Net-Zero Energy Buildings: Semantic Antics

Is obfuscation one of your goals? I didn’t think so. It does seem to be a goal in many architectural, energy efficiency and sustainability circles though. The terms zero energy building, net-zero carbon, net-zero energy cost, zero net energy, net-zero energy site, net-zero electricity, near net-zero, and net-zero ready…are all tossed about to describe a Read More …

Net Zero Energy and Innovation

I tend to think of net zero energy as a mindset rather than a single end point. True, there are those who favor purity, specific definitions and exact measurements whenever the term net zero energy is used, but for a layperson like myself interested in change, there’s value in thinking in terms of a never-ending Read More …

Building Design Choices at UVM

As pleased as I was to see the new Jeffords building at the University of Vermont featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education, I must confess to being somewhat disappointed by the article. Although Dean Tom Vogelmann appears amiable and approachable in the first photograph, the remaining photos do little to convey the “functional elegance” Read More …

Zero Carbon Britain before Zero Carbon Vermont?

I’m jealous. I know it’s not becoming, but I can’t help it. We’ve been outdone not once, but twice. As a firm believer in the theory you’ll never get there if you don’t set a stretch goal, a BHAG, it’s inspiring but galling to find out from Alex Steffen and Amanda Reed that Britain has Read More …

LEED buildings: The Gap between Promise and Performance

The Promise A recent opinion piece by Alec Appelbaum in the New York Times caught my eye. In “Don’t LEED Us Astray,” Appelbaum wrote about the promise represented by the grand opening of 1 Bryant Park, a new LEED platinum-certified office tower in New York city. The tower is the first to rate platinum, the Read More …

A Must-Read: Krugman’s Building a Green Economy

Sometimes I agree with him. Sometimes, passionately, I don’t. But after reading Paul Krugman’s “Building a Green Economy” in the Sunday New York Times magazine, mostly I just wanted to hug him. Klugman begins in a matter of fact way by observing that in the debate over climate economics, the “casual reader might have the Read More …

Bill Gates and Zero, A Second Take

When I first viewed Bill Gates’ presentation on the importance of Zero, I quickly tweeted and posted a link to the Gates’  2010 TED conference video to share my dismay and so others could watch for themselves. As excited as I was by Gates’ endorsement of the importance of getting to zero emissions, I was Read More …

Bill Gates TED discussion on Energy and Zero carbon footprint

This is a clear and fascinating explanation of the CO2 challenge and why we must do something about reaching net zero, starting now. Personally though, it’s distressing to hear that rather than pursue renewable energy and battery technology solutions, a to-me frightening new nuclear technology has caught Bill Gates’ attention. My mind is having difficulty Read More …

Silly S.E.C. — Climate Change Affects Everyone

So the S.E.C. has now said that companies have an obligation to tell investors of any risks, or potential benefits, that climate change poses to their business. To quote the New York Times: The S.E.C., on a party-line 3-2 vote, issued “interpretive guidance” to help companies decide when and whether to disclose matters related to Read More …

4 Steps to Effective Change for a Net Zero Vermont

Deep down we all probably recognize that despite good intentions and occasional spurts of progress, the lifestyle changes needed to successfully lower carbon footprints and increase energy efficiency will not be easy. We’ve seen and heard it many times: Old habits die hard. How can we make and sustain the change needed to help Vermont Read More …