Greening the Skyline: Small Fixes Mean Big Economic Gains

One of the most ambitious efforts to transform city skylines around the globe is nearly invisible. That's because the changes, aimed at drastically reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions in tall buildings, are happening in places most people never venture — in subterranean boiler rooms, behind radiators, under desks and inside the massive walls of office towers built decades ago.
Skyscrapers look modern, but they are among the worst culprits in urban areas when it comes to energy consumption and carbon emission, with outdated heating, cooling and lighting systems. And there are a lot of them — some 3 million in the U.S. alone. "No matter what we do on the new-construction side, it is a fraction of what needs to be done with existing tall buildings," notes Rick Fedrizzi, CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council, which since 2002 has certified more than 1,000 energy-saving retrofits of existing buildings around the globe. An additional 5,234 retrofits are in the works. The work itself isn't cutting edge — it's about doing the basics better — but the savings add up: some 200 million metric tons of carbon would no longer be emitted each year.
(See a brief history of the world's tallest buildings.)
One of the biggest success stories to date is the Empire State Building, which announced last fall that its new $13 million retrofit would pay for itself within three years, thanks to a 38% reduction in annual energy consumption. The total costs were partially offset by a $2 million grant from New York State. But Tony Malkin, owner of the Art Deco building completed in 1931, also managed to save money with novel ideas like refurbishing the glass in the building's windows instead of replacing it. Instead of paying $2,500 each to replace the 6,514 windows, Malkin spent $700 each to clean and insulate them. The contractors actually set up a window-refurbishing factory on the building's fifth floor in order to get the job done in less than six months last year. "The industry said it couldn't be done," says Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials. Adds Malkin: "We did everything based on cost-effectiveness."
Most of the upgrades were downright ordinary. Workers recaulked the gaps between the limestone slabs on the building's facade to prevent heat loss, sprayed foam insulation in holes between the radiator pipes and walls and installed variable-frequency drives in the heating and cooling systems for precise temperature control. "I can't tell you how many people say, 'Why not install solar cells or put a little windmill on the roof?' Because it doesn't make business sense. It makes much more sense to lower energy use," says Paul Rode, the project manager at Johnson Controls who oversaw the Empire State Building retrofit.
(See pictures of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.)
Another myth is that it's harder to get energy savings out of old buildings. In some ways, they're easier to green, as they tend to be made out of better insulating materials, like masonry, instead of glass and metal. For newer edifices, architects have resorted to more novel approaches to prevent heat loss, like creating a second facade that envelops the original. The 32-story glass-and-steel Celebrezze Federal Building in Cleveland, built in 1967, is getting a second skin made of glass and aluminum, which will be paid for in part with funds from President Obama's stimulus program. Designed by architect Charles Young of Interactive Design Eight, the new facade will stand 2.5 ft. (75 cm) outside the old exterior. Airflow between the old and new facade will insulate the building, yielding an estimated energy savings of $650,000 per year.
Other high-profile retrofits are in the works. George Comfort & Sons, which owns the 50-story Worldwide Plaza in midtown Manhattan, hired Johnson Controls' Rode to manage its $15 million retrofit last year after touring the Empire State Building. And the city of Melbourne has launched an ambitious project aimed at reducing the energy consumption of about 1,200 office buildings 38% by 2020. "This is not some feel-good environmental initiative. It is a hardheaded economic business decision," says Robert Doyle, lord mayor of Melbourne. And not a tough one, given that the work will pay for itself in 10 years.


Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2063860,00.html#ixzz1L8vp2X2P

Ομπάμα, ο... « βασιλιάς των λιονταριών»

Ο Τραμπ, που αφήνει ανοιχτό το ενδεχόμενο να είναι υποψήφιος με τους Ρεπουμπλικάνους στις προεδρικές εκλογές του 2012, επιμένει ότι ο Ομπάμα έχει γεννηθεί στην Κένυα και επομένως η εκλογή του στην προεδρία των ΗΠΑ ήταν παράνομη. Την περασμένη εβδομάδα ο Αμερικανός πρόεδρος έδωσε στη δημοσιότητα το αυθεντικό πιστοποιητικό γέννησής του, καταρρίπτοντας αυτόν τον ισχυρισμό.

Όμως το βράδυ του Σαββάτου ο Ομπάμα αποφάσισε να διασκεδάσει το κοινό του, σε βάρος του Τραμπ, ο οποίος παρεβρισκόταν στο δείπνο, προειδοποιώντας ότι επρόκειτο να δείξει το «επίσημο βίντεο της γέννησής του», ως επιπρόσθετη απόδειξη.

«Σας προειδοποιώ. Κανείς δεν έχει δει αυτό το βίντεο εδώ και 50 χρόνια, ούτε ακόμη κι εγώ», είπε. Τότε, στην τεράστια οθόνη της αίθουσας συνεστιάσεων του ξενοδοχείου Χίλτον άρχισαν να προβάλλονται οι αρχικές σκηνές της ταινίας κινουμένων σχεδίων «Ο βασιλιάς των λιονταριών», που δείχνουν τη γέννηση του μικρού Σίμπα στην... Κένυα.

