This year has earned a degree of infamy for the quick-hitting trio of hurricanes that dealt their blows to Texas and the Gulf, a north-to-south swath of Florida, the Caribbean in general, and notably Puerto Rico. The set of storms has earned a proportionally remarkable reaction, from public outpouring of donations to a few former U.S. presidents coming together to raise money for all affected, to a sitting president playing favorites with his own concern and support.

Of course, other stories grab the headlines after the worst blows over, but water damage sows the seeds for serious IAQ problems immediately. Some areas have better options for local remediation than others, of course. There is no way proper professional help is available on an adequate scale in places like Puerto Rico. Still, some victims can weigh options and others might bookmark some info in case they should ever find themselves in the wake of a disaster. A recent article focused on residential recovery but listed a few associations to look for when reviewing credentials of remediation help for nonresidential buildings, too:

• National Environmental Health Assocation
• American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Institute Of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification
• American Council For Accredited Certification

The article, by the way, was “Beyond bleach: Mold a long-term problem after flooding and disaster.” It was posted September 27 at theconversation.com, written by a veteran extension agent for Southern University at New Orleans. It was later reprinted by Scientific American’s website and is worth a look and a bookmark if you live in higher-risk areas.

AUTOMATION ALUMNUS

I have to admit, we had a late opening in this month’s lineup. It happens sometimes. But now and then, finding yourself in a bind leads to trying something different that works even better. This month, better came in the way of Ken Sinclair, our original building automation columnist.

Ken is the founder/editor of automatedbuildings.com, and he accepted the invitation to survey some of his thought-leader friends in the industry for what they thought would be a prominent trend in the year to come. The result was a highlight for this month — maybe something we should think about doing next year, too — and I want to thank Ken for the editorial pinch-hit.

AutomatedBuildings.com will also be hosting a few free educational sessions at AHR Expo this year, continuing a long streak of such appearances. See the calendar on this page if you’re interested in hearing and talking with forward-thinking BAS folks in Chicago.

QUICK CLIMATE QUESTION

The hurricane three-pack got me thinking about a basic question and your answer: Do you think climate change is real but unrelated to human activity, real and meaningfully influenced by human activity, or essentially not a real thing at all? Yes, I know hurricane season does tend to produce hurricanes; I’m curious on a more general level. Look for a poll this month on our homepage and weigh in.

Song of the month: Bob Dylan’s “High Water (For Charley Patton)” from Love & Theft.

ES WEBINARS BOX

Register for our free webinars at webinars.esmagazine.com, where registered users can also view any webinar from the last year on demand in our archive.

Kohler Webinar Series 2017

Presented by Julius Neudorfer
North American Access Technologies
Attendees can qualify for AIA or IACET CEU credits

Save the date: The final installment happens on December 12.
Register at the URL above.

INDUSTRY EVENTS 2018

AutomatedBuildings.com Free Sessions At AHR Expo

February 19-23