Thursday, March 27, 2025

Energy

groundhogs like tight building envelopes

Blame it on the ground hog!

On February 2, 2025, Punxsutawney Phil, AKA “The Groundhog” suggested that there would be 6 more weeks of winter. Over the past 130 years, Phil has been accurate about 40% of the time, which...
the sustainability rose

Wherefore art thou sustainability

So last week, we talked about Caddy Shack. It is a perfect segway into Shakespeare. In Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” Juliet from her balcony contemplates her love for Romeo despite her family’s feud with his...
Mary loves Caddyshack but hates gas ranges

Clearing the air on gas ranges

If you have not watched the movie, “Caddy Shack” I highly recommend it. Not only is it one of Bill Murray’s finest performances, but it also contains one of the most hilarious scenes ever,...
Mary loves water conservation

The roots of sustainability

I was recently reminded of my early roots in sustainability in multifamily. Specifically, carrots. For my first major renovation, I wanted to do a toilet retrofit, which would replace over 450 toilets which used 1.8...
double indemnity or double materiality

The double materiality payoff

The 1944 Film Noir, “Double Indemnity, gets its title from the insurance clause which doubles life insurance payouts due to death occurring in a rare way. Whenever I hear the sustainability term “double materiality”,...

Two myths of solar

There are a couple reasons that I am thinking about solar and the myths about its efficacy today. As I look out my window and watch the snow falling, I am reminded of the temperature...
mary loves solar

Contemplating solar

My husband tells me this is a true event, although I do not have any memory of it. In 2017, I had surgery and underwent general anesthesia. When finally allowed to see me, my...
hot water heaters

Shower the people …

There is no question that winter is here, which makes hot showers even more glorious. I must really watch my timer to ensure that my shower time is reasonable and not indulgent. Maybe my...
prepare for GRESB

GRESB is where the action is

One of my favorite Elvis Presly songs, “A little less conversation” starts with the lyric, “A little less conversation a little more action, please”, which speaks to my soul. I like practicing sustainability and reporting...
sustainability training on conferences

A short guide to staying up-to-date

The first time I ever presented a case study purely on the economic value of sustainability was at the NWP Energy Summit in 2014. It was an amazing, nerve-wracking experience in which, prior to...
requiem for sustainability

Requiem for sustainability?

As a practitioner of sustainability in multifamily, sometimes I hear things that crack me up. My all-time favorite was an article about a town in North Carolina which moved to ban solar because it...
autumn is time for seasonal preparations

Winter is coming

It is that time of year again! I know that some individuals are focusing on politics this week. This is understandable, but it is important for us to also focus on a critical aspect...
reuse textile waste

Keep them with stitches

I grew up in unincorporated Fresno, California (that is the part of Fresno, that Fresno does not want.) There were not a lot of extracurricular activities that were of interest to me, so I...
life cycle analysis avoids assumptions

The perils of assuming

Assume is a hilarious word. It can make an “ass” of “u” and “me.” If you are using assumptions and not evidence in your decision making around sustainability, you could make some poor choices....

GRESB, like the tide, waits for no man

A friend of mine often uses the phrase “The tide raises all boats” when talking about sustainability. His beautiful focus is that we must work together to make any kind of achievement. That has...
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