Displaying 1 - 21 of 21
1
Article
It's sort of cute how people in the world of finance consider themselves. Compared to the diamond-hard certainty of chemistry, biology and physics, the so-called "reality" of economics is about as substantial as tissue paper.<br />
by Rob Watson
2
Article
In the environment, as in business, timing is critical. This is perhaps no more true than in the issue of anthropogenic climate change, and GreenBiz articles this week discuss the alarming news on carbon emissions and their impacts on cities.
by Rob Watson
3
Article
Helping one another is really the way things get done green-wise, and the only way we will solve our "you-bet-your-species" proposition of unmanageable climate change. We need to foster "coopetition" where people work together to hit a target.
by Rob Watson
4
Article
I'm reading Gavin Menzies' fascinating book "1421" and was thinking about the challenges of early explorers: How do you get somewhere without a compass or a map? And if you could have only one, which would you prefer?
by Rob Watson
5
Article
I'm reading Gavin Menzies' fascinating book "1421" and was thinking about the challenges of early explorers: How do you get somewhere without a compass or a map? And if you could have only one, which would you prefer?
by Rob Watson
6
Article
Originally, I thought I was going to continue building on my Chicago post-occupancy study rant on energy modeling for this week’s column, but then I realized that: 1) I need a break from being a pissant; and 2) I've got a lot to be thankful for.<br />
by Rob Watson
7
Article
The good news: The ultimate environmental footprint of green buildings will become much clearer in the future. The bad news: In the short run, it'll be much more complicated -- especially if professionals keep falling prisoner to tools meant to help them.
by Rob Watson
8
Article
<font><font size='2'>In honor of Climate Week and World Green Building Day, I thought I would highlight several internationally oriented articles. <a href='../../../../../../news/2009/09/23/green-building-councils-around-globe-call-action-climate-change'>World Green Building Day</a> coincides with the UN General Assembly meeting in New York City, which is celebrating Climate Week by creating general gridlock in Manhattan for an entire week, thereby significantly raising CO2 mitigation requirements for future generations.</font></font>
by Rob Watson
9
Article
<font><font size='2'>There are definitely some very cool things coming down the pike in terms of materials, many of which are "available" in the market -- just not at anything resembling market prices.<br />
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by Rob Watson
10
Article
Markets like (and respond to) clear signals and recent signals are pretty clear: Reducing your carbon footprint is an important thing. For example, pretty much every new energy management software tool includes a carbon emissions overlay.
by Rob Watson
11
Article
Buildings give us a torrent of information, most of it either ignored or misunderstood. As buildings evolve from mere passive consumers of energy to active consumers engaged in demand response or time-of-use programs and even to being distributed energy generators, the complexity of managing these various elements can seem overwhelming.
by Rob Watson
12
Article
Certain principles can be broadly applied across industries. Take the principle of load diversity and full capacity utilization. This principle is used to great effect in the power sector, data centers -- and in some instances, buildings.
by Rob Watson
13
Article
Timing is everything, and in greening buildings it's essential to understand the time it takes to communicate, process and respond to demands for change. Even more important is an understanding of the gaps in timing among those functions, because altering the delays is a way to leverage broader change in a system.
by Rob Watson
14
Article
How many times have we heard a variation of this statement: You can't manage what you don't measure. It has become a cliché because the words are usually followed by ... nothing, writes Rob Watson. As it turns out, Watson notes, just measuring isn't enough.
by Rob Watson
15
Article
Rob Watson’s exploration of how to leverage change brings him to No. 10 of the 12-point list by Donella Meadows: changing the structure of the system. It'll be an uphill battle to get to New Normal because the current infrastructure was designed using the principle of Fractal Stupidity, writes Watson.
by Rob Watson
16
Article
Today, Rob Watson begins an indepth look at the 12 points Donella Meadows outlined in her seminal piece published by the Sustainability Institute, 'Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System.' He starts with an examination of 'constants, parameters (and) numbers” in the form of gas and carbon taxes.
by Rob Watson
17
Article
A sweeping plan to upgrade the Empire State Building for energy efficiency was detailed this week at a presentation at the iconic New York structure. GreenerBuildings.com Executive Editor Rob Watson attended the ceremony.
by Rob Watson
18
Article
Every year, China erects over 20 billion square feet of non-industrial floor area, about 60 percent is residential and the rest is commercial. This building boom covers almost 8,100 square kilometers with concrete and asphalt annually. GreenerBuildings Executive Editor Rob Watson looks at the environmental impact of all the development.
by Rob Watson
19
Article
Rob Watson was evaluating a project's HVAC system and its potential to save energy. Being hard-wired to figured out how things work, he went through the load calculations and found a lot more than he had bargained for.
by Rob Watson
20
Article
The state of shock currently felt by many Americans over the meltdown of U.S. capital markets is very similar to reactions in the Soviet Union some 20 years ago. Then as now the question is: How could things go south so quickly? Rob Watson writes about taking stock and moving forward.
by Rob Watson
21
Article
A rebuttal to a recent study finding that the global economic downturn is affecting interest in green buildings; when looking closely at the survey results, it appears that a narrow view of the benefits of green buildings continue to hamper the public's view on their desirability.
by Rob Watson