Paige Mehrer

It involves how we construct buildings, how we use them, and where they?re located We know reducing carbon dioxide emissions is the only way to slow climate change. But what?s actually the biggest polluter" Judging from recent soundbites, it?s often hard to tell.
Global warming is caused by the combustion of fossil fuels, which leads to high levels of carbon dioxide?a greenhouse gas?accumulating in the atmosphere. During CNN?s Climate Change Forum earlier this month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said: ?I want to think about the three areas where we get the most carbon pollution in America right now. And what are they" They?re in our buildings and homes, right, what we?re burning. It?s our cars and light-duty trucks that we drive. And it?s the generation of electricity where we?re still using a lot of carbon-based fuel to make that happen.? The CO2 emissions ?pie? is more complicated than the sector-by-sector breakdown, as each of these areas contributes to the others. Understanding how exactly buildings contribute to carbon emissions is important for addressing the problem. And it turns out that buildings contribute to carbon emissions on multiple levels: in how we construct buildings, how we use them, and where they?re located.
What is the carbon footprint of a building"
Buildings and their construction together account for 36 percent of global energy use and 39 percent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions annually, according to the Unite...