Electric Cars Flop in China

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With a large chunk of the world’s people residing within its borders, China is definitely a big target to get citizens on board with electric-powered transport. But with the less-than-stellar projections for clean-energy vehicle sales, adoption is anticipated to be a slow process. The Beijing Auto show will showcase 88 of these vehicles in hopes of integrating them into regular use among the Chinese population.

The nation has set its sights on getting over 5 million clean cars on the roads by 2020 and has vowed $14 M worth of funding towards this goal. This number is a far cry from the 10,000 to 20,000 currently on the streets in China, so automakers have a big job ahead of them if they wish to ramp up sales in the coming years. Subsidizing the cost has still yielded disappointing numbers, and electric vehicles still fail to present an attractive offer compared to traditional cars.

Despite the nation’s objectives, analysts believe widespread sales will only begin to occur in 2020 when the price gap between electric and traditional vehicles is significantly reduced. Until then, carmakers are taking a cautious approach to determining when demand calls for mass production.

The Beijing Auto Show will take place from April 27- May 2.

Via NY Daily News

Photo courtesy of mariordo59

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Social Realtors Have the Upper Hand

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The importance of being up to date with marketing methods is a seemingly overlooked element among real estate agents, depending on which side of the coin you are on. On one hand, there is a population of agents that see the true value of initializing proper marketing campaigns and to use the newest methods available to do so. On the other hand, we have a dated industry based on newspaper listings and print advertising, generally put forth by an older demographic.

Truthfully, these methods are both proven, but for different time periods, not giving any edge or advantage to agents who are not up to date with their marketing methods. For example, a recent InMan article revealed that after a survey of over 4,000 people, 68% agreed that they contacted their realtors as a result of their findings on their mobile device. Now, this is a huge piece of pie to miss out on if your website is not optimized for mobile devices; one of the most common advances in digital marketing.

Technology has provided a plethora of free marketing tools to the desktop and mobile world, so get out there and use them! To be “old-fashioned” isn’t something to be proud of anymore, it’s in fact detrimental to both the agent and the client, so do everybody a favour and get with the program; soon, you will realise how advantageous these methods can be. To get you started, here is an article explaining the advantages of using Instagram and Postagram to increase your clientele and listings:

http://next.inman.com/2012/04/using-instagram-and-postagram-to-make-a-powerful-statement/

photo courtesy of http://mediaspin.com/blog/?paged=2

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Trouble On The Horizon

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There has been speculation, talks, meetings, discussions (whatever they may call them) about changes occurring in Canadian real estate as of late. Notably, two major blips on the radar have revealed themselves as being potently newsworthy; the first being numerous changes that the CREA have given a “thumbs up” to, and the second, a the speculation of a housing crash in the near future. Let’s get right to it, shall we?!

First up to bat are the changes that the CREA have recently approved, 23 in total, the largest of which being technologically related. These main changes are the exploration of 3rd party operation of Realtor.ca, as well as taking the 80+ data feeds involved in the MLS system, and to make one national data feed. The cause for these technological changes is the CREA’s feel that consumers are becoming more and more educated, meaning that they should be provided with nothing short of the most accurate information.

Secondly, there is speculation from an Arizona-based accountant by the name of Ben Jones. Now, most of us haven’t heard of this man, however this does not mean we should disregard his opinion, as others have done in the past. He in fact predicted the US housing market crash before it happened, and nobody listened. A recent Globe and Mail article interviewing Mr. Jones has now made it clear (from his standpoint) that Canada’s “booming” housing market is in fact in troubled waters, and should not be underestimated. One of the main reasons he believes the market will fail is related to the banks withholding many unlisted properties and foreclosures to inflate the market so the properties currently listed can receive higher sale prices. His speculations are most certainly worth a read.

What do you think is to become of Canada’s housing market? Will it flop as Ben Jones predicts? Will the unification of the MLS data-feed be detrimental or productive for realtors and supporting businesses? Join the conversation with us on Twitter.

Via. EstateVue

photo courtesy of Blyzz

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How Can I Start to Go Paperless?

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Many wonder how we can start to cut down on paper with all the faxes, manuals, receipts, invoices, memos, and post-its floating around our offices and homes. Granted, it’s incredibly difficult to remove every speck of paper, but there is a way to reduce your usage enough that the recycling bin will start to feel a little neglected.

