Things We Can Do To Save The Environment - Issue No. 09 - Build a Skyscraper

The Global Warming Survival Guide

Thinking of building a new home? Buying one?  Well, take into consideration how much you can help the environment by using materials that conserve energy.  Using recycled steel, insulating concrete, cool roofing shingles, recycled wood/plastic composite lumber, Low-E windows and many more materials can help keep you cool during the summer months and warm during the winter; all while helping the environment.

Giving credit to TIME,  I'd like to thank them for showing us the many ways we can meet these goals.  Just one person can make a difference, and it starts with YOU!  
                                                   ~ Peter aka Blade7184  

9. Build a Skyscraper

Almost everything about the Bank of America tower, a soaring skyscraper under construction near Times Square in New York City, has been designed to minimize the use of energy. Take the concrete. Making the stuff from scratch is very energy intensive, so the builders are using a mix of 55% concrete and 45% slag, a waste product from blast furnaces. Mixing slag with concrete saves energy and makes the concrete stronger. The tower will save so-called gray water from washrooms and use it to flush the toilets. The building will also generate much of its own electricity from natural gas, a less potent carbon emitter than coal. These features will account for $3.5 million of a total building cost of $1.2 billion, but the owners expect to recoup that in a few years with all the energy they'll save. When it's finished next year, the tower will be the second highest in the city, but it stands alone as the greenest building in New York. [Updated]

Make sure to follow Blade 7184 every Tuesday for a new issue of Things We Can Do To Save The Environment.  Each issue is thought-provoking, informative and may hold the key to saving your children and grandchildren's future.

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