Empire’s Green Economics

A $20m refit aims to cut the Empire State Building’s energy use by 40% and save emissions equal to 20,000 cars, says the Guardian. The motive is profit rather than conscience. The buildings current owners “are attempting to reinvent it for the modern era by turning it into a green building symbolising human ingenuity in the face of inertia. … ‘We’re doing this [making the Empire State greener] not because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes business sense. If we don’t reduce our energy consumption, we will lose money and be less competitive against China, India, Brazil and the other expanding economies,'” said one of the buildings owners.