Ar C.J. Walsh Technical Blog – Registered Architect, Fire Engineer & Independent Technical/Building Controller …… International Expert on Accessibility (incl. Fire Safety & Evacuation) for ALL + 'Real' Sustainability Implementation ! …… NO ADS & NO AI HERE !!
2024-03-22:The United Nation’s 4th Global e-Waste Monitor (#GEM) Report has revealed that the world’s generation of Electronic Waste is rising five times faster than documented e-Waste Recycling.
The 62 Million Tonnes of e-Waste generated in 2022 would fill 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks, roughly enough trucks to form a bumper-to-bumper chain encircling the equator.
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Less than one quarter (22.3%) of the year’s e-Waste Mass was documented as having been properly collected and recycled in 2022, leaving over Euro €57 Billion worth of recoverable natural resources unaccounted for, and increasing pollution risks to local communities. Worldwide, the annual generation of e-Waste is rising by 2.6 Million Tonnes annually, on track to reach 82 Million Tonnes by 2030, a further 33% increase from the 2022 figure.
E-waste, any discarded product with a plug or battery, is a health and environmental hazard, containing toxic additives or hazardous substances such as mercury, which can damage the human brain and co-ordination system.
The Report foresees a drop in the documented collection and recycling rate from 22.3% in 2022 to 20% by 2030 due to the widening difference in recycling efforts relative to the staggering growth of e-Waste generation worldwide. Challenges contributing to the widening gap include technological progress, higher consumption, limited repair options, shorter product life cycles, society’s growing ‘smartness’, design shortcomings, and inadequate e-Waste management infrastructure.
The Report also notes that the world ‘remains stunningly dependent’ on a few countries for rare earth elements, despite their unique properties crucial for future technologies, including renewable energy generation and e-Mobility.
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31 Million Tonnes … Estimated weight of metals embedded in e-Waste in 2022, along with 17 Million Tonnes of plastics and 14 Million Tonnes of other materials (minerals, glass, composite materials, etc.)
17.6 Kg … Per Capita e-Waste generation in Europe, followed by Oceania (16.1 kg) and the Americas (14.1 kg)
5.1 Million Tonnes (8.2% of Global Total) … e-Waste shipped across borders in 2022, of which approximately 3.3 Million Tonnes (65%) was shipped from high-income to middle/low-income countries through uncontrolled, undocumented movements
NOTE: Cross national border ‘exporting’ of e-Waste – ANY Waste – Is NOT Recycling !
33% (20.4 Million Tonnes) … Proportion of e-waste made up of small devices (e.g. toys, microwave ovens, vacuum cleaners, e-cigarettes), of which 12% are recycled
Sustainability Impact Assessment (#SIA): A continual evaluation and optimization process – informing initial decision-making, design, shaping activity / product / service realization, useful life, and termination or final disposal – of the interrelated positive and negative social, environmental, economic, institutional, political and legal impacts on balanced and equitable implementation of Sustainable Human & Social Development.
2024-03-01: Too many strategic mistakes are being made, and too much uninformed ‘group-think’ is evident, in the – NOW – frantic human scramble to head off Climate Disruption … and attain Sustainable Human & Social Development … an intricate, open, dynamic and continuously evolving concept which is still not properly understood.
In a Split Human Personality which is clearly observed amid today’s geopolitical turmoil … much of one ‘personality’ is involved in this positive, yet arduous Ecological Rescue Attempt … while the other ‘personality’ stubbornly ignores the enormous negative impacts on that Task by: (i) the #USA #UK #NATO Proxy War in #Ukraine ; (ii) the ongoing Extermination of the Palestinian People & Culture in Illegally Occupied Territories by #Zionists intent on establishing a Greater Israel ; and (iii) the growing Hostility of the Global South towards the #West caused by (i) and (ii), just when global unified and concerted action on climate disruption is urgently required.
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Uninformed Group-Think …
Sustainability Impact Assessment of Electric Vehicles
Rowan’s well-reasoned conclusion … “Sadly, keeping your old petrol car may be better than buying an Electric Vehicle (#EV). There are sound environmental reasons not to jump just yet.”
EV’s should properly be evaluated using Full Life Cycle Sustainability Impact Assessment … not just checking one, very beneficial but isolated, type of performance, i.e. zero exhaust emissions.
