My daughter loves watching Bob the Builder, a resourceful building industry role model if there ever was one, helped as he is by a team of self-aware, autonomous, and conversational construction equipment. This morning's episode centred on a building project competition in Sunflower Valley, a place where traditional houses "just don't look right" according to Bob (voiced here in North America by actor, stand-up comic, and improv guy Greg Proops). Bob's idea is to build houses that 'blend in' … [Read more...]
Green Building: Healthy Competition
September 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment
What's the best way to drive creativity, to push the boundaries of excellence, to raise the bar in any field? Well, it's usually by engaging our competitive spirits, with skills pitted against skills, vying for first place and the respect and adulation of one's peers. Recognizing and encouraging passion helps, too. Well, not only is this true in the world of sports and the performing arts, it's also true of architecture and design as it pertains to green building. Maybe this is not such … [Read more...]
McKinsey Report: Green Building Can Save U.S 1.2 Trillion
July 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The recently published McKinsey report has outlined a significant dollar value attached to green building and energy efficiency; 1.2 trillion dollars. In addition, the investment in incorporating green building practices has also created tremendous job-creation possibilities. This is clearly good news in such economically uncertain times. Yet, the process isn't a simple one. The goal of creating more while using less is not only a logical one, but also one that pays better. And yet, the … [Read more...]
Solar powered buildings let the sun shine in
April 1, 2009 By 1 Comment
William F. Gibson, the science fiction writer who wrote the breakthrough novel which predicted the Internet, artificial intelligence, and hacker culture, Neuromancer, once said that 'the future is here, it's just not evenly distributed'. This is something of a comforting thought, given where green building seems to be going, with contests and practical applications of energy-efficient building practices originating in universities all over the world. Much like the development of the Internet, … [Read more...]
LEED certification means long-term benefits
March 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment
In reading about changes to LEED thanks to this article from the Richmond VA based Richmond Times Dispatch, my mind turned to the idea of green building in the face of our current economic downturn. One of the major changes to LEED recently, says the article, is a greater emphasis on energy conservation and the reduction of emissions that contribute to global climate change. This of course represents a benefit which isn't exactly an instant pay-off to builders. And in this current economic … [Read more...]
Canada’s Budget 2009: Housing and Energy Efficiency
January 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment
I was happy to see Canada's federal government followed my advice in their new budget today. What's the point of having a blog if you can't influence world events, eh? As part of the stimulus spending of $64-billion to be spent over the next two years, ($34-billion in 2009-10; $30-billion in 2010-11), there are some sizable sums earmarked for Infrastructure and Housing. To save you the trouble of looking back at the dates I recommended the spending, I'll reiterate here: January 16, … [Read more...]
2030 Challenge Stimulus Plan
January 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment
I've been going on for some time about why there should be government spending in green building. Here's a intriguing plan by Architecture 2030, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that promotes integrated climate change action through the built environment. It connects a lot of dots in reducing CO2 emissions in the building sector while creating jobs and stimulating the economy in a responsible way. The plan has been presented to the new Obama Administration and it would be worth consideration … [Read more...]
Green Building: A Look at the Future
December 5, 2008 By Leave a Comment
As previously noted, the built environment is responsible for over 40 per cent of the U.S. CO2 emissions – the bulk of GHG emissions. This GHG footprint is considerably larger when one factors in emissions from building materials and freight transportation. The case for public expenditure in “greening” the built environment is all the more cogent when one looks into the future. Despite the current gloom pervading the world economic outlook, the economic climate is subject to change … [Read more...]
Green Built Environment: Political Will Needed
December 2, 2008 By Leave a Comment
The Pew Center report on a Climate Friendly Built Environment – to which I referred in my previous posting – makes an emphatic assertion for the needed political will to act now in three policy areas. It correctly observes that the building industry’s fragmentation makes decision making almost impossible for comprehensive solutions to environmental problems. The report notes: “An integrated approach is needed to address GHG emissions from the U.S. building sector—one … [Read more...]
A Climate Friendly Built Environment
November 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment
In my previous post I referred to the PEW Centre on Global Climate Change. In 2005 – shortly before the new world economic order began – the PEW Center published a most insightful, almost prophetic study entitled "Towards a Climate Friendly Built Environment." Built Environment and GHG emissions Here's an excerpt from the Report's introduction. Buildings in the United States—homes, offices, and industrial facilities—account for over 40 percent of our nation's … [Read more...]
Recent Comments