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Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸

@jmisci.bsky.social

Energy efficiency industry employee and former ADU resident. Here to stay updated on climate, energy, urbanism, and weather. I post frequently about Chicago!

1225 Posts1066 Follower283 Folgt
Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸@jmisci.bsky.social · 1m ago

This is a thought-provoking read. When designing home retrofit initiatives, there are so many factors to consider: Should you target multifamily buildings (higher energy savings per project) or SFHs (higher overall potential energy savings)? And should we lean on carrots or sticks?

The project cost the co-op's members almost $5 million, or about $11,000 per unit. It's expected to cut the building's energy use by more than a third and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1,000 metric tons each year. "We were kind of lucky," says Corinne Irvin, the co-op board's vice president. The old boilers would have needed replacing eventually; BEPS just accelerated the process. The co-op had also just retired a mortgage, which freed up money and lightened the financial load. The Cairo, however, was not so lucky. The building is saddled with quirky hardware - air conditioning units in each condo that also contain old-fashioned electric heaters.As BEPS evolves, single-family homeowners escape scrutiny While condo and co-op owners scramble to satisfy BEPS, many are also angry that the owners of single-family homes don't have the same requirements. "We have so many people in our neighborhood, just two people in a 4,000-square-foot house," says Brian Anderson, vice president of The Garfield Condominiums on Connecticut Avenue NW. Those homes use much more energy per person than typical condo units do. "We should be encouraging people to live in and build and maintain these (multi-family) structures rather than penalizing them."
Greater Greater Washington@ggwash.org · yesterday

Existing buildings are responsible for nearly 70% of DC’s greenhouse emissions. Cutting their energy use often isn't easy.

Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸@jmisci.bsky.social · 21h ago

Reminder that your IL state senator would rather hand-deliver an electoral vote to Idaho than legalize starter homes in Peoria. I hope they’re proud of themselves in 2032 when 86 year old Donald J. Trump is elected to his fourth term as president!

2030 apportionment estimate from the NDRC IL loses 2 electoral votes, CA loses 3 and NY loses 1 Texas gains 3, other red states like Idaho and Florida also gain
Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸@jmisci.bsky.social · 21h ago

“Texas built 620 homes per 100,000 people, four times the rate in Illinois. The Carolinas were even higher: 773 in North Carolina and 829 in South Carolina.” www.chicagobusiness.com/real-estate/...

Crain's Chicago Business Illinois ranks second to last in U.S. on building new housing 11 hours ago The Real Deal Illinois Ranks Near Bottom in new Home Builds 2 hours ago
Abundant Housing Illinois@abundanthousingil.bsky.social · yesterday

"Agents said they don’t see the bidding wars ending soon, as the lack of new inventory remains an issue." www.wbez.org/housing/2026...

A graphic for "Bidding Wars: All-Cash Offers" in the style of Star Wars.
Abundant Housing Illinois@abundanthousingil.bsky.social · yesterday

"Some agents are even encouraging clients to shop for homes in a lower price range so they can bid significantly more than than its list price. Buyers will also offer to pay in cash, waive inspections or cover the property’s appraisal gap, if applicable, according to McKenna."

Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸@jmisci.bsky.social · 2d ago

These two buildings on neighboring blocks in Lakeview demonstrate one big reason why housing costs in Chicago are skyrocketing: Left: -2 lots -21 homes ❌ unit count TOO HIGH for zoning limit Right: -5 lots -1 home ✅unit count ALLOWED under zoning limit

4 story apartment building made of brick Big brick single family home with empty space to side and big fence
Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸@jmisci.bsky.social · 2d ago

This thread reminded me that Mackinac Island was the world’s 2nd national park (after Yellowstone). It was eventually changed from a national park to a Michigan state park. But it remains one of the most unique places in the United States since it’s 100% car free. You have to visit!

