Urban heating, or at least the increase thereof, has been in the spotlight for some time. And the basic effects were known to me. But after hearing a lecture by Math Santamouris during a recent Conference, a whole new world… Continue Reading
If the government does not protect the citizen, but its decisions are influenced by a few rebellious farmers, some flying fanatics, some screaming builders, and exporting parasites, then it’s time for action. After all, we have appointed civil servants and… Continue Reading
Why didn’t we realize this before… Since a year or two there has been a working group of a number of collaborating scientists in Europe, under the wings of an international NGO (iiSBE) who are investigating what the ‘carbon budget’… Continue Reading
This is an extended version of a previous post on linked in, which had a lot of reactions.. {april 2019} When it comes to Embodied Energy, we are used to normalize this over the lifespan of a building (… Continue Reading
A few months ago I wrote about agriculture, and that the EROI was 0.16: 1 (energy return on (energy) investment) – on average across all agricultural products in the Netherlands, and the EL (Embodied Land) no less than 7.7 ha-year… Continue Reading
Amsterdam needs around 50,000 charging points for electric cars. 50,000? Really? Have we gone completely nuts or what? Doesn’t alarm bells start ringing: “What the hell are we doing?” Where do all these raw materials come from, and the energy… Continue Reading
There were boxes full of books and reports, even up to 40 years old. And since it was too hot to do anything outside, I finally cleared the attic. Going through the boxes one by one, its hard to avoid… Continue Reading
The introduction to the Dutch version of my book was headed: the world on fire. ( after summer in English available!) “Well”, was often the reaction, “a bit exaggerated, isn’t it? Sounds like doomsday thinking right?” But it is not… Continue Reading
Last month I finally visited the ‘2226’ office in Austria near Bregenz. The building, realized about 4 years ago, already won many prizes. What is special about this building: it has no heating system, and in fact no ventilation system,… Continue Reading
Architects love to be able to design and build an iconic tower. And a city counselor can leave his signature with it. Well, it happens that the world is urbanizing, and that we see a lot of high-rises in planning,… Continue Reading