Water=Power, Why BPA is B-A-D, and More: Top 5 Stories This Week

Will we wake up about climate change when the blackouts begin? Also, what does historic preservation mean in a city without any history?

Hot, dry summers are a recipe for (power) failure.
Photo Credit: Union of Concerned Scientists

Power, power everywhere (but then what will we drink?)

Our power grid is a voracious water hog, as detailed recently in a River Network report called “Burning Our Rivers.” The Union of Concerned Scientists offers a great infographic series on how continuing droughts and heat waves threaten our power supply.

Nuclear plants in hot water

It’s not just lack of water that can take power plants offline. The New York Times reports on the latest nuclear reactor to be shut down due to water that’s too warm—this time, on the coast.

Another reason to avoid BPA

Bisphenol-A is ubiquitous in food, building materials, and consumer products—and it may be making us fat and increasing diabetes risk. New research also links it to narrowing of the arteries (coronary artery stenosis), a known risk factor for heart disease, the Huffington Post reports.

Save the bus stations!

Preservation battles are heating up in Abu Dhabi over relatively mundane pre-oil-boom structures like shopping malls, writes Nate Berg at Atlantic Cities, riffing on a longer thought-provoking piece by John Henzell in The National. “When old isn’t that old and new is everything, should the past be preserved?” Berg asks. The question goes to the heart of what historic preservation is all about in the first place. Great food for thought.

Cutting the Cost of LEED: Software Tips

Especially for larger projects, good software can cut down on LEED credit tracking in a big way, saving lots of time and money. Derek Singleton, an analyst at Software Advice, walks us through a variety of options and how each one helps cut costs, including BIM applications, Greengrade, and LoraxPro.

Also Read

Retrofits (Usually) Greener Than New Construction

The Water–Energy Connection

The Cost of LEED Certification