Climate Buildings
All Stories
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Critical List: Obama called for green schools, better infrastructure; Google shares carbon footprint
In his jobs speech, President Obama called for the construction of green schools and an infrastructure bank that could help create public transportation and efficient buildings.
With an average temperature of 74.5 degrees F, this summer was the second hottest on record in the U.S. (The hottest summer was in 1936, when it was 74.6 degrees F. We're gonna beat that soon.)
Google reveals its carbon footprint, which is smaller than an oil company's and about the same as a chemical company's. -
Las Vegas actually pretty good at conserving water
The Las Vegas strip likes to pretend it’s flush in all manner of luxuries, including water -- even though Lake Mead, which provides the city with water, could disappear within the next decade. Running a giant fountain or indoor canal in the middle of the desert is the hydrological equivalent of flashing fat stacks of cash. But while casinos aren't exactly down with water conservation (that’s for poor people!), the Las Vegas government is.
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Bangkok could be underwater by 2030
Ten million people live in Bangkok -- a metropolis more populous even than New York City -- and the ground beneath their feet is literally sinking into the ocean.
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Teenager builds tiny home to avoid mortgage trap
Sixteen-year-old Austin Hay of Santa Rosa, Calif., has been sleeping in a work-in-progress 130 square foot “tiny home” in his parents' backyard for months. The project came about because "like every teenager, I want to move out," says Hay.
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Critical List: East Coast prepares for Irene; Inhofe gets on Romney’s case
With Hurricane Irene on its way, New Yorkers head to Trader Joe's and make jokes (I think they're jokes?) about the proper amount to tip delivery guys who come out during a hurricane.
Why does a super-walkable condo building in Denver include eight floors of parking spaces? (Answer: There's no good answer.)
So weird: Even Sen. Jim Inhofe wants Mitt Romney to stop waffling on climate change. This may be the only issue Inhofe and environmentalists have ever agreed on. -
Russia to build $100 billion rail tunnel connecting Alaska and Siberia
Ever since Tsar Nicholas II, Russians have dreamed of connecting Siberia to North America via a rail tunnel. Now, apparently, the Kremlin has green-lighted the connection, which would be the world's longest, and twice as long as the England-to-France "Chunnel."
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Northeast Corridor is getting better rail
Apparently you gotta have rail to make rail. The Northeast Corridor, the one area of the country with high-speed rail service (Acela) and the only part where Amtrak's not just borrowing the tracks from freight companies, is getting $745 million from the Department of Transportation for rail upgrades.
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Trying to make China's planned cities livable
Two brothers, an architect and a developer, team up to make new Chinese cities more people-friendly, easing the transition from rural to urban living.
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Breaking free from the infrastructure cult of roads
A report from the American Society of Civil Engineers touts misguided and outdated strategies for infrastructure spending.