News
Green Building & Eco Friendly News
We are excited to share green building industry developments, news about our Member Companies, and of course current Rate It Green information. Please feel welcome to submit interesting news you have found. Note that Rate It Green does include news announcements as a part of some sponsorship offerings.
You can also learn more by following Rate It Green on social media. We greatly appreciate your likes, follows, and general votes of support.
All Electric Summer: Opportunities to "amp up" your electrification expertise
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
It’s a great time to learn about electrification! Whether you are just learning about today’s energy efficient electric equipment and appliances, or you’re already somewhat expert, there’s really something for everyone to learn or contribute this summer, as several leading green building organizations are hosting some terrific educational offerings. And most are free! Check out Rate It Green's open green building calendar for these and more green bu… Show more
All About Heat Pumps
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
If you feel that recent news has been all about heat pumps, I agree! It seems there's a growing push to educate consumers and increase demand, as part of support for wider electrification and decarbonization efforts. Why are heat pumps so exciting? As you may already know, heat pumps are 300-400% efficient, as they move energy instead of generating it, and without onsite fossil fuel combustion. The numbers seem almost unreal. Heat pumps a… Show more
What Happens In Vegas... (Will We See You There?) Let's Create Some Great Green Building Content!
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
I know, the leading image for this email shows some serious wattage and doesn't really make me think first about green building. And yet, suddenly it seems like everyone I know is heading to Vegas next week for the International Builders' Show. That includes Green Builder and Rate It Green Content Partner Matt Hoots of Sawhorse, Inc.! I encourage you to connect with Matt to say hello, or to share your expertise or to introduce your company and what y… Show more
Looking Forward - Engaging Together as a Green Building Community
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
Thank you for being a part of our green building community, and welcome to our first newsletter of 2024! With this email, we bring you so much positive energy and a reaffirmation of the spirit of what we do. As Green Builder and Rate It Green Content Partner Matt Hoots said the other day, "The only way we are going to keep progressing toward solutions is to continue the conversation and share.” I wholeheartedly agree!
I am excited to report that I am&n… Show more
Happy New Year, 2024!! Looking back at Top 2023 News, and Some Sneak Previews for 2024!
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
Happy New Year! Thanks for all you do, and here's to an AMAZING 2024!
We expect great things from this new year! Whether you celebrate recent COP28 Results or feel anxious about insufficient progress, perhaps we can agree that 2023 was a year of foundation building and stage setting. We can then think of 2024 then as a year of great framing, where the structure and promising opportunities really come together more rapidly, where we can see tangible gains… Show more
Reframing Perspective: What Can "Positive" (Nature Positive) Look Like?
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
There are so many pressing crises, it can be overwhelming to decide what to do first or next. At a time when we need to take immediate and drastic action to mitigate the worst climate change consequences, some of which have already arrived, how is it possible that there are ongoing and disastrous wars and famine, extreme weather crises, raging fires, disease, and areas that are literally becoming uninhabitable for human life, among other global challenges which are hard to fully i… Show more
Making Smart Window Choices for Meeting Comfort, Health, Energy & Sustainability Goals
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
Do you have window questions? We've got some information and answers! Green Builder Matt Hoots of Sawhorse, Inc. has been busy answering Rate It Green Member questions and also interviewing manufacturers to learn about their energy efficient window and doors as well as the latest technological advances.
Matt recently recorded a series of conversations to answer key window questions, including:
How do you decide when and whether to replace windows? &n… Show more
Understanding The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) - Introduction and Update
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
Hello to everyone gathering at Greenbuild this week! I had hoped to attend in person but had some schedule complications. As much as I think we absolutely need to connect and share information online when we can’t be together, I of course believe it’s meaningful and impactful to gather and build community in person. I’ll be attending as I can online, and I’ll hope to ”see you” there!
I have spent a good deal of time in the past weeks &ldq… Show more
Strategies for Staying Cool: Air Sealing and Insulation
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
It’s quite an understatement to say it’s been hot this summer. Playfully, and yet deadly seriously, Vox declared that this scorching summer might just "be one the coolest summers of the rest of your life." Scientists at the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service estimate current summer temperatures as not only the hottest since modern record keeping began, but possibly in the last 120,000 years. And summer&rsqu… Show more
The Perfect Wall - Explained
It feels a bit funny to describe a product or practice as "Perfect," but that's our task as we explore "The Perfect Wall." In a recent video, Matt Hoots of Sawhorse, Inc. explains this important concept and also shows how he and his team are applying theory to practice at the #1920sMakeoverATL deep energy retrofit project in Ansley Park in Atlanta, Georgia.
As Matt explains, along with fellow Rate It Green Membe… Show more
California Votes in Carbon-Free Electricity Generation, with a 2045 Target
Following Hawaii's lead and pending Governor Brown's expected signature, California lawmakers voted at the end of August to require 100 percent carbon-free electricity generation by 2045.
