Reporting on Sustainably Built Environments from Bricks to Cities
A groundbreaking new study provides an innovative and cost-effective way for newly constructed hospitals nationwide to offset continuing economic challenges by reducing energy consumption by an average of 62 percent. The study, titled Targeting 100!, identifies a process that integrates architectural, mechanical and central plant systems to deliver significant efficiencies.
A suite of disquieting global phenomena have given rise to the “Anthropocene,” a term coined for a new geologic epoch characterized by humanity’s growing dominance of the Earth’s environment and a planetary transformation as profound as the last epoch-defining event — the retreat of the glaciers 11,500 years ago.
The largest drinking water purification plant in Europe to feature GE’s ZeeWeed 500 advanced water treatment technology is under construction in Ravenna, Italy. Located on the east coast of Italy, close to the Adriatic Sea and part of the Mediterranean Sea, this popular tourist destination needed a way to ensure increased water supply, as a result of repeated water shortages, and high-quality drinking water for residents and visitors.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia is the 10th largest user of technology worldwide, and the problem created by e-waste is mounting. In Australia, electronic waste, or e-waste, is growing at three times the rate of general waste. The cumulative volume of televisions and computers reaching the end of their useful life is expected to reach 181,000 tonnes, or 44 million units by 2027, and presently only about 10-12% of all end-of-life electronic equipment is recycled, with much of the balance going to landfills.
This may appear to be far afield from the normal content of Green Building Elements, but for those of us alarmed by the liberal amounts of cyanide that are used worldwide to process gold, this discovery released today by Northwestern University might represent the beginning of less poisonous news on how the metal is processed. The corn starch method also might be useful in separating gold from e-waste.
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