There is no such thing as a typical arsonist; anybody and everybody commits arson for a slew of different reasons. "It's a very odd crime that just a few people understand," says Ed Nordskog, an ex-arson investigator in the LA County Department.
Psychologists point to some common characteristics: problems communicating, impulsive behaviors, difficulty expressing emotions and an interest in fire paraphernalia. Yet motives are often multiple and can be slippery to pin down.
Since retiring, Nordskog has found his expert insight into the minds of arsonists in high demand due to a string of arrests in the wake of the deadly Los Angeles fires.
While the fires' causes are still being investigated — and experts, including Nordskog, believe arson is highly unlikely to be behind the biggest blazes — the arrests have put a spotlight on the question of why people deliberately set fires.
People are by far the biggest cause of fires and arson is a significant factor. Roughly 20% of human-caused wildland fires in the US are set deliberately.
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📸 : David McNew/Getty Images
The UK’s sustainable construction sector is shifting from policy ambition to tangible decarbonisation, with major infrastructure and industrial players adopting measurable strategies to reduce whole life carbon across assets. The progress of Sizewell C’s nuclear power project, reaching financial close, highlights the integration of low carbon design within national energy infrastructure and reinforces the role of net zero whole life carbon objectives within long‑term energy security. The inclusion of nuclear energy within the UK’s net zero carbon strategy underlines a move toward environmental sustainability in construction that balances embodied carbon performance with broader lifecycle assessment principles.
The Environmental Services Association’s new guidance connecting Energy‑from‑Waste facilities to urban heat networks signals a critical evolution in circular economy thinking. By recasting waste as a resource for district heating, the approach channels circular economy in construction strategies and manages the carbon footprint of construction through controlled use of residual energy. This shift illustrates how sustainable building design can incorporate end‑of‑life reuse in construction and enhance resource efficiency without compromising low carbon building integrity.
Sunbelt Rentals’ full electrification of its Milton Keynes depot represents the operational embodiment of whole life carbon assessment within industrial infrastructure. Electrified depots limit Scope 1 and 2 emissions, advance eco‑friendly construction practices, and demonstrate how sustainable building practices apply to the equipment supply chain. These advances support lifecycle assessment integration and foster demonstrable reductions in embodied carbon in materials and operational energy use—critical metrics for achieving BREEAM V7 and high‑level environmental product declarations (EPDs).
Investor calls for policy stability before the budget underscore the market’s readiness for sustained investment in green construction. Financial alignment around low embodied carbon materials, circular construction strategies, and carbon neutral construction signals a decisive shift toward scalable solutions addressing the environmental impact of construction. The sector’s increasing emphasis on life cycle cost, sustainable material specification, and building lifecycle performance demonstrates that 2024 marks a phase of deployment rather than demonstration for sustainable construction and sustainable urban development, advancing the goal of truly net zero carbon buildings.
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