[loud engine running] >> sir, sorry to--to bother you, here, um, are you aware, in the city of new york, you can't have your engine idling in your truck for more than 3 minutes? >> aw, man, come on, man. you're a pain in the ass, man. >> i'd like to have you shut your engine off. you can't have it on for more than 3 minutes in the city of new york, and i'm looking out for the better environment for our neighborhood. >> man, come on, man.

>> please, shut your engine off. >> aw, man. all right. [engine stops running] >> thank you, sir. really, i appreciate it very much, thank you. >> all right. >> new york is a huge city-- 8 million people, but actually, it's a bunch of small villages just tucked together, and it's a neighborhood thing, and people are very protective about their neighborhoods, and that's how it started with me, me being concerned about a life quality

issue in my particular neighborhood. people would just be idling by the curbside, and they'd be reading a newspaper, or eating their lunch or dinner, or communicating in some mindless conversation with someone in the passenger seat, not even aware that they were churning out fumes, and i'd been trying to calculate just how horrible this sort of behavior was for our environment, and it made me angry, and it made me want to do something. i began searching the web, and found out through the epa that, indeed, there were laws that were in existence since 1971, but they were seemingly not being enforced. so, that made my focus even clearer. i--i wanted to find out who controls the law and who is neglecting its enforcement. i'm standing here on the new york side of the holland tunnel. tens of thousands of cars pass by this sign every day. the law says you can't idle your engine for more than 3 minutes while parking, standing, or stopping unless the engine

is being used for loading, unloading, or processing. but there's no reason for any of these drivers to pay attention to this sign, because the law is not being enforced. so, how did this law fall through the cracks? it seemed to me that the traffic patrol agents, the ones who write parking tickets, should be the ones to handle idling infractions as well, but idling wasn't on their checklist. idling was considered a moving violation, so it fell to the regular police force, the ones busy serving the citizens of new york city, and protecting them from more egregious offenses. and i think at this point it was clear what i had to do. i had to empower those traffic agents to enforce the law. then, maybe, just maybe, the air in my neighborhood and in my city might get cleaned up, and a whole lot less oil would be wasted. and, as the worst case, those who continue to violate the law could at least help close up some of the city's revenue shortfalls.

knowledge is power, so i decided i should learn as much as i could about exhaust spewing into my neighborhood. a short subway ride across the river into queens led me to exhaust warehouse. the proprietor gladly gave me a tour of his 30,000-square-foot facility and showed me some 500,000 tailpipe parts. he also shared with me his own unique perspective on the matter. >> beautiful quality, stainless steel. you put this right here, and this is look like absolutely beautiful. [speaking english] >> do you let your customers idle their engines when they pull up to the garage area?

>> [speaking english] >> my quest for knowledge led me to a tire and repair shop that claims to be the oldest inspection station in new york. the owner had many insights, but he wouldn't let me film him for fear of retribution. but he did direct me just down the street for some hard evidence. i was not satisfied to see some gunk on the end of a white rag. i had plenty more questions that needed to be answered, for the more i learned, the more i wanted to know. my journey led me to new england and two oracles of automotive knowledge. >> some of you may recognize us or at least recognize our voices. uh, every week, we dispense, uh, dubious automotive advice

to about 4 or 5 million listeners, and some read our advice--you've got the paper upside down, there, son. >> it doesn't matter. >> [laughs] various newspapers across the country. but, uh, we're click and clack, the tappet brothers, and, uh-- >> yeah. >> and i--i thought today we'd talk a little bit about idling. now, tom has always been a proponent of idling. in fact, he probably does it better than anyone. i mean, you might see him on a park bench some place, oh, like we are now. wake up! [laughs] participate! while sipping his coffee in a cafe, and this is the kind of idling that, of course, we approve of, but there's lots of idling going on of internal combustion engines that we are dead set against, and that's why we're here. people ask all the time, "if i decide to turn my engine off when i'm stopping, waiting for somebody, is it injurious to the engine to restart it, you know, after 5 minutes? does it harm the air conditioner? is it a bigger load on the battery?" et cetera, et cetera. and--and the most common myth is

that it wastes fuel every time you restart an engine. the engine--all the savings you had from not running it for 5 minutes go right out the tailpipe. well, that's not true. >> it's a myth. >> it's a complete and utter myth. >> we're going to seize this opportunity to lead the way forward and create the first environmentally sustainable 21st century city. [applause] >> 2007, when mayor bloomberg came out with planyc, people across the country said, "wow, now, new york's not only in the game, new york is now leading the pack." >> just as i was beginning to get my neighbors to stop idling their engines, the city of new york announced planyc as a comprehensive study for all things ecological and a document that would make the city strive to become the most green city in the united states. and idling was one of many transportation emissions concerns in the session on air quality, and they only mentioned the 3-minute idling law once.

