Page 8 - Green Builder Magazine March-April 2018 Issue

Green Building NEWS

The Latest on Sustainability and Renewable Energy

Trump’s ‘Fake News’ Claims Led

to More Green TV in 2017

The President’s doubts about Climate
Business as usual? The effects of
Change may have actually raised global warming, such as the growing
crack along Antarctica’s Larsen C ice
public concerns about the issue. shelf, aren’t happening, according to
the President. But people heard even
RESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S skepticism about Climate more about it in 2017.
Change and other ecological matters is becoming a good CREDIT: O.V.E.R.V.I.E.W./FLICKR
thing for environmentalists. According to research firm
Media Matters for America (MMA), the more the Presi-
P dent downplayed or disputed global warming in 2017, the percent of news coverage came in response to Trump’s actions or
more network television news stations increased their coverage of statements—the decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement topped
the subject. the list—while only about 13 percent went toward more-urgent
The Washington, D.C.-based news analysts found that 79 percent topics such as extreme weather, public health, economy and national
of Climate Change coverage on the major corporate broadcast TV net- security. “They largely overlooked crucial stories like the ongoing
works—ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and PBS—focused on statements or actions rollback of the Clean Power Plan and the role of Climate Change in
by the Trump Administration, with heavy attention given to the Presi- a year of record-setting weather disasters,” says Lisa Hymas, MMA’s
dent’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, and to whether director of climate and energy programs.
he accepts that human-caused Climate Change is a scientific reality. Not surprisingly, PBS had the most complete, balanced TV news
As a result, the number of Americans saying they are worried about coverage, offering twice as much airtime than that of the other
the effects of carbon emissions is at a 30-year high, according to a corporate TV news networks combined. Climate Change denial
climate perspectives study by environmental advisor group ecoAmerica. was routinely featured on news segments, with media often not
There were 260 total minutes of climate-related coverage from challenging the statements, MMA notes.
the TV networks in 2017, up from 146 in 2015, when MMA last Still, uneven news can be good news in the long run. “Any segment
conducted such a survey. devoted to Climate Change, as well as any substantial mention about
But all of that additional attention is not perfect: Eighty-five climate change, impacts our actions,” Hymas says.

UL Environment, Carpet and Rug Institute Hit the SPOT

More than 600 certified green products are being added to ULE’s sustainability database.

UL Environment (ULE) has added the Carpet SPOT features more than 50,000 credible green directly to their projects.
and Rug Institute (CRI)’s Green Label Plus (GLP) products and facilitates their selection for the CRI President Joe Yarbrough considers GLP
certified carpet, cushion and adhesive products design community, professional purchasers and and SPOT a perfect match. “Our manufacturers
line to its online sustainability database, SPOT. others seeking sustainable products. [will] have more exposure for their products on
According to ULE Vice President and General Uggetti calls GLP’s inclusion “an important a trusted product platform,” he says. “And [it]
Manager Alberto Uggetti, the addition of CRI’s step in the evolution of SPOT to be the industry’s helps architects, designers and specifiers access
products will provide SPOT users with access to most credible resource for finding healthier, more this information during the [Building Information
more than 600 additional flooring products that sustainable products they trust.” Modeling] process.”
have low chemical emissions, enhancing their GLP products will also be part of UL’s new
ability to identify healthier, more sustainable AutoDesk Revit add-in, which allows users to More information on SPOT may be found at https://
flooring that meets their project needs. access product data from SPOT and assign it spot.ulprospector.com/en/na/BuiltEnvironment.

6 GREEN BUILDER March/April 2018 www.greenbuildermedia.com

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