Meeting Humanity's Greatest Challenge Author Edward Mazria Location Boston Sponsors Tufts Climate Initiative, Boston Society of Architects Copyright Copyright © Architecture Radio under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution, NonCommercial, No Derivatives License Recorded 2005/09/28 Published 2006/01/05 Download Video using Browser Download MP3 audio file

Abstract

"How do we dramatically cut down on green-house gas emissions, lessen our dependence on fossil fuels and become more energy-efficient without arguably wrecking the U.S. economy? So far, no one's come up with a viable answer, largely because we keep looking at global warming from the same angle. The result is tunnel vision - we keep missing the forest for the trees with remedies like cleaner cars, fewer smoke stacks, more renewable energy sources. Each is necessary, but solves only part of the problem. What we need is a paradigm shift in the way we view energy consumption in this country. It's architecture - residential, commercial and industrial buildings and their construction materials - that account for nearly half of all the energy used in this country each year. And it's the architects who hold the key to turning down the global thermostat." Mazria, E. 2003. It's the Architecture, Stupid! Solar Today, May/June 2003, pp. 48