missing was any mention of efforts to enforce the 1971 law. what could i do to get it on their radar screen? >> hi. >> ever been in a movie? >> never. >> uh, i'm doing a documentary film on the, uh, 3-minute idling law in new york city and was wondering if you guys could comment. ever written a ticket on that, officer? >> [speaking english] >> not that you can recall? do you know the law? >> [speaking english] >> but neither of you guys have ever written tickets, huh? >> [speaking english] >> i was outraged that something as important as clean air could be so neglected! realizing i was onto something, and that, at some point, i'd be in front of some city official trying to make my case for enforcement, i decided to come up with some tools to help me document my encounters with idlers. i created an excel spreadsheet, and on a daily basis, i would mark off the date of the

encounter, the age and the gender of the idler, and whether or not they knew the law. i wanted to have a statistical database and approach this scientifically, not just as a crank. >> you have, uh, a guy named george pakenham coming to my attention, who is so obsessed with this particular subject that he keeps an excel spreadsheet, um, and--and on the other hand, it's also--it's a good cause, i mean, it's something that most people probably aren't aware of as--as an issue to organize your life around. george is kind of the perfect, uh, journalistic subject because he is his own reporter. he recorded and documented, you know, nearly 2,000 encounters. it was a gift, it was sort of like being--you know, being handed hours of--of reporting already ready-made. >> the engagement process that i use in terms of walking up to idling drivers is quite simple. i walk up, wrap on the window,

and sort of motion to them to roll down their window, and i'm astounded that they do, because i wouldn't roll down the window if some idiot came up to me, but they do, so, i must have some sort of honest face or something. would you have rolled down the window for me if i asked you? >> well, you have a kind-- you have a kind demeanor. i wouldn't roll down my window for this guy. [laughter] >> they roll down their window, and i'll say, "i'm sorry to bother you"-- i always say that-- "but are you aware that in the city of new york it's illegal to have your engine idle more than 3 minutes, and more than one minute in a school zone?" and they usually reply with some sort of quizzical look, as if they're confused, and i realized that i needed to have a ready tool on hand to leave this knowledge with the drivers. the tool is a business card that on one side has the law spelled out on it and on the

other the penalties associated with the law, and some people will take a good deal of time to read the card and actually become educated about the law, so, it makes me feel good, like i'm an educator, not just a vigilante. >> i think having the card really helped, because, uh, it--it gives you--it's almost like a badge, it gives you kind of, uh, a sense of authority. >> i discovered that new yorkers are not even aware that the 3-minute rule exists. however, once asked to stop idling their engines, they're more than happy to do so. how do i know? come with me, i'll show you. i was wondering if you were aware that in new york city you can't let your engine idle for more than 3 minutes. you might not be aware, but in the city of new york, you can't idle your, uh, engine of your truck for more than 3 minutes. are you aware that in the city of new york you can't idle your car engine for more than 3 minutes? in the city of new york, you can't idle your car engine for more than 3 minutes. >> [speaking english] >> that's a pity. thank you.

failure, complete failure. >> after i'd seen george, uh, conduct a--a few of his encounters, uh, he took the step of asking me to--to participate myself, which, uh, was--came as a surprise to me, and--and i think of myself as someone who's--who probably errs on the side of being a little bit too--too shy, too hesitant to get involved in other people's business. >> stop the engine! >> what is it? >> we have to talk about the fact that your engine's on, and it can't be on for more than 3 minutes. [engine stops running] >> okay. now, go do the rest of them. >> i just did. >> okay, go do that one over there. >> i will. >> bye. have a good day. >> i've had the f-bomb half a dozen times or so in 5 years, and that's not a lot, but i've had some confrontations. >> you're only dealing with sanitation, but what about other trucks? what about other trucks? you're only dealing with sanitation now? >> i've had so many-- >> you only deal--you're only dealing with sanitation. >> well, that's untrue. >> okay, well, then, get everybody else. if you're going to do it, be fair!