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Without even mentioning the #FireSafety Issues associated with Lithium-Ion Batteries in e-Cars (and e-Scooters, e-Bikes, e-Wheelchairs, etc.) … Rowan was / is correct … yet he was swamped with a ‘tonne of abuse’ for daring to voice an unfashionable opinion … to question the current majoritarian group-think on EV’s.
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Mining Cobalt for Lithium-Ion Batteries – Serious Rights Violations in DRC
‘ Our world is increasingly powered by Lithium-Ion Batteries, ranging from the ones found in everyday mobile technologies, such as smartphones and laptop computers, to those in electric vehicles. There is also a growing interest in using super-sized rechargeable batteries to help store electricity generated from solar and wind sources and deliver it to consumers more efficiently. These technologies are attractive because of their perceived sustainability. But as their use becomes more and more widespread, in what some are calling the ‘clean energy revolution’, it is necessary to ask whether the energy powering this revolution is as ‘clean’ as it is claimed to be.
Cobalt is an element critical for powering the clean energy revolution. More than 50% of the world’s cobalt supply originates in the Democratic Republic of Congo (#DRC).’
The 2017 Report builds on an earlier report: ‘This is What We Die For’, first published by Amnesty International and #Afrewatch in 2016, which showed how #Cobalt mined by young children and adults – in very hazardous conditions and in serious violation of their Human Rights – entered the supply chains of many of the world’s biggest brands. The new report assesses the policies and practices of 29 companies and how much their cobalt-sourcing practices have improved since then.
Did anybody really care that these Human Rights Violations were taking place in #Africa ? NO.
Was the strength and pace of mushrooming world Lithium-Ion Battery production in any way affected by the 2017 AI Report ?? NO.
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Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA)
Important Policy and Decision Making Mistakes can be attributed to the lack of rigorous Sustainability Impact Assessment. ( Environmental Impact Assessment ignores the other important aspects of Sustainable Development … and therefore is limited, inadequate, and out-of-date.) Instead, #SIA should be deeply embedded in both processes as a matter of regular routine …
Sustainability Impact Assessment: A continual evaluation and optimization process – informing initial decision-making, design, shaping activity / product / service realization, useful life, and termination or final disposal – of the interrelated positive and negative social, environmental, economic, institutional, political and legal impacts on balanced and equitable implementation of Sustainable Human & Social Development.
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Signs & Symptoms
Environmental Signs of Planet Breakdown include: Climate Disruption, Biodiversity Loss, Ocean Acidification, Coral Reef Destruction, Extreme Heatwaves and Droughts, Intense Wildfires, Polar Ice Cap Retreat and Collapse, Amazon Forest Dieback, etc., etc.
The example of Electric Vehicles above is a small indication that something more serious is wrong with Human Behaviour generally. It is a Human Symptom … one which opens up the potential of exploring a different approach to solving the World’s Ecological Overshoot.
This very interesting Paper points to the start, and elaborates a beginning – not the end – of an innovative Human Behaviour Research Path … with the practical aim of effectively heading off Climate Disruption and attaining Sustainable Human and Social Development.
Scientific Paper’s Abstract
Previously, Anthropogenic Ecological Overshoot has been identified as a fundamental cause of the myriad signs we see around the globe today from biodiversity loss and ocean acidification to the disturbing rise in novel entities and climate disruption. In the present paper, we have examined this more deeply, and explore the human behavioural drivers of overshoot, providing evidence that overshoot is itself a symptom of a deeper, more subversive modern crisis of human behaviour. We work to name and frame this crisis as the Human Behavioural Crisis and propose the crisis be recognised globally as a critical intervention point for tackling ecological overshoot. We demonstrate how current interventions are largely physical, resource intensive, slow-moving and focused on addressing the signs of ecological overshoot (such as climate disruption) rather than the real cause (maladaptive behaviours). We argue that even in the best-case scenarios, sign level interventions are unlikely to avoid catastrophe or achieve more than ephemeral progress.
We explore three Drivers of the Behavioural Crisis in depth: (a) Economic Growth ; (b) Marketing & Advertising ; and (c) Pro-Natalism. These three drivers directly impact the three Levers of Ecological Overshoot: 1.Over Consumption ; 2.Excessive Waste ; and 3.Population Growth. We demonstrate how the maladaptive behaviours of overshoot stemming from these three drivers have been catalysed and perpetuated by the intentional exploitation of previously adaptive human impulses.
