International News
Exposure to trees and other greenery has been shown to stave off depression in adults, and a new US study finds the same may be true for teenagers.
Researchers looked at more than 9,000 kids aged 12 to 18 and found those who lived in areas with lots of natural vegetation nearby were less likely to display high levels of depression symptoms. The effect was strongest among middle schoolers, the study team reports in Journal of Adolescent Health.
The energy saving benefits of green buildings have long been understood, but new research from Harvard University has now put a dollar value on the climate and health benefits of reduced atmospheric pollution.
Conducting a study and field experiments, a doctoral student in the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Kansas (KU) shows that PV panels installed over a green roof perform an average of 1.5% better, compared with panels over highly reflective or black surfaces.
China will plant new forests covering an area roughly the size of Ireland this year as it aims to increase forest coverage to 23 percent of its total landmass by the end of the decade, China Daily reported on Friday.
Planting trees has become a key part of China’s efforts to improve its environment and tackle climate change, and the government has pledged to raise total coverage from 21.7 percent to 23 percent over the 2016-2020 period, said the China Daily, citing the country’s top forestry official.
CHENNAI — Efforts to bolster Indian cities against climate change and make them greener must include citizens who are being hit hard by rising temperatures and frequent urban flooding, said officials.
Even small measures like rooftop gardens and separating waste for recycling can involve residents more closely, according to experts leading the work in Chennai and Surat.
With research showing the average North American spends 90 percent of their time indoors, Think Wood advocates for the design of our buildings—particularly office spaces—to promote productivity, functionality, creativity and occupant wellbeing. Uses of wood as a structural or finishing material not only offer aesthetic beauty, but enhances indoor air quality, acoustics, thermal comfort, and energy efficiency. Perhaps most notably, it also has biophilic benefits—the innate wellness humans feel towards nature.
In times of booming urbanization, space in our cities is increasingly at a premium; yet, there exist acres of underutilized realty all around us…
Global warming is constantly looming over humanity like a dark cloud drawing ever closer. Though the push for renewable energy has gathered steam in the last 20 years, we are still a long way from detaching ourselves from fossil fuels.