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8 will be a long-term opportunity for those in the AEC industry, irrespective of the shorter-term downturn we have experienced from the fall in oil prices. There are new approaches and technology continually being developed to extract energy products from fossil fuel sources previously believed unreachable or cost prohibitive. At the same time, alternative forms of non-fossil fuel energy such as solar, wind, and bio-fuels continue to grow. All of this is occurring while we continue to look for more efficiency with the energy we use – whether it’s new and existing buildings, vehicles, or the equipment we use. We continue to develop new technology and equipment to manage and save energy use at every level. We also may be witnessing a new industrial revolution in this country – the reshoring of manufacturing and other industrial production. Political uncertainty, and increases in labor and energy costs in the developing manufacturing countries, are certainly driving decisions. Tipping the scales for the industrial sector to consider bringing business back to this country are the logistical advantages to market and “total landed costs.” Corporations like GE, Caterpillar, and Ford have already begun relocating manufacturing capability from abroad while foreign corporations are also now establishing facilities in this country. I believe we are only at the tip of the iceberg for this reshoring revival. At the same time we have growth and building opportunity, there is even more emphasis on preserving our environment. The movement to protect and enhance our environment through conservation and protection is not going away. The recent years have demonstrated we have now gone beyond regulation – doing it because we were required – to what is now good stewardship brought GERRY SALONTAI, from page 5

on by broad social support and a desire to preserve the planet. And then there’s climate change – a different angle on the environment. Whether man-made or just another period in time, the erratic and severe weather patterns and rising sea levels present both an opportunity and challenge for our industry. Preserving our air, water, and earth resources along with adopting sustainable practices to recycle, reuse, and be self-sufficient is an endless opportunity for AEC professionals to be the best stewards of our environment. “We may be the first generation of AEC professionals in quite some time that are crucially central for that better tomorrow.” There are so many other challenges and opportunities for the AEC industry. The above was only intended to paint a glimpse of what is in front of us. And when you consider that there is even more opportunity beyond this country – it’s almost limitless. We may be the first generation of AEC professionals in quite some time that are crucially central for that better tomorrow. All of this describes the “who and what” and not the “how.” The how is up to us as leaders and practitioners. It will require innovation and creativity, political and community activism. Leaders of civil engineering organizations – whether public or private – will need to fully engage and unleash our talented workforce. Let’s seize this unique opportunity and our rightful place as the champions of the solutions. GERRY SALONTAI is the founder of Salontai Consulting Group, LLC. Contact him at gerry@salontai.com. conversation turned to tall buildings. “There were people as concerned about losing their view of the Gherkin as they were of losing their view of the dome at St. Paul’s,” he says. Weiss launched her campaign in March 2014, and more than two years in, she says it has finally started to garner widespread support and media exposure. Her cause was re- inforced in July when the Skyline Campaign won its biggest fight – reducing the 72-story residential Paddington Pole, designed by architect Renzo Piano, down to the 18-story commercial Paddington Cube. Though market forces were also at play, Weiss will take the win. But even in victory, for Weiss, the outlook is grim. Just af- ter news of the Paddington Cube was announced, another announcement was made. The Dubai developer of the so- called Jenga Tower, across the Thames from Westminster, found a builder. There are 89 towers under construction, another 233 have been approved, and yet another 114 are proposed. Due to fluctuations in the market, and the sheer time and capital it takes to build a tower, it’s likely that not all of them will deliver. Still, the London skyline has already changed and it will continue to change for years to come. “We are coming to it late,” Weiss says of her efforts. “The horse has bolted already.”

LONDON SKYLINE, from page 7

U.K. and London. With the recent vote to leave the Euro- pean Union, the U.K. is trying to not only plot its exit, but to plan for its future. And as it pertains to London and its housing crunch, it boils down to what happens to the EU workers from Poland who do a lot of the dirty work in the U.K. Murray says as much as 60 percent of the skilled work- ers in the construction industry are from Poland. If they are sent packing, Murray says, “delivering our 60,000 houses a year will be a pipe dream.” “There were people as concerned about losing their view of the Gherkin as they were of losing their view of the dome at St. Paul’s.” While new towers have certainly angered plenty of people, in certain places, they are widely accepted, as with the fi- nancial center of Canary Wharf in East London. And there are plenty of people who love the mystique of skyscrapers piercing up through the horizon. Murray said he was at a social gathering not too long ago, and with the skyline looming in the distance, the

THE ZWEIG LETTER October 17, 2016, ISSUE 1172

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