In the final sections of this paper, we propose an Interdisciplinary Emergency Response to the behavioural crisis by, amongst other things, the shifting of social norms relating to reproduction, consumption and waste. We seek to highlight a critical disconnect that is an ongoing societal gulf in communication between those that know, such as scientists working within limits to growth … and those members of the citizenry, largely influenced by social scientists and industry, that must act.
Paper Conclusion
In summary, the evidence indicates that Anthropogenic Ecological Overshoot stems from a crisis of maladaptive human behaviours. While the behaviours generating overshoot were once adaptive for Homo Sapiens, they have been distorted and extended to the point where they now threaten the fabric of complex life on Earth. Simply, we are trapped in a system built to encourage growth and appetites that will end us.
The current emphasis for overshoot intervention is Resource Intensive (e.g. the global transition to renewable energy), and Single Environmental Sign Focused. Indeed, most mainstream attention and investment is directed towards mitigating and adapting to climate disruption. Even if this narrow intervention is successful, it will not resolve the meta-crisis of ecological overshoot. In fact, with many of the current resource-intensive interventions, it is likely to make matters worse. Psychological interventions are likely to prove far less resource-intensive and more effective than physical ones.
We call for increased attention on the behavioural crisis as a critical intervention point for addressing overshoot and its myriad signs ;
We advocate increased interdisciplinary collaboration between the social and behavioural science theorists and practitioners, advised by scientists working on limits to growth and planetary boundaries ;
We call for additional research to develop a full understanding of the many dimensions of the behavioural crisis (including the overwhelming influence of power structures) and how we can best address it ;
We call for an emergency, concerted, multidisciplinary effort to target the populations and value levers most likely to produce rapid global adoption of new consumption, reproduction and waste norms congruent with the survival of complex life on Earth ;
We call for increased interdisciplinary work to be carried out in directing, understanding and policing widespread behaviour manipulation.
The Clock Is Ticking not only because the health of the natural systems upon which we are utterly dependent is deteriorating, but also because broad sweep interventions are only possible when a society holds together and is capable of coherent action. As the effects of overshoot worsen, the likelihood of societal breakdown increases. We still have an opportunity to be proactive and utilise the intact systems we have in place to deliver a framework for shifting social norms and other necessities for addressing the behavioural crisis. However, the day may come when societal breakdown will make intervention impossible, locking the planet into an unguided recovery that may salvage much of Nature but be inhospitable to human life.
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Are We Trapped in a System built to encourage growth and appetites that will end us ?
OR …Are Humans a Virus intent on devouring the last of this Planet’s Limited Resources (as postulated by Agent Smith) ??
2024-02-17: A very recent Report: The Fraud of Plastic Recycling – How Big Oil and the Plastics Industry Deceived the Public for Decades and Caused the Plastic Waste Crisis … published by the Centre for Climate Integrity ( www.climateintegrity,org ), in Washington D.C., #USA … raises serious issues about whether Any Plastic Recycling is technically or economically viable at scale … and serious questions, by implication, about Statistical Reliability in the European Union (#EU) concerning Recycling generally, and Plastics Recycling in particular.
Could this also be the Reason why the Global North is so busy dumping Un-Recyclable Plastics in the previously colonized territories of the Global South ???
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Short Extract From This Report’s Introduction …
Plastic Pollution is one of the most serious Environmental Crises facing the world today. Between 1950 and 2015, over 90% of plastics were landfilled, incinerated, or leaked into the environment. Plastic Waste is ubiquitous – from our rivers, lakes, and oceans to roadways and coastlines. It is in ‘the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink’. One study estimates that humans ingest up to five grams, or the equivalent of one credit card worth of plastic per week. Some of the largest Oil and Gas Companies are among the 20 petrochemical companies responsible for more than half of all single-use plastics generated globally. #ExxonMobil, for example, is the world’s top producer of single-use plastic polymers.
Underpinning this Plastic Waste Crisis is a decades-long campaign of #Fraud and #Deception about the #Recyclability of #Plastics. Despite their long-standing knowledge that recycling plastic is neither technically nor economically viable, petrochemical companies – independently and through their industry trade associations and front groups – have engaged in fraudulent marketing and public education campaigns designed to mislead the public about the viability of plastic recycling as a solution to Plastic Waste.
By deceiving consumers, policymakers, and regulators about the viability of Plastic Recycling, petrochemical companies have ensured the continued expansion of plastic production, which has led to a Plastic Waste and Pollution Crisis for communities across the country. The costs of managing and cleaning up Plastic Waste are largely borne by municipal and state governments – and those costs are projected to increase exponentially in the coming decades, given that Plastic Waste generation in the United States of America is expected to increase from 73 million metric tonnes in 2019 to more than 140 million metric tonnes by 2060.
