January 2012
1 post
8 tags
Effective Chemical Policy: A measure of Quality; a...
Lasting quality improvements are made only after one reaches down into the root cause of the issue, finds what is truly causing the failure and then makes an informed change for the better.
So it is with the many who are reaching down into the root cause of certain illnesses and related health problems.
Nationally, we debate a myriad of opinions about health care; to whom, how much will it...
July 2011
1 post
Sustainability gives reason and purpose to...
If, as William McDonough (1) says, “Design is the first signal of human intention”, have we designed our businesses to provide the intended environmental outcomes we seek for future generations? And how will the outcome affect not only basic issues of birth/life/death, but also social governance, conflict, democracy, and prosperity?
Although the cartoon highlights food, it could...
January 2011
1 post
Aim for Zero Toxins
Architecture has always been about bringing art, engineering and interaction of people together in such a way that the building serves a people-purpose as it interacts with its physical setting. The change being brought about by the revolution of environmentally-effective design, LEED, is that the “people” component is rightly raised to a higher level. We’re not just touching...
December 2010
2 posts
Can't we go somewhere other than "Green"?
If a green plane, flying through a green storm crashed into a green mountain and exploded into a green cloud, would the green cloud have a greenhouse gas potential less than, equal to or greater than methane?
I’m reminded of a winter trip I made as a young business traveler 30 years ago. Visualize a twin-engine, 12-passenger commuter plane, a snowy evening and both pilots visible because...
There Isn't One Expert
I firmly believe that there are absolutes in this life, and I left Greenbuild 2010 knowing of others sharing that belief - but with a slightly different twist. Some at Greenbuild gave presentations of their version of an absolute - one certification regimen is the absolute best and only way to quantify and qualify environmental aspects and impacts.
Several months ago I wrote that I felt good...
September 2010
1 post
LEED Building Standards Fail to Protect Human...
On August 16, 2010, John Wargo, Yale professor and blogger for Yale Environment 360, posted a very good article about the LEED program. In his opinion LEED falls short in protecting human health. Read the article here.
I posted the following in response.
“As a building product manufacturer, Corporate member of the USGBC and a LEED AP+, I, too, want to see LEED pick up the cause for...
July 2010
2 posts
Exchange and Interplay
Working on two recent Op Ed pieces (below) reminded me that there isn’t a mountain-top guru of environmentalism. And that’s a reassuring reminder because the work is too big, and far too important to be held by one person/group.
The exchange and critique of wording that went into the pieces is the same dialog that’s going on among and across the breadth of the issues.
...
Clarity and Understanding
In the broad scope and importance of Sustainability, one’s environmentalism can get lost in a myriad of terms, views and meanings.
Two of the filters I use in seeking clarity and understanding are that of context and relevance. Why is it important and what is its affect on the whole?
“Environmental speak” can quickly obscure meanings and redirect into irrelevance. Context...
June 2010
3 posts
Tail of the 25' Yellow Duck
I was recently invited by Safer Chemicals Healthy Families to participate in a press event being hosted by the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDAA) to give a brief overview of our position on TSCA Reform.
It’s almost summer and the centerpiece of the event was a 25 ft. tall inflatable yellow duck. Who could resist?
Although the day’s event didn’t unfold in the...
Chemical Policy Reform
In recent months, federal legislation has been proposed to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA). On March 9th a Senate hearing was held to get business’s perspective on TSCA reform. We, Construction Specialties, had a story that Senator Lautenberg’s committee wanted to hear. When their committee person interviewed me and got a sense of what we were doing, he said...
Wake-up Call
The hazardous chemicals wake-up call happened for Construction Specialties (C/S) and me in the early 90’s after a hazardous waste incinerator was to be sited in a small, local community. We wondered “why here?” and knew we didn’t want it in our backyard. Thankfully the incinerator project was stopped by a strong grass-roots movement (O.U.E.). Watching that story unfold...
May 2010
1 post
Introduction
The greatest contribution we can make to sustainability is to try to frame the concept at its people-centered best, and to get that message out while the doors are yet swinging open.
And as we have designed our initiatives over the last 15 years, we sought to do things that directly relate to that theme, hoping to leave the abstract behind and working only on that which is immediately relevant...