1. PDF don’t print

Scan documents into PDF. Sometimes the beginning of a paper reduction process does not necessarily mean you will stop tossing out paper. In fact, it will probably be a time of heavy shredding and recycling when you kickstart the process. One of the first ways is scanning your documents to be saved as files on your computer. We guarantee there’s a lot more room in your hard drive than your filing cabinet, and it’s easy to share and duplicate, but word of warning, back up everything!

2. Opt out of Mailing Lists

There are services out there that will help you remove your name from the lists of those pesky senders of junk mail and catalogues. We would tell you to stop having all your bills sent by mail as well, but you are already doing all of that online aren’t you? (and if not, you should!)

3. Get an Electronic Signature

One of the difficulties of going paperless is that a lot of documents require a signature. But if you’re playing a game of fax tag to sign a dotted line from a remote location, you’re printing more copies of the document than you need. Creating an electronic signature will eliminate the need to print any copies and send the signed document back faster than it would have taken the old fashioned way. Here’s a link to get you started.

4. Get in the habit of taking full advantage of your devices

Despite the smartphones, tablets, netbooks and lightweight laptops, many still carry around that college-ruled notebook and ballpoint for taking notes. It’s a small suggestion, but many still insist on using paper. Starting to electronically organize and file notes under categories might show the benefit of taking digital notes, and there are so many apps and programs for this very task. Not to mention, the introduction of cloud services allow us to access these notes from any device.

Once offices start to use document management services, this process will be painless and efficient. But on an individual basis, it is important to consider slowly phasing paper out of our lives for good.

Photo Courtesy of RLHyde

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Building Benchmarks: The RBC Centre

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One of the greatest new buildings in Toronto is the RBC Centre, a 42-storey sustainable wonder in the heart of the GTA. With energy efficient components throughout the design, the building has achieved great benchmarks. Using ‘flexible and super-intelligent’ ventilation controls and over 40 percent recycled and eco-friendly building materials, the RBC Centre has made strides in ‘green’ construction.

On an ongoing basis, the RBC Centre uses caught rainwater for the building’s irrigation and plumbing use and raised flooring to maximize HVAC distribution. It has been reported that the cost of the energy savings has already superseded the minimal additional costs it required to make the building eco-friendly. Hopefully the future holds entire neighborhoods that meets the standards of this great structure.

Photo courtesy of Ross

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Losing Touch

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Environmentally, it’s no secret that the world isn’t doing so great. We have a major climate issue in conjunction with a world running on fossil fuel energies, which are adding to the climate issue, as well as having other negative environmental effects. Is it just us, or does it seem like even though the writing’s on the wall, but nobody’s reading it?!

A recent report released by BBC News Science and Environment shared that, sadly, children’s health and education are losing touch with nature. The three factors declared as responsible for this phenomenon are: increased traffic risks, children’s preference of video screens, and parental anxiety. If we look at all three of these factors closely, we can see a relationship to industrialization, which can also probably be looked at as the root cause for all of these issues. We are living in an industrial-focused society that is sadly turning a blind eye to nature altogether. Not only are environmental issues not being tackled strongly enough, but interactions with nature in general are having a seriously diminishing rate. A confirmation of this suspicion is the new urban initiative to disperse “nature” throughout cities is the development of parklets. Parklets are miniature public parks (generally the size of two or three parallel parking spots)  installed in urban areas, which are growing rapidly in popularity.

Does the requirement of parklets in urban areas, and their increasing popularity, not indicate that people are not only losing touch with nature, but that they are wishing they had a deeper connection with it? With nature becoming less of a play area or area of interaction, we are making ourselves submissive to the urban developments that are rapidly expanding across our planet whether we like it or not. Industrialization has created a detachment between humans and nature, making the impacts of climate change seem less important because, frankly, we don’t see them.

