A breath of fresh air š®āšØ
For the past 17 years, @nasaās Aura satellite has watched our air get cleaner.
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is released into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels, such as coal power plants or gasoline and diesel vehicles. This air pollutant has been linked to health problems including asthma. NASAās Aura satellite has been measuring NO2 for nearly two decades.Ā
This animation shows the yearly average NO2 from 2005 to 2022. You can see the air get cleaner. The cleaner air is primarily due to environmental rules that have helped reduce air pollution from power plants and cars.
#NASA #EarthData #NitrogenDioxide #AirQuality #Earth #NASAEarth
Video Description: A data visualization of average nitrogen dioxide levels over the United States as measured from space from 2005 to 2022. At the start of the animation, dark purple spots are seen over major cities throughout the country indicating high levels of air pollution. Rural areas are shown in light blue indicating low nitrogen dioxide levels. The dark purple spots fade into orange and then yellow as you move away from large city centers, however most of the Northeast is some shade of yellow-purple. As time moves forward the dark purple spots slowly shrink and fade leaving the majority of the map light blue with only small concentrations of dark purple over New York and Los Angeles.
Momentum in sustainable construction is now driven by tangible progress in materials and methods rather than declarations. The focus on reducing embodied carbon in materials and undertaking robust whole life carbon assessment is reshaping how developers, architects and engineers define sustainable building design. Initiatives such as the Reducing Plastics in Construction Summit reinforce the value of renewable building materials, eco-design for buildings and circular economy in construction frameworks to eliminate petroleum-based polymers and improve resource efficiency in construction.
Biobased composites, recyclable resins and modular approaches are being evaluated through lifecycle assessment tools that can accurately measure the carbon footprint of construction and inform sustainable material specification throughout each project stage. Digitisation is rapidly becoming integral to low carbon design and energy-efficient buildings. Advanced platforms now enable unified modelling of cost, performance and carbon, aligning lifecycle cost optimisation with environmental sustainability in construction.
TM2āÆByggās software-led method illustrates how low carbon building processes built on data-driven insights help achieve net zero carbon buildings and deliver improved building lifecycle performance. At the policy level, regulators are reinforcing requirements for measurable reductions in embodied carbon and clear evidence of net zero whole life carbon outcomes. These shifts point toward an industry-wide transformation grounded in whole life carbon transparency and the adoption of BREEAM v7 and other sustainable building practices to standardise reporting.
The result is a market that values circular construction strategies, end-of-life reuse in construction and environmental product declarations (EPDs) as verification of a projectās environmental impact of construction. New renewable energy infrastructure, including nextāgeneration geothermal systems, could redefine the carbon footprint reduction potential of green building materials and low carbon construction materials. As baseload renewables expand, achieving carbon neutral construction and sustainable urban development becomes increasingly viable. The sector is moving beyond pilot projects toward a mature phase of green construction, integrating life cycle thinking in construction and decarbonising the built environment as core business practice.
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