California currently gets 29% of electricity, up from 11% a decade ago. The state currently has a commitment to obtain 50 percent of its electricity from wind, solar and geothermal power by 2030. This legislation increases that commitment to 60 percent by 2030, and then to 100% by 2045... read more. Show more
Ireland Will Become the World's First Country to Divest from Fossil Fuels
We know that UK church plans to dump $21 billions of fossil fuels if the companies do not align to climate change goals by 2023. Now, the practice levels up to a national action in Ireland. The Republic of Ireland will become the first country in the world to sell off its investments in fossil fuel companies, after a bill was passed with all-party support in the lower house of parliament on July 12th (Yessenia Funes).
The bill is expected to pass the upper chambers of parliament easily (Yessenia Funes). If that happens… Show more
UK Church Plans to Dump $21 Billion in Fossil Fuels if the Companies Do Not Align to Climate Change Goals by 2023
One of the UK's largest charity fund managers, The Church of England's parliament, has voted 347 to four in favor with three abstaining to sell $21 billion worth of investments in fossil fuels if the companies do not align to climate change goals by 2023.
The vote applies to the Church of England Pensions Board, the Church Commissioners and the CBF Church of England Funds.
To read more, please visit:
Kanika Sood
Financial Standard
https://www.financialstandard.com.au/news/church-threatens-to-dump-21bn-of-f… Show more
India will Abolish All Single-Use Plastic by 2022, with an Immediate Ban in Delhi
The world’s oceans will be filled with more plastic mass than fish mass by 2050, the World Economic Forum study reported in its 2016 study.
Combating plastic waste, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to get rid of all single-use plastic in India by 2022 with an immediate enforcement in Delhi.
According to the Economic Times, India's plastic consumption is 11kg per capita in 2014-2015, which is a tenth of US's. Even though the plastic use per person is much lower in India … Show more
Toyota Sails the World's First Hydrogen-Powered Vessel on a Six-Year Voyage
A few days ago, we talked about hydrogen fuel research vessel was proven to be feasible. See Discussion "Carbon Free Research Vessel is Now Proven to Be Technically and Economically Feasible." Now, there is an even crazier news. The world's first autonomous hydrogen-powered ship is going to its six-year world voyage, sponsored by Toyota.
This race boat, Energy Observer, uses solar, wind, wave-generated power, and hydrogen that collected from seawater to fuel itself.
As we mentioned before, … Show more
Carbon Free Research Vessel is Now Proven to Be Technically and Economically Feasible: Team Designs Zero-Emissions Research Vessel
Marine research activities can be carbon free now, thanks to a ship design developed by Sandia National Laboratories.
Hydrogen fuel cell technology has existed for decades. Its advantages include zero-emission and zero-noise. Using hydrogen fuel cell in a ship will protect research samples collected from air or water in vulnerable ecological zones and protect marine animals that have sensitive hearing.
Despite its benefits over diesel, the feasibility of a hydrogen fuel research vessel has never been proven un… Show more
Majority of Americans Say Climate Change Affects their Local Community, and the Government is Doing Too Little
Almost 60 percent of Americans say climate change is currently affecting their local community. Most Americans say the federal government is doing too little to protect water (69 percent) and air quality (64 percent). Two-thirds of Americans believe the government is doing too little to reduce the negative effects of climate change (67 percent).
The survey was conducted in the United States from March 27 to April 9 by Pew Research Center. The result, based on 2541 respondents, finds that the perceptions of climate chan… Show more
A Hyper-Efficient Water Filter to Desalinate Seawater has been Developed, by a Lab at Zhejiang University in China
Researchers Zhe Tan et al.* from Zhejiang University in China have developed a filter that is more than tripling efficient than the currently popular ones on the market. In their paper Polyamide Membranes with Nanoscale Turing Structures for Water Purification, they credited the inspiration to famous English mathematician and biologist Alan Turing’s “Turing structures” in 1952.
The researchers brought two different antagonistic substances spreading at various rates to combine a membrane. As the mem… Show more
The First Solar Panel Recycling Plant in Europe Opens in France
Veolia Environment S.A., a French transnational water, waste, and energy company, has opened the first recycling plant for solar panels in Europe. Veolia is aiming to build more recycling plants as virtually all French solar panels will reach their end of life in 2018.
The new plant in Rousset city, southern France, recovered 1,300 tons of material per year in 2017. It is estimated to recycle 4,000 tons by 2022.
