RMI Outlet
Plug Into New Ideas
Why Peak Car Ownership in 2020 Isn’t So Farfetched
On Tuesday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released formal recommendations designed to help states regulate autonomous vehicles. The guidelines follow advice from the business and safety community: Establish standards for states to adopt a uniform set of rules for autonomous vehicles that ensure human safety, while allowing innovation to continue. The guidelines have been in the works for several months, but their release comes at a time of great activity in the autonomous vehicle space.
Black History and Culture in a Green Building
The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is about to become the newest member of the Smithsonian system on the National Mall, in a dazzling building that is more sustainable than any before it. At the official opening this Saturday, Victor Olgyay, a principal at RMI and a leader of RMI’s buildings practice, and Elaine Gallagher Adams, a former manager with RMI’s buildings practice, will be taking part. The pair was involved with the project from its very beginning, as was RMI.
A Necessary Low-Carbon Development Strategy for Chinese Buildings
China has the opportunity to improve the thermal comfort of building occupants without increasing energy use by designing new buildings (and retrofitting old ones) to have many of the passive features that RMI’s Innovation Center demonstrates. These features require very low levels of energy to fuel them, and deliver thermal comfort that is better than what most Chinese buildings are delivering now.
Minnesota Charts a Path Toward a Clean, Affordable, and Resilient Energy System
For decades, Minnesota has been a leader in energy innovation, beginning in 1980 with its Conservation Improvement Program Statute, through its 2007 Renewable Energy Standards, and continuing today with its community solar gardens. Minnesota's newly released 2025 Energy Action Plan lays out a path to enable the state to meet its ambitious renewable energy and energy efficiency goals.
Research Release: An Energy Roadmap for China
Late last week, China and the U.S. announced that they are formally joining the Paris agreement to combat climate change. Download our Reinventing Fire: China Executive Summary, the most sophisticated model of China’s energy use to date and a roadmap to slash carbon emissions and energy use by 2050, all at a net economic benefit.
