I know you've all seen Star Wars, right? I'm not talking about the sequels or prequels. I'm talking about the original Star Wars, Episode 4. Do you remember the climax when Han Solo (greatest movie character ever) swoops in from out of nowhere at the last second to save Luke Skywalker's butt (lamest character ever)? Han was their ace-in-hole, their deus ex machina, their ringer.
Right now, the American economy is in bad shape. It's like we've got Darth Vader, Boba Fett, O.J. Simpson, and Dick Cheney all after us at the same time. We need a miracle! Do we have a ringer?
Maybe we do. Maybe it's Green Building: "How the Recession Means More Green Building (and Why That's Good for the Economy" from the Green Building Elements blog.
Facts:
- Obama wants to "weatherize one million homes annually"
- Obama wants to "launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient"
- The technology, expertise, and labor required to do #1 & 2 are readily available
- Democrats control large majorities in both houses of Congress, making it likely that funding for #1 &2 will be appropriated shortly after Obama's inauguration
We in the construction industry felt the recession sooner than about anybody else. We might feel the recovery sooner than anybody else as well. Is any other industry in such a prime position to make an immediate impact on the economy and our environment?
10 comments:
Lombard, Cmon we all know Forrest Gump is the greatest movie character ever!
As for the industries most prime to impact the economy, construction is one of them, but its recovery is unforeseeable. Due to the aging population and dependency on technology, my vote goes to health care. Health care impacts so many other industries and its constantly being improved.
Regardless of what your vote is, I wouldn't bank on puppet...er president initiatives to have a real impact on the economy.
Health care is undoubtedly THE big money industry right now and in the future. But what I'm asking is, "What industry is in better position to make an immediate economic AND environmental impact?
I don't see health care as providing much in the way of environmental impact. Well, unless they legalize medical marijuana, in which case millions of people would be sitting on their couch instead of driving or traveling or working or doing anything else that requires burning fossil fuels.
And most presidential initiatives may have negligible impact on the economy, but what Obama's calling for isn't like most initiatives. It's huge and it's doable right now. The more long-term aspects of his plan (creating a smart energy grid) will take too long to have an effect on this recession, but the short-term green building stuff can help unemployment right now.
And oh by the way, Forrest was pretty awesome, but he can't compete with Han Solo. The man made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs for crying out loud.
The Millennium Falcon was the workhorse, Han was but a mere pilot.
Forrest Gump:
Hand selected by Paul "Bear" Bryant, full scholarship. All-American.
Told JFK he needs to pee.
Won medal of honor in Vietnam for saving people.
Beat Chinaman in ping-pong.
Shows LBJ his ass/war wound.
Meets Nixon, tips off authorities to Watergate scandal.
Impregnates hot Jenny in one attempt.
Buys a friggin shrimp boat and banks.
Invests in apple and banks.
Runs across US & maybe Texas.
Inspires the creation of popular t-shirts (smiley face, shit happens).
Orders Jack Daniels, no ice with a splash of Crown.
I'm not so sure about the last one there Greg, but I will say that the chinaman is not the issue, it's about drawing a line in the sand....across this line you do not...oh and chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature. Asian-American, please.
Glad to see that this GD conversation has crashed into the mountain (did you catch that Trev?). Does anybody want to challenge me on green building being the best hope for kickstarting a green economy?
No? Okay, then I gotta say: "I'll be honest with you, I love his music, I do, I'm a Michael Bolton fan. For my money, I don't know if it gets any better than when he sings "When a Man Loves a Woman".
Good comments guys (not so much).
I'm nominating this post for (1) Best Use of a Han Solo Metaphor and (2) Quickest Post Comments to Get and Stay Off Topic.
I would say the Energy Industry would be the quickest and most effective way. Of course this is not going to happen because let's face it the Energy Industry wants business as usual. You can't really blame them when they are making billions of dollars. We can only hope for strong regulation to make incremental changes to this industry. This will be an incredible challenge because they are THE Sith Masters of avoiding and changing regulation.
Because of this I would agree with Mike that the Building Industry is in a prime position to be our Han Solo. Reason 1: The Industry is at or near rock bottom and eager to try new things. Reason 2: To my knowledge, innovation is a pretty standard and accepted thing in the industry. Reason 3: It is one of the biggest industries in the world and uses a large chunk of global resources.
Healthcare is important and has a lot of waste that needs attention, but it pales in comparison to Building in my opinion.
From what I've read on some Lean blogs, health care has a ton of waste (Lean is big in health care right now). But, this waste comes in the form of bad quality (think malpractice) and ridiculously long wait times (think sitting in an emergency room for hours on end). I'm sure it generates a lot of environmental waste, but I never hear much about that.
And yes, the building industry is desperate and ripe for trying something new. We haven't always been early adopters of new technology (think of the drywall guy from Office Space using an iPhone...not gonna happen), but it's starting to happen now.
As for the energy companies, it's all about incentives. They've previously had the incentive to get customers to use more energy (that's how they got funding to build more power plants). The incentives must change, and it is in some places (Oregon comes to mind). Even with improved incentives, the installation of a smart energy grid will take at least 10 years.
I guess since the construction industry is one of the most wasteful and least productive in the nation, it has the most room for improvement...and one could argue that it is the industry most prime for a positive eco2 impact. But realistically speaking, I won't hold my breath.
Its just hard for me to fathom how building new mega-LEED-facilities, more efficient roads, and new housing communities can possibly have an immediate positive environmental impact (especially in a time when more Americans are working, shopping, educating, and entertaining themselves at home....activities that used to be done exclusively in buildings). Don't get me wrong, I'm totally on board with buildings and homes made out of recycled materials that consume less resources over time, and i think the trend needs to continue, but have you ever driven by a construction site that isn't filled with waste, and being powered by fossil fuels. Not to mention that in the US, almost every new building and house erected reduces our natural habitat.
To clarify my point, yes I agree with you that the construction industry is in the best position to have a positive impact economically and environmentally if is completely revamped, but I don’t see it happening and it surely won’t be immediate.
Very true. The building industry is extremely wasteful. Current construction practices are just not sustainable, not by a long shot.
But, the eco-benefits of energy-saving renovations has to mitigate whatever waste is generated in the process of making these renovations. Weatherizing millions of homes and retrofitting thousands of office buildings with energy-saving technology has to be a net plus for the environment, even with all the inherent waste involved with construction.
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