To initiate change in our environment, we must first become more in tune with that same environment. Step away from your television and take a walk…and take your kids with you…and don’t let them bring any gadgets. One of the best ways to battle climate change is to take the time to see its impacts, and to do so is simple: start spending more time outdoors. Once we regain a strong social connection to nature, we might finally start to create positive environmental changes, and maybe even integrate industrialization within nature, like this school commons, designed for learning nature-centered outdoor learning. Maybe then we can prevent future environmental catastrophes like the drowning of an entire nation.

photo courtesy of inhabitat

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Green Country Profile: Germany

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One of the frontrunners in the the sustainability race is Germany, a country that is a financial epicenter for Europe and a hub of tourism. Not only does the country have the largest market in almost all fields of environmental technology in the world, but it is ranked first in renewable energies. Wind power is a significant source, and once again Germany is the foremost country in the wind energy industry, and among the top in solar thermal power

The German government has a strong vision for sustainability, developing a solid strategy in 2002, stating that the country intends to live without compromising people in other regions or in the future, summed up in four main guidelines: generation fairness, quality of life, social cohesion, and international responsibility. In addition, Hamburg in the northwest was dubbed the European Commission as the European Green Capital among 34 cities. In addition, the top eight cities featured two other German cities, Freiburg and Münster.This title is awarded to cities who provide solutions to environmental concerns in addition to showcasing ‘greenness.’ At this rate, Germany promises to be a long-standing leader in sustainability for years to come.

Via Travel Daily News

Photo courtesy of Axel-D

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Eco-Village: The Future or the Past?

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Just when we thought we were starting to see countries make some headway in sustainability, an eco-village floats into our awareness and shows us how the real eco-warriors live. A small 80-person village in Russia called Kovcheg features residents that try to live off the land in any way possible: eating local produce and meat, heating from local sources, and building from local trees. The economy is fuelled by crafts and travelling outside of the village occasionally to make enough money to survive, seeming as though these villagers base their lifestyle off of a modern and trendy spin on Mesopotamia or any other pre-industrial civilization.

In order to maintain the state of the village, inhabitants must follow specific rules governing the land and lifestyle. Villagers are allowed to contribute to the landscape by building log homes and adding greenery, and cannot blemish the land with anything else. In addition, all inhabitants must contribute in some form by teaching or sharing their skills with the community at the local common house.

What do you think? Is this lifestyle too outdated or a move towards the future?

Via RT

Photo courtesy of AndyRobertsPhotos

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Is It Too Late?

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A recent article by the Huffington Post is suggesting that the effects of human activity on our climate are so predominant, that we many not ever be able to reverse them at this point. The main facts supporting this argument are the fact that the US tornado season has been one of the worst ever recorded, as well as the arctic sea ice volume being at an all-time low. Even looking at a previous post of our own, discussing the literal drowning out of The Republic of Kiribati, located North of Fiji, there is no argument that climate change is starting to have devastating impacts on our planet. So what are we supposed to do?

The next step would be to try and obviously transfer the current energy supply system to sustainable sources, as opposed to the current mining and fossil fuel burning system we have. The problem with this switch, is the argument that green sustainable energy is too expensive to be a comparable option…however one very important fact is being overlooked in this argument: the residual costs of the current energy system. The effects of pollution, global warming, disease, and other negative side-effects of our current system, are costs that energy suppliers do not need to cover, therefore making the base cost of sustainable energy supplies more expensive. In the long run, the cost would in fact be cheaper, in monetary, and environmental senses. If we are able to prevent further costs associated to the deterioration of Earth by switching over to newer energy sources, then why aren’t we doing so? Let us know your thoughts by joining the conversation on Twitter.

 

photo courtesy of nosha

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Knock On Wood…

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The concept of constructing a wooden skyscraper has been previously disregarded for many reasons, the main one being the lack of strength that wood has to support it’s own weight. After about four storeys, wood does not have the ability to hold itself up strong enough for further storeys to be legally added. But, leave it up to Canadians to find a way around this, and to propose a feasible development with wood as the main infrastructure.

A 30 storey wooden skyscraper development has been proposed in Vancouver, BC. Skeptics are questioning the credibility of this development due to the previous hurdle regarding weight support, but a talented group of architects have found a way around this it would seem. They have in fact found an answer to the skeptics questions. “…using large pieces of glued laminated timber can be the solution for these problems. Laminated timber, also known as Glulam, is a type of timber made of many layers of dimensioned timber stuck together with moisture resistant adhesives which makes it durable.”

With the wood coming from sustainable sources, and with wood being a far more eco-friendly building material than concrete (if it is sourced from sustainable areas) are we seeing the future of construction develop before our very eyes? Will this building be furnished with re-assembled or recycled furniture, or have self-sustaining kitchens? only time will tell. Join the conversation on Twitter and let us know what you think.

 

photo courtesy of http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-27300135

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