Leftovers

Scroll to Info & Navigation

good: Why Historic Buildings Are Greener Than LEED-Certified New Ones For buildings of comparable size and use, old buildings are almost always the greenest buildings. A new report from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Green Lab concludes that constructing new, energy-efficient buildings almost never saves as much energy as renovating old ones. Read more on GOOD→  Yeah!

good:

Why Historic Buildings Are Greener Than LEED-Certified New Ones

For buildings of comparable size and use, old buildings are almost always the greenest buildings. A new report from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Green Lab concludes that constructing new, energy-efficient buildings almost never saves as much energy as renovating old ones.

Read more on GOOD→ 

Yeah!

The Pros and Cons of: Buying a Car

Living without a car isn’t as bad as most people tend to imagine. I take the bus to work everyday which actually consistently results in an early arrival. I walk to the grocery store, the mall, to my favorite restaurants and just about anywhere else I need to go. However, occasional mishaps pop up which tend to get me wondering - What if I bought a car? I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately so I decided to do one of the things I do best - make a list.

Pros

  • I would have so much more independence. Don’t get me wrong, I do have a lot available to me already. I live downtown - which is where all public transit in NOLA converges - so I have the entire bus system to my disposal daily. Plus, living downtown means that I have virtually everything I need access to within a few blocks. But what about when it’s late at night and the buses stop running, or if they’re off schedule, or if I am just too lazy to go for a walk? Well, I usually just sit in my apartment. If I had a car, however, I could go anywhere whenever I wanted! I wouldn’t have to be on NORTA’s schedule! Late night ventures would be possible without me being forced to ask for a ride! Being dependent on others is something I try to limit as much as possible and a owning my own car would drastically reduce that. Plus, I would stop accidentally calling my boyfriend my chauffeur.

  • The commute by bus is looonnnnng, y’all. A car would drastically cut the amount of time I spend traveling and allow me more time to do more productive things like exercise, cook, meditate and write.

  • I would look so good behind the wheel of this:

Cons

  • You guys, cars are expensive. I know, it surprised me too. Here’s the rundown: Currently I spend $55 a month to purchase a 31 day bus pass. That’s unlimited bus and streetcar rides for a whole month for one low cost! If I bought a car my expenses would more than double. I would have to pay a note, insurance and fuel costs. Plus tolls, maintenance and possible tickets would add up as well. That’s a big sacrifice.

  • As it turns out, cars happen to be harmful to environment. Refusing to purchase one would allow my contribution to global warming to stay low.

  • Without a car I lower my chances of dying. It may be bleak, but car accidents are pretty common, y’all. With my bad luck and tendency to be easily distracted it’s quite likely that I’ll kill myself violently while behind the wheel of some sort of vehicle. If I continue to take the bus I can relax rather than worry about driving because they are so safe (if you ignore the events of the movie Speed).

  • Oh, did I mention finding parking downtown is often impossible?

Verdict - Yeah, I think I’ll stick to this whole no car thing indefinitely. A little inconvenience each day does not compare to the risk of fueling detrimental climate change and possible death.

What do you think? 

good: Growing produce on your roof is a productive way to take advantage of the space, but is it possible to make it commercially viable on a larger scale? A new company’s business model may show the way. New York-based BrightFarms, which builds rooftop greenhouses, hopes to turn a profit while cutting shoppers’ “food miles” down to zero by growing vegetables where people buy them: the supermarket. BrightFarms is trying to convince major supermarket chains to hire them to cover vacant roofs with heirloom tomatoes, salad greens, and other produce. The company’s business plan is simple: they handle the labor and expense of farming—greenhouse design, construction, planting, and harvest—while participating supermarkets sign a 10-year contract agreeing to purchase whatever is grown on their rooftop. A store’s rooftop garden can produce as much as 500,000 pounds of produce a year, BrightFarms told Edible Manhattan. Read more on GOOD →

good:

Growing produce on your roof is a productive way to take advantage of the space, but is it possible to make it commercially viable on a larger scale? A new company’s business model may show the way. New York-based BrightFarms, which builds rooftop greenhouses, hopes to turn a profit while cutting shoppers’ “food miles” down to zero by growing vegetables where people buy them: the supermarket.

BrightFarms is trying to convince major supermarket chains to hire them to cover vacant roofs with heirloom tomatoes, salad greens, and other produce. The company’s business plan is simple: they handle the labor and expense of farming—greenhouse design, construction, planting, and harvest—while participating supermarkets sign a 10-year contract agreeing to purchase whatever is grown on their rooftop. A store’s rooftop garden can produce as much as 500,000 pounds of produce a year, BrightFarms told Edible Manhattan.

Read more on GOOD →

good: These trashcans were designed by Keith Scharwath, guest art director on The Neighborhoods Issue, The Energy Issue, and The Cities Issue: Starring Los Angeles. Get out to the beach and check them out! latimes: “Smartphones have been married with trash cans to create new smart trash cans that made their debut at Santa Monica State Beach on Tuesday,” Susan Carpenter reports. Photo: “Smart” trash cans at Santa Monica State Beach. Credit: Heal the Bay

good:

These trashcans were designed by Keith Scharwath, guest art director on The Neighborhoods Issue, The Energy Issue, and The Cities Issue: Starring Los Angeles. Get out to the beach and check them out!

latimes:

“Smartphones have been married with trash cans to create new smart trash cans that made their debut at Santa Monica State Beach on Tuesday,” Susan Carpenter reports.

Photo: “Smart” trash cans at Santa Monica State Beach. Credit: Heal the Bay