The one-page digital summary is published every two weeks. I'll be in Tampa for the First International Sustainable Construction Conference on the date of the next scheduled issue. If approved, refrigerators will use about 500 kilowatt hours per year instead of the 700 used now. The United States Department of Energy, scheduled to issue refrigerator energy guidelines in 1998, says it is highly likely they will adopt a similar measure. Today the plant produces virtually no air pollution, eliminating the need for clean-up workers and equipment.
New technology allows waste to be recycled, eliminating disposal costs.
The Institute for Southern Studies recently released a study suggesting that economic health and environmental quality are compatible. Some economists applauded the study's general view that environmental and economic health are compatible, but said the interaction between the two was too complicated to allow for simple testing. Others warned that the study does not prove that tight environmental regulation attracts economic development. At a recent conference sponsored by The Earth Times, engineers and transportation officials identified the need for more funding and engineering leadership to design environmentally-effective transportation systems. The conference also criticized engineers, citing a tendency to accommodate trends instead of change trends.