A look at the evening news in the last couple weeks offers a deluge of natural disasters – hurricanes pummeling the Caribbean and southern coasts of the United States, earthquakes in Mexico and Los Angeles, and wild fires burning in the Northwest. It’s imperative that we do all we can to mitigate these dangerous effects of climate change.

In New England, it’s starting to look and feel like fall. And the change of season brings with it a change in appetite. As we look around, we see apple and pumpkin spice flavored foodstuffs with more regularity. It’s time for serving up soups, comfort food, and crock-pot based meals.

I have been lucky enough to attend the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) Annual Meeting, this year held in New Orleans. This has been a great opportunity for a couple of reasons. Professionally, I’ve been able to network with different stakeholders across the country. Personally, I took advantage of the opportunity to dive right into the NOLA experience with my first beignet and Sazerac cocktail. 

Fellow energy enthusiasts, I have some innovations to share with you! But, before I do, a couple of questions:

• Have you ever heard of EM&V?
• Are you familiar with its processes?

Let me provide a bit of background before discussing some recent advancements.

15,600 hours.

This is the amount of time, on average, that a student spends in school by the time he or she graduates from high school (Harvard report). Other than their homes, today’s students spend more time at school than anywhere else. We know this for a fact - yet we still overlook the importance of the physical school environment.