The district heating and cooling system will replace coal boilers, cutting the university's carbon footprint in half and saving $2 million a year. It's also a learning opportunity for students.
This energy station for Ball State's ground-source district heating and cooling system is designed so that students and visitors can learn about the system and see how much energy it uses.
If we want to slow global warming, we need to stop being such tree-huggers and start embracing the world's forests. And yes, there's a difference.
This is part three in our "Wood Wars" series.
Part 1: Are FSC and LEED Killing American Jobs? A Look at the Evidence
It's not necessarily greener to source products made in the USA. But it sure does create jobs.
It's natural that we should gravitate toward biobased materials. But many of them are energy-intensive and toxic, so how do we judge what's best?
Life-cycle assessment, environmental product declarations, and corporate social responsibility reporting are a great start. But can we talk about health?
Life-cycle assessment, environmental product declarations, and corporate social responsibility reporting are a great start. But can we talk about health?
By any name--drywall, wallboard, or plasterboard--gypsum products may not be as innocent as we once thought.
Drywall, which makes up 15% of demolition and construction waste, leaches toxins and releases hydrogen sulfide gas in landfills.
Lots of building products offer some help in keeping air, water, and heat in our buildings, but without attention to the joints, you lose critical continuity in your barriers.
This is part of an ongoing series. Read all the Sticky Business posts here.
After months of controversy, the third public comment draft of LEED 2012 strengthens commitments to both FSC and local wood--while not budging on the importance of life-cycle assessment.
This is Part 2 in our "Wood Wars" series.
Part 1: Are FSC and LEED Killing American Jobs? A Look at the Evidence
Not all MSDSes are created equal. Because what they are required to report is minimal, manufacturers take very different approaches to how much they disclose.
Looking for better information on chemicals of concern? An MSDS can be a good place to look. Then again, it can be a really bad place to look. Click for a PDF of the full non-information. (We took out the company name; they DID include that much!)
