State Of Mass Asks Utilities How To Avoid Bill Spikes From EV Fast Chargers

 Super interesting article to read through from Energy News Network. Here's the crux of the issue. Electric vehicle charging, in particular and more specifically high speed fast charging is a sporadic event, for the most part charging units are not in use, but then when a car does plug in there is a surge in demand for electricity at pretty high power. Utilities, not every State, but for example in Massachusetts have demand charges, where the cost of energy delivered is based upon the highest amount of energy used over a short time frame. Needless to say, this hits exactly the sweet spot of how fast charging works. You plug your car in, for a relatively short period of time (20 minutes) and have high powered electrons pumped in to your battery, so you're going to be paying a high price for that electricity. Needless to say, to make the economics of EV charging work, this is something that needs to be addressed. Electric vehicles are becoming much more popular, every auto manufacturer is making them and getting them on the road over the next few years, we need to figure out how to make the process of charging while on the road affordable. 

Image Credit Ken Fields Flickr

Emerging Design World Sustainability Trends For 2021

 Always skeptical about these types of articles, predicting what will happen for the year to come. Granted makes for a good article headline. Curious how much of this will really come to any fruition during the pandemic, but here are six supposed emerging design world trends in sustainability for 2021. We won't spoil it but some of the topics are old standbys, recycling, architecture but with the catch word of equitable thrown in, government incentives is a big one taking the new administration in to account, health and minimalism. Read the article for yourself and lets check back in a year and see what transpired. 

Architectural Digest - 6 Sustainability Trends That Will Emerge In The Design World In 2021

Winemakers In France Experimenting To Combat Climate Change

Not a usual resource for wine news, but Time magazine had an excellent in-depth investigation as to how France in particular was making the effort to adapt to climate change by experimenting with new wines, flavors, grapes, processes. Sad to say, and admitted to in the article, some wines will cease to exist, but the hope is that Bordeaux and French wines in general, indeed wine everywhere, may find a way to survive. Its a good read and a good follow up to our previously published Climate Change Is Very Quickly Affecting Wine. Read the full article, it's worth it, especially if you're a big wine lover / aficionado, The Taste of Bordeaux Is Going To Change Under Threat From Climate Change And Coronavirus, French Winemakers Try Experimenting.

Pool Cabana Pergola By SPAN Architecture

 Great looking pool cabana pergola style by New York City architecture firm SPAN. Pulled this from Architectural Digest, Photo Credit Adrian Gaut - 25 Garden Trellises And Pergolas Perfect For Summer Relaxation. The SPAN website actually has a couple more images that show detail. Like the use of stone and the wood slats on the ends. Check Out SPAN’s Westport Pool House project.

Climate Change Is Very Quickly Affecting Wine

Not really anything new to those who accept the science, but climate change is already and now in to the future will affect wine. Shouldn't really come as a big surprise. If you want the absolute well informed and well researched explanation, the best one found (non-scientific) is from Wine Enthusiast - Climate Change Is Rapidly Altering Wine As We Know It. The long and short of it, if you know and follow wine, while grapes aren't necessarily all that hard to grow, they are very sensitive to climate... read enough about California and French wine growing and inevitably people will wax philosophical about individual micro-climates and their effect on grapes and individual wines. Isn't all that hard to extrapolate the various differences in micro-climates to think what if whole regions are changing, as they are with climate change. Right now we're experiencing and need to get used to droughts with intense occasional rains. Fires are rampant burning through vineyards. Wine growing regions are kind of a mess and not going to get all that much better. 

Read Biden's Executive Order On Health And The Environment

 Making progress, real quick in the new Administration, first and foremost addressing climate change, rolling back the failures of the previous administration and acknowledging that climate change is real, science is real and we need to do something, fast. Checkout the full executive order from Biden on Health, the Environment and Climate Change. By the way, it's pretty seriously long document, lots in there to unpack.

Daily Architect For Inspiration Fernando Romero

 Fernando Romero is our latest addition to our Architect of The Day.