If not for the Big Oil and the plastic industry’s lies and deception, municipalities and states would not have invested in plastic recycling programmes and facilities – many of which have been shut down due to foreseeable economic losses. The industry not only misled municipal and state agencies to believe that Plastic Recycling was a viable solution to Plastic Waste but also discouraged them from pursuing other, more Sustainable Waste Management Strategies (e.g., waste reduction, reuse, bans, alternative materials) in favour of plastic recycling.
Fossil fuel and other petrochemical companies should now be held accountable for their deliberate campaign of deception and the resulting harms, much like tobacco and opioid companies that employed a similar playbook. Based on the growing body of evidence, municipalities and states are likely to pursue litigation, which could put an end to the industry’s deception, make the companies pay for the devastating harms they have caused to communities, and open the door to real solutions that are currently out of reach.
2023-10-11: Theory is one thing, but the practical working out and implementation of Sustainable Fire Engineering Design is something else …
The (Sustainable) Fire Engineer will already be an active, contributing member of a collaborative Project Design Team. So, very early on in the Design Process for a Simple Building / Complex Building / Innovative Building / High-Rise Building / Tall Building or Group of Buildings (whatever) … he or she has a relatively mature sketch design on which to work, and major elements of the design can still be modified, without cost implications, based on her or his Creative Solutions which positively support and aid – not hinder, weaken or dilute – the Project Team’s Design Intent.
The Sustainable Fire Engineer should always / must, therefore, have a minimum competence with regard to Building Design and Construction in order to effectively communicate and creatively collaborate in these Design Teams.
[ Recommendation: Instead of looking down on, or discriminating against, Architects … they should be warmly welcomed into the International Community of Fire Engineering … where their particular expertise is badly needed.]
A blank sheet of paper, pencil in hand … or, if you prefer, an empty monitor screen, with mouse poised to move … and how to proceed … should it be this fire safety strategy (?) … or a different, more appropriate fire safety strategy (?)
Incorporate Ease & Reasonable Cost of Post-Fire Reconstruction.
At this early stage in the Design Process … treat Conventional Fire Codes as an irrelevancy in the context of the above Design Objectives … question the adequacy of out-dated, simple prescriptive solutions … and forget about European and North American biases with regard to Passive and Active Fire Protection Measures. Investigate new Sustainable Building Materials & Smart Technologies. Incorporate Factors of Safety throughout the Fire Engineering Design Process. Always remember Defence in Depth and Redundancy. Prioritize Construction Reliability.
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Sustainable Design: Green Walls & Fire ?
‘Green Walls’ (also known as Planted Facades, Living Walls, Vertical Gardens, and Vertical Landscapes) is a general term which covers the architectural use of natural vegetation as a vertical element in buildings, both externally and/or internally ; intrinsically, each ‘Wall’ is different. To be absolutely clear from a fire engineering viewpoint, there is no such thing as a ‘standard’ green wall which can be fire tested in a laboratory. There are many benefits and advantages to these Walls … but, in future, they will play an important role in dealing with Climate Disruption, particularly the Urban Heat Island Effect in cities and large towns.
If properly installed and maintained … properly nourished and watered depending on local environmental conditions … Green Walls will not pose a fire hazard. But those are a lot of ‘ifs’ !
Remembering Defence in Depth … the installed ‘sub-soil’ watering system for a Green Wall may be interrupted or break down, so a Smart Water Mist System will help with hydration of the vegetation, and cooling for building occupants/users, as Climate Disruption intensifies. Some of the trees, shrubs or plants may wither and die, so a Water Sprinkler/Deluge (as appropriate) Fire Suppression System will deal with any accidental or intentional outbreaks of fire.
2023-09-26: At the time of writing, the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly is taking place in New York City. Midway through the U.N. Sustainable Development Framework Agenda 2015-2030 … News about its failing progress is very discouraging …
> Amid growing geo-political crises and war, Multi-Lateralism has little chance to operate successfully and there is a growing stalemate within the Security Council ;
> Extreme Weather Events (e.g. heatwaves, droughts, severe storms and rainfall, flooding) are becoming a regular occurrence across the Globe, and their impacts are already devastating ;
> Only 15% of the Sustainable Development Goals are barely on track, while development gains in other SDG’s have reversed ;
> Not only are Climate Disruption Targets not being met, but global greenhouse gas emissions are actually increasing.
