Gettin 'ficcient in this piece
Consider what would happen if the Massachusetts state government enacted the following for all newly built public buildings:
1. Utilize natural architecture and pre-planning to take advantage of as much natural light as possible.
2. Use CFL/LED based lighting for everything else.
3. Implement 'superwindows' (more efficient than regular walls) instead of regular windows.
4. Purchase renewable energy instead of those from fossil fuels.
5. Utilize alternative insulation materials (eliminating toxins)
6. Build w/ alternative materials! (wood-fiber composites, bamboo, recycled materials)
7. Use passive heating techniques (by architectural and material means)
8. Install either green roofs, solar-paneled roofing, or roofs painted white
9. Put enough plants in buildings to create high-oxygen environments for increased health, reduced CO2
10. Use locally grown good in internal food sites (thereby boosting in-state agriculture)
11. Purchase only energy-efficient appliances
12. Use dynamic environment and atmospheric conditioning (fluctuating temperatures, air flows, ambient sound) to create a more natural and more efficient workplace (studies show numerous beneficial effects)
The long-term savings statewide would be very drastic, capital would be freed to reinvest in all sorts of public projects or even just in tax savings. The viability of such a project during a recession and severe budget crunches all around may make it more difficult but, in the end, everyone wins.
We are building a sector of the economy that is able to do all of these things. With short payback periods and the long-run costs savings factored in it makes it stupid not to do it. Some of these techniques allowed the Rocky Mountain Institute to construct a building where it was possible to grow bananas in up in the Rockies, achieving the highest altitude yet known growing bananas. It's eco-manipulation at its finest and it better be the wave of the future if we're going to deal with the impending problems of the 21st century: namely overpopulation, the dwindling water resources available, and climate change over all. The 21st century is going to have to be about humans learning to control their own behavior. Fortunately, sciences of all kind, including biomimicry, architecture, evolutionary and behavioral psychology, urban planning, agricultural sciences, are advancing to degrees that make it possible to design a future that looks like this.
1. Utilize natural architecture and pre-planning to take advantage of as much natural light as possible.
2. Use CFL/LED based lighting for everything else.
3. Implement 'superwindows' (more efficient than regular walls) instead of regular windows.
4. Purchase renewable energy instead of those from fossil fuels.
5. Utilize alternative insulation materials (eliminating toxins)
6. Build w/ alternative materials! (wood-fiber composites, bamboo, recycled materials)
7. Use passive heating techniques (by architectural and material means)
8. Install either green roofs, solar-paneled roofing, or roofs painted white
9. Put enough plants in buildings to create high-oxygen environments for increased health, reduced CO2
10. Use locally grown good in internal food sites (thereby boosting in-state agriculture)
11. Purchase only energy-efficient appliances
12. Use dynamic environment and atmospheric conditioning (fluctuating temperatures, air flows, ambient sound) to create a more natural and more efficient workplace (studies show numerous beneficial effects)
The long-term savings statewide would be very drastic, capital would be freed to reinvest in all sorts of public projects or even just in tax savings. The viability of such a project during a recession and severe budget crunches all around may make it more difficult but, in the end, everyone wins.
We are building a sector of the economy that is able to do all of these things. With short payback periods and the long-run costs savings factored in it makes it stupid not to do it. Some of these techniques allowed the Rocky Mountain Institute to construct a building where it was possible to grow bananas in up in the Rockies, achieving the highest altitude yet known growing bananas. It's eco-manipulation at its finest and it better be the wave of the future if we're going to deal with the impending problems of the 21st century: namely overpopulation, the dwindling water resources available, and climate change over all. The 21st century is going to have to be about humans learning to control their own behavior. Fortunately, sciences of all kind, including biomimicry, architecture, evolutionary and behavioral psychology, urban planning, agricultural sciences, are advancing to degrees that make it possible to design a future that looks like this.