Things that keep me up at night
Posted on | July 8, 2010 | 1 Comment
The title of this post is really a bit deceptive, because, having been through six years of architecture school, there are very few things that can keep me from sleeping. But, IF I had insomnia, I think the following things might contribute. And it’s not that I am a perpetual worrier, but I’m just all about being prepared. I’m just saying.
- The oil leak that is destroying the Gulf of Mexico. Duh.
- The likelihood of a major earthquake striking the Pacific Northwest in my lifetime. Let’s be honest: I love my new adopted city, and I’m not leaving anytime soon. But I am also probably not going to buy a brick or stucco house in this city, not unless it’s been seismically reinforced, or one story (but what’s the fun in that?). The last time a major earthquake struck here was in 1700, and obviously the city was mostly settled after that, so many modern buildings were built in the absence of a strong seismic code. And the chances of a big one hitting are pretty high. Like, 4 in 10 high. D’oh!
- Jevons paradox and Khazzoom-Brookes postulate. Before you get all excited that I’m using strange, big words that you’ve never seen before, check out the Wikipedia articles that I linked to and then come back. You’ll see that the two concepts are very similar in nature, and that they both allude to one thing: the idea that the more we increase efficiency of technology or energy, the more we consume as a society. So you can imagine, then, why this might keep me up at night… I work for an energy efficiency company! Our whole job is to increase the efficiency of buildings and help you save energy, and therefore money. But I can’t help you save money if – as these concepts state – you end up increasing your consumption because you are saving money. So, I will beg of you this: do not become a statistic! Don’t succumb to these concepts! Please let me help you save money!
- And finally, Hovershark. I mean, seriously. What the heck is this?!? Are they evolving that quickly?! I only live an hour and a half from the ocean, can they hover that far?!? :)
image courtesy of www.warrenellis.com
Category: Green Blogging, Renovation, Residential, Saving Energy
Tags: building > efficient > energy > saving > sustainable
Tags: building > efficient > energy > saving > sustainable
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July 25th, 2010 @ 12:25 pm
Those things keep me up at night too (but I’m more worried about the big one happening on New Madrid fault).
We need to start a jevonsparadox website. The .com url is still available!
-Barry