Last Friday, I went to work just like any other day at my firm, Fore Solutions, here in Portland, Maine. I fired up my computer, but instead of the normal updates on projects and industry newsletters, I was greeted with eye-popping subject lines. “Maine bans LEED!” was just one example. Thinking that can’t be right, I opened a few to find that Maine Governor Paul LePage issued an Executive Order banning LEED on state capital projects to satisfy out of state industry interests.
Author: LEaD Blogger
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A Year of Chapter Advocacy Efforts: Part Two – Green Schools
As we at USGBC wind down 2011 – and gear up for a promising 2012 I am pleased to have the opportunity to reflect on what an incredible year it’s been for green schools. With the help of our seemingly tireless volunteer and chapter network, the Center for Green Schools at USGBC has had a first year that has exceeded many expectations. Even heading into a time of year when things typically seem to slow down, USGBC’s volunteers continue to be hard at work on behalf of green schools.
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Q&A: Rep. Ron Kind on Healthy Kids Outdoors Act
Representative Ron Kind (WI), alongside Senator Mark Udall (CO), recently introduced the Healthy Kids Outdoors Act. This bill would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to carry out programs and activities that connect Americans, especially children, youth, and families, with the outdoors. We asked Rep.
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Higher Education Green Schools: An Intern’s Perspective
After an invaluable six month run with the U.S. Green Building Council as an intern, it was time to publish my final podcast. Though I’d produced podcasts with USGBC before, this was the first time I was able to use my unique position as a University of Florida student. Having spent three months at USGBC’s headquarters in Washington D.C., the time had come to head back to school in Florida and continue the internship via telecommute.
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A Year of Chapter Advocacy Efforts: Part One
Despite the long list of challenges that governments face today – the down-economy, which drives budget constraints, which drives partisan politics, which drives gridlock, which fails to deliver basic government services, which can impact the economy… – our green building conversation continues to resonate with diverse audiences. In August, USGBC released a report detailing some of the conversations that took place in 2011 and how these conversations translated into real world policy impact.
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Good COP, Bad COP
Cross-posted from GreenSource’s The Green Source: A Blog of Sustainable Building
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Americans Care About Green Schools
As a former teacher, I’ve seen first-hand the transformative effect that great educational environments can have on teacher motivation, student performance and community engagement. I also know that parents are unfailingly dedicated to their children’s education and will do just about anything to give their kids an advantage in life.
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Green Retrofits on the Rise: LEED for Existing Buildings Surpasses New Construction Projects, Echoes Industry Shift
The U.S. landscape is covered by more than 60 billion square feet of existing buildings, many of them hogging inordinate amounts of resources and energy due to outdated infrastructure. The potential to green this building stock is vast, and more importantly, the potential is being realized: We announced last week that LEED-certified existing buildings are surpassing new construction projects by 15 million square feet, cumulatively.
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Scaling up Energy Efficiency Financing
Here at COP17, some experts have said that the single most important outcome that can emerge from Durban is an agreement on the design of the Green Climate Fund – the new long-term mechanism for dispersing billions of dollars of climate finance for clean technology, adaptation, and capacity-building.
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Square Footage of LEED-Certified Existing Buildings Surpasses New Construction
Uptake signals green building market sea change
Washington, DC – (Dec. 7, 2011) – LEED-certified existing buildings are outpacing their newly built counterparts, according to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). As of this month, square footage of LEED-certified existing buildings surpassed LEED-certified new construction by 15 million square feet on a cumulative basis.