CALIFORNIA MANUFACTURING EXCEEDS EXPECATIONS

Edited by Jodi Summers

We quite enjoyed the California map we found on the NewGeography.com website. It details individual industries that are driving states to be more (or less) competitive. This graphic, powered by Tableu Software, breaks down the performance of the 20 major sectors in terms of expected and actual job change from 2007-2011. When you check out the California statistics, notice how we excelled beyond expectations in manufacturing with 1,353,192 jobs in 2011.

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http://www.newgeography.com/content/002635-interactive-graphic-ranking-states-by-competitiveness

IS YOUR BUSINESS ON THE EFD GREEN COMPANY MAP?

By Jodi Summers

How green are California jobs? Check out this pretty fun tool -> it plots out five sectors of the green economy jobs on a new updated map compiled by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

The map, essentially a free, searchable database, concludes that California is the greenest state, boasting more than 3,500 green companies and workplaces. Los Angeles County leads the green field with more than 500 businesses, closely followed by Orange and Santa Clara counties.

“All told, these materials provide the latest snapshot of the strength and diversity of California’s green economy,” Tim O’Connor, attorney of EDF’s energy program, wrote. “In a time when economic recovery is job number one, it’s clear that California’s leadership on energy and climate change policies is fostering innovation and entrepreneurship across the state and helping California compete in the clean, green economy of the future.”

The map can be tracked by city, county and political district. Plotted on the map are businesses in five green sectors:

* Green buildings (design/sales, installation, operations)

* Energy generation (operation, services, equipment)

* Energy efficiency (products, tools, services)

* Transportation (alternative vehicle systems, fuels, components)

* Green practices (green certified, green award recipients)

* Academic/Government/Non-profit (advocates for low-carbon economy)

* Carbon markets (reduction projects, emissions management)

This is the green map for Assemblymember Ted Lieu’s 53rd Assembly in Los Angeles.

Those wishing to be included on the map may fill out an online form to submit their information. Check it all out @ http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=40388.

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http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/08/10/mapping-shape-california-green-economy

http://www.matternetwork.com/images/Matter/EDF.jpg

http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=40388

THE GEOGRAPHY OF JOBS

By Jodi Summers

According to this exploding Geography of Jobs map – http://tipstrategies.com/archive/geography-of-jobs/-

Southern California reached its peak in 2^nd quarter 2005, hit parity 3^rd quarter 2007 and then began our great economic slide…

Check it out:

October 2007

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April 2005

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March 2009

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Let’s hope we go green in more ways than one.

MEASURINGWORTH LETS YOU CALCULATE VALUE OVER TIME

MEASURINGWORTH LETS YOU CALCULATE VALUE OVER TIME

by Jodi Summers

http://www.measuringworth.com/

MeasuringWorth is a service for calculating relative worth over time.

Measuring Worth Is a Complicated Question

Intrinsic things are priceless. The love of your life or a beautiful sunset. There is no objective way to measure these, nor should there be.

The worth of monetary transactions is also difficult to measure. While there is a price, wage, or other kind of transaction that can be recorded at a precise price, the worth of the amount must be interpreted.

The price of a hamburger is probably worth more to a starving homeless person than to a very wealthy one. An allowance of five pennies a week was worth more to a child in 1902 than it is to a child today.

It can be more difficult when the question is to determine the “historical” worth of something. The price, even deflated for inflation, is not enough. Was Andrew Carnegie richer than Bill Gates? Did Babe Ruth make more than David Beckham? Was the cost of a loaf of bread more then than now? These questions all depend on the context and the calculators on this web site enable users to make their own comparisons.

Users of these calculators often come back to us and ask how they are to decide which indicator to use. As a guide to users of our calculators, we present here Measures of Worth. This essay provides a methodology for deciding which measure of worth is appropriate for the subject at hand.

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http://www.measuringworth.com/

http://www.negotiationlawblog.com/currency%20exchange%20rates.jpg

THE GREENEST BUILDING IS THE ONE THAT’S ALREADY BUILT

By Jodi Summers

We love this website http://www.thegreenestbuilding.org/. The Greenest Building website is based on the premise of “the Greenest Building is the One Already Built,” and they have the calculators to support that claim.

The goal is to get developers to rehab existing buildings as opposed to tearing them down and building new structures.

For example, the embodied energy calculator will figure out the total energy spent in the production of a building, from the manufacture of materials to their delivery to construction.

The demolition energy calculator is to calculate the amount of energy “needed to raze, load, and haul away construction materials.”

Convert energy to gasoline, figure out BTU usage…http://www.thegreenestbuilding.org/ is fascinating.

FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE BUILDINGS NET ZERO BY 2025

FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE BUILDINGS NET ZERO BY 2025

By Jodi Summers

The DOE has taken a number of steps to encourage energy efficiency in the design of new buildings. EnergyPlus is an energy modeling tool, which is augmented by OpenStudio, a plug-in for the Google SketchUp 3-D drawing program that allows SketchUp to work seamlessly with the EnergyPlus program.

Both are available on the EnergyPlus page of DOE’s Building Technologies Program Web site.

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus/

That site also features a selection of benchmark models for 16 types of building in 16 locations to help designers understand the energy use of similar new buildings- http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/commercial_initiative/new_construction.html

EnergyPlus models heating, cooling, lighting, ventilating, and other energy flows as well as water in buildings. EnergyPlus includes many innovative simulation capabilities such as time steps of less than an hour, modular systems and plant integrated with heat balance-based zone simulation, multizone air flow, thermal comfort, water use, natural ventilation, and photovoltaic systems.