Envirology Ltd.

27/09/2024

Wednesday, I was listening to the radio while driving to an appointment.

There was a quiz on, and about a dozen people got their answers wrong. I’ve got to admit, I would not know the answer either – that quickly.

The astonishing bit was, though, that all the candidates would have had more time to think, google or ask Alexa, if they thought about it. Instead, they just quickly guessed the answer, without even remotely taking their time.

That made we think.

It’s like in life and work: What are our chances of making quick decisions and getting it right? Or should we rather take our time, do some research, analysis and get it right. Or substantially increase our chances of getting it right?

Same scenario happened with exams and my daughter. She’s a smart cookie, at least smarter in biology and chemistry. She went into the exams and finished within an hour out of 3 hours available.

But she ‘only’ had a merit and an achieved (her words).

If she had done the basics and spent the remaining 2 hours (or maybe even just one) on refining it, linking things and explaining things plus checking her rationale, she would have easily achieved excellence. Her takeaway from this: Do not rash things and take your time.

If we act rash, the chances of getting it right are slim. Unless it’s a subject we know about really well, so this is where your experience and knowledge comes in. If it is not an area we are certain about, would more time and research increase our chances of getting it right, instead of just taking a guess?

Can we afford to take a guess or take time and risk the possibility that we run out of time? The latter one typically rather meaning running out of budget in a commercial environment.

Thinking commercially, if we are not certain, do the risks of running out of time and budget and maybe running at less revenue outweigh the risk of guessing, doing a bad job and paying the price (or losing the job)?

To close the loop, my all-time favourite quote: Think McFly, think!

Can we afford to take a guess or take time and risk the possibility that we run out of time?

26/08/2024

Another year, another COP. What will be the results? At this stage more questions than answers.

Was all that air travel by all the delegates and attendees worth is? Much much progress do we need to get out of it just to offset the travel and accommodation, food consumed etc?

Progress should have been measured. I think others have measured progress to date already based on publicly available numbers, see my other post.

If it wasn’t an analogy for real, I’d say the story here was funny but unfortunately it still holds true.

Yes, I know I should not be sad about the lack of progress and focus on the positive that will come out of it, but it’s getting hard.

Discussions on LinkedIn hinged around the question why COP is getting less and less public attention each consecutive year and to me the answer is clear: People reached the understanding that there is a (climate/carbon emission/energy/poverty/economic/social) crisis, but they won’t get help by political leaders.

NZ’s new Resources Minister and Associate Energy Minister Jones has touted “We are not going to meet the 2030 dreamy fairytale aspirational figures that will be freeing ourselves of fossil fuels as generating energy”.

Unfortunsteky government has finally realised that 2030 is suddenly not that far away any more after years of doing nothing much about carbon emissions and the Paris agreement.
I need to admit that there some reductions, but not enough to meet the target.
And no government likes to make bold decisions as they will face the heat.

Not sure where the positive news are right now.

Another year, another COP. What will be the results? At this stage more questions than answers.

26/08/2024

What do crypto assets and artificial intelligence have in common? Both are power-hungry. New statistics from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) show a steep increase of global electricity use for crypto mining and AI.

What do crypto assets and artificial intelligence have in common? Both are power-hungry. New statistics from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) show a steep increase of global electricity use for…

27/04/2023

International Compost Awareness Week 2023:
We are doing composting to add nutrients and microbes to the soil and attracting worms, providing a healthy soil that has good moisture retention and grows healthy and strong plants, it’s all about soil health.

https://www.envirology.co.nz/international-compost-awareness-week-icaw-2023/

20/05/2022

The Green Building Council did commission a report to explore the embodied carbon of New Zealand’s buildings and potential reduction potentials.
Obviously, buildings may vary greatly in their embodied carbon but this is some average assumptions.

Nearly 4 years ago I did write a blog post about the zero carbon bill and queried the immediate actions. Meanwhile 4 years passed, Cop26 came and went. Where are we?

https://www.envirology.co.nz/embodied-emissions-within-buildings/

08/10/2021

Michael Braungart and William McDonough called them "horrible hybrids" in their 2002 book "Crade to Cradle". Things that are fused together from different materials that cannot be separated and thus not recycled.

