Some say that one of the problems with the environmental movement is that it has migrated farther and farther into the presentation of bold truths with the goal of promoting fear. I know a number of people that have moved past the tactic of trying to simply make sense, hoping that people can be struck into action if they are afraid enough of the consequences. Clearly, this has had limited results and plenty of backlash. Instead, I try to believe educating and revealing the interconnections of how and why we live will lead other to make smarter decisions. After all, at some point most of us are looking to be inspired.
Archives For sustainability
When it comes to sustainability and NIMBY sentiment, the preservationist mindset can brew its own unique vintage of opposition to environmental goals for building stock. The same boilerplate assumptions of solar panels and wind turbines that draw fire from locals can quickly be amplified when the project in question is the alteration of buildings that have been around for over a century. Even within the architectural community the topic of how to treat our historic building fabric is consistently a topic prompting controversy and healthy debate. While there is a great deal of cultural heritage locked into the innards of old buildings, the danger of “freezing” these structures in time is that we also end up maintaining their striking inefficiencies. As an aging country, we need ways to provide an evolutionary track for the older buildings that are often most notorious laggards in efficiency. Continue Reading…
New York’s Mayor Bloomberg has raised some commotion with his newly released design competition to endorse his proposal of “micro units,” describing apartments that are 275 to 300 square feet. There are few rentable spaces that someone in the Big Apple will not shell out some cash for. I have even spotted tent space in a backyard for rent on Craig’s List. So given that the question is not whether or not people will fill these units (they will), it leaves whether or not the addition of hyper-small living accommodations are a positive addition to a more sustainable city or a step over the line in a way to just squeeze more rent out of buildings on New York real estate. Continue Reading…
I make no secret about my love for recycling. When it comes to the measures necessary to achieve a more sustainable society, the recycling industry represents not only one of the greatest opportunities for positive change but also one of the most feasible to implement. Despite this, even in our cities, we lag far behind the opportunities that are possible, resulting in vastly more waste than is necessary. Having the access to a recycling program is still a factor, but moreover the populace may need an updated and more detailed refresher course on why recycling is so important. Continue Reading…
The question of identity is something that many of us struggle with from time to time, particularly the balance of being a recognized individual and a part of a larger group—the smaller path of self expression vs. getting lost in a larger force as a cog in the bigger machine. Sustainability encounters a cousin of the same problem, where individual contribution to any environmental problem amounts to such a small piece of a greater solution that the very scale of the task is daunting, if not downright disenchanting. Like any ecosystem, when it comes to the health of the environment every participant must play a role. Continue Reading…
The term “geothermal” describes two similar technologies that operate on different scales. Both are used for harvesting clean energy from the earth. Both yield opportunities for displacing pollution and emissions. The best case would allow for us to pour support into both of these technologies, but the prolonged fragility of the economy prompts the question of which one of these options actually gets us farther? Which should we be encouraging, publicizing and subsidizing? Which gives more bang for the buck? Continue Reading…
For those who often take part in sustainable buildings, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) can seem like a mature system that has become a notable part of the industry. At the same time, immersion can make it easy to forget that most of the building industry has yet to do a LEED project. Without a doubt, LEED is still a debated issue in the design and building world, but instead of taking part in the hype the best way to form an educated opinion is by actually taking part in a LEED project. Being on a project team can be illuminating the positive qualities of LEED and how their criteria can be refreshing quality control for our work, even for seasoned professionals. Continue Reading…
A growing contingent of Philadelphia locals are trying to raise a cry for transforming a retired, elevated viaduct into a gardened, pedestrian thoroughfare. Being almost universally regarded as a success, New York City’s High Line is the obvious case study for how the re-purposing of old, industrial relics can transform them into unique, local icons ingrained with authenticity. With clear sustainable advantages pointing to reuse rather than demolition, the urban proposal has important differences from one of New York’s most treasured parks that could make the road to realization long and arduous. Continue Reading…
Despite the devoted attachment that the majority of Americans have to historic, residential archetypes, the evolution of building materials and practices continue to make it more difficult to maintain our older building stock in an authentic way. Though the ideological split amongst designers for whether new buildings should be crafted in a contemporary or historic image, the industry’s feelings about preserving older buildings that already exist is less contentious. As work performed on these period homes becomes more expensive, so too does it discourage maintenance and upgrades integral to keeping these homes from bleeding energy.
In 1973 the initiation of the Arab Oil Embargo had rippling affects on energy use in the United States. As oil prices climbed while supply fell, in months America became suddenly conscious about their energy use and how much their dependence on inexpensive energy could cost its economy. The government action in response came at impressive speed by today’s standards, initiating a series of efforts to encourage people to save both oil and money spent on energy. The 55mph speed limit was born. Daylight savings was extended (temporarily) to the entirety of the year in an effort to conserve electricity. New subsidies were given to the spur the development of renewable energy sources. Oil consumption dropped 20% in the U.S., yet the country survived.
Though the embargo was lifted in 1974, it would mark the first time when the steady increase in residential energy use across the country ceased its upward movement. While energy would be an issue viewed with greater scrutiny from this point forward, the Energy Information Administration revealed that the per capita residential energy consumption has remained nominally flat over the past 40 years, lingering at the 1973 levels of around 70 million Btu’s per person. Continue Reading…