Kira's points and the data supporting them are well taken. There is however, a concern about redundancy. If we rely on only one source of energy there would nowhere to turn to in the event of failure. This is where distributed energy comes in. If the grid fails, neighborhoods and large facilities need to have a reliable fallback in local generation whether it be sourced from solar, wind or fuel cell.
Another factor is the depletion of natural resources, especially rare earths, well documented in the work of Antonio Capilla and Alicia Delgado in their book
Thanatia. As matters stand we (the human inhabitants of planet earth) are consuming natural resources at
1.7 times the rate of replenishment. In some cases of course there is a finite supply of materials so there is no question of replenishment.
As critical as these technologies are, much more critical is the political and economic task of slowing growth while at the same time ensuring economic equity. Tim Jackson's
Prosperity Without Growth and Kate Raworth's
Doughnut Economics are excellent guides to what we have to do. This is not a trivial task and architects tinkering with windmills and such will not get us to where we need to be. To channel another thinker (from his 1848 work) "...philosophers have only interpreted the world...the point, however, is to change it".
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Hubert Murray FAIA
Cambridge MA
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-13-2020 11:35
From: Kira Gould
Subject: Scott Shell op-ed on phasing out gas
a strong op-ed from EHDD's Scott Shell in The Architect's Newspaper:
"A wave of state-wide policy decisions over the last two years has signaled that lawmakers are waking up to the dangers associated with building with gas-and the future of gas appliances in homes and buildings is likely limited. Four states-Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, and California-have opened up investigations into phasing out their gas distribution systems, and nearly 40 cities in California have passed policies to phase-out gas in new construction. A statewide all-electric building code in California may also be imminent.
By continuing to build with gas, despite clear indications that policymakers are moving to eliminate fossil fuels in homes, we are setting up our clients for expensive retrofits to remove these gas appliances before the end of their service life. While retrofitting homes to remove fossil fuel appliances is costly, building homes that are all-electric from the get-go is actually less expensive and can even lower utility bills for households.
Understanding the benefits of all-electric construction, it's imperative that as architects, we lead the way towards a healthier, more sustainable future by educating our clients about the climate dangers associated with gas."
https://www.archpaper.com/2020/11/op-ed-climate-change-why-are-we-still-bui…
#leadership #climateaction #designthefuture
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Kira Gould
Principal
Kira Gould CONNECT
Oakland CA
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