Elemental

These are my links for October 20th through October 21st:

• Brand vs. Lovins On Nuclear Power | WBUR and NPR – On Point with Tom Ashbrook – Lovins argues against nuclear: "Nuclear is about the most expensive and slowest thing you can build. And I don’t think it’s true you need to build everything. You can’t afford to build everything. You need to choose the best buys for your goal, just as in assembling a financial portfolio you don’t stuff it full of one of everything on the market. You figure out the diversified set of assets that will best meet your investment objectives. If you buy something really expensive and risky, that actually makes your portfolio perform worse because you didn’t get to buy stuff that would have performed better".
• Insolvency increase suggests recovery will start with a W – Leeds University Business School – Doom from my MBA alumni newsletter: "Ten months ago the message of the Monetary Policy Committee was that the recession would be short but sharp, a V shape. As economic statistics started to catch up with real events this view had to change and the V became a U the recession would be deep and more prolonged than originally anticipated. Our data suggest that the shape is likely to be a W. Company insolvencies translate into unemployment and the now rapid rise in unemployment in a stagnant economy puts further pressure on indebted and financially stressed households and further strain on the banks. This will potentially incubate another crisis in the economy by the late autumn, hence the double dip (W). It is difficult to envisage how a recovery will emanate from Britains debt-bloated economy. It wont come from consumer spending nor a housing boom. It might come from Britains culture of creativity, innovation, technology and enterprise…"
• Climate change and energy: policy drivers – Very useful list of policy drivers for UK local authorities from IDEA (improvement and development agency)

admin News climatechange, drivers, nuclear, policy, recession, UK

These are my links for August 21st through August 25th:

• Welcome to Green Building Index – via IES: "GBI is developed by Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM) and the Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM). It is a profession driven initiative to lead the Malaysian property industry towards becoming more environment-friendly. From its inception GBI has received the full support of Malaysia’s building and property players. It is intended to promote sustainability in the built environment and raise awareness among Developers, Architects, Engineers, Planners, Designers, Contractors and the Public about environmental issues. The rating system will provide opportunity for developers to design and construct green, sustainable buildings that can provide energy savings, water savings, a healthier indoor environment, better connectivity to public transport and the adoption of recycling and greenery for their projects…Malaysia’s Green Building Index or GBI will be the only rating tool for the tropical zones other than Singapore Government’s GREENMARK."
• BREEAM points for energy efficiency – 11/06/2008 – Contract Journal – This is an oldie but worth stating:
  "If people are a few points short, it could encourage them to step back and think innovatively about the project."
  Um, sorry, nope. At least I hope not. Embedding sustainability into a design, this is not.
  The point of innovation credits was to reward forward thinking which BREEAM has not yet covered, not a chance to tag on stuff at the end when you realise you're not going to get enough points.
• UK Government CO2e Targets & Seeing Through the Eco-hype – "Key to acquiring the in-depth knowledge that will be needed to prosper in the world of low carbon building will be an understanding the political drivers for policy. Policy that experience has shown us is almost always re-active. Therefore, by gaining an understanding of the political pressures exerted by the challenges of climate change it should be possible to see where policy might be going next and how to address the necessary measures. This will give businesses a significant commercial advantage over competitors who will inevitably be playing catch up."
• Putting Urban Planning In the Hands of the People | GOOD – “Many planning meetings are boring, contentious, and fail to stir people’s creative energy,” says Rojas. Even though planners consistently work closely with groups of constituents, they’re stuck with the kinds of tools they like to use: maps, words and pictures. Well, not everyone can understand a complex map. Other people are uncomfortable writing. And even the physical tools—Post-It notes, simple blocks, whiteboards—that planners use during charrettes do nothing to get the imagination pumping.
  “My process gives the public the power to create,” says Rojas. ”Giving people small interesting objects sparks their interest. Creating a 3-dimensional world with 3-dimensional forms breaks down the planning process into simple terms and helps participants translate conceptual planning ideas into physical forms.” Additionally, Rojas gives power to groups that might be disenfranchised by the typical neighborhood council meeting.
• Leeds on frontline of local climate response | Sustainable Cities – ‘At the moment in all major cities outside London our fate is not in our own hands, we don’t have the financial wherewithal to do what the Victorians did. What I would very much like is the same sort of autonomy that London has with its mayor. If the city region had a mayor with the same powers, that would be a considerable leap forward because it would give you much more of a focus and much more chance to raise money. Please devolve power to us – trust us – is the message.’
  So what would he do with that power? One simple idea would be to introduce a London-style Oyster card for buses, trains and taxis in the city region. ‘The buses would then move much quicker and they’d be more attractive because at every stop at the moment they’re fiddling with change. It’s no surprise that London has a far better public transport system than Leeds. If we had something that was half as good it would be an improvement on what we’ve got now.’
• Business case made for sustainable design | Sustainable Cities – "‘Our tenants are asking for things like more daylight, lower running costs and quantifiable carbon emissions and they are starting to embed sustainability in to their design and delivery process. The landlord tenant relationship is critical In order to achieve a high level of sustainability within a project. For the tenant space to be able to be sustainable, they need the base building to work with them. Everyone is noticing that landlords and tenants are starting to talk to each other more about delivering sustainable outcomes.’
  … In 2007 the company introduced a ‘green lease’ to provide a clear legal structure for increasing environmental accountability and to create a shared commitment to greater energy, water and waste efficiency. More than 360 green leases have now been signed in the UK for both offices and retail and another eight have followed in France. The success is due to the lease promoting collaboration and partnership and not being too prescriptive."

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