Page 66 - Green Builder Magazine Jan-Feb 2018 Issue

FROM THE TAILGATE By Ron Jones

New Offerings for the Sustainable Minded

Time to Warm Up to the Big Picture

and Just Be Resilient

ACK IN NOVEMBER, I closely followed the
weather reports in a month that proved to
be one of the warmest on record for our
part of the world. The television weather
B reporters and news anchors gleefully cheered
the unseasonable temperatures, often in sportswear and
sleeveless tops to illustrate the point.
When the month finally wrapped up, it was one of
the driest on record, with zero measurable precipitation
officially recorded in a calendar month that usually
averages about 2.5 inches. The official high temperature
on Thanksgiving Day in Denver reached the low 70s, only
a couple of degrees off the all-time record for that holiday.
A few days later, the high was reported to be above 80.
Frankly, it was more than a little frustrating to witness
carefree celebrations and lack of expressed concern about
the extreme dryness and unusually warm temperatures.
While some basked in the short-term comfort afforded by
the conditions, I kept thinking about the record wildfires that
had only weeks before dominated the news in the West—
especially those in California, but in other states as well.
The nightmarish images of entire communities,
croplands and vineyards, and countless acres of wild
lands transformed into charred wastelands and ruin were
impossible to forget. The nightly stories of the shattered
lives, hopes and dreams of thousands of residents could
only be described as heartbreaking. The loss of life and
property were difficult to comprehend, and the millions
of dollars in public and private resources that were poured into the extremely eager to rebuild in the wake of destruction, but it seems that
efforts to battle the infernos, not to mention the heroic efforts of the we’re adamantly resistant to adopting measures that will help prevent
firefighters and other first responders, boggled the mind. the same outcome the next time we encounter similar challenges.
I remember thinking that the images resembled photographs Resilience is a topic that has captured a great deal of the dialogue
of cities and towns that had been destroyed by massive bombing these days. There are many sincere people and companies in our
campaigns in wars all around the world. Often, they bore an eerie industry, and others, who are devoting vast amounts of energy,
resemblance to the black and white photos of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. creativity and resources to develop products and systems, and to
Are people really as shortsighted and oblivious to the big picture, implement strategies intended to provide a more resiliently built
as we often seem to be? Can we actually learn from experience, and environment and a safer, more secure future.
if so, why don’t we apply those lessons in an effort to avoid enduring But until we are able to look beyond our immediate comforts, we
the same outcomes when these kinds of catastrophes occur? will struggle to take the necessary and appropriate actions that will
The real estate industries, and all forms of development and lead to more-resilient homes and communities. It’s something we
construction, seem to be among the greatest offenders. We are cannot continue to fail to achieve. GB

64 GREEN BUILDER January/February 2018 www.greenbuildermedia.com

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