>> oh, i shall be fair. >> be fair. >> i will be. >> all right. >> my friend. sorry to bother you, man, you guys know about the law that says you can't keep your engine idling for more than 3 minutes, right? >> oh, yeah, actually, i just got here about two minutes ago. >> no, no, no, because i went down the street and came back, went to my apartment, got my camera and-- >> oh, really? all right, because i went in there, and i just got food, and i came out. all right, i'll shut it off. that's fine. >> i'd like to see you shut the engine off, my friend. >> it's my fault, i'm sorry. i apologize. >> never again, right? >> never again, i'm sorry. >> thank you! >> you're welcome. >> some of the comments that people make are actually quite priceless. i have a column in my statistical log that lists the comments. one fellow told me to go put my mouth around a tailpipe and stay there for a while, and that was pretty rude. one guy said that his boss was worth $20 million, and his boss didn't care about idling and neither did he. but i've had plenty of people thank me, often, and one guy

even said, "thank you, brother." so, there can be a harmony that develops on this thing. it's--you know, it's not all, uh, terror. i finally decided it was time to present my case for greater enforcement to the powers that be in new york, and when i started on this particular leg of the journey, i was very frustrated. i felt isolated and as if i was alone, and, in fact, i--i was alone, but with the statistics in hand, i went to city hall and tried to get their attention on the matter and have them focus, but it was futile. and i went, then, to the department of transportation in the city of new york, showed them my statistics. they had no interest whatsoever, and it was very frustrating, and i felt like giving up, but i didn't, and i realized i needed an ally, so, i started to go to non-profit organizations that dealt with environmental issues.

i didn't have any luck at first, until finally, after 3 months of postponed appointments, i sat with the environmental defense fund. and isabelle silverman, the attorney for the environmental defense fund, said, "where have you been all my life?" >> i have come to new york 12 years ago, and, so, since i've come to new york for 12 years, i have been walking up to people and ask them to turn off their engine. and initially, when i came here, i was even so naive that once, i saw this minivan idling, nobody in there. i saw that dirty, old minivan. i climbed in from the passenger's seat, turned off the engine, climbed out, come out of the car. i look up. these two huge guys are looking at me and saying, "what are you doing in our car?" and i said, "well, i turned off your engine, because you're polluting the air." and they said, "this is my car, what are you doing in my car?" and i said, "this is my environment, and you're polluting the air."

so, i think if i had been a guy, they would have punched me. >> we struck up a friendship and a--a goal to go through the proper channels and have this brought to the attention of the mayor and the city council, and to have laws changed and laws enforced and laws emphasized that would bring about the end of idling in the city of new york. one of the tragic ironies i consistently came across was the proliferation of vehicles idling for an otherwise noble purpose-- emergency medical services. it's a paradox, really. vehicles ready to help in a crisis at a moment's notice, while at the same time contributing to the long-term deterioration of the air in the city and the health of those who breathed it. >> amigo. sir, curious about how you're just, uh, idling your engine here for a couple of minutes, uh, without any particular purpose, it seems. is there something you want to discuss here? >> [speaking english]

>> how you doing? oh, good, it's me again, hoping to talk about why you guys idle in the city of new york. >> why do you constantly harass us? we're out here--you know what? now, i want you to read this. this is from the state of new york. >> oh, good. >> department of health. >> i love it. >> and that talks about idling vehicles. >> [speaking english] >> but you recognize that you're--that you're polluting the area? >> you recognize that we are considered in an emergency mode, the bureau of ems,

the state of new york-- >> okay. >> acknowledges this. >> all right. >> because we don't have a firehouse to sit in-- >> all right. >> or a hospital to sit in. we're supposed to sit in a 3-block radius. and you read that-- >> but i thought it has to do with-- >> we're considered-- >> keeping drugs at a certain temperature. >> absolutely. why do you think-- >> which drugs are--are to be kept at certain temperatures? that's my question. >> all the medications we have in the back. >> [speaking english] >> at what temperatures are they supposed to be? >> would you like to look at the boxes? >> no, i'd just like to have you know. >> i'm telling you. >> what--what are they? >> it's supposed to be at room temperature, they're not supposed to be below certain degrees and above certain degrees. >> [speaking english]

>> please, stop harassing us. >> i don't know if it's about harassment, i think it's about trying to find out what's going on. >> then right here-- you can go onto the website, you can call the department of health, you can call the fire department, call lenox hill hospital, i'd be more than happy to give you the number. >> please do. >> because this is getting to the point, now, where you're harassing us. >> oh, i don't think that's the case, not if you're polluting my neighborhood, sir. >> well, you know what, we're supposed to be in your neighborhood according to the fire department regulations, in a 3-block area. there's an ambulance on 79th street, there's an ambulance on 59th street, and if somebody drops dead on that corner and goes into cardiac arrest-- >> then i'm glad we're having this conversation. >> so am i. >> [speaking english] >> because i'm really getting tired of it.

