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A typical North American Commercial construction project generates up to 2.5 pounds of solid waste per square foot of completed floor space.
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Construction and demolition wastes constitute about 40% total solid waste stream in the U.S.
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20% of America goes to school every day. Far too often our nation's schools are only built to code and we send our children to spend six hours a day to facilitites that just barely meet health and safety standards.
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Vehicles are responsible for approximately 20% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions annually. (NRDC)
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Americans spend on average 90% of their times indoors where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that levels of pollutants may run two to five times higher than outdoor levels.
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Each day five billion gallons of potable water is used to flush toilets.
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Regional recycling facitlities accepting comminged waste are achieving waste diversion rates of 80% or greater in many areas.
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On average, according to Capital E's "Greening America's Schools" study, green schools use 30-50% less energy ad 30% less water.
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If a green school saved $100,000 per year in operation costs, that's roughly enough to hire two new teachers, buy 200 neww computers or purchase 5000 new textbooks.
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In the U.S. approximately 340 billion gallons of fresh water are withdrawn per day from rivers, streams and reserviors to support residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and recreational activities.
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Buildings annually consume more than 30% of the total energy and more than 60% of the electricity used in the U.S.
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In a case study included in the 1994 publication "Greening the Building and the Bottom Line," the Rocky Mountain Institute cites how improved indoor environmental quality improved worker productivity by 16%, netting a rapid payback on the increased capital investment.
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