Connect is an easy-to-use and free online tool allowing users to instantly calculate how smart location, affordable homes and traffic reduction strategies can reduce driving and greenhouse gas emissions from residential development throughout California. It also calculates how much money and space can be saved from right-sized parking in the Bay Area.
As many as 34,000 homes constructed in northeastern Connecticut between 1983 and 2000 may have concrete foundations containing pyrrhotite and are at risk of cracking or crumbling. Pyrrhotite is an iron sulfide that can be found naturally in aggregates, or rocky materials such as gravel, sand, or stone that are added to cement to make concrete. When iron sulfides are exposed to oxygen and water, a series of chemical reactions convert the iron sulfides into other compounds.
Passive solar design refers to the use of the sun’s energy for the heating and cooling of living spaces. In this approach, the building itself or some element of it takes advantage of natural energy characteristics in materials and air created by exposure to the sun. Passive systems are simple, have few moving parts, and require minimal maintenance and require no mechanical systems. Operable windows, thermal mass, and thermal chimneys are common elements found in passive design. Operable windows are simply windows that can be opened.
Passive solar heating is one of several design approaches collectively called passive solar design. When combined properly, these strategies can contribute to the heating, cooling, and daylighting of nearly any building. The types of buildings that benefit from the application of passive solar heating range from barracks to large maintenance facilities.
Typically, passive solar heating involves:
In 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized the value of performance-based passive building standards when it joined with Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) to promote DOE’s Challenge Home program in tandem with the PHIUS+ Certification program. Since then, the number of passive building projects that have been certified under the partnership has grown exponentially because of some synergy.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building America program has developed a series of technology-specific case studies and best practices guides that may be applicable to all climate zones.
These case studies from Building America research teams and national laboratories describe energy-saving solutions for both new and existing homes, classified into four categories.
Climate change is playing a bigger role in determining where and how we live, and is limiting access to and availability of affordable healthy housing, healthy food choices, transportation choices, and social networks, which is forcing displacement of individuals and communities. Displacement—whether temporary or permanent, forced or voluntary—is an issue rooted in inequity and exacerbated by climate change.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), the California Department of Transportation, District 4 (Caltrans) and San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) have partnered on a collaborative sub-regional pilot project to assess adaptation options for a subset of key transportation assets vulnerable to sea level rise (SLR) in Alameda County.
Many state, regional, and local governments are beginning to explore how potential climate change impacts could affect their natural and man-made resources. Damage to transportation infrastructure from extreme weather events can be physically and fiscally difficult to repair. This plan outlines key strategies and actions the Sacramento region can take to ensure its transportation assets are adaptable to potential climate related events.