Insights

Most roofs in a city are covered in asphalt or black tar, reflecting heat and adding little to increase the city’s inhabitants’ quality of life. Green roofs, also known as living roofs take all that otherwise underutilized space and turn it into something useful. A green roof is the roof of a building that is […]

In the United States, LEED reigns supreme when it comes to green building certification, but BREEAM, a twenty-five-year old British certification system, is migrating to the US. The consulting firm BuildingWise is leading the effort to bring BREEAM to the American market.Trainings in the principles of the program began in August. The BLOC, a city-block […]

360 Principal Melanie Jacobson will be moderating “The Road to ZNE: City of Palo Alto Case Study” at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. This panel discussion will look at the background and implementation of the City of Palo Alto’s Green Building Vision and Net Zero Energy Roadmap. (For more on the Palo Alto’s road to […]

On October 12th, the US Navy and the CA Energy Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formalizing a partnership that supports Navy and Marine Corps development of alternative energy sources and sustainable energy projects. The MOU ensures “continued collaboration and information sharing” on energy projects, with a focus on renewable energy and alternative energy sources. […]

“Green building” is most often associated with commercial buildings, public buildings, and privately owned homes, but according to a recent study, the American rental market is getting greener. According to a study by RENTCafe and YardiMatrix, the number of LEED-certified apartment units has grown significantly since 2008, with the number of new, LEED apartments rising by […]

The City of Palo’s Development Services Department received the 2016 Energy Champion Award from the California Energy Efficiency Industry Council (CEEIC) in recognition of the city’s leadership role in advancing energy efficiency. Palo Alto received the award after the approval of it’s Zero Net Energy “Reach Code.” The Energy Reach Code was developed as part […]

As a peaceful transfer of power looms on the horizon, the green building industry faces an uncertain future. The president elect is openly hostile to climate change, has appointed a climate change denier to head the EPA, and has made some uncharitable remarks about green buildings. But despite a President Elect Trump’s plans to bring back […]

Amid uncertainty about the future of green energy in the US under a Trump Administration, China is on the verge of cementing its place as the world leader in green energy investment and development. In 2015, China invested 103 billion dollars in domestic renewal energy, a seventeen percent growth from 2014 and two and a […]

While green energy is usually considered a liberal issue, some Republican states are warming up to renewable energy, particularly wind power. Texas, in particular, is in the midst of wind boom of sorts – with 11,592 wind turbines and an installed wind capacity of 20,321 megawatts, it has triple the wind energy capacity of the next […]

Disaster response and recovery is a complex and costly operation. Disaster response and property restoration firms, the insurance industry, architects and builders, property owners, and representatives of government agencies and NGO’s have to work together on a process that is ultimately paid for by higher insurance premiums and taxes. While sustainability is not the first […]

Saturday, May 13th was a pretty big day for renewable energy in the state of California. The right mix of sun, wind, and reservoirs at hydroelectric plants full from winter rains led to a record 67.2 percent of all power produced on the portion of the grid controlled by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) […]

While the greenest air conditioning system is no air conditioning system, in some parts of the control, central air is necessary during the summer. Air conditioning systems can be real electricity guzzlers, but there are ways to improve the efficiency of your air conditioning system. On a basic level, make sure that your air conditioning […]