Starting today, 160 campuses across the country are competing to reduce energy and water consumption at colleges and universities. Over a quarter million students have made commitments to use less water and electricity as they race to conserve a collective gigawatt or more!
Author: LEaD Blogger
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Army to Congress: LEED Doesn’t Cost More
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The Army is still going for Gold and Platinum despite recent legislation calling a halt to LEED spending.
The federal government has been one of the biggest supporters of LEED certification in the last few years, with the General Services Administration (GSA) requiring basic LEED certification for all federal buildings starting in 2003 and then upping that requirement to LEED Gold in 2010.
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While Pundits Debate Green Jobs, We’re Busy Putting America Back to Work
Even though I live in D.C., I often wonder, “What is Congress even fighting over?” It seems like everyone else in the country is asking the same question. This is especially true when our elected officials endlessly debate “jobs.” Aren’t jobs universally supported? Why would anyone be against putting Americans back to work, especially in the industries we know we need to remain competitive? How can everything simultaneously “create millions of jobs” and still be a “job killer?”
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The Competition Begins: Appalachian State University vs. Western Carolina University in CCN 2012
The Campus Conservation Nationals kicks off next week, and the competition is going to be fierce. Campus Conservation Nationals is a national residence hall electricity and water reduction competition that encourages colleges and universities to save energy and water. For the 2012 competition, rival schools will compete against peer schools to see which campus can have the greatest energy reductions.
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DVGBC Rocks the House!
On Tuesday, January 25, 2012 members of the three USGBC Chapters in PA (Delaware Valley Green Building Council, Green Building Alliance and USGBC Central PA) went to Harrisburg for Advocacy Day.
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The Coolest Teachers in the Country
A growing body of research indicates that students learn better when they learn firsthand through hands-on experiences. At the Center for Green Schools, we think the same is true for everybody else, including the millions of teachers who dedicate their lives to educating our children.
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Leading with LEED
Earlier this month, USGBC launched its first of seven 2012 advocacy campaigns initiatives. The aim of the kick-off Leadership with LEED campaign is to grow green building and expand the use of LEED.
Why?
Shouldn’t all government buildings, funded with taxpayer money, be built or retrofitted to a higher standard? Aren’t buildings that are less costly to operate, longer lasting, and beneficial to the communities in which they’re located a priority?
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Chicago Can Share Best Practices for a Green Economy
Chicago: Home of the Cubs, the Blues Brothers, deep-dish pizza, and more LEED-certified municipal buildings than any other city in the U.S.(Not to mention Chicago ranks #1 in total square footage of LEED space, and the entire state of Illinois ranks third in the country on a per-capita basis).
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An America Built to Last: The Five Wins for Green Buildings in the SOTU
This week I watched the President’s State of the Union address with a notepad of buzzwords ready to take down some tallies. I’m certainly not the only person who keeps track keywords mentioned by the President in his annual speech. Not surprisingly, the President mentioned “jobs” more than 40 times in the 90 minute speech. I was also pleased that he referenced “energy” 20 times. Keeping track of my favorite hot topics became overwhelming only 30 minutes in, but in this case, too much of a good thing is a good thing.
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Why Galaxy Elementary is Aiming for LEED Platinum
Parents want to know: is building a school as a LEED school expensive? It all depends. Initial construction costs can sometimes be high, but with a careful budget and post construction energy performance studies, building to LEED standards saves a great deal of money over time. Additionally, green schools can be created at or below regional K-12 construction costs and operated within existing facilities budgets.