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Two in three Americans want the U.S. to put more emphasis on producing domestic energy using solar (76%), wind (71%), and natural gas (65%). The least favored energy production method included oil (46%), nuclear power (37%), and coal (31%). The Gallup poll asked participants whether the U.S. should put more, less, or about the same […]

A new comprehensive report from the World Building Council (WorldGBC) examined whether or not it's possible to attach a financial value to the cost and benefits of green buildings. The article argues that "green buildings can be delivered at a price comparable to conventional buildings and investments can be recouped through operational cost savings –  and […]

Depending on how you measure it, yes. A recent study from American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) found that energy efficiency was responsible for meeting 75 percent of the demand for energy services since 1970, while actual supply met only 25 percent. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) also found that America's gross domestic […]

A new report questions the value of energy benchmarking laws, especially in terms of what they are meant to achieve. Robert Stavins, an environmental economist at Harvard University, examined "whether mandatory benchmarking and auditing rules can achieve what they're meant to do." Energy benchmarking has worked its way to the Midwest as a way to […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed achievable standards for cars that will significantly reduce harmful pollution, and also improve efficiency in the cars and trucks we drive. It could also prevent thousands of premature deaths and illnesses in respiratory ailments in children. "Today's proposed standards – which will protect the most vulnerable – are the next […]

Sustainable building designs are a modern work of art, and architecture is an essential part for sustainable innovation. Buildings use about half the annual energy and emissions in the U.S., and three-quarters of its electricity. Since the beginning of the LEED rating system, more than 10 billion square feet of construction has been certified or […]

Last year, New York City required its commercial buildings to disclose their energy consumption. The benchmarking plan saw many surprises including finding newer LEED buildings ranked behind much older buildings when it came to energy efficiency. Take for instance the New York Times building, which is seeing more impressive gains in efficiency. Constructed in 2007, the […]

Kansas is poised to become one of several states to benefit from wind energy. "Kansas is among the windiest states, and in 2012, it more than doubled its wind energy capacity to more than 2,000 megawatts." But Kansas needs more transmission lines to carry the wind-generated electricity out of western Kansas, and to power businesses […]

A recent study found that simple behavior changes can drastically lower energy use in commercial buildings. So does this mean the end of retrofits? FirstFuel, a Massachusetts-based company that analyzes energy consumption in buildings, says that behavioral changes are a primary driver to efficiency problems in commercial buildings. The company examined utility data for 60 […]