Hello Doug,
Very glad to hear that your book is coming out soon. I couldn’t agree more that carbon is the greatest challenge we face. In my mind, it’s no less of a threat to humanity that WMD’s. It’s taken total global cooperation to protect humanity from nukes. It will take even greater coordination to eliminate the causes of climate change.
Our profession still considers climate change a “nice-to-have” design consideration when clients ask for it. This has to change to a “must have” imperative NOW. Time is of the essence. Carbon reductions NOW mean much more than a decade from now.
More than a century ago, architects were confronted with fire codes that demanded we design fireproof buildings. Today, we are being asked to design carbon free buildings. It’s no different.
My greatest cause for optimism is that zero carbon codes are going to come soon, and come quickly. That most architects are following, not leading, this transition is frankly discouraging.
It pleases me no end to know you are helping to lead this imperative transformation of architecture.
All the best, Carl
Carl Elefante FAIA
2018 AIA President
carlelefante@aia.org202-836-2644
Original Message------
I have just finished a book on cities and climate change, after teaching the issue for a decade and writing for 2 years: THE URBAN EDGE: Resilient Cities in the War against Climate Change, Heat Islands and Overpopulation.
Having focused on 780-footnotes-worth of research, I can firmly and sincerely (and sadly) say CC is the biggest issue facing humanity, probably the biggest since civilization emerged ten millennia ago. We are already into damage-control.
Because the built environment plays a huge part in emissions and resource consumption, we can do a lot to decarbonize our society.
It should be in bookstores in late winter. Keep an eye out.
Doug
Doug Kelbaugh FAIA
Emil Lorch Collegiate Professor
of Architecture and Urban Planning
and Dean Emeritus
Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning
University of Michigan
2000 Bonisteel Blvd., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2069
Mobile: 734 358-9587 Home: 734 827-2259
kelbaugh@umich.edu