After three decades of hard work, Amtrak trains in the Northeast Corridor and Pennsylvania get to retire. They will be replaced by 70 high-efficiency electric Amtrak Cities Sprinters (ACS-64) built by Siemens in Sacramento, California. The ACS-64 units are based on the company’s EuroSprinter, and the trains will take over for the Electro-Motive diesel locomotives made back in 1978 and 1988.

Read the rest of Amtrak Unveils New High-Efficiency Electric Trains for Northeast Corridor

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Post tags: acs-64, amtrak, amtrak cities sprinter, boston, California, electric, electro-motive diesel, eurosprinter, harrisburg, joseph boardman, keystone corridor, northeast corridor, pennsylvania, philadelphia, rail, Sacramento, washington d.c.

Read the rest of Empowerhouse Moves Beyond the Solar Decathlon to Become Real Housing in DC

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", 2011 solar decathlon, dc. affordable housing, eco home, eco housing, empower house, empowerhouse, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green housing, habitat for humanity, Management and Urban Policy at The New School, milano school, Milano School of International Affairs, parsons, passive house, Solar Decathlon, stevens institute of technology, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, the new school, washington d.c.

Read the rest of Davis Brody Bond Wins Competition to Design Sustainable St. Elizabeth’s Gateway Pavilion in DC

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", davis brody bond, dc, east campus, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, kadcon, Landscape Architecture, pavilion, Plaza, rainwater harvesting, robert silman associates, st. elizabeth's hospital, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, washington d.c.

Climate change is a world-wide problem, spanning nations, time zones and environments. Challenges of such a massive scale demand a powerful and comprehensive means through which to observe, collect, and process a huge amount of data. Created by the Center for Global Development, the Carbon Monitoring for Action (CARMA) is a web-based program that keeps tabs on the greenhouse gas emissions of over 60,000 plants across the globe.

Read the rest of The Online CARMA Database Monitors CO2 Emissions for the World’s 60,000 Power Plants

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Post tags: carbon monitoring for action, carma, center for global development, Climate Change, CO2, david wheeler, google earth, greenhouse gas, kevin ummel, landsat, scientific american, washington d.c., world bank

Across the globe, nearly 40% of all food produced is lost to waste and spoilage.  Now, thanks to a group of ingenious elementary school students, at least one item in the fridge can let us know when it’s ready to buy the (dairy) farm. The 6th grade class of P.S. 126/Manhattan Academy of Technology has designed a milk jug that alerts consumers when its contents have spoiled, and the team has already won awards for their innovative design.

Read the rest of 6th Graders Invent Smart Milk Pitcher that Detects Spoilage

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Post tags: 6th grade, California, first lego league global innovation competition, harry freedman, hau-yu chu, manhattan, milk, pH, pitcher, ps 126/manhattan academy of technology, washington d.c., x-prize

Read the rest of Amtrak Announces Ambitious Eco-Plans for HOK-Designed Overhaul of Washington D.C.’s Union Station

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", amtrak, d.c. union station, Daylighting, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green renovation, green roof, green transportation, high speed rail, high speed rail station, high speed trains, HOK, parsons brinkerhoff, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, train shed, train station, train station renovation, trains, union station, washington d.c., washington d.c. union station, Washington DC

Read the rest of David Adjaye’s African-American Smithsonian Museum Breaks Ground This Week

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", David Adjaye, davis brody bond, eco design, eco museum, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green museum, Museum, National Museum of African American History and Culture, NMAAHC, smithgroup, smithsonian, smithsonian institute, smithsonian museum, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, the freelon group, washington, washington d.c.

The 2011 Solar Decathlon is heating up as 20 teams of students from around the world construct stunning, energy-efficient homes at the National Mall’s West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C. The competition officially opens on September 23rd, but we’re excited to bring you a first look at each of this year’s incredible solar powered homes – hit the jump to check out the state of the art in green building!

Read the rest of 20 Stunning Energy-Efficient Homes in the 2011 Solar Decathlon!