Arch rock - a natural bridge on Mackinac island A streescape with horses and bikes and pedestrians but no carsA bike trail in the summer with a huge lake to the right and a lake freighterMackinac island harbor from above trees
Laurie! Live!@laurie-merrell.bsky.social · 3d ago

poll: what is your favorite national park (or state park etc.) that you have been to in the United States?

Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸@jmisci.bsky.social · 3d ago

O’Hare now has a banner that says “Welcome to Illinois, the QUANTUM CAPITAL OF THE WORLD” and a quantum computer on display! More work to be done of course, but this is a very cool initiative for the city that also pioneered the world’s first nuclear reactor.

Sign in airport terminal saying “Welcome to Illinois, the quantum capital of the world”IBM Quantum System One Inside a glass case is a quantum computer part. It looks like a chandelier with glass, copper, and other futuristic pieces Description: This is the inside of IBM Quantum System One-the world's first integrated quantum computing system, combining quantum science with traditional computing. Operating at temperatures colder than outer space, this breakthrough technology will solve previously unsolvable problems, transforming our lives in the not-so-distant future.
Governor JB Pritzker@govpritzker.illinois.gov · 3d ago

Huge news in quantum, Illinois. We’ve achieved quantum advantage with IBM and UChicago, marking a new milestone in their partnership. Together, there’s no limit to what we can achieve!

Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸@jmisci.bsky.social · 5d ago

Never forget that Mayor Johnson willingly chose THIS GUY to be the president of Chicago’s school board. He also wanted to take on high interest debt to fund CPS’ budget! His message to Chicago’s youth is clear: 1. I don’t value your education, and 2. your generation will pay the bills, not mine.

Post from Mitchel L Ikenna Johnson: “facts!!!” Reposted a picture saying “3000+ experts agree: 9/11 really was an inside job”
Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸@jmisci.bsky.social · 5d ago

Remember when Mayor Brandon Johnson: 1. handpicked the school board to implement his agenda 2. told them to do something so stupid that that the whole board resigned 3. ran out of people to appoint, so he tried (and failed) to appoint a misogynist and 9/11 denier (Yes, this happened!)

Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸@jmisci.bsky.social · 5d ago

Remember when Mayor Brandon Johnson: 1. handpicked the school board to implement his agenda 2. told them to do something so stupid that that the whole board resigned 3. ran out of people to appoint, so he tried (and failed) to appoint a misogynist and 9/11 denier (Yes, this happened!)

Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸@jmisci.bsky.social · 2w ago

Wish I could go to this event tomorrow! Hopefully the good folks at Climate Cabinet make sure these legislators understand that IL housing abundance is a climate solution. Pass the BUILD act! -Sen Laura Ellman -Sen Ram Villivalam -IL House Leader Robyn Gabel -Rep Eva-Dina Delgado luma.com/mcni7220

Climate Solutions Are Affordability Solutions: An Illinois Case Study · Luma

For the first time more Americans say they are struggling than thriving. Families’ day-to-day costs keep rising with little relief on the horizon. Higher bills…

luma.com

Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸@jmisci.bsky.social · 2w ago

Civic action of the day: I just submitted this feedback on CTA’s website. (Squeaky wheel gets the grease!) In short, CTA should have a text hotline to report issues. Nobody wants to press the EMERGENCY button if they’re in an uncomfortable situation on the train. And the chatbot is beyond useless.

