Nature-based materials need to play a major role in construction
The construction sector emits large quantities of greenhouse gases and is very wasteful. Thanksfully, greener solutions exist and could become mainstream with the right support.
Wood
The energy transition has reached the French countryside
While I was away for a few days in the Lorraine village where my mom’s family comes from, I noticed a few hints that the energy transition is already taking place and has reached even this quite secluded place. The first one was both solar thermal and photovoltaic panels sprouting on roofs. While I counted …
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More and more French households burn wood for heating
What do you get when energy efficiency meets a local renewable energy source ? You get great news from my home country. My latest Cleantechies article is focusing on how firewood is gaining traction in France in an interesting way. ” According to a recent study from the French ADEME, wood burning is more and …
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Soot’s underestimated role in climate change
According to the most comprehensive research on the subject, soot – also known as black carbon – may have a significantly higher role in climate change than previously estimated. According to a BBC article quoting the study : ” (soot) dark particles are having a warming effect approximately two thirds that of carbon dioxide, and …
FSC and MSC : two labels you should know
It has been a while since I wanted to introduce you to two different kind of sustainable labels : the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). As you must have guessed, the former is concerning everything that is related to sustainable wood (paper, wooden flooring and other products) while the latter …
Ikea unveils ambitious sustainability plans
Good news everyone : here is another company raising up the ante on sustainability. To TreeHugger : ” IKEA has unveiled a new sustainability strategy, outlining the mega-retailers’ green plans through 2020. “ ” In terms of energy usage, IKEA plans on investing $1.95 billion in renewable energy by 2015—a figure including investments dating back …
Wood is reaching new heights in buildings
What if we used wood as a construction material for high buildings ? Given how many trees we are planting to fight climate change, we are not going to lack from it any time soon if we manage it sustainably. Back to June the New York Times published an interesting article on how this is …
On wood
Wood is a great material for many things, ranging from construction material to heat premises. In France, the market is soaring, and this for several reasons. The first thing that is needed to know is that the French forest is growing, approximately 70.000 hectares per annum. The total land covered by forests in France are …