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Post tags: 4D home, Appalachian State university, CHIP home, e-cube, eco design, empowerhouse, enCORE, ENJOY House, First Light, FLeX House, florida international university, green design, habitat for humanity, Hale Pilihonua, hawaii, INhome, living light, Middlebury College, National Mall's West Potomac Park, Ohio State, parsons, perFORM[D], Purdue University, Re_home, Self-Reliance, Solar Decathlon, Solar Homestead, Solar Roofpod, Souther California Institute of Architecture and California Institute of Technology, sustainable design, team belgium, Team Canada, Team China, team Florida, Team Massachusetts, Team New Jersey, Team New York, Team Tidewater Virginia, Tongji University, TRTL, Unit 6 Unplugged, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Maryland, University of Tennessee, victoria university of wellington, washington d.c., Watershed, Y Container

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Post tags: "green wall", "living wall", "solar energy", eco design, gabled roof, green design, Middlebury College, New England, New England Farmhouse, off the grid, photovoltaic array, photovoltaic roof, renewable resources, Self-Reliance, Solar Decathlon, solar heat gain, sustainable design, washington d.c.

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Post tags: "solar energy", Cargotecture, eco design, green design, off the grid, photovoltaic roof, radiant flooring, recycled shipping containers, renewable resources, shanghai, Solar Decathlon, sustainable design, Team China, Tongji University, washington d.c., Y Container

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Post tags: "solar energy", Appalachian State university, asheville, bifacial photovoltaic panels, eco design, green design, modular home, north carolina, off the grid, photovoltaic roof, renewable resources, Solar Decathlon, Solar Homestead, sustainable design, The Great Porch, Trombe Wall, washington d.c.

Boston’s new bike-share program, dubbed the Hubway, officially launched yesterday with over 600 bicycles geared up and ready to rent. For those unfamiliar with the city’s narrow and winding roads, it has long been derided as one of the least bikeable cities. However, the popular support behind Hubway signals a great change. Boston is now striving to be a center of public bike travel in the Northeast. To celebrate the launch of the system and demonstrate how easy, inexpensive and green biking can be, Hubway members rode 200 of the bikes around the city!

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Post tags: alta bicycles, bike share, bixi, boston, Boston bike share, hubway, mayor Menino, new york bike share, New York., Northeast, velib, washington d.c.

After an 8 year relationship between the D.C. Mall and the Solar Decathlon competition, (a competition that challenges university teams to design and build awesome solar-powered homes) the National Park Service last week, said “No More.” Citing concerns for the health and well being of the 684-acre park in the nation’s capital, the National Park Service is banning the beloved competition from the capital. Organizers are scrambling to find a new venue for the September event, while competing teams are in limbo to hear where the event will be held. As all of the teams have designed their homes specifically for the D.C. climate, the change in venue will have a huge impact on the design specs.

Read the rest of National Park Service Kicks Solar Decathlon Off of the DC Mall

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Post tags: "announcement", D.C., D.C. Mall, DOE, eco design, energy-efficient homes, green architecture, Green Building, green design, National Park Service, Solar Decathlon, solar decathlon competition, solar decathlon venue, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, washington d.c.

The recently finished green roof atop the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) headquarters in Washington, D.C. is the third largest in the nation’s capitol. The project involved replacing the original 24 year-old roof with a 27,750 sq ft, state of the art living system of locally grown plant life. WWF has already impressed us with green architectural innovation at their headquarters in the Netherlands, and we’re glad to see them giving Washington D.C. an excellent example of the benefits of a green roof.

Read the rest of WWF Completes Third Largest Green Roof in Washington D.C.

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Post tags: "World Wildlife Fund", Design, District of Columbia, Eco, green, green renovation, largest, plants, roof, sedum, Sustainability, washington d.c., wwf

At the end of the US Solar Decathlon competition next year, one of the entries will move on to its final home in the Deanwood neighborhood of Washington D.C. The Empowerhouse is a net-zero home designed to Passive House standards that will consume 90% less energy than a typical home for heating and cooling. Unlike some of the SD Houses, this net-zero house has a life beyond the competition — it will actually serve to shelter local residents.

Read the rest of 2011 Solar Decathlon Home Will End Up In D.C. Community

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Post tags: affordable housing, eco design, empower house, green architecture, Green Building, green design, milano the new school for management and urban policy, net zero, net zero home, parsons the new school for design, Solar Decathlon, solar home, solar house, stevens institute of technology, sustaianble architecture, sustainable design, washington d.c.