Rochester is already one of the nation’s greenest cities, although we may not realize how or why. Older cities like ours have already expended the resources, both monetary and natural, to construct infrastructure like buildings, roadways, and utilities. Newer cities are still making these investments, which continue to grow in Read more…
An argument favoring historic preservation is that existing buildings and supporting infrastructure contain vast amounts of increasingly valuable “embodied energy”. In this time of global conflict over natural resources, nonstop damage to the environment, and rising oil prices, we can think of our stock of existing buildings, roadways, utility structures, Read more…
An easy, cost-free way to help our regional economy is to reduce the miles we drive. None of the gas we use for our daily travels is produced here, so the money we spend on gas—minus the $0.45 per gallon local and state taxes—all leaves the region and state. Until Read more…
This blog explores ways to use our man-made and natural resources more efficiently so that, as a society, we may retain and spread wealth, reduce our dependence on distant places, and limit our impacts on the planet. I’m addressing my cohorts in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, Read more…