Earlier this month (September 2023), the #UN published a Report: United in Science 2023 – Sustainable Development Edition … https://library.wmo.int/idurl/4/68235
Compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (#WMO) under the direction of the U.N. Secretary-General, it brings together the latest updates from key U.N. Partner Organizations with a focus on weather-, climate-, and water-related sciences, research and services in support of realizing Sustainable Human & Social Development:
Climate Disruption …
Total Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions from fossil fuels and land use change remained high in 2022 and the first half of 2023. Fossil fuel CO2 emissions increased 1% globally in 2022 compared to 2021, and global average concentrations continued rising through 2022 and the first half of 2023.
The years from 2015 to 2022 were the eight warmest on record, and the chance of at least one year exceeding the warmest year on record in the next five years is 98%.
It is estimated that current mitigation policies will lead to global warming of around 2.8 °C over the course of this century compared to pre-industrial levels. Immediate and unprecedented reductions in Greenhouse Gas Emissions are needed to achieve the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, i.e. 1.5 °C.
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Sustainable Cities & Communities …
Cities are responsible for a high proportion of global GHG Emissions and are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate disruption and extreme weather events, which threaten the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 11.
Integrated urban weather, climate, water and environmental services, grounded in best-available science and research, are helping Cities to achieve SDG 11.
Observations, high-resolution forecasting models and multi-hazard early warning systems are the fundamental basis for integrated urban services.
Good Human Health & Social Wellbeing …
Trans-Disciplinary Research is fundamental to analysing, monitoring and addressing climate-sensitive health risks and climate impacts on the health sector.
Climate disruption and extreme events are projected to significantly increase ill-health and premature deaths, as well as population exposure to heatwaves and heat-related morbidity and mortality.
Scaling up investments in climate-resilient and low-carbon health systems, and progress towards universal health coverage (#UHC) are critical for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3.
Deep & Genuine Construction Sector Collaboration …
[ Institutional Transformation ]
It is inevitable, therefore, that enormous pressures – social, economic, political, legal, and institutional – are being brought to bear on Building Design Professions, Engineers (all disciplines) and Construction Organizations to rapidly, reliably and creatively transform our existing Built Environment ; new buildings, which constitute just a small part of that workload, will be required to carry the heaviest burden. To properly realize a Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Built Environment for ALL, however, Genuine Collaboration must be fostered … between each actor in the construction sector … between practitioners and scientists/researchers … and between different industrial sectors … silos broken apart and traditional barriers transcended.
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Sustainable Buildings – Reality vs. Superficial Impressions …
The minimum Life Cycle for a Sustainable Building is 100 years.
To be capable of later #Adaptation, a Sustainable Building must possess a sufficient/appropriate, level of #Redundancy. Lean construction ignores this issue.
Far too many people appear to be still ‘wrestling’ with an obsolete understanding of #Sustainability. It has many more than just 3 Aspects (social, environmental, economic). Time for everyone to cop on and catch up !
The International Fire Engineering Community, in particular, has a fixation with low-hanging fruit … ‘PV Panels’, ‘Timber Buildings’ … and ‘Performance-Based Fire Codes’, which are a hybrid of prescription (rather than Functional Fire Codes, which offer a more free, more open, and flexible option for designers).
So … before moving on in my next Post to look at the potential for Green Walls being a fire hazard, and comparing a top-down Sustainable Fire Engineering Design Approach with a bottom-up Conventional Fire Safety Approach … here is an interesting graphic image, developed by an architectural colleague in Berlin, Ar.Stefanie Blank, showing the difference between all-too-common superficial impressions and the reality of Sustainable Buildings …
As I have written many times before, the concept of Sustainable Human & Social Development is intricate, open, and dynamic … and it is also continuously evolving. So too, the #SFE #RoadMap must continuously evolve.
Fully reflecting the content and views expressed above, it is necessary to further expand the Sustainable Fire Engineering Design Objectives on Page 10 of the Road Map … in order to clearly and directly integrate the issue of Climate Disruption …
2023-08-21: In an earlier Post here, dated 2022-12-19, I presented a Road Map for Sustainable Fire Engineering (#SFE) … which finished on an Urgent Call to Action targeting three specific, fundamental aspects of a Creative Fire Engineering which is capable of answering the challenges of our Complex Built Environment in the 21st Century … under severe threats from Global Climate Disruption, Climate Synergies leading to near-term Climate Tipping Points … and a startling lack of Global Resilience, refer to the CoVID-19 Pandemic, and Supply Chain Chaos initiated by an old-fashioned Cold War I Warrior in Washington’s White House.
