There’s one thing you can say about our industry: We are a tightknit group. Many of us know each other on both personal and professional levels. We know each other’s families and have worked together for years to advance our industry and evolve with the times. That’s why it’s no surprise to witness the support […]

This time of year, my calendar is typically full of upcoming industry meetings and conferences. It’s the busy season for these kinds of gatherings, when a lot of important work gets done by a variety of industry stakeholders. But there’s no ignoring the spread of COVID-19 throughout the U.S., and many large-scale gatherings have been […]

Years ago, I predicted that we’d see regional, state and local legislation eclipse federal law when it comes to carbon emission reductions. Over and over, we’ve seen this point validated in the form of aggressive localized plans, but there is still some activity at the national level. Case in point: I was reminded at the […]

This blog is going to be short, but sweet. And it’s on a topic that has potential impacts for the continued health of the U.S. building market: lumber. As most of you are aware, Canada subsidizes its lumber industry by allowing public land to be harvested. In the U.S., timber is harvested on private lands, […]

The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) in conjunction with Dodge Data & Analytics just released their 2020 Green Single Family and Multifamily Homes SmartMarket Brief – and the data had some surprises. We are still seeing steady and incremental growth in green building practices overall. Since 2014, dedicated green builders (those who do 90% of […]

For the past few years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has been all the buzz when it comes to consumer goods and how they talk and engage with one another. And we humans are adopting those technologies at an increasing rate. According to a U.S. Consumer Technology Sales and Forecasts report released in conjunction with the Consumer […]

I hope everyone had a great holiday season enjoying some old traditions and maybe even creating some new ones. For the past three years, I have used my first blog of the season to reflect on what happened in the previous year. So, you could say that this has become one of my traditions. At […]

In the building and construction industry, we put a lot of emphasis on carbon emissions that occur once a building is complete and operating. We think of it in terms of energy efficiency and ideally achieving a net-zero status. But what about the carbon emissions that occur during the manufacture, transport and installation of products? […]

In an effort to fight climate change, a new draft of the Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act was released for discussion on Nov. 19 by the House Ways and Means Committee. Among the priorities is leveraging tax incentives to encourage energy-efficiency improvements in new and existing homes. According to the news release […]

Most don’t know this about me, but I am a foodie through and through. I enjoy cooking and cannot imagine giving up my gas range. Take it from me: The easy cleaning, the speed and temperature control, they are must-haves for any home chef. But according to a recent article in USA Today, gas ranges […]