Laying the Foundation for Cleantech

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Cleantech is a blanket term used by many to describe technologies related to furthering the sustainability of industry while preserving Earth’s life span. A recent Gigaom interview with a panel of cleantech investors unveiled a unique concept.

A comparison between the internet in it’s early days and cleantech in the sense that, much how the foundation for the internet was laid out by year 2000, the foundation for cleantech has been laid. The road has essentially been paved to allow cleantech to transition from a new technological concept, and into its potential to become an expansive industry – much like the internet.

Cleantech companies are emerging more and more, with innovative ideas, and brilliant advancements, which will not only benefit the planet, but its inhabitants. Now, the question is whether or not cleantech, now that it’s grasped its bearings, will be permitted the opportunity to expand in the same way the internet did. Unfortunately, the comparison with the internet is lackluster in this sense, as the internet did not suffer from massive inhibitions like cleantech does, such as the colossal oil and gas industry.

The foundation has most certainly been laid, however with restrictive paradigms surrounding this regime, there’s no real way to tell whether or not its implementation to society will go over successfully on the scale required to make a quantifiable change in the environmental crisis we are experiencing; the same crisis that has been caused by the very inhibition placed on cleantech expansion. Ironic, isn’t it?

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image courtesy of Ruben Holthuijsen

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Sustainable Construction – A Future Necessity

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Before it’s too late, many areas in the United States are making serious revisions to their infrastructure’s ability to withstand the augmenting rate of natural disasters, which are presumably directly related to issues of climate change.

Not only are new developments being re-assessed in this light, but current developments as well, such as bridges and highways. This is presumably leading into a new realm of developmental concepts across the board – buildings, bridges, highways, dams, and much more. Given the current nature of climate disasters, we aren’t in the clear, and need to make preparations for when the worst shows up; and at this point, the latter seems inevitable.

The way of the future lies in developing structures designed not only to withstand time, but the elements as well, to prevent the need for re-construction in the event of a natural disaster. This style of construction is a perfect example of sustainable design in both these aspects. Development must achieve levels of sustainability in order to avoid reconstruction after X amount of years, while being developed stronger than ever before. The challenge bar has been set…so now we wait.

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image courtesy of TANAKA Juuyoh

 

 

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Collaborative Recovery

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A short while ago we talked about how the real estate’s market recovery will more likely than not depend on full societal collaboration and participation within the market, in a post called ‘To Stabilize We Must Equalize’. If only those who are in good shape participate, then top-end properties circulate freely while mid-level properties stay put and depreciate.

Looking into the future, this concept is seemingly being applied to various markets already, which is a huge step in the right direction. Participation is going to be the key to market re-stabilization.  In the US, it’s showing that dual-income households are helping largely in this aspect. Therein lies the example that multiple participants working towards a common goal within their own households are improving the market in its entirety. An annual study by NAR showed that about 65% of all buyers are married couples, as opposed to 58% the year before. This increase in efforts is exactly what we need to see.

According to a recent Scotiabank poll, an impressive 77% of Canadians view home purchasing as an investment as opposed to an expense. With this mentality, Canada will hopefully follow-suit with our neighbours to the South in investigating the proper investment methods that will not only benefit the buyers and sellers, but the market itself. Recovery is close, now it’s just a matter of harnessing interests and investment strategies to collaboratively force a market recovery.

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image courtesy of Ken Jarvis Photography

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Prepare for the Worst

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If Hurricane Sandy has taught us anything, it’s that disaster can strike at any moment in the most unforeseeable and traumatic ways imaginable. Perspective is always provided in moments of crisis; it makes us realize how temperamental our habitation of Earth can be, and that we are always at the mercy of the elements. We seem to lose touch with this concept after being securely located in specific areas for a long time without experiencing any disasters. The ‘It won’t happen to me’ factor is most certainly a prominent one. But if there’s anything we can take away from this experience, it’s that disaster can strike anywhere, at any time, no matter how many times you tell yourself it won’t happen to you specifically. So where do we go from here? Back to the drawing board to assess our ‘worst-case-scenario’ options and plans – the likes of which are probably limited for many of us.

A recent Zillow article highlights the importance of having a ‘backup plan’ or ’emergency fund’ but providing readers with two unique stories from Hurricane Sandy survivors who discuss their experiences during the disaster, and their new-found appreciation for planning for the worst.

The biggest theme derived from this article was the importance of having a savings account or ’emergency fund’ at the ready. No. Matter. What. Whether you’re living inland or coastal, bad things happen to good people. That’s the reality of the climate-disaster we call a planet. We’ve been pushing our limits with nature for quite some time now, and it’s starting to push back.

Be prepared. Nobody likes getting caught up creek without a paddle, or in a storm without a backup plan. As we mentioned in our post ‘Hate To Say We Told You So…‘ climate disasters are increasing at an alarming rate with no signs of relenting the onslaught. To avoid disaster, implement prevention tactics. You just might need them one day.

For more environmental and real estate news, follow us on Twitter @enviromint.

 

image courtesy of 401(K) 2012

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To Stabilize We Must Equalize

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Speculations around market recovery are many. The desolate state in which the property market resides is remaining stagnant, with fragments of measurable recovery being made. Therein lies the question of how to inject some life into the current market; enough to drive a full recovery.

A recent Vancouver Sun article highlighted a very interesting and probable theory put forth by Vancouver’s Mayor Gregor Robertson. The concept he proposes is that more low to middle-income housing must be implemented in order to develop an efficient housing market recovery. Reason being is similar to a concept we covered in a previous blog post – Here We Go Again – that covered the principle of a market recovery being impossible wherein the lower-income citizens couldn’t participate in the market themselves. If only the wealthy are purchasing and rotating properties, then the market only fluctuates above a particular income bracket, as opposed to that of a fluid recovery that encompasses the efforts of all classes within a particular society.

