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In recent decades, architects, developers and policymakers seeking to lower the carbon footprint of buildings have focused on reducing energy use by improving the efficiency of lighting, heating and other systems. To lower emissions even further, they are looking beyond such operational matters to the carbon emitted in the production and transportation of the materials that make up the structures, or so-called embodied carbon. — The New York Times
Jane Margolies of The New York Times surveys advances in concrete decarbonization strategies, highlighting a set of concrete manufacturers that are using novel additives and different concrete recipes to save on carbon emissions. Margolies takes a look at LafargeHolcim, Solidia... View full entry
Local Laws 92 and 94, which went into effect on November 15, 2019, require all new buildings and major roof alterations to be capped with a green roof, solar panels, or some combination of the two.
If successful, the new policies could transform New York’s skyline.
— Urban Omnibus
In their publication Urban Omnibus, The Architectural League of New York asked experts from the Green Roof Researchers Alliance to elaborate on the implications of NYC's ambitious decarbonization legislation, the Climate Mobilization Act, which — since November 2019 — requires all new... View full entry
With a new Executive Directive issued by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the City of Los Angeles has become the latest California municipality to make a plan to decarbonize its municipal building stock. Under the recently unveiled Executive Directive No. 25, L.A.'s Green New Deal: Leading... View full entry
[...] a team of Canadian science and engineering graduates is pitching a dream to plant a billion trees by 2028 using drones. The project is dubbed Flash Forest and combines the use of drones with specially-designed pods and an accelerated seed germination process. According to Flash Forest, its technology can plant trees 10 times faster than a single worker and at a cost that is 80 percent cheaper than traditional tree planting methods. — New Atlas
On their Kickstarter page, the team behind the Toronto-based Flash Forest project explains what happens before and after heavy-lift drones pneumatically fire their custom-designed seed pods into the ground: "Before we plant our pods, we pre-germinate the seeds inside using our own 'secret sauce.'... View full entry
Around 0.9 billion hectares (2.2 billion acres) of land worldwide would be suitable for reforestation, which could ultimately capture two thirds of human-made carbon emissions. — Good News Network
Professor Thomas Crowther, co-author of the study and founder of the Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich that conducted the research writes, “We all knew that restoring forests could play a part in tackling climate change, but we didn’t really know how big the impact would be. Our study shows clearly... View full entry
In honor of Earth Day today, we look at the latest in sustainable architecture revealed in 2018 so far. Working with our natural environment, upcoming green projects range from sculptural electric charging stations to the world's largest single-domed tropical greenhouse. Our future is being shaped... View full entry
The first statue commemorating landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted will make its public debut in time for Earth Day at The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville next Friday, April 22. One would assume that Olmsted already has statues of himself in public parks across the U.S., considering... View full entry
Ms. Lin conceived "What Is Missing?" as the fifth, and last, of her memorial projects, which began with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in 1982. — post-gazette.com
If you're looking for something to do on Earth Day, consider a visit to www.whatismissing.net, the site developed by noted artist and activist Maya Lin that launches its second stage Sunday. View full entry
