Sometime between today and 200 years from now, scientists say “the big one”...

CNN Climate 5 months ago

Sometime between today and 200 years from now, scientists say “the big one” will hit the United States. There is danger lurking on the sea floor off the Pacific Northwest’s coast: After centuries of two tectonic plates pushing up against each other, the Cascadia subduction zone that runs from Northern California all the way up to British Columbia is due to rupture — possibly in our lifetimes. The resulting earthquake could be a devastating magnitude 9.0, and the subsequent tsunami could be 100 feet high, overwhelming coastal cities and towns. Around 13,800 people could die and more than 100,000 others could be injured, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has estimated. In short, it could be the worst natural disaster the United States has seen in modern times. And many scientists say we are less prepared for it than ever before. The league of experts and scientists who have spent decades keeping watch — the guardians at the gate — is being decimated by the Trump administration’s staffing cuts. It’s not just earthquakes and tsunamis; experts who sound the alarm for volcano eruptions say the cuts will be felt most when there’s a crisis. The scientists who watch the sun for invisible-yet-crippling solar storms are not just losing staff; they face being moved into an entirely different agency. Read more at the link in our bio. 📸: AP; William George Seelig/United States Geological Survey; M. Patrick/USGS/Reuters; Trevor Hughes/USA Today Network/Imagn Images

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 3 hours ago



A surge of innovation is redefining sustainable construction, with projects across the UK demonstrating how environmental sustainability in construction can merge with design excellence and performance resilience. At the forefront is the shortlisted “upcycled skyscraper”, a striking case of circular economy in construction where existing structures are adapted rather than demolished. The project exemplifies low carbon design by reusing steel and concrete frames to reduce embodied carbon in materials and limit the carbon footprint of construction. Through a robust whole life carbon assessment, the scheme proves that sustainable building design can embody elegance and cost-efficiency while advancing the goal of net zero whole life carbon in urban regeneration.

The Medworth Energy from Waste Combined Heat and Power facility in Wisbech represents a parallel movement toward decarbonising the built environment. By transforming residual waste into usable energy, the £500 million investment underscores how sustainable building practices contribute to green infrastructure and long-term resource efficiency in construction. Designed to power more than 80,000 homes with low-carbon electricity, the facility highlights how lifecycle assessment and low carbon construction materials factor into environmental product declarations (EPDs) and end-of-life reuse in construction plans. It demonstrates that whole life carbon reduction can be achieved when energy generation is woven into the broader framework of sustainable urban development.

Heritage buildings are equally central to this transition. G F Tomlinson’s retrofit of Barnsley College’s University Centre into the South Yorkshire Institute of Technology embodies life cycle thinking in construction and shows how low-impact construction methods can rejuvenate older assets. The project integrates renewable building materials and green building products while preserving the structure’s Art Deco façade. It stands as an archetype of eco-friendly construction and sustainable material specification, proving that a low carbon building can bridge history and high performance without undermining architectural integrity.

Industry analysis reveals that the private sector is expanding its commitment to net zero carbon buildings, embedding BREEAM and emerging frameworks like BREEAM v7 into procurement and reporting systems. Corporations are prioritising life cycle cost evaluations and circular construction strategies to ensure that every design stage addresses embodied carbon and operational efficiency. In shifting toward carbon neutral construction, these firms are retooling supply chains and adopting low embodied carbon materials tailored to each project’s environmental impact of construction metrics. The movement marks a clear pivot from voluntary green construction efforts toward measurable and verifiable sustainability outcomes.

Prince William’s advocacy for scalable sustainable design through initiatives such as the Earthshot Prize captures a global mood: carbon footprint reduction must be inherent to every phase of eco-design for buildings, from concept development to building lifecycle performance analysis. The momentum now depends on how effectively policymakers and developers align lifecycle assessment methodologies with on-site practice. With the integration of circular economy strategies and net zero carbon benchmarks, sustainable construction is emerging not as an alternative niche but as the foundation of future-ready, low carbon, energy-efficient buildings. The shift signals a systemic commitment to transforming the environmental sustainability of construction into a central metric of progress, setting a new global standard for how we build, adapt and sustain the built environment.

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