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New home sales soar while inventories plummet
Michael J. Berens Construction & Building MaterialsIf you can’t buy 'em, build 'em. With inventories of existing homes for sale at their lowest levels in years, would-be homebuyers are turning to the new home market in droves. New housing starts and permit requests have increased by double digits compared to a year ago, and sales of new homes in January were up substantially following three months of decline. Whether this is the beginning of trend or just a temporary bump remains to be seen.
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How the e-commerce boom is transforming warehouses
Gail Short Distribution & WarehousingAs e-commerce retail sales continue to grow, the need for warehouses and fulfillment centers that meet the needs of online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores is also rising, says James Breeze, senior director and global head of industrial and logistics research at CBRE Group Inc. "E-commerce has been the largest disruptor for warehouse distribution design on record," says Breeze. "Distribution centers have grown in size, clear height and added amenities based on the larger employee counts that are needed for e-commerce fulfillment centers."
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Interior Department’s proposed rule modernization values oil and…
Michelle R. Matisons Natural ResourcesThe highly politicized release of recent polar bear studies reveal at least part of Ursus maritimus' survival depends on Trump-era Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) rule modernization, which now considers "economic impacts" while denying climate change impacts. A seismic study of potential drilling land in Area 1002 was called off last winter because the required Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was deemed incomplete. Less than one year later, the Bureau of Land Management has released a more thorough, pro-drilling EIS.
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Study: Most Americans don’t realize how much diet impacts the planet
Scott E. Rupp Waste Management & EnvironmentalMost Americans — who, by and large, claim to be environmentally conscious — are overlooking some of the most important decisions regarding the health of the environment: What they eat. These conversations are not happening, according to a new study. The environmental impacts of individual diets seem a little too close to home for most, as Inverse reported. While some people say that "Big Oil" is responsible for most of the planet's environmental issues, the fight for protecting the earth may need to focus on factory farming practices and the foods that come from these places.
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Reagan National bids goodbye to Gate 35X with new terminal
Matt Falcus Transportation Technology & AutomotiveRegular passengers who use Washington Reagan National Airport will be delighted to learn that a new terminal is being built. It will replace a crowded waiting area and awkward walk out to the aircraft. Gate 35X at the end of the commuter gate area in Reagan necessitates passengers waiting in a cramped downstairs space before walking out to a shuttle bus that takes them to their aircraft’s parking spot before boarding outside in the elements. Now, a new 14-gate terminal concourse building is to be built in place of Gate 35X, to the north of the current Terminal C.
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Podcast: How your patients can file out-of-network self-claims in less…
Jarod Carter Healthcare AdministrationWhen Vatsal Thakkar first opened his own practice, he decided on the cash-based model because he wanted to spend more time with each patient. He found the experience of helping his patients inspiring and "magical" compared with what he saw among many of his in-network colleagues who had to see 20-30 patients a day. Throughout the years, Thakkar found ways to streamline the process of filing out-of-network reimbursement claims for his patients.
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The brain on nature: The why behind biophilic design
Michael J. Berens Interior Design, Furnishings & FixturesNatural environments and the presence of nature in built environments have been found to produce beneficial effects on occupants. Those findings have given rise to the growing use of biophilic design strategies, which seek to improve occupant health and well-being through the incorporation of nature views and natural elements into interior environments. Now, scientists are learning more about how and why we respond to natural stimuli in certain ways — research that can help designers to refine their application of biophilia to have greater impact.
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Frank Lloyd Wright buildings gain UNESCO World Heritage Listing
Dave G. Houser Facilities & GroundsEight buildings designed by America’s best known and arguably most accomplished architect, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), have been officially inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee. The collection of buildings, formally addressed in the nomination as “The 20th Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright,” spans 50 years of Wright’s influential career and marks the first modern architecture designation in the United States on the World Heritage List. Of the 1,092 World Heritage sites around the world, this group of Wright sites joins an existing list of 23 sites in the United States.
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Minimalism: A shifting of our priorities or an empty, fashionable trend?
Victoria Fann Interior Design, Furnishings & FixturesHave you caught the decluttering bug yet? From Marie Kondo to websites based on minimalism, from tiny homes to van life, from the rise of the sharing economy to co-working, it appears that this trend is here to stay. But why is the desire to scale down and purge suddenly so inviting? One possibility is that it’s a reactive pendulum swing away from decades of unbridled materialism.
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How will coronavirus affect the Chinese economy and international business?
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementChina is a major U.S. trading partner and the world's fastest growing economy. How will the outbreak of the coronavirus that began in Wuhan affect that nation's economy and international business generally? Much is uncertain. That's a problem, because businesses prefer certainty as an underlying condition of future market demand and supply. We turn to Doug Barry, a spokesperson with the U.S.-China Business Council. "The shutdown of supply chains is having a ripple effect around the world, with shortages in some raw materials, parts and finished goods popping up," Barry said by email.
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