Whether talking about buses and cars that have zero emissions, or about appliances that are pulling less power than their predecessors, green tech is still alive and well. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just announced that it has launched the 2013 Energy Star National Building Competition.
The competition this year has been dubbed The Battle of the Buildings and features teams from more than 3,000 buildings across the country. The goal of the competition is to figure out who can find the best way to get those buildings to reduce their energy use.
While we’d all love to see the next solar powered airplane making a ton of difference, the fact of the matter is that where we are going to save most is in our day to day lives. The EPA understands that conservation is going to start and end with how people are consuming energy. That is why this competition has been put together.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said of the competition, “Battle of the Buildings is a great opportunity for businesses to save money while reducing carbon pollution that contributes to climate change. These are the kinds of smart, innovative solutions that are going to help solve the environmental challenges we face today.”
In 2010, there were just 14 different buildings involved in the competition. Now there are more than 3,200. That is one way to tell that this competition is accomplishing what it set out to do. Last year, competitors were able to cut their energy costs by more than $50 million combined. The buildings also reduced their annual greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of more than 43,000 homes.
Edited by Alisen Downey