July 28, 2010
Last night, Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne took issue with the premise of the “green” building survey I published yesterday (“The G-List”), claiming the new poll, like the original Vanity Fair survey, suffers from “its own blind spot.” First, I should say that I respect Hawthorne a great deal. His 2001 Metropolis article “The Case for a Green Aesthetic,” remains one of the only concerted attempts, other than my own, to address the topic of my forthcoming book, The Shape of Green. In fact, because I value Hawthorne’s opinion, I included him in my original list of 150 people I asked to participate in the survey, as he mentions. He didn’t answer that request, on July 8, but he replied almost immediately when I announced the results, on July 27.
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July 27, 2010
So, the well is capped. Tony’s out, and you, Robert Dudley, plan to shrink BP. As the new CEO, you announced this morning that you’ll be selling up to $30 million in assets to cover the cost of damages in the Gulf. Well, Bob (may I call you Bob … ?), that’s a great first step. But don’t do it to raise capital; do it to become a better company.
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July 19, 2010
On exhibit now at New York’s Asia Society are a collection of then-and-now photographs documenting shrinking glaciers in the Himalayas. The pictures, backed up by laser rangefinders, reveal a startling contrast between conditions 90 years ago and today, with the ice coverage having retreated by hundreds of feet, the equivalent of a 40-story building in some cases.
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July 17, 2010
The AIA’s announcement of the latest crop of Small Projects Practicioners Awards winners shows just how compelling modest designs can be—like poems instead of essays or novels. However, none of the 2010 winners tells as striking an environmental story as one of last year’s projects, Cup City
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July 13, 2010
With the record-shattering heat last week, it’s tough to imagine life without air conditioning. But that’s exactly what Stan Cox does in his new book, Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World (and Finding New Ways to Get Through the Summer). Pulling the plug on AC would have a tremendous environmental impact, since it accounts for a significant portion of U.S. emissions and energy consumption and has doubled in the past two decades. But, as Cox explains in The Washington Post on Sunday, losing AC would have myriad other benefits for our homes, workplaces, and communities.
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