Purlins for roof

The average household spends around $4,200 a year on energy costs; homes in cold climates spend thousands more. We spend more on electricity, the report says, than we do on education. We spend more on natural gas than going to the dentist. But if homes completely electrified and shifted to renewable energy, under the right scenario, a household could save an average of $2,500 a year. In a country where even before the pandemic many people didn’t have enough savings to cover a $400 emergency, that’s a very meaningful amount of money. The calculations don’t account for other savings that are likely possible, including reduced maintenance on electric cars, and lower health costs if pollution drops. The total cost savings for the country could add up to as much as $321 billion. … [Read more...] about Here’s how much it would cost to move every home in the U.S. to zero-carbon energy

However, if the MPC was wrong about its decision, this could severely slow down the revival of the economy, causing more hardship. Let me expand on the case 3 scenario: suppose in the future, as things go back to normal, the weight on food and beverages decreases beyond normal (especially if people had engaged in hoarding behaviour during the lockdown). Moreover, given that the pandemic has disturbed supply chain distributions, the inflation is predominantly due to these supply constraints (cost-push) which should start dissipating now with the easing of the lockdown restrictions. If the above predictions are correct, then inflation may well be within the 4-6 % range in the next few months. Then, perhaps a rate cut would have been beneficial because in any real sense it wasn’t too high to begin with! … [Read more...] about How is inflation faring in the lockdown, why should it matter and other annoying questions answered

NetZero, which will soon launch on Kickstarter, comes from the same people behind HiveMind, a startup that uses mycelium to create carbon-drawdown projects for corporations and municipalities. Kelly, also CEO of HiveMind, says he first heard about the carbon-sinking power of mycelium from research on Canada’s boreal forest, which stores 11% of the world’s total atmospheric carbon. Researchers have determined that the expansive mycelium system in the soil is one of the major reasons why. … [Read more...] about These mushroom balls turn your yard into a climate-change-fighting machine

Hagman and company founder Tommy Hilfiger both stressed the importance to the company of focusing its innovation not solely on environmentalism, but also on inclusivity. “For us, sustainability is not just the environmental side, which is important, but it’s also social sustainability,” Hagman said. Guiding the Make it Possible efforts is the mission to “waste nothing and welcome all.” … [Read more...] about How Tommy Hilfiger is working toward a more sustainable and inclusive fashion industry

Of the top companies for solar, Facebook made the biggest leap in rankings, jumping from the 27th spot in 2018 to the 9th spot in this report by adding 102.5 megawatts of off-site solar capacity. Though these big business names do stand out in the top companies for solar—Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Ikea, Starbucks, and so on—smaller businesses actually account for a majority of the country’s solar capacity. Two-thirds of all of 2019’s newly installed solar capacity came from companies that are not in the Fortune 500. “That really goes to the business case for why so many companies are doing this,” Hopper says. “They’re doing it because it makes sense for their bottom line.” … [Read more...] about 2019 was the second largest year ever for corporate solar investments