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Preparing the RAC industry for the future
Andrew Gaved Facilities & GroundsEurope is currently in the throes of dealing with the impact of the F-Gas regulation. The phasedown of HFCs is now starting to gather pace, and as a 37 percent drop in quota looms next year, the price of the higher-GWP refrigerants such as R404A is going through the roof as supply-and-demand principles kick in.
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Economies of scale: Learning from the past and planning for the future
David Newton Transportation Technology & AutomotiveI just returned from an aggressive tour of Germany — a weeklong trip from Berlin to Munich with several stops along the way. Much of the journey was spent getting to the next place on the schedule — trailing the Alps alongside the Autobahn where the mountains were perpetually attached to the horizon.
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Campaigners return to put supermarkets under their frosty glare
Andrew Gaved Waste Management & EnvironmentalThe Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has been, depending on your viewpoint, the conscience of the European retail refrigeration industry or a thorn in its side for the better part of a decade now. The EIA makes no pretense of the fact that it doesn’t think that HFCs represent environmentally responsible refrigeration, and that HFOs aren’t really much better. In the EIA’s world, natural refrigerants are the cooling agents that every supermarket should strive for.
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The deadline for converting to Tier 4 engines is around the corner
Clayton Costello Construction & Building MaterialsThe end of 2017 is fast approaching, bringing with it the deadline for converting to Tier 4 engines for diesel engine users. When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Tier 4 regulations in late 2004, the goal was to cut down on pollutants harmful to the environment. The EPA particularly targeted byproducts known to create smog.
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Raising the minimum wage: Where do small business owners stand?
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThink all small business owners oppose raising the federal minimum wage of $7.25 in place since 2009? Well, think again. According to a recent poll of more than 700 respondents conducted by BuyBizSell, 47 percent of small business owners favor raising the minimum wage, while 58 percent of prospective small business buyers support a hike.
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Study of baby teeth finds link between autism and environmental exposures
Carolina Pickens Oral & Dental HealthcareResearchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai partnered with Sweden's Karolinska Institutet to study the baby teeth of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Their study, "Fetal and postnatal metal dysregulation in autism," was published in Nature Communications in April. It detailed that biomarkers in the layers of the ASD patients' teeth revealed they were exposed to higher concentrations of lead and other neurotoxins in utero and within the first months of life.
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Why climate change is personal for interior designers
Susan Mulholland Interior Design, Furnishings & FixturesLast week, President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris agreement on climate change. We are now in the company of only two other major countries — Nicaragua and Syria — that are not a part of the agreement. This may be a political move by our president, but for many of us who have been working in the built environment, it's personal.
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As F-Gas gathers pace, something must be done
Andrew Gaved Waste Management & EnvironmentalPresident Donald Trump today announced his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate change agreement — thus aligning the U.S. for probably the only time ever with Syria and Nicaragua as the only major nations opposed to the 195-nation international commitment to cutting greenhouse gases.
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Pressure set IAQ standards increases
Andrew Gaved Facilities & GroundsThe subject of air pollution has been all over the news in the U.K. in recent weeks, driven by the campaigning law group Client Earth's quest to hold the Westminster government accountable for its failure to meet air quality targets.
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The sky’s the limit: Learning from Tesla’s roofing innovation
Delany Martinez MarketingThe latest darling of the eco-innovation trend, Tesla's new solar panel/roof tile hybrid product has continued the consumer inroads that their well-liked electric vehicles have already been cruising. In fact, Forbes pulled no punches discussing the concerns as well as the potential of the Tesla tiles — a balanced, authoritative nod that speaks volumes.
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