Solutionist Stories with Sarah
Practical notes on buildings, indoor air, carbon, and the people who make them work. Every issue, open to read, no sign-in.
- October 9, 2026
Inspiration Is Everywhere: Notes from CREW Convention 2026 (Miami)
I said last week that CREW is a place where you can find inspiration literally anywhere you look..
- September 15, 2026
Why Is It So Hard to Make Everyone Comfortable?
Have you ever been in a meeting where one person is reaching for a sweater while someone else is asking to turn down the thermostat? If so, you've experienced one of the great challenges of building design: thermal comfort. At first glance, thermal comfort seems simple.
- August 22, 2026
Where the Sidewalk “Fails”... The Carbon Cost of Replacing What We Could Probably Repair
Back in May, way back when summer was just kicking off, the City of Omaha painted green X's on the sidewalk in front of my house. And a bunch of my neighbors.
- April 8, 2026
CRE Roles I Wish I Understood Sooner
When I started my career as a consulting engineer in the Commercial Real Estate (CRE) world, I thought I had a solid handle on who my clients were..
- March 6, 2026
State of the Air - IAQ Update Hot Takes
Hey All! It's been a minute since I posted an article, so why not do a comprehensive roundup of one of my favorite topics..
- December 1, 2025
UV Systems Aren’t All the Same: Here’s What to Ask Your Engineers
UV-C systems have become a go-to strategy for improving indoor air quality, reducing maintenance costs, and supporting decarbonization by keeping coils cleaner and HVAC systems more efficient. They show up both in new construction and retrofit applications in buildings of all types (for good reason)
- November 18, 2025
Fugitive Emissions: A Blind Spot in Our Carbon Strategy
Now that we've solved embodied carbon, and decarbonizing the grid, and all the other things (kidding..
- September 7, 2025
Resiliency: Why CRE Stakeholders Should Prioritize Now
Our buildings and communities are facing more frequent and severe climate-related threats, from flooding and wildfires to extreme heat and storms. You don't have to look far to see the headlines, on the regular: "Rain rips through NYC, send US Open spectators scurrying" - NY Post "Climate crisis wil
- August 11, 2025
Your Garbage Disposal Isn’t a Magic Portal (and Where Food Waste Really Ends Up)
Over the weekend, I had one of those "aha" moments in conversation - realizing that most people don't realize that garbage disposals, despite being promoted "convenient and safe" (by the manufacturers) and even environmental heroes for magically disappearing food scraps, they can actually be a hidde
- July 29, 2025
The Myth of Persistent LEED Certification
If you've been involved in sustainability and green building for any length of time, you've probably encountered the idea that once a building achieves LEED certification, it’s permanently sustainable (spoiler: it isn't)..
- June 6, 2025
FAQ: What Home Air Purifier Should I Get?
Short Answer: If you just want a recommendation without all the details these are brands I've had first-hand experience with, in order of personal preference: Coway Airmega Levoit LAP-C161 Blueair 311i Max Rabbit Air MinusA2 TL;DR: Get the right size for your space. Prioritize high CADR and low cost
- June 4, 2025
5 Fast Facts about PERFORM - And Why Your ESG Team Should Care in 2025
I think we all know the big stats, but they're still worth repeating..
- March 24, 2025
What's in Your Water? (Nitrates... and PFAS. Also maybe Uranium.)
So as often happens (to me) I was doing my taxes this weekend, one thing led to another, and suddenly I was ordering a water quality test kit. Does this stuff only happen to me? What queued up my interest, admittedly, was this Reverse Osmosis System Tax Credit from the state of Nebraska, which allow
- December 28, 2024
Navigating the ESG Mandate Maze: A Global Guide to Emissions Disclosure
This newsletter edition has been split from its original format into two parts. The other can be found here: "Promises vs.
- December 3, 2024
Promises vs. Progress: Evaluating Climate Policies Nearly a Decade After Paris"
This newsletter edition has been split from its original format into two parts. The other can be found here: "Navigating the ESG Mandate Maze: A Global Guide to Emissions Disclosure".
- November 25, 2024
Bloomberg Green Festival
Nothing like recapping a conference 4 months after it ends (speaking of, according to this cadence, stay tuned for my 2024 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo recap..
- November 10, 2024
BPS and BEPS: Blueprints for Better Buildings
NOTE: Sometimes the terms Building Performance Standards (BPS) and Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) are both used. For clarity and to save myself typing an extra letter, I prefer to, and will, use BPS throughout this article.
- August 14, 2024
Hello, World!
🌟 Welcome to 'Solutionist Stories with Sarah' "Problems are nothing but wake-up calls for creativity." —Geri Weitzman Welcome to the inaugural edition of 'Solutionist Stories with Sarah,' a newsletter where I will seek to explore the intersection of idealism and actuality.
