What is New Urbanism? August 11, 2016 New Urbanism is a form of city planning that looks at moving away from traditional, single-use, low-density building patterns. It emphasizes the use of traditional European towns, which are often more compact and utilize their location. These more compact communities would allow for a smaller carbon footprint through designing areas to be more accessible by walking rather than by car. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, American cities were more compact, and buildings were usually designed for…

What is the National Green Building Standard? August 11, 2016 The National Green Building Standard is a voluntary program designed to assess the design, construction, and renovation of residential buildings about their impact on the environment and sustainable design. It has four different certification levels for homes – Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Emerald – and have few minimum requirement to allow the developer flexibility so they can find the best green building practices to suit their project. The National Green Building Program began in 2005…

What is the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA)? August 11, 2016 The National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) is a law passed by the United States Congress in 1970 to promote sustainability and to create the President’s Council on Environmental Quality. It requires all federal agencies to consider environmental factors along with others during the decision-making process. The National Environment Policy Act was signed into being by Richard Nixon on January 1, 1970. It laid out a national policy for environmental protection and created the Council…

What are National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)? August 11, 2016 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are standards outlined by the Environmental Protection Agency to identify pollutants in the atmosphere as required by the US Clean Air Act. It looks in the level of harm pollutants may have toward human health and the environment. The Clean Air Act recognizes two types of NAAQSs. Primary standards look at the effects of pollutants on human health, including those who have pre-existing heart and lung ailments. Secondary…

What is a Mass Burn Facility? August 10, 2016 A mass burning facility is a location that processes municipal solid waste through incineration. They are often used in waste-to-energy conversion and require minimal pre-processing before burning commences. These plants can vary in size and can process between 25 and 3,000 tons per day depending on their size and demand. In the facility, refuse is delivered by truck to pits where cranes remove bulky and non-combustible items and mix the waste. The sorted mixture is then…