January 31, 2012 Though some US municipalities are beginning to address it, climate change adaptation or how an entity will cope with the likely incremental increases in temperatures and precipitation (both greater rainfall and droughts) is not discussed much in board meetings or other strategic sessions. The trends are real and no longer something that [...]

Green building has had its ups and downs lately. Many professionals complain about the USGBC’s LEED standards, ranging from it’s too expensive and difficult to get certification to it does not truly result in sustainability. The number of projects in the LEED pipeline has reportedly stagnated lately. Some have talked about putting out new competing [...]

Changing one’s ways or implementing new initiatives is difficult. It’s inconvenient. This seems especially true in the U.S. in recent years. Thus, the reluctance to implement smarter, cleaner strategies. Businesses in other nations have demonstrated that clean approaches – in operations and also in business strategies – have been successful in meeting the challenges of [...]

It’s the beginning of the calendar year, a time when many environmental professionals begin to gather their 2011 environmental data to generate reports that your regulatory agencies require. How much fuel did your stationary combustion sources burn in the past year? How many times was a certain condition exceeded in the past quarter? Were there [...]

January 4, 2012 It’s the beginning of a new year. Just as people develop personal new year’s resolutions for self-improvement which, we hope, we’ll stick to, people should develop company or professional new year’s resolutions, too. What can you do to improve your effectiveness for your company, which will, as a result, make yourself more [...]

December 28, 2011 Like everyone, I have thoughts and wishes for 2012. Besides personal ones for me and my family, I have one I wish to share with you, my fellow environmental professionals. My wish for 2012 is that we go back to the way it was about a decade ago or so and live [...]

December 2011 The year-end holidays are a time for big meals, family, etc. But we should always keep the thanks in Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, etc. Here are some statistics to drive home the importance of sustainability and for the holidays. You probably heard the news story about a month ago that the Earth’s population [...]

On Dec. 2, 2011, the USEPA released for public comment draft changes of final rules for reconsideration for industrial, commercial and institutional boilers under the MACT Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) program. These will be 40 CFR Part 63, Subpart DDDDD (“5 D’s”) for boilers at major sources for HAPs and Subpart JJJJJJ (“6 J’s”) for [...]

December 13, 2011 The majority of the corporate sector has not jumped on the bandwagon to go “green”, despite the evidence that doing so has many direct positive financial benefits. A major reason, I believe, is that the decision makers (CEOs, CFOs, etc.) are older and do not have a comfort level about sustainability. They [...]

December 6, 2011 Many companies are beginning some sort of sustainability program, recognizing its financial benefits. While many companies are instituting programs, many do not realize the importance of developing metrics and properly communicating progress. What type of data needs to be collected? Should sustainability be communicated at all or should it be delayed until [...]