Sustainable Built Environment site with news, ideas, tools, guides and projects within urban sustainability, sustainable buildings, sustainable facilities management, and sustainable materials.
Saturday 6 May 2017
Sustainable Diets
Increasing incomes and urban growth is resulting in increased consumption of sugars, refined fats, oils, and meats. If this trend continues 80% of the increases in global agriculture greenhouse gas emissions will come from food production and land clearing. These diets also increase Type II diabetes and heart disease.
Alternative diets which reduce emissions and have health benefits can be determined by carrying out life cycle environmental impact assessments (LCAs) and projecting impacts, such as carbon emissions and land use. Impacts of common food types are shown in the figure. The full study can be accessed here.
Friday 5 May 2017
Air conditioning makes pollution worse
A new study shows that the hottest days have the highest air pollution. Increasing air conditioning on hot days results in increased emissions from power plants of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. The study shows that increases in pollution of 3 to 4 percent per degree Celsius can occur. This may be due to partly to the increased use of out-dated and inefficient power stations which are brought online to address increased peak loads. Access more information here.
Interactive Capabilities for Health
New research by MIT uses sensors and radio signals to measure gait velocity and stride length of individuals. This provides valuable health indicators for older adults and can be used for health emergencies. However, it can also include interaction capabilities that could encourage walking and other exercises supporting improved health. Paper can be accessed here
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