The Green Building Top 5 - November 11, 2015

Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline After 7 Years Of Review

After seven years of reviewing the project, Obama announced his decision -- ending one of the biggest environmental question marks of his presidency -- from the Roosevelt Room in the White House. "The State Department has decided that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interest of the United States," he said. "I agree with that decision." Read Full Article

9th Grader Develops $12 Machine That Produces Renewable Energy From Ocean Currents

The recently-designed energy probe is made of recycled materials and costs just $12. It consists of a 3D-printed propeller, connected by a pulley inside a plastic PVC pipe to a hydroelectric generator, which converts the mechanical movement of ocean currents to usable electricity. Read Full Article

The skyscraper at the heart of the debate over America’s green building standard

The skyscraper at One Bryant Park in Manhattan looks like a vision of the future – or at least, what the movies tell us the future will look like. A towering 945 feet of glass, concrete and steel, arranged in crystalline planes, it evokes utopian visions of space-aged cities, hyper-efficient and cutting-edge. Read Full Article

Building green and building profits

Not long ago, I was sitting in my office, talking with a reporter from one of the big newspapers. I watched him open his bag and remove the tools of his trade, lining them up on the table the way a surgeon arranges her scalpels.Read Full Article

Consider Fiberglass Windows as an Energy-Efficient Window Option

In recent years, attempts to reduce personal carbon footprint have helped homeowners and builders to find a sustainable solution in fiberglass windows. Fiberglass windows demonstrate outstanding energy efficiency because they embody much less energy than vinyl, wood, and other composite window materials through low-emissivity coatings which control the transfer of warm or cool air from your home to the outside. Fiberglass windows contain between 60% to 85% silica sand, a raw material that is considered to be one of the most abundant resources on earth. Read Full Article