Christopher Ratcliff

Christopher (Kit) Ratcliff, FAIA, NCARB, LEED, is the third generation leader of Ratcliff, the century-old, award-winning architectural firm in Emeryville, California. He has pledged the firm's resources toward sustainable practice in concert with the AIA's 2030 Challenge and is committed to bringing the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change to the attention of clients and colleagues. Visit www.ratcliffarch.com to learn more.

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Spurring the Building Industry Ahead in the Green Movement

By Christopher Ratcliff, December 3, 2008

The Importance of Engaging with the Sustainable Design Community

As previously reported in this column, green house gas (GHG) emissions for 2007 exceeded the worst case scenarios developed and projected by a number of organizations. Due to its aggressive environmental policies, California (the fifth largest economy in the world) ranks 12th in the United States for GHG emissions. While laudable, California's ranking still leaves much to accomplish.

Members of California's building industry, including architects, engineers and contractors, are teaming with legislative and grassroots organizations to take strong leadership roles in reducing the industry's drivers for climate change....

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The First Step to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emission is Measurement

By Christopher Ratcliff, October 16, 2008

There is a powerful sense in our country and around the world that climate change is real and it will take strong, immediate action to reduce the causes of global warming and lessen the worst that climate change portends. While there are many problems facing the environment, greenhouse gas emissions are clearly a main driver of climate change.

We are told we need to reduce by well over half the GHGs we put into the atmosphere in only a few years to reduce their impact on climate change. Various timetables and targets are debated nationally and internationally, but agreement among national and world leaders over the timeframe in the short term...

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