policy - The Handbuilt City

“Electrification Is Not Enough For Decarbonization” – Consumers Energy

April 6, 2021April 6, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments building decarbonization, carbon transition, decarbonization, demand response, demand-response, distributed generation, electrical grid, electrification, energy efficiency, energy policy, energy transition, energy waste reduction, EWR, Gretchen Whitmer, just transition, michigan, michigan public service commission, MPSC, photovoltaics, policies, policy, pv, rooftop solar, solar panels, state of michigan, utilities, utility, utility infrastructure, utility policy

A new workgroup seeks to address some questions about the future of infrastructure in a state that continues to lag in regulatory and technical innovation.

Policy Energy Infrastructure

Biden Infrastructure Plan: What All Is Included?

April 2, 2021April 2, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments anna clark, biden administration, biden infrastructure bill, biden infrastructure plan, biden transportation policy, bridges, broadband internet, civilian climate corps, department of transportation, federal budget, federal deficit, federal spending, gretchen bakke, high-speed broadband, high-speed rail, infrastructure, infrastructure investment, joe biden, mdot, mobility infrastructure, nonmotorized infrastructure, nonmotorized transportation, pedestrian infrastructure, policy, port, ports, ports of entry, road safety, roads, USDoT, waterways

We must remind critics of the Biden infrastructure plan what all is included in the term “infrastructure.” It’s a little bit more than just cars.

Energy Efficiency Policy Energy

Detroit’s Green Task Force Looks Toward Benchmarking, PACE, Energy Codes

December 9, 2020December 9, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments 2030 district, bali kumar, ben dueweke, bob bedzyk, city of detroit sustainability office, connie lilley, detroit city council, detroit council, detroit public schools, ecologic institute, EcoWorks, elise matz, energy, energy benchmarking, energy efficiency, energy policy, energy waste reduction, energystar, Joel Howrani-Heeres, josh musicant, kendal kuneman, latia leonard, max gruenig, michal helman, michigan public service commission, POCACITO, policy, randy hargraves, Regulation, scott benson, utilities, utility policy, walker-miller, walker-miller energy services

The Energy Waste Reduction Committee of the Detroit Green Task Force met yesterday morning to talk shop for the last

Politics Policy

2020 Election: Why I Voted How I Did

November 2, 2020November 2, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments automotive industry, biden, billionaire class, billionaires, corporate debt, corporate subsidies, corporate welfare, covid, COVID19, covid19 pandemic, democracy, Donald Trump, economy, federal deficit, federal reserve, Gretchen Whitmer, infrastructure, joe biden, millionaires, mobility, obama, obama administration, pandemic, pluralism, policy, politics, taxes, transit, transportation, trump administration, xenophobia

Unsurprisingly, rhetoric usually becomes increasingly political as we approach the 2020 presidential election. To paraphrase a staffer on Aaron Sorkin’s

Policy Public transit Transit infrastructure

Gretchen Whitmer: When We Say “Mobility,” We Really Mean “Cars”

October 26, 2020October 26, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments cars, chrysler, decarbonization, fca, Ford, general motors, GM, governor whitmer, Gretchen Whitmer, infrastructure, infrastructure funding, market transformation, michigan, mobility, policy, transit, transit infrastructure, transportation, whitmer

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Council on Future Mobility is not about mobility, it’s about cars. That’s got to change if we’re serious about decarbonizing transportation– or building an equitable future of any kind.

Business & Economics Finance

I’m Getting An MBA Because You People Are Wrong

August 13, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments 2020 presidential election, finance, for-profit prisons, kamala harris, leftism, liberalism, mass incarceration, MBA, policy, policy reform, prison abolition, prison-industrial complex, S&P 500, stocks, stonks

A tweet about Kamala Harris highlights how woefully ignorant many people are about financial markets and how this harms us in the quest for formulating
meaningful policy, change, and discourse.

Culture & Language Lifestyle

Handbuilt Summer Reading List

July 9, 2020July 9, 2020 Nat Zorach 0 Comments accounting, banking, black capitalism, books, capitalism, corporations, culture, economic justice, fractional reserve banking, free market, markets, neoliberalism, policy, private equity, racial justice, reading, reading list, reading lists

Okay. You’re locked down, quarantined, or unemployed. Stop scrolling mindlessly through the feed and read! It’s a great opportunity to

Business & Economics Policy

California’s Nonprofits and Gig Workers Face A Three-fer

April 30, 2020April 29, 2020 Nat Zorach 0 Comments coronavirus, covid, policy

Oakland-based nonprofit fundraising and strategy consultant Julie Barton, PhD, talks to us about her concerns regarding the nonprofit sector. We also get some perspective on California’s new law, AB5, which has had unintended consequences for the gig economy at an extremely inopportune time.

Cycling Environment

Don’t Sleep On Electric Bikes

April 24, 2020April 24, 2020 Guest 0 Comments bike commuting, bikes, commuting, cycling, cycling infrastructure, decarbonization, e-bikes, ebikes, electric bikes, electrification, energy, NHTS, policy, radrunner, sustainability

Electric bicycles are a fun, affordable alternative to the motorcar– for commuting

Business & Economics Adaptation & Resilience Public Health

Toward An Equitable Stimulus Package

March 27, 2020March 27, 2020 Nat Zorach 0 Comments capital markets, capitalism, covid, COVID19, energy, environment, federal deficit, growth, market economy, Marxism, policy, stimulus package, trump administration

The current stimulus package being debated in Congress is likely to be the first of a few. In this article, we consider some precedents for transformative legislation– and some models for other bailouts and stimulus packages- as a blueprint for what we should be focusing on in developing any stimulus policy.

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