It is clear that throughout the Globe in recent years, there has been a serious movement to “Go Green.” What does that mean..? Well, I would loosely define it as an attempt to change our lifestyles so as to lessen our impact on the environment and create a more sustainable society as a whole. One piece of this global green movement would have to be LEED building certification.
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, and is a program set up by the United States Green Building Council to aid in the design and construction of highly energy efficient buildings and communities, as well as the education of architects and engineers in green building practices. The main component of LEED is the certification process that allows a third party to determine if a certain building or community is “environmentally friendly,” based on 7 factors. These are, whether the site is sustainable or not, how efficient the water use is, energy use, what materials and resources went into the project, the indoor environmental quality, how innovative the project was, and whether the project took local environmental concerns into account during construction. It does cost some initial money to get certified, but is generally not too substantial in terms of the major companies that seek the certification. The project gets graded on a points system for how well it met each requirement, with a total of 110 possible points. Different levels of certification are then handed out based on a projects score. To be certified you need 40 points, 50 points gets you silver status, 60 points makes your project gold, and 80+ points gives your project a platinum rating. The beauty of this system is it encourages architects and builders to implement green designs and technologies into their buildings for certification and global recognition, but at the same time does a great deal to help the environment and cut homeowner and business energy costs.
Personally, I believe LEED certification is something that should not be done by a third party or something that can be used optionally in new construction. The technologies are obviously out there to make LEED design feasible in almost any context and it has such a positive effect on the impact of buildings on the environment, so why can’t we choose to make it necessary for any new construction to become LEED certified under federal law? It is already a requirement in some states for public and federal buildings to be certified, so why not commercial and residential buildings as well? Yes, implementing LEED design into a building requires more capital up front most of the time, but the savings from energy bills pay back those extra costs in no time. Plus, why cant our country for once put economics aside and focus on environmental quality? Maybe that is a little too drastic to ask of the country that practically defines capitalism… Regardless, LEED design and certification is something that is great for the environment and in most cases your wallet, so how about making it a practice that isn’t used by only a select few, but by the entire country (or world).
-Evan Klein
While I completely agree that certain building standards would assist our transition to a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, the US Government cannot harness the responsibility of ensuring each new house built is LEED. For one, economics will always play a roll in decision making because we cannot assess benefit without looking at cost. Second, local governments could decide to enact standards on all new buildings because they know the economic capability of that area to support this kind of construction. Perhaps they could offer incentives for homeowners who build with LEED standards, however blanket goals and measures that do not consider cost may bring about unintended consequences.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that it is important for the government to implement standards for future construction in order to transition more smoothly towards an eco-friendly society, but as morganicgardner mentioned, blanket measures are not always the best way to go. There are a wide variety of localities and regions throughout our country, and many of them struggle to provide the most basic infrastructure without worrying about extra costs of LEED certified buildings. If the government truly wants America to become environmentally conscious, we need to start educating the people. A building can be the most technologically advanced with zero carbon emissions and gold LEED certification, but if the people inside those buildings continue to use non-recyclable products, and use cleaning chemicals that are environmentally harmful, for example, there is little point of having that big fancy green building. LEED standards are great, but they only address half of the issue. Environmentally consciousness requires following through and changing the way activities are conducted in that building after construction is done.
ReplyDeleteI agree, by making LEED certification mandatory the country puts its foot down and states that "Go Green" is not just a product slogan, but a movement. Sustainability is not just a passing fad, but a necessity if we hope to continue living off of the planet. Through government subsidies, the price of being certified could be drastically reduced, making the certification all the more enticing turning a niche market into the status quo. It would also breath even more life and momentum in the already burgeoning market of green alternatives. A green economy is the ideal, because in a world of infinite desires and finite resources, a compromise must be struck. LEED certified buildings can be that compromise.
ReplyDeleteI agree as well, LEED certification would be a great way to keep new building in check and I think it's about time that the government really steps down. Otherwise, companies will always do the cheaper and unsustainable functions that allows them for the maximum profit.
ReplyDeleteI must also agree with Annah, educating the people is really the ultimate first step in the right direction. Any initiative means nothing if it's not publicized and built upon then what's the point. The LEED certifications are only the beginning of what needs to be a on-going process that begins before a building is constructed and doesn't end after it's finished.