Arup Thought Leaders Author Influential Book About Climate Change

NEW YORK, April 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Arup, a multidisciplinary engineering and consulting firm with a reputation for delivering innovative and sustainable designs, announced today that three of its sustainability thought leaders have authored a book about global warming, its impact on the world, and the associated opportunity to create economic development and unnoticed resilience. Two Degrees: The Built Environment and Our Changing Climate (Two Degrees) is a practical guide intended for a broad audience that occupies and shapes our built environment.

Authors Alisdair McGregor, Cole Roberts, and Fiona Cousins review the outcomes that may occur if the earth's temperature rises at its current rate, and lay out a roadmap for keeping global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees centigrade. In Two Degrees, the authors provide a clear framework for communities, policy makers, planners, designers, developers, builders, and operators to help manage the impacts and capture the opportunities of our changing climate. Two Degrees is divided into three sections: Fundamentals, Mitigation, and Adaptation, covering a diverse array of topics ranging from climate-positive communities and low-carbon buildings to the psychology of choice and the cost of a low-carbon economy. The book covers planning and sustainability; urban design; green construction; environment and business; environment and society; environment and the city; and structure, materials and detailing.

"We have our challenge laid out," said Ed Mazria, founder and CEO of Architecture 2030. "Two Degrees provides a well-structured guide in which anyone who designs or builds in the built environment can find lasting value."

The book's foreword is written by Amory Lovins and includes insight from more than 10 contributing authors with direct experience in the built environment practice. According to the publisher, the book "clarifies misconceptions, provides new and unique insights, and shows how a better approach to the built environment can increase resilience and positively shape our future."

"Two Degrees is a world-class book. There is a waterfall of ideas… Thoughtful. Clear," said Jim Cramer, Design Futures Council; chairman and principal of the Greenway Group. "Two Degrees emerges from some of the best minds in sustainable practice."

Published by Routledge, Two Degrees is available for purchase from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Two-Degrees-Environment-Changing-Climate/dp/0415693004/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363811064&sr=8-1&keywords=Two+Degrees%3A+The+Built+Environment+and+Our+Changing+Climate.

About Arup

Arup is the creative force at the heart of many of the world's most prominent projects in the built environment and across industry. Its engineers and consultants deliver innovative projects across the world. Arup opened its first US office 25 years ago, and now employs 1,000 in the Americas. The firm was founded in 1946 with an enduring set of values that fosters a distinctive culture, intellectual independence and collaborative approach. The people at Arup are driven to find a better way to deliver better solutions for their clients. (www.arup.com)

SOURCE Arup