohibitively expensive.
Looks like we at EcoGeek need to spend some more time talking about buildings...because this is pretty exciting news.
Via TheDailyGreen
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written by Robbert, March 17, 2008
As such, This means if we go all-out, theoretically eco-friendly cars can dominate within say 5 years. while it will be 20 to 30 years before new eco-friendly buildings form the majority housing or office-space.
This doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Just that we shouldn't bet on one horse.
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written by Daniel Bell, March 17, 2008
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written by Daniel Bell, March 17, 2008
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written by Magnulus, March 17, 2008
Now, I just have to hope for a major Hollywood contract straight out of my bachelor's in three years... Likely!
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written by Adam Beazley, March 22, 2008
The list goes on and on...
When you say green everyone always thinks "solar panels" or "wind turbines", but people dont think about efficiency. Im a LEED AP and I always tell my clients that every dollar spent towards efficiency will save 10 on alternative energy. In other words, you may need a $100,000 solar system to meet the needs of your home right now, but if you spend $5,000 on energy efficiency, you may then only need a $50,000 solar system.
Learn how: NeutralExistence.com
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written by Hans Noeldner, March 22, 2008
A Ford Expedition with eight people commuting to work in it is more "green" than a Prius with one commuter. A 5,000 square foot McMansion with three families living in it is a lot more "green" than a 1,500 square foot LEEDS certified vacation home that is used a few months a year by somebody who flies there from San Fransisco. And so on.
It all comes down to "per person" - which is to say, how effectively we choose to share.
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written by Frances, March 24, 2008
From their website "The U.S. Green Building Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings accessible to everyone within a generation."
If you are in the Design or Construction industries, study and sit for the LEED certification exams!
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written by Brian, March 24, 2008
Based on my experience - I totally see how energy efficient retrofits can save massive quantities of CO2 and for very minimal costs. We have a single story home that's just shy of 2600 sq ft. We have ~$1000 in insulation, $1500 in the tankless,$6600 in the HVAC system and about $1000 in windows - so we've invested about $10K in energy efficiency and we save in the neighborhood of $1400-1500 per year on if you include water and energy savings from the low-flow toilet replacements, ultra efficient dishwasher, rain sensor and energy star fridge, so the savings are certainly there to pay for itself - it just takes educating and some dedication.
We're still continuing to improve the efficiency of our home... improving ventilation in our attic with continuous soffit vents, looking at a front-loading washer and have two new windows sitting in the garage as I type this (and will eventually replace the other 20 windows).
Brian
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written by Wayne, May 05, 2008
I have been tasked with ascertaining how much CO2 / carbon emissions are produced when manufacturing a new car. Is there a formula for working this out, give that a car is made up of the following:
Steel – 59%,
Iron – 13%,
Plastics – 8%,
Aluminium – 7%,
Rubber – 4%,
Glass – 3%,
Other Nonferrous – 3%, and
Other – 3%.
Give that the above car weighs 2 tonnes (2000 kg), how much by way of CO2 / Carbon Emissions are produced making 1 kg of this vehicle, any formula to help work this out would be appreciated, regards
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written by wedding dress, July 18, 2008
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written by jim, July 20, 2008
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written by Eco Home Plans, August 04, 2008
Charles Precht
Sustainable Design
www.sustainablehomeplans.com
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