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Not acting on health care will decrease profits.

In 2005, the green building movement was relatively small - only about 2 percent of both nonresidential and residential construction, valued at $10 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction’s Green Outlook 2009 report. In 2009, the green market was approximately $36 to $49 billion, and is projected to be between $96 and $140 billion by 2013.

A proven solution for immediate job creation recently came from President Obama and his administration - investment in nuclear energy. And immediate truly means just that. Bulldozers in Georgia are already on the move and making preparations. Long-awaited jobs in the skilled labor sector could materialize within months.

Contractors should focus on reducing energy use. Warranties cause loss of revenue.

In my last column, I noted that it was being written before the Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Expo in Orlando so there would not be much to talk about. And there wasn’t. Now that the AHR Expo is over and I had a chance to wander the expo floor for a few days, there is a bit more to discuss.

People in the southern United States will be talking about the winter of 2010 for a long time. Snow, ice, and freezing temperatures are normal January weather for many of us, but not for the folks who live in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Florida. And not for the contractors who service their systems.

According to a recent article in USA Today, a new generation is being identified that is even difficult for older siblings to completely understand. This latest demographic group is dubbed the iGeneration by some. The “i” in iGeneration might represent information, but more likely will stand for “individualized,” according to psychologist Larry Rosen.

Paul Stalknecht is president and CEO of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA). On Jan. 26, 2010 he sent this letter to President Barack Obama just prior to his State of the Union address.

It will come as no surprise that a lot of the new products at the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Exposition (AHR Expo), Orlando, Jan. 25–27, addressed some aspect of energy efficiency or alternative energy. In the vernacular of the day, some would simply call that being green.

Additional information made available to the person taking customers’ calls allows them to answer questions knowledgably without having to ask someone else to give the customer a callback. This can be a huge benefit in both customer relations and time savings if applied correctly, by an owner or manager who doesn’t object to sharing information.