Skip to main content

Putting our 'House of Cards' in order


"Life creates situations conducive to life…we must strive to do that" -Paul Hawken

I've discussed this before, but I think it's worth addressing again; what ever happened to the precautionary principle? Why doesn't it apply to building science?

 
Imagine a world where it is harder to create a building or product that hurts the Earth than one that heals it- I believe that was the original intention of Building codes, Material Safety Data Sheets, and EPA regulation. But instead, it has provided opportunity for companies to say their products are safe because no one can prove they are dangerous!

 

Modern humans spend about 90% of their time in buildings- but still we construct them and finish them off with products that aren't healthy to breathe, touch, or make.

 

An article was published early last week about the long term negative health effects of 9/11 victims , rescuers, and so on. This year, dozens have died from cancers that can't be 'conclusively linked' to the plumes of 9/11 wreckage- but what are the odds, really? The twin towers were not so old that we can excuse these effects as ignorance.

 
This is reflected even in incidents like the Gold King mine spill, where people suffer decades later from toxic extraction practices and inadequate closure or remediation. Why is an acceptable for of mine closure to plug up a mountain full of radioactive sludge? No one could have predicted a little earth rumble or clerical error resulting in that stuff being set loose?

 
The approach to production and manufacturing is changing- a recent article in Building green advises, “If you can lick it, you want to know what’s in it.” But with 80% of our infrastructure built- and loopholes upon grandfathered exceptions to the rule, will change now be enough?

 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eating Garbage

Garbage is Beautiful. And let me tell you why. In 2010, the EPA estimated the US produced over 240 million tons of municipal solid waste. That is over four pounds of garbage, per person, per day. We travel through our day throwing things ‘away’. But where do they go? Does your trash go to a landfill, incinerator, or Waste to Energy Plant? Currently in NJ, thirteen counties have solid waste landfills and five counties have resource recovery facilities (incinerators). Of the five counties with resource recovery facilities, three also have landfills to receive waste that cannot be burnt. Eight counties have awarded waste disposal contracts and require that all waste be sent to one facility for disposal. The remaining thirteen counties have a free market system and transporters may send waste out of the county or state. The majority of us don’t know information like this, and don’t care as long as we don’t have to look at it. But if we were forced to look at the garb...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking News- Renewable Energy can STILL power our planet!

Yesterday, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released an exciting report about the potential of Renewables and the world energy market. Over 120 world experts produced a scientific document over 1,000 pages long that provides a solution to 'business as usual' carbon emissions. They believe that we could meet the globe's energy needs with 80% renewable energies by mid-century . This would be a socially, politically, and physically strenuous task. If we eliminate all the complications and shift our paradigm, we still have issues like that which Ramon Pichs, Co-Chair of the Working Group III, added: “The report shows that it is not the availability of the resource, but the public policies that will either expand or constrain renewable energy development over the coming decades. Developing countries have an important stake in this future—this is where most of the 1.4 billion people without access to electricity live yet also where some of the best conditi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Embarking on a Climate Ride...

Well, it's about 5 days until I leave for my Climate Ride. Getting nervous to ride these 300 miles in 5 days. I've been riding, but just have been unable to force myself to do 70 miles on my own. And I've never done a 300 mile bike tour before. I got bike shoes and clips, have fallen over a few times  but am getting the hang of it. Packed plenty of muscle wraps and aleve, udder butter, sunscreen- I think once I get moving I'll be just fine, but until then I will be a nervous wreck! It helps knowing all of the support I have from friends, family, and teachers. Whether they donated to support me, or the cause I'll be thinking of all of you on the ride! Each night, we will hear from speakers and get some lobbying training which I truly hope to use at a meeting down in DC- as of now, the staff haven't been able to confirm a meeting so I really hope I get one! If you haven't checked out the Climate Ride organization, or haven't made a donation ...
Post a Comment
Read more