"Why don’t we get that you would recycle a building?"-Carl Elefante Renovate Remodel Revolt!

"The greenest buildings are the ones that already exist." says architect, preservationist and sustainability advocate, Carl Elefante. The focus this week is de-carbonization. On this episode we also discuss: what it means to be in the building field, the green gap, or why it shouldn’t cost more to be green, finding solutions in the biosphere, and why we should consider bringing back Hammurabi's code....

As we confront America's current carbon footprint of 325 billion square feet of office buildings, we draw inspiration and hope from Kennedy's inaugural address. This is our hour of maximum danger and, BTW says Carl, "We’ll never make an iPhone out of straw bale."



Here are some simple steps to de-carbonize your existing buildings: 


Look at building envelope 
Do your roof 
Need systems less; open your window
Consume the least amount of energy (make it all electric and renewal)





Vocab: 

De-carbonization - 

n.
Same as decarburization.



n.
The action or process of depriving a substance of carbon.



Lithosphere -

n.
The outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) thick.



n.
The crust of the earth: a designation corresponding with atmosphere and hydrosphere. [Little used.]

n.
The solid earth as distinguished from its fluid envelopes, the hydrosphere and atmosphere.


Biosphere -

n.
The part of the earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life.



n.
The living organisms and their environment composing the biosphere.

n.
The sum of the living things on the earth considered as a stratum in contrast with the atmosphere and the lithosphere.




Links: 

A.I.A. American Institute of Architects 

AIA Material Pledge 

The Natural Step 

Leed Credits

National Building Museum, Washington D.C. 

 



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