Opinions & ideas on energy use, climate change, and the economy in Vermont
Al Gore’s recent TED Talk, The Case for Optimism on Climate Change, is a true game changer. It is likely to have an impact as great as, or greater than, An Inconvenient Truth. Three Simple Questions: Al Gore asks three simple questions about carbon and climate change: Do we have to change? Can we change? Read More …
Getting to Net Zero National Forum, Washington D.C. I was fortunate to attend the Getting to Net Zero National Forum in Washington, DC on February 1-3 which was promoted as “A gathering to share perspectives on the growth of zero energy buildings, learn about best practices for successful projects and collaborate on opportunities for zero energy to Read More …
In our GBA guest blog on August 26th , and our Net Zero Energy Vermont blog, we posed a question concerning net zero (NZ) statistics and metrics. What are the metrics that will move us toward our net zero goal and future? When we purchase a car we generally know what the fuel mileage is. Read More …
While I’ve been absent from the blog scene lately, I’m excited to be back and re-energize our team’s online writing efforts. During my blog hiatus I’ve been far from relaxed and “on-break” — instead I’ve written a book, The New Net Zero, which will be released this June by Chelsea Green Publishing! The book effort, Read More …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Image by geofones via Flickr At the 2010 Efficiency Vermont’s Better Buildings Conference, Andy Shapiro of Energy Balance and I offered an “Energy Challenge” to the audience of architects and building owners to begin a broad based campaign to track building energy performance. This challenge extends not only to collecting the data for your business Read More …
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 …
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 …