Michael Braungart and William McDonough called them "horrible hybrids" in their 2002 book "Crade to Cradle". Things that are fused together from different materials that cannot be separated and thus…

08/05/2020

Are you having those deja-vues as well? We have been fighting through a very druy summer in Auckland - which can happen. We had a few of those over the years. The rural countryside had water issues with dry paddocks, no grass for livestock and dying trees. A bit more extreme than normal, but hey - it was summer. During that time, many rural people ran out of water and because the water tankers took so much water from some rural taps, the officials shut some of those off to conserve water and water tankers had to travel further and had issues getting to water, which in turn led to many people without water in rural communities, not only due to waiting times but also due to increased cost. [ 225 more words ]

May92020BlogAre you having those deja-vues as well?We have been fighting through a very druy summer in Auckland – which can happen. We had a few of those over the years. The rural countryside had water issues with dry paddocks, no grass for livestock and dying trees. A bit more extreme than normal...

16/10/2019

It’s a really simple concept. Result: No heating bills, healthy indoor climate, happy people, no building-related sickness and way less climate change. Did I mention that less heating means less emissions and with the better indoor climate, and less moisture and mould, the asthma rate would be much lower with much lower hospitalisation and cost to the health system.

So, why is the NZ government not targeting that, if that would really tackle pretty much all our building related issues plus climate change targets, all in one?

When I look what's happening and is most discussed in the building industry new at the moment, the headline above sums it all up.Leaky buildings, either from exterior or interior, are all too common. They happen due to a combination of wrong materials at the wrong place wrongly designed and badly in...

02/07/2019

February 2018 was the wettest February on record, 2017 saw the wettest day on record in parts of New Zealand and also the wettest year on record in the Milford Sound. Now, two years later, Auckland is calling its residents to save water - in the middle of winter where we supposedly should have plenty of water. The city's total water storage is 25 per cent less than normal for this time of year at 59.2 per cent. [ 98 more words ]

Jul22019BlogNewsFebruary 2018 was the wettest February on record, 2017 saw the wettest day on record in parts of New Zealand and also the wettest year on record in the Milford Sound. Now, two years later, Auckland is calling its residents to save water – in the middle of winter where we supposedly...

12/05/2019

Or should I have asked who did not like them? Various fast food chains have removed them or have put signs up asking people to not take them, the latest addition is now the Merriott Hotels. My personal opinion in the regard: Think we can do without straws. Not sure when they were introduced and cannot be bother to research, however sometimes we have to ask ourselves if we really need or want something and if the things we are so accustomed to really make sense. [ 126 more words ]

Think we can do without straws. Not sure when they were introduced and cannot be bother to research, however sometimes we have to ask ourselves if we really need or want something and if the things we are so accustomed to really make sense. Time to think and change habits - I am sure life was possib...

22/02/2019

Formula 1 technology is being adapted to deliver efficiency improvements in refrigeration. Wirth Research has used its expertise gained in F1 aerodynamics to develop the Ecoblade. The twin bladed system can be fitted to the front of supermarket shelves to guide cold air more efficiently. The system is being fitted across 353 Waitrose stores in the UK who expect to see up to 25% reduction in energy usage from the fridges – and happier, less chilly customers in the aisles. Amazing to think that some fine tuned airflow could save up to a quarter of energy.

Formula 1 technology is being adapted to deliver efficiency improvements in refrigeration. Wirth Research has used its expertise gained in F1 aerodynamics to develop the Ecoblade. The twin bladed system can be fitted to the front of supermarket shelves to guide cold air more efficiently. The system....

13/08/2018

NZ and USA – not only are we using the same construction methods, but we seem to be having the same educational, societal and methodological issues. The reason for any labour shortage is different in NZ I believe but nevertheless we seem to be having one – particularly a skilled labour shortage (note the emphasis on skilled).

NZ and USA - not only are we suing the same construction methods, but we seem to be having the same educational, societal and methodological issues. The reason for any labour shortage is different in NZ I believe but nevertheless we seem to be having one - particularly a skilled labour shortage (not...