Green Building Fights Recession
from CoStar Group
Despite a slowdown affecting nearly all segments of the commercial property industry, green building is positioned to withstand the deepening economic recession and possibly emerge as a more influential force than before, sustainability advocates say. The optimism stems from a groundswell of popularity that carried green building to the forefront of the industry heading into the downturn, as well as the idea that sustainability can help building stakeholders cut costs. More

China's Next 30 Years: Building the World's Biggest Cities
from AFP
China's past 30 years of reforms planted seeds that will in the coming decades produce future coastal megacities, an urban population of one billion and possibly the world's biggest economy. What the next 30 years of reforms have in store may be unclear but experts agree with widespread pollution problems and a tidal wave of migration set to hit China's cities, urbanization will be the future's biggest challenge. More

On the Road to a Smart Grid
from The New York Times
City officials in Austin, Texas, have embarked upon a project to develop what they are calling the “energy system of the future.” Undertaken in cooperation with the Environmental Defense Fund, the University of Texas’ Technology Incubator, Austin Energy and the local chamber of commerce, the Pecan Street Project aims to reinvent the city’s electric infrastructure as a clean-energy smart grid. More

A New Light on Work-related Fatigue
from Science Daily
Work-related fatigue is a common complaint encountered by the occupational physician in the industrialized societies. Most past investigations of work-related fatigue focused on age, subjective discomforts, social-economical factors or on work styles. However, the association between work-related fatigue and general objective health measures, such as liver function tests, metabolic syndrome components (waist circumference, blood pressure, sugar and lipids profile) or hematology test results are yet to be declared among the modern workplaces in Taiwan. More

Burj Dubai to Remain World’s Tallest Skyscraper At Least for a Decade
from Vista Dubai
The global financial crisis has assured that Emaar’s Burj Dubai would continue to remain the tallest skyscraper, at least for a decade, and would keep up the region’s pride, say analysts. Although, several other projects were announced that claimed to surpass Burj Dubai’s height, analysis now agree that all such projects would require several billions for completion, and hence, they have all been brought to a halt. More

The U.K.: The Next Great Bastion of Solar Policy?
from Renewable Energy World
The executive summary of the new U.K. Renewable Energy Strategy begins with the premise that the government of the United Kingdom must simultaneously tackle climate change while ensuring a secure source of energy. Not a very novel policy objective, some might argue. Some might start to yawn at this point, knowing that these are the stated policy objectives of every government around the world. However, there is something that is very novel about this report—something that distinguishes it from many other governmental policy reports—and that something is important to understand. More

Construction Industry Could Trim Climate Emissions Cheaply
from Environment News Service
Energy use in buildings accounts for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, but the potential of the construction sector to combat climate change has not been tapped, according to a new report issued by the United Nations Environment Programme. More

Studies on Smart Structures, Eco-Friendly Elements Affirm Appeal of Green Building
from Greener Building
As the end of the year approaches, a raft of studies and reports are being released affirming the benefits and resilience of green building despite turbulent economic times. In a wide-ranging 218-page report, the Continental Automated Buildings Association examines bright green buildings, the term CABA has coined for the intersection of smart buildings equipped with sophisticated controls systems and high-performance environmentally efficient structures. The result, the study said, is intelligent, green and profitable buildings. More

Businesses Say Theft by Their Workers Is Up
from The Wall Street Journal
In the wake of the recession, more businesses are facing a growing financial threat: employee theft. New research shows that employers are seeing an increase in internal crimes, ranging from fictitious sales transactions and illegal kickbacks to the theft of office equipment and retail products meant for sale to customers.More

Researchers: Silicon Solar Cells Offer Efficiency, Lower Cost
from Technology Review Online
Researchers at MIT have unveiled a new type of silicon solar cell that could be much more efficient and cost less than currently used solar cells. Materials science and engineering professor Lionel Kimerling and his colleagues presented results of the first device prototype at a recent meeting of the Materials Research Society in Boston. More