12 | January 2021
The Big Picture
Continued from previous page
"They have made the greatest of all contribution to the real
transmission mode of this virus," he said on his Medium page.
So, for the people to watch this year, I'm listing Eldredge's own
Medium article on the air experts to follow on and off Twitter.
I expect they will continue to provide quality information to
consumers and professionals alike.
Not on Twitter: Julian W. Tang, Lidia Morawska,
Jonathan Van-Tam, and Yuguo Li.
The strongest voices from Twitter: @kprather88,
@ShellyMBoulder, @jljcolorado, @RWalensky,
@DougChem, @VVuorinenAalto, @CathNoakes, @
zeynep, @Wymelenberg, @Don_Milton, @HuffmanLabDU,
@Prof_Lowe, @linseymarr, @bencowling88, @CorsIAQ,
@ProfCharlesHaas, @j_g_allen, @ChemDelphine,
@mtosterholm, @LauringLab, @Smogdr, @Poppendieck,
@marinavance, @lisacng, @vfmcneill, @JayneMorrow406,
and @polsiewski.
You can also follow Eldrege himself on Twitter @citlanx.
Mainstream Media
I was at a virtual event recently where someone asked the
speaker "how they could engage CNN" to cover their indoor air
topic. The speaker replied, "Do you really want to watch to Jake
Tapper explain HVAC?" Agreed. I think Tapper would do a poor
job. A better question is whether the medical and scientific com-
munities have done a good job with media outlets over the last
year introducing the subjects consumers need to know? And are
they using the same language as the practitioners in the field who
are meeting with those consumers to meet their needs? There's
a phrase in real estate sales called "meeting of the minds." We
need that in our own industry for buyers and sellers of services.
Industry Events
I'll make one prediction. All industry events in 2021 will be virtual
or hybrid. And if they are hybrid (meaning you can attend online
or in-person), the state they will be held in will be either farther
along in the vaccination process or be really behind the eight ball.
One thing that industry researchers and professionals should be
on board with this year is masking up and keeping people safe
if you attend in-person. We know more airborne transmissions
so we should do more. I'd hate to see an indoor air professional
telling people to go to an in-person event when it's just not safe.
With almost a year of virtual events and webinars until our
belt, we also expect to see more new and innovative ideas in the
"session rooms" and "exhibit halls" to hold attendee attention.
"Conferences can sometimes be just a way of getting
education credits," said publisher Bob Krell. "That's fine for a
few hours, but groups need to use their imaginations to keep
people in their seats for days at a time. I think attendees get a
daily dose of information from all kinds of resources already."
Open the Schools
Next month's cover story will cover the effects of COVID-19
and climate change on schools, so I don't want to give
too much away from that story. I do want to throw out
into the universe the need to get teachers and staff vac-
cinated and get kids back in a school building. Bonus
The International WELL Building Institute launched their Health-Safety Rating this
month with a host of celebrities and scientists
