Chalk it up to luck, I suppose, but a few weeks back we missed the only real snowstorm to hit our corner of the world this winter because we were traveling elsewhere on business. We received email reports from folks in the neighborhood that our hilly country lane was totally impassible due to ice and wet, deep snow plus plenty of downed trees, and their daily updates indicated that the situation remained unchanged for almost a week.

Executive Summary:

In the second half of 2012, the State was considering an update of its energy code. The Code Advisory Board (CAB) was recommending a minor step up from the 2009 IECC, while the codes and standards division was contemplating an endorsement of the 2012 IECC. Then everything changed, when Superstorm Sandy struck the Northeast, and the focus shifted to recovery. But even Sandy wasn’t strong enough to wash this decision away, and in some regards, it may have brought an even bigger problem ashore.

The State Energy Code

Despite BP's efforts to cover up the extent of the devastation in the Gulf, the more we learn about what's really happening, the more obvious the solutions.

READING THE NEWS REPORTS AND INTERVIEWS ABOUT THE NIGHTMARE unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico, I found myself sinking into a deepening funk. Having lived in the region for several years, I always considered it one of the natural crown jewels of U.S. territories.