Chicago Window Expert

Mark Meshulam is an expert witness and consultant for windows, glazing and building facades.

From the New York Times:

A New Enforcer in Buildings, the Energy Inspector

Build it right the first time

“If you build a building well, it’s an asset for 100 years; conversely, if you build a shoddy building, it can be a 100-year liability,” said Hal Harvey, chief executive of ClimateWorks, a group seeking to tackle global warming. “Energy building codes are the single biggest opportunity to save the environment while saving the consumer money.”

Response: Letter to Editor
Use the codes currently in place
“What is needed is national enforcement of existing (National Energy Conservation)codes. The 2009 code could produce at least 15 percent gains in energy efficiency compared with the 2006 edition, according to the Department of Energy.”

Also from the New York Times:
New Energy Injects Hope in a Colorado Steel Town
“Laid-off steelworker hoping for a call from Vestas Towers America, a Danish company that is scheduled this fall to open the world’s biggest factory making towers for wind energy.”

New York Times again:
A Fuel-Belching Nascar Track Has Big Plans for Solar Power
“About 40,000 photovoltaic panels are to be installed on 25 acres across the street from the racetrack on property that had been used as a parking lot for races. The solar farm is expected to generate three megawatts once it is completed, in spring 2010, making it Pennsylvania’s largest such facility, Igdalsky said.The project is expected to cost $15 million to $17 million but more than pay for itself over time.”

From The Pew Center on the States
Study by the Pew Center “Clean Energy Economy”
“A clean energy economy generates jobs, businesses and investments while expanding clean energy production, increasing energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, waste and pollution, and conserving water and other natural resources.” This exceptional study tracks green progress state by state. A must read!

From The Pew Center on Global Climate Change
Wind and Solar Electricity: Challenges and Opportunities
“Wind and Solar Electricity: Challenges and Opportunities examines three primary obstacles to deployment of wind and solar power: cost, variability of generation, and lack of transmission. The paper, authored by Dr. Paul Komor of the University of Colorado at Boulder, explains these challenges, explores policy options for addressing them, and describes the implications of future scenarios that entail significantly higher levels of electricity generation from wind and solar power.” A must read!

From TreeHugger.com
Trend Watch: Large-Scale Solar Projects In Unexpected Places
“We’re used to seeing thermal solar generators planned for desert environments, where clouds are few and the sun unimpeded….Regardless, on the East Coast of the US, a photovoltaic “sun farm,” rated at 10 megawatts, is planned for the State of Delaware, near the city of Dover. On the West Coast State of Washington, private investors are planning a 75-megawatt photovoltaic ground installation – they’re calling it a “solar farm.” What’s going on?”

Mark Meshulam, Chicago Window Expert gets green by posing in front of a tree as crowd looks on.