Mainstreaming a Transformed Fire Engineering
Ethical Practice of Fire Research and Science
Reliability of Fire Statistics …
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From Any Point Of View … the Final Report of ‘EU FIRESTAT’, a project financed by the European Parliament and commissioned by European Commission Directorate-General DG GROW, is a white elephant … a plodding hippopotamus … a retrograde step … a bitter disappointment !!! Completed in July 2022, it comes nowhere near outlining a viable system for the development of urgently needed Harmonized European Fire Statistics … which must be managed and co-ordinated by #Eurostat, in Luxembourg.
The #FIRESTAT Objectives were extremely limited …
‘ The review proceeds from the assumption that fire incident data can serve a number of important purposes – helping to reduce fires and losses, identifying opportunities for safety interventions and education programs, guiding the allocation of public resources to areas of greatest need and impact, and monitoring progress of safety initiatives.’
Nowhere, in this Report, is there any reference to Sustainable Human and Social Development. Where there are references to ‘sustainability’, these are specifically concerning the long-term financial resourcing of statistical systems.
And nowhere is there even the faintest understanding that Fire Engineering has an essential and critical role in the realization of a Safe, Resilient & Sustainable Built Environment For ALL. Fire Engineering Performance Indicators, Targets and Benchmarks must be developed to facilitate that realization ; and Reliable Fire Statistics are their starting point and basic ingredient.
The Report’s Executive Summary (in English, French, and German) covers the limited range of the Project pretty well … and it is almost easy to read. The ‘great and the good’ of Conventional Fire Engineering, both organizations and individuals, were involved in this Project …
The Final Report’s Boxed Recommendation 3, on Page 8, lists 8 Variables / Statistics to be collected as a Tier 1 / 1st Priority across Europe, from Ireland all the way down to Türkiye :
Number of Fatalities ;
Number of Injuries ;
Age of Fatalities ;
Primary Causal Factor ;
Type of Building ;
Incident Location ;
Incident Date ;
Incident Time.
So, for instance … the only Fire Statistic related to the Human Condition of Fatalities and Injured which would have been gathered after the 2017 Grenfell Tower Fire in #London was … Age of Fatalities … which, in the context of what actually happened on that tragic night and knowing the very large numbers of People with Activity Limitations (2001 WHO ICF) and other Vulnerable Building Users who died, or were injured, in the fire … is a very serious error, and entirely ridiculous !!??!! FUBAR !!
Essential Variable / Statistic Correction: Age, Gender and Vulnerability of Victims (whether Fatality or Injured). This is critical information and, whatever the resource implications, must be collected.
And if that wasn’t bad enough … this cack-handed approach to the development of Harmonized European Fire Statistics opens up the probability of another Morán with a computer, after a similar fire incident, again showing that a similar High-Rise Residential Tower could be evacuated down a single, narrow, badly designed staircase in 7 minutes. Say no more !!!
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Concerning Incident Date … the Consortium appears to be completely unaware that the European Standard Short Format Date is … Year-Month-Day (YYYY-MM-DD) !! See 4.2.2. in the Final Report. Sloppy, Sloppy, Sloppy.
Generally concerning Tier 1 Statistics … where is there any serious consideration of the deep and substantial Green / Environmental / Climate Disruption Mitigation and Adaptation Measures being imposed on the Design and Operation of New and Existing Buildings … which are already causing serious fire safety problems ??? See many previous Posts on this Technical Blog.
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The Final Report’s Boxed Recommendation 3, on Pages 8 & 9, goes on to list 6 Extra Variables / Statistics to be collected as a Tier 2 / 2nd Priority across Europe, from Portugal all the way up to Finland :
Number of Floors ;
Area of Origin ;
Heat Source ;
Item First Ignited ;
Articles Contributing to Fire Development ;
Fire Safety Measures Present.
Concerning Fire Safety Measures Present … my patience is at an end ! I am heartily sick and tired of pointing out that there is no such thing as a ‘Fire Door’ ; it does not exist !! It is ALWAYS a Fire Resisting Doorset !!! See 4.4.3.
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This EU ‘FIRESTAT’ Report properly belongs to the Twilight Zone of the last Century … and in today’s Recycling Bin !
