A triumph of green construction rising on campus, Building E62, features lighting that will use half as much power, and heating and cooling that will reduce energy use by one-third. But this is a success story with lessons: green construction requires higher up front costs, and executives were not immediately sold on the benefits of lower operating costs.
The fundamentals of MIT’s environmental stewardship: be comprehensive and involve the entire community; consider behavioral as well as engineered solutions; and think about return on investment.
The Vehicle Design Summit Project is an attempt to produce a car that’s 20 times more sustainable in its life cycle than the Prius. An international consortium of students and master auto makers in Turin, Italy has finished prototyping the first car.
