Tag: eco-friendly
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Multisolving and the Role of Reinforcing Feedback Loops
Chapter Four of Elizabeth Sawin’s book Multisolving, covers the first of two types of feedback loops in systems–Reinforcing. Reinforcing feedback is “a change in one part of the system that feeds back to amplify the initial change”. In other words, it’s a change in the same direction amplified. The prompt at the end of the…
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People, Planet, Design
Book Review The world of design and architecture holds untapped potential for promoting sustainability, a topic we dove into with author Corey Squire, of “People, Planet, Design: A Practical Guide to Realizing Architecture’s Potential,” in our latest Booked on Planning episode. In the episode coming out in a few weeks, we discussed how design choices…
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10 Habits to Reduce Your Environmental Impact
We now have almost unanimous support in the scientific community that climate change is caused by humans. Dissenting opinions try to say weather fluctuates, which is true, but it does not mean climate change is not a threat. But there is a difference between climate change and weather. Weather is day to day changes while…
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The Net Zero Home: Eliminating an Energy Bill
Net zero homes produce as much energy as they use. A net zero home is not only great for the environment, but your wallet and health as well. While net zero is a method unto itself, similar programs that work towards reducing energy use and leakage in a home include Passive House, Energy Star, National…
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Celebrate Earth Day: 5 Simple Ways to Go Green
Today marks the 51st Earth Day which began April 22, 1970 as a way to bring environmental awareness to the masses. The idea started with Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, who was concerned about the deteriorating environment. He came up with the idea to hold a teach-in on college campuses and enlisted Pete McCloskey, a…
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Sustainable Living: 2021 Green Resolutions
It has been a year since I started down a path to creating a more sustainable household. Some choices have been easy and others more difficult. It has not been perfect and I am nowhere near a zero waste household, but I do feel I have eliminated a lot of extra waste just by spending…
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Sustainable Gift Giving
It was around this time last year that I started to rethink my routines, decisions, and actions, realizing the way I was living was not all that sustainable. I had composted when I lived in Minneapolis because the city made it easy, built some rain gardens and rain barrels, and have been recycling since college,…
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From Flowers to Function: Reviving Useful Traditions
“His grandmother had made soap in it every spring and fall,–enough to last for a half-year. His mother with her lessening activities had dispensed with it, letting the men take it for hog-feed and chicken-mash. His wife had planted flowers in it,–typical of the way they had grown to look at life,–flower, no work, but plenty…
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Green Metropolis
Book Review Last week I had a long car ride and spent the majority of it listening to Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less are the Keys to Sustainability by David Owen. The expansive title is a pretty good description of what the book is about. Over the course of six…
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Designers’ Role in Combating Climate Change
My company is updating employee bios and sent out a questionnaire to help craft the text. One question in particular spurred this blog post—What role do you think designers / planners play in addressing climate change? My answer in a nutshell was—a very important one. In 2017 the U.S. EPA estimated commercial and residential markets…
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The Planning Lady 