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And Even More Worrying …
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Concerted Resistance to answering the Fire Safety Needs of Vulnerable Building Users ;
The mistaken view that ‘Sustainability’ is merely a graft-on / optional extra to Conventional Fire Engineering ;
Constraining Building Fire Safety Performance within the boundaries of Current Fire Codes ;
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Is the EU ‘FIRESTAT’ Final Report another disturbing sign of the growing Trend towards #GREENWASHING in International Fire Engineering ?
Sustainable Fire Engineering (SFE) is a Facilitator – no more than Architecture, Structural Engineering, or Spatial Planning – in the task of realizing a Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Built Environment for All. However, SFE has an essential role to fill throughout the difficult journey towards that target. In close collaboration with other design disciplines, many iterations … twists and turns along the road … will be necessary.
Beware Greenwashing !
Sustainability is NOT a graft-on, or an optional extra, to Conventional Fire Engineering. This intricate, open, dynamic and continuously evolving Concept must cut right to the core of everyday design practice, and must positively impact all areas of that practice.
Ethical Transformation
In this third decade of the 21st Century … the Safety Objectives in current Fire Codes / Regulations are limited, inadequate, and lagging far behind today’s creative moulding and re-shaping of the Built Environment ; they are almost, but not entirely, irrelevant in the context of the urgently required transformation of conventional fire engineering. For anybody who cannot see the broad, beautiful landscape beyond codes and regulations … this SFE Road Map is definitely not for you. For those who can see, your constant companion … your compass … will be a Personal Code of Ethics.
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Essential Considerations Before Starting Out On The Road …
1.World Trade Centre Attacks in New York City, on 11 September 2001. Two sets of important Recommendations were issued by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2005 and 2008. Not only is the implementation of these still incomplete, but the solid progress which has been made e.g. on Firefighter Safety, is continuously under threat from vested interests. Other jurisdictions have tended to ignore the Recommendations. SFE takes full account of this Extreme Man-Made Event.
2.Grenfell Tower Fire in London, on 14 June 2017. Evidence at the Official Inquiry continues to shock and horrify ; the entire fire safety regulatory edifice in England is dysfunctional, and it poses a real and serious danger to Public Health and Safety. Inquiry Phase 1 Recommendations were issued in 2019. Already, the Recommendation concerning Evacuation for Vulnerable Building Users & PEEP’s (#33.22 e and f) has been discarded by AHJ’s … and it has also been stated (#34.14) that as everything about the single narrow staircase in the Tower appeared to be OK, it will not be investigated in Inquiry Phase 2 … a sure sign of dysfunctional dysfunction ! SFE sees beyond these major flaws.
3.Sustainable Buildings Il Bosco Verticale Towers in Milano … this exciting Project, designed by Stefano Boeri and completed in October 2014, has become the International Icon for innovative / environment-friendly construction. These new approaches to building design are posing enormous fire safety challenges. [ Remember back … was it 15 years before fire codes were able to ‘solve’ the Atrium in buildings ? ] SFE, however, must cope with this extraordinary level of architectural creativity ; and Fire Engineering Practitioners must be capable of active participation, collaboratively, within Project Design/Construction Teams.
Looking past the Milan Project … it is important for the reader to experience a more rounded flavour of where the exciting synergy between Creative Design and the Inclusive Language of Sustainability is at present, and where it is tending to go …
4.Building Energy Performance Rating Schemes Under enormous environmental and political pressures, the headlong rush to conserve energy in buildings, and to make them more energy efficient … especially after the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine … is proceeding in blissful ignorance of fire safety and necessary independent technical controls. Measurement of real building performance, after energy refurbishment has been completed, is generally avoided.
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The Road Ahead … From Gro Harlem Brundtland To Reliable Fire Statistics …
2020-09-22: Adopted at the International Fire Conference: SFE 2016 DUBLIN (www.sfe-fire.eu) …
Many years have passed since the 1972 UN Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment and the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. In 2016, Sustainable Development remains an intricate, open, dynamic and continually evolving concept. The guide and driver for frontline practitioners, policy and decision makers must be a personal Code of Ethics … an integrated and inter-related whole which cannot be reduced to fixed rules inviting game playing and ‘trade-offs’. After working with this Code, it may be necessary to expand on and discuss its principles and/or some of the issues raised … not to narrow its focus, but to broaden interpretation.
