The fixation academics and bureaucrats have had for decades to make every building energy-efficient while downplaying the negative health consequences of breathing recirculated air is an example of academic, scientific, and political tunnel vision. The way to fix a long-term and complex problem is not to ignore or simplify other variables in the environment that will be thrown out of balance by a simple fix. Every year new standards and regulations are proposed to undo problems created by demanding energy efficiency be the most objective.
The consequence has been building healthy buildings that have taken a back seat to BTUs kilowatts and CO2 for the fifty years. How many historic, well-built buildings destroyed or turned into sick buildings in the name of energy-efficiency? Today, urbanites live in energy-efficient tombs that kill. As always, the fixes to make buildings healthy will be costly and ultimately use more energy(1).
Too many mayors of cities are deluged by a sea of bureaucrats chasing imaginary dragons as Don Quixote had. It takes a great mayor and support staff to see through the shenanigans of career bureaucrats eager to justify their existence. It takes an even greater mayor and staff to create a city government staffed by capable people interested in the city they serve and not just collecting a salary. Solutions that require multidisciplinary expertise and understanding will be few and far between as long as mayors look to institutions that focus on instant science and solutions.
#Energy-Efficency
City Solutions Institute 