>> well, you know, i'm tired of the air pollution in new york city, and that's why i'm doing what i'm doing. >> all the cars, and the trucks, and the 18-wheelers going by, they don't pollute the air? >> unfortunately, people can't idle for more than 3 minutes in the city of new york without violating the law. >> that is the law. [indistinct] the state of new york, that's-- idling of emergency vehicles. it's a new york state policy. >> i greatly appreciate your time and energy. >> you're welcome. my name is manny. >> matt? >> manny, m-a-n-n-y. >> manny, george pakenham. >> thank you. >> i'm sure we'll speak again. >> thank you. >> [speaking english]

>> persistence is alone omnipotent, and eventually, we succeeded in working our way through city council, through councilman dan garodnick's

office, where he formulated a bill to have all 2,300 traffic agents become officially capable of writing tickets for idling. and that became the cornerstone for our work. >> just this morning, i dropped my son off at school-- a huge line of school buses were parked just outside school, fumes spewing from the exhaust pipes. >> so that it's an unacceptable practice-- that's what it has to become, unacceptable practice to park your car and leave your engine running. >> if--if people say, "what's the big deal?" well, stand behind a bus for 3 minutes, and keep breathing, and then, you'll know what a big deal it is. >> our children's lungs can no longer afford motor vehicles being used as personal climate control devices. we have to get people to turn their engines off. >> people don't like being told what to do, even if it's--even

if it's for your own good. it may be that they are resistant at first, but after a while, i think they might think about it and say, "geez, it is costing me money, it's not harming my engine to shut it off, it's not wasting gas, but it's saving gas." you know, when you're idling, you are not getting zero miles per gallon, you're getting negative miles per gallon. >> why it may have reached as large an audience as it did, uh, can be explained through a quote that george gave to me, which i think helped frame this in--in a kind of almost universal way, which is that he said, "engine idling is--is really like secondhand smoke." it's an analogy that he used to compare this thing that most people don't think of to something like secondhand smoke that now everyone thinks of. >> two kids struck and killed by a runaway van in chinatown. the children were returning from daycare, when that idling van was parked without its emergency brake engaged. it careened in reverse

down the busy street. the van's driver was not charged. >> justice for haley and diego. >> now! >> justice for haley and diego. >> now! >> and now we're standing here today to deliver the message to the d.a. what do you intend to do? we cannot turn our backs and condone reckless driving. we cannot turn our backs and ignore the seriousness and the safety of our children. >> last week, this city was witness to the most horrific tragedy you could possibly imagine, where two young kids were mowed down by a commercial van. a van was left idling by the driver, thinking that he had left the van idling in park, when unfortunately, it was left in reverse. we should be strengthening the anti-idling laws. >> uh, the key here is that 70%--77% would shut off their engines with only me asking them to do that.

imagine how agreeable new york city citizens would be if police enforced it and fines were imposed. >> so, traffic agents said, "look, giving idling tickets could raise a lot of revenues for the city." our calculation shows $2 million per agent per year in ticket revenues, because idling is so prevalent in new york city. >> hold on a minute, did you hear what isabelle just said? 2,300 officers times $2 million per officer equals $4.6 billion. new york city is carrying a potential budget deficit of over $4 billion. >> i mean, it's shocking. and here we're talking about cutting our budget. >> mayor mike, you've donated millions to stop smoking worldwide, you've pushed through laws here in new york city to stop smoking in restaurants--bravo. please take the no engine-idling laws in new york city seriously. i made that plea to mayor bloomberg in january 2007, and look at the great strides

made towards enforcing the 1971 law in february 2009-- only 38 years later. >> consistent enforcement is the only way that new yorkers will finally get the message. >> in two and a half years, i have, uh, done this about 1,600 times. i'm 80% successful, mr. mayor. >> i was going to say, i was waiting for the results. >> [laughter] >> i'm approximately 80% successful over two years. uh, i had been doing this--i'd been doing this as a vigilante, so to speak. had i been doing it as a member of the police force, i would have generated approximately $350,000 worth of income. >> anyone else? >> one thing led to another, and the bill was put before city council. however, it was rejected. the powers that be in the police department did not want to be told what to do. they didn't want to be pushed to enforce this law, and they proclaimed that they would enforce the law themselves.

