The world had long assumed that Americans were just unrepentant energy pigs. If gas prices went up, we kept our Explorers aimed at the horizon and little changed. We truthfully didn’t have lots of options. Unlike Europeans, we didn’t have jobs we could bike to our convenient public transit. Gasoline prices never stayed high enough long enough to force those kinds of shifts in how we lived. More
Wastewater Systems Help Buildings Fight Drought
from GreenSource
A growing number of resource experts are sounding the alarm that looming water shortages may be an even more significant problem in the next few decades. The severe 2007 drought in the southeastern U.S. was a wake-up call to many who had never thought about water shortages. After all, the region receives an average of 50 inches of rain per year. While in the West, which has traditionally been more focused on drought, long-term water scenarios are downright scary. A recent paper by Scripps Institute scientists says there’s a one-in-two chance that the reservoir system of Lake Mead and Lake Powell on the Colorado River, which provides drinking water for 25 million Americans in seven states, will essentially run dry by 2021. The system has already dropped to a 50 percent capacity. More
The Paperless Workplace
from Forbes
One of the great unfulfilled promises of technology is the paperless office. Computers were supposed to rid us of all the clutter and paper-shuffling. To be sure, we have seen a significant reduction in paper, but it is certainly not the nirvana we were led to expect. More
Pittsburgh to Unveil Green Skyscraper
from GoStructural
When construction is complete early next year on Three PNC Plaza—a 26-story, 780,000-square-foot tower in downtown Pittsburgh—the structure will hold the distinction of being the first skyscraper constructed in the city in 20 years. But that's not the most notable distinction it will receive. As a home for office space, condominiums and a high-end hotel, the building will also rank as one of the largest environmentally sustainable mixed-use structures in the United States. More
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Product Showcase: LogiSon Acoustic Network
 More than 70 percent of employees say they would be more productive if their workplace was quieter. The LogiSon Acoustic Network increases speech privacy and reduces disruptions by introducing a masking sound that makes conversations and noises more difficult, or impossible, to hear. It’s a cost-effective method of improving overall acoustic comfort. More info
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U.S. Legislators Seek to Encourage Employers to Promote Worksite Wellness
from Occupational Health & Safety
U.S. Reps. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) and Charles Boustany (R-LA) introduced a bipartisan resolution to designate the first full week of April as "National Workplace Wellness Week." The week will serve to encourage private and public employers across the country to voluntarily invest in the health of their employees by creating worksite employee health promotion programs and sharing their experiences to help educate other employers. More
Hospital Facility Managers Learn to Stretch Budgets with Automated System Monitoring Tool
from The Earth Times
Florida's hospitals are facing potential financial trouble as the state's economy continues to weaken and the number of uninsured patients seeking treatment increases, according to the Florida Hospital Association. In this uncertain landscape, it is even more critical for administrators and staff to stretch existing budgets as far as possible—and look for ways to cut unnecessary expenses. One way to save on operating expenses while improving efficiency is by simplifying the time-consuming Joint Commission environment of care monitoring and reporting task. More
Wary of Traffic Jams? Take the ‘Work From Home’ Route
from The Economic Times
With traffic jams and other commuting related issues causing late arrivals to offices for nearly half of the employees, companies seem to have found a middle path for solving this problem by asking their workers to work from home. More
Dell ‘Carbon-Neutral’ with Renewable Energy
from CNN
Computers are far from being truly clean machines, but Dell Inc. and other PC makers are trying to make their own business operations greener. Dell said its facilities worldwide are now carbon neutral, a goal the Texas-based company had set to achieve by the end of 2008. Dane Parker, its director for environment, health and safety, said Dell buys renewable energy—including wind, solar and methane gas—directly from utilities to fulfill one-fifth of its energy needs.
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 When managing flying insects in public areas, compromise is not an option. Finding a professional insect light trap that combines an attractive innovative design that's discreet and effective can be as elusive as the search for the Holy Grail. More info (paid advertisement)
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The New Workplace Perk: Gas
from The New York Times
Workers nationwide are being presented with free gas cards, subsidized bus passes, more money in their paychecks and the opportunity to turn their cars into company billboards (with the company often picking up all fuel costs, not just miles spent commuting). Gasoline has become the new workplace perk, as employers scramble to help workers cut its use and cost. A dollar a gallon ago, options like telecommuting, shortened workweeks and Internet subsidies were ways of saving time and providing workers with a little more balance in their lives. Now these have become ways to save money and to keep workers from, well, walking.
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Making Energy-Saving Buildings
from Forbes
A Wal-Mart in Las Vegas may just be the prototype for the energy-sipping building of the future. Lit with light-emitting diodes and cooled by an indirect evaporative system that runs cold water through pipes under the floor, the supercenter consumes up to 45 percent less energy than the retail giant's other stores. More
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Sguig Syncro by Keilhauer
 Sguig is the first task chair designed with Keilhauer's groundbreaking ergonomic research on gender differences related to the biomechanics of sitting. Sguig ergonomically supports BOTH men and women. More |
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The world had long assumed that Americans were just unrepentant energy pigs. If gas prices went up, we kept our Explorers aimed at the horizon and little changed. We truthfully didn’t have lots of options. Unlike Europeans, we didn’t have jobs we could bike to our convenient public transit. Gasoline prices never stayed high enough long enough to force those kinds of shifts in how we lived. More