Gilles Carzuaa, head of electronics recycling at Veolia said, “This is the first dedica… Show more
16 States and Puerto Rico Create Green Banks to Finance, Pushing Renewable Energy On the Way
Previously, we discuss a big green trend is coming: green finance will fund the green transformation. Leading finance organizations such as Barclays, Citi, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and JPMorgan Chase see unlimited opportunity to fund the sustainability transition, along with the world’s governments, multinational development banks, pension funds and others. To view the discussion, please visit https://www.rateitgreen.com/green-building-community/discussions/green-services/do-we-have-the-capital-to-fuel-the-sustainable-transition/297… Show more
All Electric Summer: Opportunities to "amp up" your electrification expertise
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
It’s a great time to learn about electrification! Whether you are just learning about today’s energy efficient electric equipment and appliances, or you’re already somewhat expert, there’s really something for everyone to learn or contribute this summer, as several leading green building organizations are hosting some terrific educational offerings. And most are free! Check out Rate It Green's open green building calendar for these and more green bu… Show more
All About Heat Pumps
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
If you feel that recent news has been all about heat pumps, I agree! It seems there's a growing push to educate consumers and increase demand, as part of support for wider electrification and decarbonization efforts. Why are heat pumps so exciting? As you may already know, heat pumps are 300-400% efficient, as they move energy instead of generating it, and without onsite fossil fuel combustion. The numbers seem almost unreal. Heat pumps a… Show more
What Happens In Vegas... (Will We See You There?) Let's Create Some Great Green Building Content!
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
I know, the leading image for this email shows some serious wattage and doesn't really make me think first about green building. And yet, suddenly it seems like everyone I know is heading to Vegas next week for the International Builders' Show. That includes Green Builder and Rate It Green Content Partner Matt Hoots of Sawhorse, Inc.! I encourage you to connect with Matt to say hello, or to share your expertise or to introduce your company and what y… Show more
Looking Forward - Engaging Together as a Green Building Community
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
Thank you for being a part of our green building community, and welcome to our first newsletter of 2024! With this email, we bring you so much positive energy and a reaffirmation of the spirit of what we do. As Green Builder and Rate It Green Content Partner Matt Hoots said the other day, "The only way we are going to keep progressing toward solutions is to continue the conversation and share.” I wholeheartedly agree!
I am excited to report that I am&n… Show more
Happy New Year, 2024!! Looking back at Top 2023 News, and Some Sneak Previews for 2024!
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
Happy New Year! Thanks for all you do, and here's to an AMAZING 2024!
We expect great things from this new year! Whether you celebrate recent COP28 Results or feel anxious about insufficient progress, perhaps we can agree that 2023 was a year of foundation building and stage setting. We can then think of 2024 then as a year of great framing, where the structure and promising opportunities really come together more rapidly, where we can see tangible gains… Show more
Reframing Perspective: What Can "Positive" (Nature Positive) Look Like?
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
There are so many pressing crises, it can be overwhelming to decide what to do first or next. At a time when we need to take immediate and drastic action to mitigate the worst climate change consequences, some of which have already arrived, how is it possible that there are ongoing and disastrous wars and famine, extreme weather crises, raging fires, disease, and areas that are literally becoming uninhabitable for human life, among other global challenges which are hard to fully i… Show more
Making Smart Window Choices for Meeting Comfort, Health, Energy & Sustainability Goals
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
Do you have window questions? We've got some information and answers! Green Builder Matt Hoots of Sawhorse, Inc. has been busy answering Rate It Green Member questions and also interviewing manufacturers to learn about their energy efficient window and doors as well as the latest technological advances.
Matt recently recorded a series of conversations to answer key window questions, including:
How do you decide when and whether to replace windows? &n… Show more
Understanding The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) - Introduction and Update
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
Hello to everyone gathering at Greenbuild this week! I had hoped to attend in person but had some schedule complications. As much as I think we absolutely need to connect and share information online when we can’t be together, I of course believe it’s meaningful and impactful to gather and build community in person. I’ll be attending as I can online, and I’ll hope to ”see you” there!
I have spent a good deal of time in the past weeks &ldq… Show more
Strategies for Staying Cool: Air Sealing and Insulation
Rate It Green Members and Friends -
It’s quite an understatement to say it’s been hot this summer. Playfully, and yet deadly seriously, Vox declared that this scorching summer might just "be one the coolest summers of the rest of your life." Scientists at the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service estimate current summer temperatures as not only the hottest since modern record keeping began, but possibly in the last 120,000 years. And summer&rsqu… Show more
The Perfect Wall - Explained
It feels a bit funny to describe a product or practice as "Perfect," but that's our task as we explore "The Perfect Wall." In a recent video, Matt Hoots of Sawhorse, Inc. explains this important concept and also shows how he and his team are applying theory to practice at the #1920sMakeoverATL deep energy retrofit project in Ansley Park in Atlanta, Georgia.
As Matt explains, along with fellow Rate It Green Membe… Show more