i did ask for a private meeting with nypd so that i could make sure the law would be enforced, and nypd traffic side told isabelle and me that they would take it on their own shoulders to begin within 2 to 3 months, writing tickets. >> "george pakenham works for an international mortgage desk on wall street, but his business cards are printed with section 4-08 subsection p of the new york city traffic code as it pertains to engine-idling. roughly speaking, it is prohibited for more than 3 minutes and carries potential fines of several hundred dollars. pakenham is concerned about the quality of the air and the quantity of oil, and he has distributed nearly 2,000 cards." >> "nearly 2,000 cards over the past two and half years to drivers who refuse to shut off their engines at curbside. he typically begins with a rap

on the window and a preemptive apology." >> we live on the upper west side, and i lived here 50 years ago as a single person, and then we got married, and we moved to, uh, long island, and we've been there for 50 years, and came back to the city, and i feel as if i were coming home. so, i feel very proprietary about coming home. and therefore, when i, uh, saw people, uh, idling their engines at the--at the curb, i went over to the window, and i said-- are you aware that it's illegal to keep your engine idling for more than 3 minutes? no, it's illegal to leave your car idling. >> oh, okay. >> and then, i read in "the new yorker" about george pakenham-- he's doing the same thing. but he's got cards that he's handing out with the law on one side and the penalties on the other, so, i decide-- i call "the new yorker," and i say, "put me in touch with mr. pakenham," which he does, and in 10 minutes, mr. pakenham calls me back, and we

get together, and he has his cards with him, and he gives them to me, and they've got the law printed on one side and the penalty printed on the other. and i said, "can you give me 100?" and he says, "sure." i said, "well, i'll pay for them." he says, "no, you won't pay for them." i say, "well, do you like chocolate chip cookies?" he says, "i love chocolate chip cookies." so, that was the beginning of our, uh, friendship. here, would you like to have one of these? >> yes. >> i'm now off with a new mission in life. >> what'd they say? >> they have a dog inside that needs air-conditioning. it's "my dog ate my homework," you know? that--that's what it is. yes, this truck, right here. there's a dog in there. >> the "new yorker" feature ignited more than just barbara. cbs news ran a piece in which a reporter walked up to idling cars and trucks, including an idling d.e.p. van, timed how long each vehicle idled, and

asked the driver to shut off their engines. so, it'd be great if you shut the engine off. and not long after that, they put a microphone on my lapel and filmed me in lower manhattan as i encountered driver after driver mindlessly idling their engines. it's ridiculous. it doesn't make any sense. the story got some wings on its own, almost literally. i was interviewed by the "financial times" of london, and then, in turn, the bbc gave me some airtime. >> new york has its own green hero in the form of a wall street banker called george pakenham. i spoke to him earlier and asked why he felt so aggrieved by this behavior. >> hot on the bbc's heels was a talk-radio program in south africa. >> we've picked up a story in the "financial times," and it was a story about an engine-idler activist, and it's just a lovely story about somebody feeling passionate about something that is doing the air around us no good at all, plus it's wasting, uh, petrol, which is massively

expensive, and decides to do something about it. >> stateside, i found myself broadcast on npr. so, it would be great for the sake of better air if you could shut off the car engine. >> okay, i will. >> here, hang on to this. >> thank you, thank you very much. >> well, that was amicable. that's george pakenham trying to get a new york driver to stop idling his car. he's a wall street banker who's concerned that a 1971 law banning idling is not being enforced. it's his own one-man awareness campaign. we read about george in "the new yorker." do people always respond that way? >> i've done this about 1,800 times over two and a half years, and i'm about 80% successful. >> and you keep track of everything on an excel spreadsheet. why do you do this? >> why indeed. well, life became a bit difficult for me when my brother quickly developed stage-4 lung cancer. my brother was one of my heroes, as strong as a bull and as warm a heart as you might want

to find, and my brother took 3 years to die, so death was actually a blessing in the end, because he suffered so, and the cancer spread from his lungs to his entire body, and death was a relief, but it was the fact that he got lung cancer. he spent the last 10 years of his life mostly in the pristine environment of new hampshire, and it made no sense, so it was an underlying theme for me and a motivator for me to get involved. there was another trigger involved that had to do with me seeing a news piece on "60 minutes." >> from the very beginning, there was a conviction, uh, that saddam hussein was a bad person and that he needed to go. >> there are memos--one of them, marked "secret," says, uh, "plan for post-saddam iraq."

>> washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last 30 years. now is the time to end at this addiction. >> it's not news that america's dependence on foreign oil is a key threat to our national security. >> if we don't take action now, some of the options completely go away. >> as my awareness grew and my anger at the thoughtlessness rampant in my own neighborhood, as i thought about what i could do, i couldn't help but think, who was i? what could one man with a business card and a spreadsheet really accomplish? but i wasn't going to let the fight be considered over by any means. i began my own regiment of walking up to traffic agents. everyone that i'd met had not gone through the drill yet. >> [speaking english]

>> [laughing] >> one of us-- >> is he kidding? >> [speaking english] >> one of us should know this. yeah. all right, i'll--i'll take a stab at it. >> so, idling also creates greenhouse gas emissions, and, of course, you cannot see them coming out of the tailpipe, but we can measure them. it's 800 metric tons of carbon every second. of course, you don't have to go far. while we have been doing this interview, behind me, there are several cars idling. for example, this red car there. i'm going to go over there right now and ask him to shut off his engine. excuse me, i think your engine is on. >> what do you intend to do? we cannot turn our backs and condone reckless driving. >> the new bill targets drivers who walk away from their cars with the engine still running. this comes after several deadly accidents around the city that involved vehicles that were left unattended. >> hey, matt, tell me about

the slogan here. "we deliver clean air for you." what does that mean? >> it's an electric truck. it plugs in like an outlet. >> so, no more diesel used? >> not in this neighborhood, no. the tenants around the neighborhood requested it. so, the local people organized, sent a petition-- they got action. >> yep. >> hello, i'm george bell, and i'm here on the site, and, um, i just want to say that con ed has been taking the lead for having the engines shut off, and they've been instituting certain, uh, cut-off systems for the engines to automatically shut off, like up to 3 minutes for the commercial vehicles that we use. >> that's terrific, and--and what--you know, what sort of savings will that do for the environment or for dollars, you know? >> both for con ed and savings, because we use biofuel, biodiesel, so it is much more expensive, and plus, it helps the environment, because it doesn't pollute the air that much. so, con edison is taking the lead on two fronts in just that alone. >> that's fantastic, man. >> i'll probably get fired tomorrow.

[laughs] >> no, you--you get a promotion, what, are you kidding? >> no, i don't want that. >> january 22nd, breakthrough day. i talked to a new york city traffic agent today, his name was dawkins, and he said that in the past few weeks, he has done a ticket for idling, and it's the first one i've come across--2,300 agents, he's been the first. so, it's a day of jubilation for me. and that guy behind me is idling, by the way. i just wanted to clean up my neighborhood. through my efforts, i became aware that i could change my world. so, how does this apply to you? what's your motivation? if you're enraged that we would wage a war for oil contracts... >> just shut the engine off-- >> if you're concerned that foreign oil dependence threatens our national security... >> just turn off your engine. >> if you want to prevent

climate change and keep the world livable for the next generation... >> turn off your engines. >> if you hate waste and want to stretch your fuel dollar... >> we can make a difference right in our neighborhoods just simply by turning it off. >> or if you just want better air for our children to breathe, remember the resounding words of councilman robert jackson. >> turn it off! >> going idle-free is not just a new york city issue-- it impacts cities and towns around the world. so, if you've had it with mindless idlers fouling up your neighborhood, say something, do something. just walk up to them and ask them to, please, turn it off. xdñ

>> they use 40% of the world's energy, emit 50% of its greenhouse gases. they are not the cars we drive. they are the buildings where we work, live, and grow. buildings designed with an unconscious disregard for nature. adopting sustainable alternatives is not only a matter of progress, it's a matter of survival. "design: e2, the economies of being environmentally conscious." not even the great wall can hold back the math. nowhere else are the economics of being environmentally conscious more apparent than in china. will the country of 1.3 billion