The Biden Administration’s proposed infrastructure spending plan is a rare chance for most school districts to make their buildings greener and cheaper to operate.
This is a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ to make major upgrades to public school facilities, according to an engineer specializing in green buildings. For example, an estimated 36,000 schools have ventilation systems in need of upgrades. Many of these systems use technology invented and designed in the 1970s, and they are far less than ideal from health and wellness perspectives. They also do not support aggressive carbon reduction and energy-efficiency goals.
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a closer look at the physical condition of America’s classrooms. It may prompt the federal government to address the shortcomings.
The U.S. House of Representatives is considering the Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act, which would make $130 billion in federal money available to schools in need of repair over the next decade. The lead sponsor says funding is badly needed because without it, school districts would be largely on their own to build and renovate buildings.
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| Aug 4, 2014
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| Jul 31, 2014
LEED Dynamic Plaque gives owners and tenants ability to monitor building performance
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| Jul 31, 2014
Gypsum Association releases updates to wallboard repair standards
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| Jul 31, 2014
Cambridge, Mass., is latest locale to require energy usage disclosure
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| Jul 31, 2014
Stalled $1.5 billion Miami mixed-use redevelopment project advances
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| Jul 30, 2014
USGS updates National Seismic Hazard Maps
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| Jul 23, 2014
Fairfax County, Virginia toughens green standards
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| Jul 23, 2014
Berkeley National Lab’s FLEXLAB is a test bed for energy efficient office design
FLEXLAB, short for the Facility for Low Energy Experiments, opened this summer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
