As I sit here today, between the election and the start of Greenbuild, I suppose what’s expected of me is to seek a forward looking tone, but I don’t feel optimistic. I could say that I’m more motivated than ever to push for a safe, just building industry, but all I really feel is exhaustion. “We’re going to continue the fight” feels forced and hollow.
Yet, the fundamental objective remains that Architecture should support the wellbeing of all people, and I simply do not believe that for some humans to thrive, others must suffer. I realize, perhaps more strongly in the last few days, that this is not a universally held worldview. So be it. Our efforts have always focused on the “coalition of the willing,” and despite everything this continues to grow.
We’ve laid a foundation for understanding building products that cannot be undone. We can’t unsee what we’ve seen. Our goal has never been to force people to choose certain products through political means but to enlighten them towards better choices with the compilation and disclosure of reliable and actionable data.
The thousands of manufacturers that have already committed countless resources to understanding and improving their products have no reason to reverse course.
So let’s simply continue what we’ve been doing. We’ve amassed this tremendous amount of data about building products. New tools are easing the connection between health outcomes and our material choices. Recent research is helping to prioritize chemicals to be phased out, not through mandates but through our collective refusal to use them.
This is not important “now more than ever;” it is as important as it’s always been. I’ll see you in Philly.
Mike