Το κοινό ξέσπασε σε ασυγκράτητα γέλια, αλλά ο Ομπάμα, για να βεβαιωθεί ότι κανείς δεν θα πάρει στα σοβαρά την ταινία, πρόσθεσε: «Θέλω να αποσαφηνίσω στο τραπέζι του καναλιού Fox News ότι πρόκειται για αστείο. Αυτό δεν ήταν το πραγματικό βίντεο της γέννησής μου. Ήταν ένα παιδικό κινούμενο σχέδιο. Ρωτήστε στην Ντίσνεϊ αν δεν με πιστεύετε. Εκεί έχουν την αυθεντική ταινία"

Οι Αμερικανοί πρόεδροι συχνά αυτοσαρκάζονται στο δείπνο των ανταποκριτών και ο Ομπάμα δεν αποτέλεσε εξαίρεση. Απαντώντας στους επικριτές του που τον κατηγορούν για αλαζονεία, απάντησε: «Έχω βρει ένα εξαιρετικό εργαλείο που με βοηθά σ' αυτόν τον τομέα: τα νούμερα των δημοσκοπήσεων».

Ο Ομπάμα παραδέχτηκε ότι έχει απογοητεύσει ακόμη και την «περιφέρεια» που τον έχει υποστηρίξει περισσότερο απ' όλους τους άλλους: τους ηθοποιούς του Χόλιγουντ. «Τις προάλλες ο Ματ Ντέιμον είπε ότι είναι απογοητευμένος με την απόδοσή μου. Τι να πω Ματ... μόλις είδα το Adjustment Bureau», χαριτολόγησε.

Βλέποντας στο κοινό του τη Ρεπουμπλικανή γερουσιαστή Μισέλ Μπάτσμαν, από τη Μινεσότα, μια Πολιτεία που συνορεύει με τον Καναδά, δεν δίστασε να την πειράξει: «Η Μισέλ Μπάτσμαν σκέφτεται να κατέβει για πρόεδρος, κάτι παράξενο, αφού μαθαίνω ότι γεννήθηκε στον Καναδά. Ναι Μισέλ, για να ξέρεις, έτσι ξεκινάνε όλα...» είπε.

http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_01/05/2011_389191

How Syria and Libya Got to Be Turkey's Headaches

With neighboring Syria in crisis, the Arab Spring has finally arrived on Turkey's doorstep — and with it, one big headache for a government that has spent recent years staking its political fortunes on the region.
Since coming to power in 2002, the Islamic-rooted government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to become a kingpin in the Muslim world, driven by shared religious sensibility and economic expansionism. Turkish ministers have jetted between Middle Eastern capitals, signing trade deals and political cooperation protocols even as long-standing efforts to join the European Union have cooled. Erdogan stepped up criticism of Israel and became a hero on Arab streets for it.
Called neo-Ottomanism by some, the new foreign policy was based on the maxim "zero problems with neighbors." As long as trade flourished and business was good, the argument went, why couldn't everybody just get along. Bashir Assad's Syria — which shares a 700km border with Turkey — was a key player in this scenario. Although the two countries came to the brink of war in the late 1990s, they became close political allies under Erdogan. The two leaders holidayed together on the Turkish coast and last year, lifted visa restrictions on travel. Unlike the revolution in Egypt, where Erdogan was quick to denounce Hosni Mubarak and call for a handover, he has been largely silent on the current uprising in Syria.
(See photos of the ongoing turmoil in Syria.)
That parallels Turkey's response to the uprising in Libya, where Turkish companies had billions of dollars in construction contracts and some 25,000 workers. Libyan rebels have since accused Ankara — a NATO member — of supporting Muammar Gaddafi's regime.
Yet, despite strong economic ties, Erdogan does not appear to have the ear of either Assad or Gaddafi. "Turkey styled itself as a 'wise elder' and role model in the region, but when push comes to shove, it has become apparent that it has little influence over what is happening," says Soli Ozel, international relations professor at Bilgi University and a political columnist. "This is the point where Turkish foreign policy hits the wall."
(See Turkey's call for change in Egypt.)
"In pursuing its economic interests in a region such as the Middle East, where the state is heavily involved in economic decision making, Turkey has had to create strong bonds with many — though not all — existing regimes, " wrote Turkey expert Henri Barkey in an article for the Carnegie Endowment for Peace. "Paradoxically, these linkages have made Turkey into a status-quo power, unwilling to see dramatic change. And not surprisingly, first Libya, and now Syria, is creating serious headaches for Turkey."
In addition to being a political embarrassment for Ankara and its ambitions, the worsening turmoil in Syria could have serious political consequences for Turkey — most worryingly, a mass influx of refugees across the border. Senior Turkish government negotiators traveled to Damascus on Thursday to urge reform, while the Turkey's National Security Council met in Ankara to discuss the crisis. "It is important that necessary steps are taken rapidly and in a determined way in order to establish social peace and stability in brotherly, friendly Syria, to put an end to the violence and to maintain security of life, basic rights and freedoms," a council statement said later.
Erdogan's reticence in addressing the violent crackdowns on civilians in Libya and Syria has also sparked criticism that he has double-standards when he picks his fights. Just two years ago, he caused an international stir by vocally condemning Israel's killing of civilians in Gaza. Relations with Israel never recovered: Turkey has not had an ambassador in Tel Aviv for months. "Turkey now finds itself very alone on the world stage," says Ozel. "Relations with Europe have soured, and what will happen in the Middle East is uncertain. But it didn't need to be this way."


Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2068633,00.html#ixzz1L6bJmBfY