Installing solar panels on your roof is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. The average American household uses around 11,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity every year and switching those kilowatt-hours to a renewable source can keep around 10,000 pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere per household; the carbon equivalent of taking two cars
Construction has remained largely the same for the last hundred years or so, with the exception of design and the occasional new technology or introduction of safer materials. In 1996, that changed with The Passive House Certification, which originally began in Germany under the name PassivHaus. It focuses on using the natural elements surrounding the
The Hitchcock Center for the Environment is an educational center that aims to develop a deeper bond between humans and the natural world. The Hitchcock Center is a certified living building located on the Hampshire College campus in Amherst, overlooking the Holyoke Range. The Center for EcoTechnology was able to help The Hitchcock Center measure
This year, April 22, 2020, marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day! The first official Earth Day was held in 1970, when 22 million Americans engaged in rallies, marches, and educational programs to advocate for clean air, land, and water. Since then, Earth Day has grown to become a global celebration raising awareness of environmental issues
In the past few decades, average global temperatures have climbed sharply. Studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activity. Ninety-seven percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree with this statement. Graph of global temperature rise per year from NASA