homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Obama's first green move

It’s obvious that one of the biggest challenges the president elect has to face is rejuvenating the infrastructure; let’s talk about traffic jams for a bit. Everybody hates them, we all want to avoid them, but they exist. They are an unintended consequence of personal driving. Some transportation planners often speak about the fact that […]

Mihai Andrei
December 11, 2008 @ 10:41 am

share Share

It’s obvious that one of the biggest challenges the president elect has to face is rejuvenating the infrastructure; let’s talk about traffic jams for a bit. Everybody hates them, we all want to avoid them, but they exist. They are an unintended consequence of personal driving. Some transportation planners often speak about the fact that everybody would benefit from a shift from personal driving to mass transit, but the reality is that that’s almost impossible, so the only thing left to do is improve the roadways, as good roadways are far more green than you would probably imagine. Less waste of gas, to speak about just the immediate consequence.

Obama spoke about this and other really important issues, in the first in his series of plans which he believes will be the change the American people voted for. This will of course require massive investments, and will have as a result the biggest national infrastructure project since the 50s. It will include repairs and rebuildings of roadways, pipelines, bridges, and railways. Aside from eliminating (at least in a satisfactory proportion) the time and fuel wasting road jams, this move will also create a lot of work places in constructions and supply.

But concrete and steel are not really the first thing that comes to mind when speaking about green initiatives; the elected president wants to improve efficiency in all federal buildings, by changing out of date and energy wasting lighting with greener and more efficient alternatives. This will cost quite a lot, but it will save the tax payers billions and billions of dollars in the long run; the focus of this project will be the cost efficiency. Also, better windows, cold buildings will get better insulation.

What’s perhaps even better is that all this upgrades will be conducted at schools too; this is yet another issue that has been pretty much ignored in the Bush administration. Most of the HVAC systems are also produced in the US, which will further help the development of the American economy.

share Share

This New Coating Repels Oil Like Teflon Without the Nasty PFAs

An ultra-thin coating mimics Teflon’s performance—minus most of its toxicity.

To Fight Invasive Pythons in the Everglades Scientists Turned to Robot Rabbits

Scientists are unleashing robo-rabbits to trick and trap giant invasive snakes

Potatoes were created by a plant "love affair" between tomatoes and a wild cousin

It was one happy natural accident.

What if the Secret to Sustainable Cities Was Buried in Roman Cement?

Is Roman concrete more sustainable? It's complicated.

The AI Boom Is Thirsty for Water — And Communities Are Paying the Price

What if the future of artificial intelligence depends on your town running out of water?

Stuttering Has Deep Genetic Roots and May Affect Your Ability to Clap to a Beat

A massive genetic study found that stuttering is not just about nurture and may link to processing rhythm itself.

What If We Built Our Skyscrapers from Wood? It's Just Crazy Enough to Work (And Good for the Planet)

Forget concrete and steel. The real future is wood.

Athens Is Tapping a 2,000-Year-Old Roman Aqueduct To Help Survive a Megadrought

Sometimes new problems need old solutions.

Tuvalu Is on Track to Become the First Country Lost to Climate Change. More Than 80% of the Population Apply to Relocate to Australia Under World's First 'Climate Visa'

Tuvalu will likely become the first nation to vanish because of climate change.

Ancient DNA Reveals the Surprising Origins of Attila’s Huns. Genetics Point to an Ancient Mongolian Empire

Ancient DNA traces the Huns' journey from Mongolia to Europe. But this wasn't straightforward.