Give and Take
Chief editor Michael Ivanovich shares his views and information sources in a weekly blog and responds to reader comments
European energy snobs vs. ugly Americans: Pt. 2
Wow. The first post about Energy snobs vs. ugly Americans has drawn more traffic and comments than any other since I began blogging in 2008. So let’s continue. First, I promised an answer to why Europeans are more sophisticated about energy than Americans. I will, in fact, provide the first of two in this post. The first answer is what I was told from an international energy consultant. The ...... Read More
Comments (1)European energy snobs vs. ugly Americans
While at the World Energy Dialogue in Hannover, Germany in April, I noticed a significant disparity in the level of sophistication between Europeans and Americans. Not only were the EU speakers discussing energy issues and resolutions more eruditely than I typically experience at U.S. events, the questions from the audience indicated that the general populous were equally more evolved than their U ...... Read More
Comments (23)Stimulus bill for engineers #2 -- Project links
I’ve been meaning to continue the series of posts on the stimulus bill that I stated with “What’s in the stimulus bill for engineers, #1,” but was thwarted by the bill’s rewrites that unraveled a few day’s of work. Before I could get back on task, it became obvious that it would be more timely and useful to identify Websites to engineers who are ...... Read More
Comments (0)CSE is LinkedIn and twittering - R U?
Let me begin by saying that as a communications professional, it’s my job to take new media technologies out for a spin kind of like journalists who cover the auto market. Sometimes I get to drive a Hummer; sometimes a Seqway; and often a whole lot in between. In this context, I’ve been test driving LinkedIn, the professional networking platform that is to white-collar workers what M ...... Read More
Comments (1)Are you Cx certifiable? Who isn't?
UPDATE: March 26: ASHRAE has officially announced the start of the program ASHRAE will be unveiling its certification program for commissioning (Cx) in June. In doing so, it will become the sixth organization offering a Cx certification credential. Certifications are currently offered by Associated Air Balance Council (AABC), Assoc. of Energy Engineers (AEE), Building Commissioning Assoc. (BCA), ...... Read More
Comments (2)How to set up and harvest RSS feeds
Here’s a time-saving tip that puts the Interent to work for you for sending you news, code updates, and (selfish plug) blog updates as soon as they are made. Rather than visiting a bunch of Websites and looking for updates, try subscribing to what are called RSS Feeds instead. RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication,” and is way to pull information from a target Websit ...... Read More
Comments (1)What's in the stimulus bill for energy and engineers #1?
There’s so much hype and spin about the stimulus bill in the mass media, that I had no idea what was really in it until I just opened the darn thing and started reading. After all, I took a Politics of Energy class in college, I should be able to get through some actual legislation. I’m primarily interested in how the $789 billion program will spawn projects and funding that wi ...... Read More
Comments (0)Weird news about the stimulus bill signing date.
The $789 billion stimulus package has been blessed by both the House and the Senate, and after being officially voted on and passed, it is expected to be signed by President Obama on February 16th. On a whim, I googled February 16 to see if that date is famous for something. Are you ready for this? February 16, 2009 is the 50th anniversary of Fidel Castro becoming the Prime Minister of Cuba. ...... Read More
Comments (1)California's power play on energy policy
California has long been a rogue state in terms of leading the nation on energy and environmental policy. From tailpipe emisissions to HVAC equipment energy standards, California has given bellyaches and migranes to national trade associations and federal agencies for years, some of which have gone to the Supreme Court for resolution. Through elections, appointments, and good old-fashioned power g ...... Read More
Comments (5)In these tough times
In reading the different news stories about these tough economic times and in talking to numerous engineers and manufacturers in the field, I’ve become aware that we’re all standing at the edge of our own abyss, and all of our abysses are connected. For some, what keeps them awake at night is a business loan they cannot get because banks are hoarding taxpayer funds the U.S. Treasury ...... Read More
Comments (2)Engineers ready for Rebuilding America
Along with about 50 colleagues, I sat in the cafeteria and watched the swearing-in of President Obama today and listened to his inaugural speech. There were cheers, some tears, and the intense sound of people really listening. Mr. Obama talked a lot about the need for rebuilding America; putting science and technology back at the top, and rethinking how we use energy and natural resources. He ...... Read More
Comments (0)Reconnecting
Welcome to a new year, and a fresh start for this blog. Sorry for being gone for awhile. So. What do you think of the current economy? Do you think we’re going to rebound into something completely different, or build a similar building on the old foundation? Certainly, there’s an opportunity to revolutionize America’s economic infrastructure – not have it be so dep ...... Read More
Comments (0)
