One impact of climate change is being felt as natural disasters of increasing frequency and strength are causing extensive damage to homes and businesses. The four hurricanes of 2005—Katrina, Rita, Wilma and Dennis—caused more than $57 b…
New Yorkers are obsessed with real estate development. We all pause to stare at the listings in our local real estate office window, and everybody knows the average price of an apartment in Manhattan (currently $1.7 million). Citywide, m…
Ever since An Inconvenient Truth , Al Gore's eye-opening documentary on global warming opened in 2006, the level of awareness among the general public on environmental issues has skyrocketed. Since then, there have been sobering natio…
The buzz about green buildings and energy conservation is so loud you just can't shut your ears to it. And why should you? We are being inundated with information on how to make our buildings and our lives greener. Even if your building …
Green is the buzzword of the decade, with everyone from automotive manufacturers to professional sports teams rolling out high-profile environmentally-conscious initiatives. But board members, property managers, shareholders and owners h…
Time was, if the tiles in your building’s front foyer got grimy, your super would pour some ammonia or bleach in a bucket, grab the nearest mop, and get down to business. If a drain was slow, out came the heavy-duty industrial solvents, …
With the rise of environmentalism and recycling, and the renewed emphasis on energy efficiency since the 1970s energy crisis, has come the idea of the “green building,” which are buildings that actively conserve energy. The idea first …