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.

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

 

image courtesy of TANAKA Juuyoh

 

 

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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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Canada Gets Dubbed ‘Fossil of the Day’

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While we’re on the topic of Canada’s ranking amongst the world’s nations, Canada is back in the spotlight. Only this time, instead of being a leader, it is a great, big loser. Given the not-so-honourable title of “Fossil of the Day” at the Rio+20 talks, thousands of world delegates are putting our nation in the spotlight for ‘standing in the way of a just and sustainable future.’ This award comes out the summit’s analysis of countries who are hindering more than helping the overall environmental goal.

Canada’s award comes out of the discovery of “deleting wording for funding for developing countries, weakening language on fossil-fuel subsidies, and causing confusion on policies related to oceans and fisheries.” But our country is second to receive it, after the United States.

So what’s wrong with North America? Featuring two globally influential countries, this continent needs to get its act together for the environment’s sake. With two of the biggest industrial powerhouses dragging their feet, it seems any progress the world makes will be undone.

Photo courtesy of brewbooks

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Canada’s Housing Market Ranks 2nd

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Canada’s housing market is one of the top dogs in the world, according to a report released by Scotiabank on Global Real Estate Trends. Although the market demand is getting cooler, it is still outperforming among industrialized nations. The shift is being attributed to income growth, as well as stricter mortgage insurance rules.

Global property markets are shown to be in distress, particularly in European countries suffering from recession. Specifically, Ireland’s prices dropped 18.9%, while Spain experiences a 9.1% fall.

Photo courtesy of palindrome6996

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The Problem With Fridays

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In most offices, or workplaces in general (referring to those that stick to a more typical M-F 9-5 model) start to dwindle down on their productivity the closer Friday approaches, and by the time Friday afternoon rolls around, everybody starts daydreaming about their weekend, socializing, or deferring tasks until “early next week”, instead of tackling them right then and there. Let us give you a simple yet effective tip on how to maximize your work week that may come as quite a shock: stop making a big deal out of Friday!

Yes, that’s right, we are encouraging all of you to adopt the following strategy and implement this approach to your work week. Now, we aren’t just referring to the concept of staying productive on your Friday, but dealing with the entire notion of Fridays as a whole. Friday is the most glorified work day of any and every work week, filled with eagerness, rainbows an unicorns, and the notion of the ever-impending weekend. The problem with making “Friday” such a big deal, is that it not only detracts from your productivity later on in the week, but also makes your weeks feel twice as long as a result of longing and desperately wishing that Friday would come quicker.

Stop making Friday something to work towards, or more special than every other day of your work week, and instead take your days one at a time, with no distractions leading you to pause and just wish that all of your work would go away and that Friday were here. This is a waste of your time, your co-workers’, and especially your employers. Making a big deal out of Friday does nothing but create a yearning sense of emptiness which is completely unnecessary and uncalled for. Why not just take your work week at a confident pace, deal with your tasks accordingly, and work hard the whole way through your Friday so that your Monday can be that much easier…it’s a full-circle whether you like it or not.

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Cali Goes Solar

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California, being the environmentally progressive state that it is, has approved a new set of building guidelines making it mandatory for all newly built houses to have roofs that are solar-ready roofs. These new construction standards not only encourage positive environmental changes, but also made stricter guidelines for window and housing insulation for the same environmentally conscious reasons, pushing new housing in California to turn over a greener leaf.

For clarity’s sake, no, not all new houses are required to don solar panels (although, that doesn’t seem like an awful idea), but to be ready for solar panel installation, should the owner decide to go down this path. To be fair, though this is not directly forcing positive environmental change down residents’ throats, this is a very big step in the right direction, not only for California, but for the rest of the world, in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability. What are your thoughts on this new construction guideline? Should more encouraged modifications be made to the housing industry, auto industry, any industry? Share your thoughts with us on Twitter.

photo courtesy of Richard Masoner

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Pre-Fab: Fab or Fad?

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Real estate seems to be changing with the influx of pre-built homes hitting the market. Sitting outside the Scotiabank plaza in the parking lot sits a pre-built home waiting for interested passerby to peruse the property.

During the hockey season when the Senators were in full swing, thousands of game attendees would spot the home, look in windows and size-up the property. This was all part of a marketing scheme designed to raise awareness of the eco-conscious company, Bonneville Homes, and pre-fabricated homes in general. In a matter of days, the pieces of the pre-fitted home were assembled together and ready to go, blowing the normal lead time for house builds right out of the water. This quick process combined with the architectural design of open multi-use spaces is a step towards effective and efficient all in one.

Via Ottawa Citizen

Photo courtesy of Bludgeoner86

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Truth Be Told

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Last week we made the presumption that the real estate industry is on it’s way to recovery, and it turns out that it is…but at what cost? In our previous article we pointed out that Realtors had seen their first increase in salary in over 9 years, with a 2.3% increase. Now, reports are in fact stating that the housing market has been shaping up since the beginning of the year, indicating the reasoning behind that salary increase.

However, another report released by NAR has some heads turning, as it’s claiming that 15.7 million homes were underwater, with only one out of 10 underwater home owners making any headway. Let’s look at this a bit critically now, and examine why it is that the property market is rebuilding itself, while people are drowning in debt? This seems rather paradoxical, doesn’t it?

This is why we are asking at who’s cost is the property market repairing itself. Obviously Realtors are beginning to reap the benefits of this new-found stability in the market, but what about the 15.7 million home owners who are seeing no relief? Maybe it’s due to Realtors not leading buyers to smarter purchases?  For instance, an example of why many homes are in debt is the “nicest home on the block” theory, where homeowners literally own the nicest house on their block, and are unable to sell them due to their price range being outside of the appeal for the neighbourhood and the buyer. One tip we picked up, is that it’s in fact smarter to buy the worst house on the best block. This way, as the home receives repairs and renovations, there will be nothing but profit gains, as opposed to renovating a house on a sub-par block, resulting in too expensive of a property for the area, and a dead-end for sellers. What other tips can you think of to aid this underwater housing market? Join the conversation with us on Twitter.

photo courtesy of http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-5817484473

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Wages Are Up, Prices Are Down

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The National Association of Realtors have released results of a survey revealing interesting details. The survey’s results concluded that in 2011 there was a 2.3% increase in average salary amongst Realtors; the first increase seen in nine years. Yes, that’s right. 9 years. Now, this seems rather strange since real estate has been doing nothing but plummeting and ebbing it’s way through the past decade, with no sights for improvement on the horizon. However, this increase in salary could be a great indicator that maybe real estate as a national industry is finally starting to recuperate, and that not all hope is lost for those pursuing the career path of a real estate agent. In fact, the poll also revealed that more than 9 out of 10 Realtors surveyed said they planned on remaining in their profession for at least two more years.

In combination with reports of real estate being on the recovery in the United States, as well as the Canadian market’s “soaring” in prices and sales (with the exception of Vancouver, who for over 5 months have seen a steady decline in sales and price), are we about to see the market recover? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter.

 

photo courtesy of Colin_K

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The Greenest Building in the World?

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The new Center for Sustainable Landscapes is set for unveiling on May 23rd in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia. As one of the earth’s first certified living buildings, it is designed to be self sustainable and has earned nods from the three highest green standards: The Living Building Challenge, LEED® Platinum, and SITES Certification for landscapes.

Photo courtesy of pixietart

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