The realization of a Safe, Inclusive, Resilient & Sustainable Built Environment demands a concerted, collaborative, very creative and widely trans-disciplinary effort at national, local, regional and international levels across the whole planet – Our Common Home. The informed operation of appropriate legislation, administrative procedures, performance monitoring and targeting, and incentives/disincentives, at all of these levels, will facilitate initial progress towards this objective … but not the quantity, quality or speed of progress necessary. Our time is running out !
This Code of Ethics applies … for those who subscribe to its values … to policy and decision makers, and the many different individuals and organizations directly and indirectly involved in the design, engineering, construction, and operation (management and maintenance) of a Safe, Resilient & Sustainable Built Environment for ALL.
The Purpose of this Code of Ethics is to guide the work of competent individuals and organizations in a context where incomplete or inadequate legislation, administrative procedures and incentives/disincentives exist … but, more importantly, where they do not exist at all … and, amid much confusion and obfuscation of the terms, to ensure that implementation is authentically ‘sustainable’, and reliably ‘safe’ and ‘resilient’ for every person in the receiving community, society or culture … before it is too late !
2020-07-23: Time is fast running out. You have to ask yourself: “Do I feel lucky ? Am I a GreenWasher“ – do I enjoy playing with numbers, relaxing with estimates having tenuous links to reality, cheating the ‘system’ (just like Germany’s Dieselgate), or convincing myself (and everybody else) that progress is being made when the evidence clearly shows that things are getting worse … “or an Implementor ??” – establishing meaningful Benchmarks, setting (and iteratively re-setting) ambitious Performance Targets using reliable, up-to-date data and statistics, then closely monitoring Positive Progress, and reporting Real Verifiable Results …
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In 2015 … 193 World Leaders, representing all of the United Nations’ Member States, adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) … placing our world, i.e. its people, environment and limited resources, on a path towards a more sustainable future … more specifically, aiming to ‘free humanity from poverty, secure a healthy planet for future generations, and build peaceful, inclusive societies as a foundation for ensuring lives of dignity for all’.
To properly track the implementation of these consensus goals … reliable, quality, and timely data is vital. Yet, five years later too much of the data is still out-of-date or unavailable, and too many people are being left behind in the numbers. Half of the data used to measure the SDG Target Performance Indicators are missing. Two-thirds of poverty data from Sub-Saharan Africa and global deforestation figures are five years out-of-date. Only 100 countries in the world have nationally-representative data on violence against women, and more than 25 million refugees around the world go uncounted in national statistics.
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With only 10 years left to achieve the SDG Targets, there is a critical need NOW for a Data Platform which makes quality and timely data for the SDG’s Accessible to All, improves knowledge of geospatial tools and Geographic Information Systems (#GIS), and builds capacity to use these tools to support global policy and decision making …
In partnership with the Environmental Systems Research Institute (#ESRI) and National Geographic … SDG’s Today: Global Portal for Real-Time Data … is a platform developed by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (#SDSN). This one-of-a-kind open access data platform has the potential to revolutionize how we understand and communicate the urgency of the SDG’s and how solutions are developed, by providing a much-needed virtual space where key stakeholders from around the world can access and engage with timely data (updated annually or in more frequent intervals) on the SDG’s, and learn how to use the data effectively to push Agenda 2030 forward. The platform also houses GIS training and education resources and supports countries and other institutions to produce, share, and engage with the data to help ensure that, together, we meet the global goals by 2030.
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Using Data To Effectively Implement The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development …
The Court of Auditors assessed whether EU co-funded energy efficiency investments in buildings had cost-effectively helped the EU towards meeting its 2020 energy saving target. The Auditors concluded that operational programmes and project selection were not driven by a cost-effectiveness rationale. While Member States required buildings to be renovated to save a minimum of energy and improve their energy rating, this sometimes happened at a high cost. Because of a lack of comparative assessment of project merits and of minimum/maximum thresholds for cost-effectiveness, projects delivering higher energy savings or other benefits at lower cost were not prioritised. In overly-polite language, they recommend improving the planning, selection and monitoring of investments to improve the cost-effectiveness of spending.
With all of the Hot Air and Ridiculous Hoopla about improving Energy Conservation and Efficiency in New Buildings (Green, BREEAM, PassivHaus, LEED, nZEB, etc., etc.) … by far the biggest Energy Problem is with Europe’s Existing Building Stock. This Auditor’s Report shows that Progress in Meeting Agreed EU Targets is dismal, and there is still a cynical approach in Member States to the use of EU Funding …