energy
“‘I want to be the Bill Gates of sustainability,’ [I want] to make a royalty off of every green standard and every green product out there.” Proprietary, litigious, self-promoting... in a biting profile Fast Company punctures the mythology around William McDonough and his various projects. While the arrogance of architects comes as no surprise, there’s a lot to unpack here about where for-profit “social ventures” can set back the very causes they ostensibly support.
25 November 2008 | 
Two months before Bloomberg and his Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability rolled out PlaNYC 2030, London’s Mayor Ken Livingstone released his own 148-page report called the Climate Change Action Plan. The two documents are strikingly similar in approach and have been applauded by environmental and business leaders alike. Yet there is at least one conspicuous – and significant – difference between the London and New York reports. The London plan devotes a full section to commercial and institutional buildings – analyzing in minute detail their energy use, recommending ways to improve efficiency and outlining various regulatory measures intended to force the commercial sector’s hand. New York City’s report, however, has no such section.”
All City, 2
Back in town and still catching up, but here’s an quick update on a recent blog item:
On Monday, June 5, 2006, the US Conference of Mayors adopted the ‘2030 Challenge,’ a resolution committing to a timeline for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by all new and renovated city buildings to the point that all new city buildings are carbon-neutral by 2030.
On May 31, 2006, the City of Santa Fe became the first city in the US to formally adopt the ‘2030 Challenge’.
The 78,000 member American Institute of Architects formally adopted the ‘2030 Challenge’ in January 2006.
All City
The American Institute of Architects National Government Advocacy Team and Architecture 2030 are urging the US Conference of Mayors to adopt Resolution 50 which sets a goal of carbon-neutral city buildings by 2030 — that is, new city buildings will use no fossil-fuel or greenhouse gas emitting energy sources to operate.
The orgs are asking people to call their mayors this week before the meeting in early June. Background information, talking points, sample letters, and contact info up http://www.architecture2030.org/news/index.php
The text of the resolution reads like a nice little manifesto. Click below for the full text.
And how rare and wonderful to see a professional association engaging with progressive public policy!
