The Book
synopsis
We can’t air-condition our way out of the warming that has already happened and the warming that is coming!
Buildings are places for comfort and joy. Buildings account for more than 40 percent of all emissions and have a huge impact on our environment. Professionals in the building industry are implementing sustainable building practices to create green buildings and infrastructure to lower emissions. But for cooling our environment, we need to learn about the root causes of global warming.
All our activities continue to warm the planet. Extreme weather events are on the rise and heat related deaths and illnesses are going up. We witness such weather routinely. What shall we do? Personal actions are not enough but they are motivators for bigger actions. For that, we must reach out to our lawmakers for policies that would help us transition towards clean energy research, development and deployment. Let us focus on thoughtful policies to create a livable world for all.
"Sutaria’s passion for sustainability is evident in each chapter. With its technical expertise and heartfelt storytelling blend, Cooling Our Environment will educate and motivate readers to work toward a sustainable future. This book should be in every school and used as a learning tool for current and future generations to understand the responsibility for preserving the planet."
About Kalpana
author biography
Kalpana Sutaria is an architect and a project manager working for the City of Austin. She has worked on climate responsive buildings and has promoted sustainable guidelines in City’s buildings throughout her career. She has been a volunteer at the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, which is working to create a political will to transition away from polluting fuels. She believes that green buildings are crucial but to cool our environment, we need policies to lower carbon from all sectors of our economy. She has a master’s in architecture from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a licensed architect (AIA) in the State of Texas, LEED Accredited Professional
(BD+C) and a Project Management Professional (PMP).
You might enjoy visiting:
- Atelier Wong Photography, “City of Austin Architect Kalpana Sutaria talks about the new Austin Animal Center’s LEED Gold rating” (2011), on Facebook
- Dove Springs Public Health Facility
- Joe I. Guerra, Inc., Consulting Engineers, “Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge” (2002)
- The Austin Common, “City Council Expresses Support for a Fee on Carbon” (2018)