The concept of introducing affordable housing for the lower and middle-class is quite ideal. In order to stabilize the property market, we must first even the playing field. If implemented successfully, this methodology could quickly yield beneficial results, as a rounded market recovery rather than a weighted one would increase and stabilize real estate across the board instead of augmenting the values of high-value properties for relatively elite citizens to exchange amongst themselves like poker chips.

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image courtesy of Antanith

 

 

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One Page At A Time

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Real estate, according to a recent article, is responsible for the fall of one tree per 17 transactions completed. This may seem like a lot, and it may appear as an overzealous assumption, but rest assured that this is most certainly no exaggeration. Real estate, while putting roofs over peoples’ heads, rapidly destroys potential wildlife habitats and is responsible for a vast amount of paper waste.

Technology’s progressions over the past decade are now sophisticated enough to allow for the replacement of paper resources entirely – so that’s exactly what we did. Digitization of documents has never been easier, so why not take a page out of our book and go paperless? Not only is this an efficient way to refine your business’ efficiency, but to make a conscious social decision to take a stand against the waste created by paper in our industry. With the elimination of paper documents, no longer are the days where sheets and forms go missing, become inaccessible, or need to be mailed. By switching to a digital business model you can refine your business process, access documents from virtually anywhere, distribute and share information instantaneously, while having a rested conscience from taking a personal stand against environmental destruction and paper waste.

For more environmental and real estate news, check us out on Twitter @enviromint.

 

image courtesy of Horia Varlan

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New York Dodged a Bullet…Financially

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Though it may be bitter-sweet, New Yorkers will fortunately not be subject to an even further ‘worst-case-scenario’ in terms of dealing with the aftermath of the notorious Frankenstorm, better known as Hurricane Sandy. According to a recent CNN article insurance claims for hurricane Sandy actually have an up-side…sort of.

Let’s face it, nobody likes paying insurance deductibles, but in this case the deductibles due by New York residents could be far worse, whether you can believe that or not. Typically, hurricane insurance deductibles are weighted as an amount variant between 1% and 5% of your entire property’s value. So, if you had a residence worth $300,000, and you had to pay a %5 deductible, there goes $15,000 of your hard-earned dollars just to get the insurance company involved. However, since Hurricane Sandy did not sustain 74mph winds long enough to be considered a Class 1 hurricane, the above framework doesn’t apply, and instead regular deductibles (generally between $500-$1,000) are all that will be required of New Yorkers.

The situation isn’t great, but (despite the obvious damages and destruction) the outcome, in this sense, could be even worse.

Our thoughts and hearts go out to the Hurricane Sandy victims.

 

image courtesy of david_shankbone

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Hate To Say We Told You So…

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A couple weeks ago we raised the topic of increasing natural disaster rates and the impeding “Frankenstorm” headed to the Eastern side of the US and Canada has basically proven our point. Along with raising the possibility of increasing natural disaster rates being tied to climate change, we also pointed out the suggestion for looking into weather and natural disaster home insurance…point and case.

Now, we aren’t speculating that this possible natural disaster is related to climate change…though it could be…we’re just saying that these incidents don’t seem to be decreasing at any rate, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to look into those insurance policies we were talking about. For more information on the oncoming storm, view the video below. Any questions? Give us a shout on Twitter @enviromint.

image courtesy of NASA Goddard Photo and Video

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The Future of Energy

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…Or so they say. New studies and experiments attempting to find a suitable alternative to combustible fossil fuels as an energy source have come up with a possible solution in the form of a synthetic gasoline made from air and water.

The concept of a sustainable energy to replace gasoline is a touchy topic at best. An economic structure has been developed around the oil and gas industry. Pull the pin, and this industry falls apart. The problem being that in this situation we are preserving an industry that is detrimental to the planet because it’s beneficial to the economy. So we really need to ask ourselves which is more important: Earth or money.

The argument is certainly affronting to certain audiences, however the choice that must be made is plain and simple. Either we replace gasoline and oil as energy sources and phase out or integrate the economic structure surrounding them, or we destroy the only planet we have to live on.

Back to the topic of the synthetic gasoline developments – the aforementioned source of energy expected to be the staple in replacing combustible fossil fuels, and taking less of a toll ion the environment to boot. The question is when/if this discovery will ever see the light of day, or whether it will be buried amongst other innovations after being subsided by larger dominant oil companies. These companies could go so far as to pitch law suits claiming the attempt to strip people of their livelihoods…but it seems as though this will eventually have to happen regardless, should we decided to take our planet’s condition a tad more seriously.

What would you like to see in the future of sustainable energy? Solar? Wind? Battery? New fuel alternatives? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below, or on Twitter @enviromint.

 

image courtesy of paulinaclemente

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Home Renovation – Real Estate’s Booster Shot

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We’ve said it before, so we won’t drone on about it , but we have to start somewhere. Housing has been in an obviously crippled state as of late, and in the spirit of exploring methods to instill stability, let us examine a theory that may in fact aid market recovery: home renovations.

The housing slump has forced many of those who were planning on selling their homes to stay put as a result of prices taking a nosedive. However, this may be a blessing in disguise. Why? Because if homeowners decided to use this time to their advantage and put more money into their homes, there may in fact be a chance that markets may begin to raise in average price. Reason being, is that these homeowners, instead of sitting on the time that’s been given to them before they can sell their home, should invest some time and effort into renovating and remodeling their current homes before finding a new one to increase the market value of their home.

If done on a large scale, markets could raise in appraised value thanks to some due diligence. If all the house values in a particular area are rising due to come renovation projects, then they will collaboratively raise the appraised value of all their properties…Just something to chew on.

 

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image courtesy of eye of einstein

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