The green new deal was presented to Congress a few weeks ago as a lofty goal encompassing many of the features that would benefit humans and the planet in the long run. Yet it is being challenged as “socialist”, liberal conspiracy or impossible to pay for. This is the argument that has been posed over and over whenever any environmental issues are presented. It is said that it is going to kill jobs it’s going to hurt the economy it’s impossible for the automakers to meet the mileage goals, on and on with the complaints.

Wikipedia states it thus: “The Green New Deal is a set of proposed economic stimulus programs in the United States that aim to address climate change and economic inequality”. Pretty good goals wouldn’t you say?

Data for progress states it this way: “A Green New Deal is necessary to meet the scale and urgency of environmental challenges facing the United States, based on the best available research. A Green New Deal can bring job growth and economic opportunity, with particular focus on historically disadvantaged and vulnerable communities.” Wow! Can we really pull this off? Data for progress follows up by stating: “A Green New Deal is financially feasible and necessary”

In my work as a residential construction Owner’s Representative and Project Manager I get to interact with some very interesting clients. Just recently I had a thrilling discussion with one of my owners over the Green New Deal currently being proposed by the democrats.

I am certain that the ramifications of climate change are far greater than is being acknowledged in the media or known by the bulk of the public. There are insidious collateral damages that have a chain reaction effect threatening the balance of nature. Our planet is a living entity that has evolved over 3.5 billion years to become the cradle for the abundant life that we know and enjoy daily. Just two samples, the death of coral reefs which are the nursery for much of ocean life, or as we are just hearing now, the drastic decline in insect population world wide, will have impacts on the overall balance of nature that we cannot accurately predict.

In the last writing we focused on the on-site duties of a good construction project manager.  In this issue we will delve into the administrative duties that are also necessary.

Construction project managers have come from one or two basic paths:

• Those that rose up doing physical work on site, typically carpentry.
• Those that graduated from a college with a degree in construction project management.

If your building or renovating a home in the Bay Area and are installing walls in your home, you might think “can’t be that hard to do right?” You’ve seen it in the movies or on TV, maybe even in real life. You nail in some studs, put up some drywall and you’re done. Right? What can be so hard about a vertical structure that supports weight and keeps out the rain? I hate to burst your bubble if you wanted to try DIY home walls, but there is much for a Construction Manager to consider if you want walls that will last and prevent things like leakage and mold.

A home construction project manager will have two different types of duties: 

• Management of the work taking place on site
• Administrative and financial duties

In this blog we will focus on the on-site work.

On site work management duties are varied and multi faceted