The CTA needs a text-message based hotline to report issues. Today, I heard an announcement on the train platform that if you see something wrong, you should either tell an employee or press the emergency button. These are both bad ideas. And the online chatbot is also useless. Let's say you're on a train, and someone starts yelling at you unprovoked. You don't want to press the emergency button because this might aggravate that person. But you also can't tell any CTA employees because there are none in your train car, and you don't want to get off at the next stop. There needs to be a discreet way to report a bad situation. And it must connect to a human, not a chatbot. (I've reported incidents via chatbot plenty of times and have never seen any help.) The obvious answer is to have a text-message based reporting system. Plenty of cities do this; you can't go 60 seconds on a London tube ride without seeing or hearing the phrase "message 6-101-6 to report something wrong. See it, say it, sorted." Just copy their idea there's no penalty for plagiarism! There are many situations in which I would use this option. Maybe someone is smoking, or I see what could be human trafficking. These aren't necessarily emergencies, and I don't want to stop the train with the emergency button so the conductor can walk back to fix the problem. But there needs to be a quicker response than what is currently offered. I understand that the NITA legislation entails changes to CTA operations. Ideally, this hotline would be implemented alongside the task force's other recommendations. Whoever runs the hotline should have direct communication with conductors, police, transit ambassadors, and emergency services. Please roll out the hotline ASAP, and don't procrastinate with a pilot phase. Thank you for your consideration!
Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸@jmisci.bsky.social · 2w ago

Never forget that the Lead Industries Association and the Chicago plumbers union should have been put on trial for crimes against humanity. Their greed is the single reason why generations of Chicagoans were (and continue to be) poisoned.

In 1986, Harold Washington, Chicago's first black mayor, tried to buck the union. He proposed taking the lead requirement out of the code, after hearing from the health department that 1,644 children in the city were suffering from high levels of lead in their blood. By then every other major city in the nation had banned lead pipes and Ballanco's engineering organization was urging Chicago to adopt a model city code that excluded lead as well. But the plumbers' union stood its ground and opposed the measure, and thus it failed to win approval from the city's aldermen. "Lead [pipes] have proven over a long time to do the job they were designed to do," Jim McCarthy, the union's business manager, told the Chicago Tribune at the time. "I'm hard-pressed to understand why people are talking about lead poisoning. We've had lead pipe in the water system here for 100 years."
Greg Shill@gregshill.com · 3w ago

Just as transit policy (still) needs to adjust to pre-pandemic commute patterns not coming back, housing policy should incorporate the fact that many older adults are not downsizing. Compared with transit, the solution here is straightforward: build more. www.wsj.com/economy/hous...

Boomers Were Supposed to Downsize. They Are Buying Bigger Homes Instead.

Wealthy, older Americans are ripping up the traditional script for aging: “We’ll downsize when they plant me 6 feet into the ground.”

wsj.com

Micheál Podgers@michealpodgers.bsky.social · 3w ago

Just going to put this out there: but @mayorofchicago.bsky.social told transit advocates yesterday they need to compromise. Today Chicago is covered in wildfire smoke, a direct result of climate change warming. Transportation is the single largest source of GHG emissions in Illinois. SMDH

Micheál Podgers@michealpodgers.bsky.social · 3w ago

Overall, just a really disappointing display from @mayorofchicago.bsky.social. He’s taking way too much credit for wins he didn’t achieve. He struggled to answer questions off-the-cuff. He seems to have no clear vision for the city.

Star:Line Chicago@starlinechicago.bsky.social · 3w ago

Tell CMAP that lowering VMT needs to be a priority in our next regional long-range plan. Click through to Thomas's thread to find out how. bsky.app/profile/thom...

Thomas Bamonte@thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 3w ago

The transportation sector is the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Illinois. GHGs accelerate global warming that triggers wildfires and ozone alerts. Meanwhile, Chicago's MPO seeks approval of a long-range plan that accommodates faster growth in vehicle miles traveled than population.

Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸@jmisci.bsky.social · 4w ago

This building looks great! But I hate that citizens have to carve time out of their day to advocate for it. Chicago invented the skyscraper. You should be able to build a 6 story building without begging the alderman for a rezoning. I sure hope that we fix this process in my lifetime.

Hector@hectronomous.bsky.social · 4w ago

Proposed zoning change request for feedback! This is a huge one, right next to Clark Park and badabing wings/Ridman's coffee, and the awesome Clark PBLs. This is in the 47th ward and can be commented on via: aldermanmartin.com/development

A zoning change to build a 6-story 95 unit mixed use building containing 7,600 square feet of ground floor commercial space.