Concentration of CO2 in the Atmosphere

Windows in Winter: A Cool Little Microclimate, Part 2

Nate Gusakov

It’s a rough life being a window here in the Northeast U.S. You’re expected to let light in and out, heat in but not out, and, in addition, you have to morph from being a wide-open hole in the wall into transparent, blizzard-proof armor many times a year, and […]

New Frameworks and Glad Tidings

of Innovation at Happiness Hill

Fitting its surroundings. Photo: Stina Booth

By Taylor McNeely and Ben Graham

Marshfield, Vermont

At the Happiness Hill homestead in Marshfield, Vermont, there is much to celebrate and be happy for. Through the vision of talented builders and innovators, what began […]

Thin Triple-pane Windows Brighten U.S. Market

Wendy Koch

Windows have advanced considerably over the decades, from drafty single-pane models to much better double-pane ones. Now, over just the past two years, thin triple-pane windows that offer a lot more insulation have entered the U.S. market. Such technology enables homes and buildings to save even more energy while being comfortable and bright, […]

To Reach the Spring: From Complicity to Consciousness in the Age of Eco-Crises

Nathaniel Popkin

New Door Books, December 2020, 148 pages, $15.95

Review by Steven Strong

Nathaniel Popkin refers to the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere, plastics in the ocean, permafrost melting, glaciers receding, ocean temperatures rising, thousands of species going extinct, massive wildfires around the globe, more frequent and powerful typhoons and […]

Floating with the Ice Across the Arctic

A guard stands watch looking for polar bears in early January. Credits: Alfred Wegener Institute, Lucas Piotrowski. CC-BY-SA 4.0 (https://bit.ly/38OKcvg)

Alan Betts

The largest polar expedition in history to study the melting polar ice sheet ended on October 12, 2020. It was called MOSAiC, standing for The Multidisciplinary drifting […]

The Task Before Us

Climate Movement. Image: Wikipedia

Alan Betts

There is a grim set of connected issues shaking the stability of the United States as the federal government crumbles in the face of COVID-19, white racism, capitalist exploitation of the poor and the Earth, political bribery and the denial of science and climate change. Many […]

Environmental Tipping Points

Matterhorn, one of Europe’s tallest peaks, in the Alps on the border between Italy and Switzerland, is eroding as a result of glacial meltwater at the summit. Photos from NASA’s “State of Flux” series show courtesy of the Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

John Bos

A tipping point is that magical (or malevolent) moment […]

Passive House at Maple Corner: Part 3

Barbara and Greg Whitchurch

In the previous issue of G.E.T., we wrote two articles about the Dawkins Passive House in Maple Corner, Vermont (bit.do/get-mcph1 and bit.do/get-mcph2). Here in Part 3, we explore some of the issues that Meg and John Dawkins considered as they focused on their personal environmental impact, and on how and where […]

Historic Pirelli Building Passive House Retrofit

Kate Doherty and Dylan Martello

One of the most important drivers in achieving Passive House certification is getting the project team involved from the start. Becker + Becker, the owner, architect and developer for the creative retrofit of the Pirelli Building, hired Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA) Passive House, Leadership in […]

A Survey of the Cleanest Home Heating Options

Please click on the image to enlarge it.

Jeff Rubin

The problem of climate change is so large and complex that it’s easy to become overwhelmed. The past decade has seen great strides in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from electric generation and transportation, but heating doesn’t get much attention, even though buildings emit […]