Ohio, with 77 LEED-certified schools, has the most green schools per capita in the country…
Virginia had the most per-capita green building activity in 2012…
Late last week, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released their annual agency sustainability scorecards. These scorecards track how federal agencies are doing in complying with the requirements of Executive Order 13415, which set goals to show reductions on metrics like energy, water and waste in the agencies’ operations. The agencies get red, yellow or green to show how they are faring.
“It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.” Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1927- present, Colombian/global literary phenomenon/Nobel Prize winner)
E&E Daily reporter Nick Juliano got it right with his article, Supporters of efficiency measure fear amendment backed by chemicals group could be fatal ‘Trojan horse.’ E&E adeptly calls out the chemical lobby’s attempt to ban LEED from use by the federal government via a proposed amendment to the upcoming Shaheen/Portman energy efficiency bill (S.761).
As a resident of Idaho’s Wood River Valley, which encompasses the cities of Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley, I have been involved with and impressed by the commitment of several local jurisdictions that have adopted above-code ordinances. As co-chair of USGBC’s Build Better Codes campaign for 2013, I am doing what I can to share my expertise and my community’s story, and also to support the many code advocacy efforts across USGBC’s chapter community.
So far this year, USGBC chapters have organized Advocacy Days in 20 states where they take their cause to the capitol, challenging state legislators to support green public policy for the betterment of their districts and their state. I love that picture: well-intentioned groups practicing democracy in its purest form, demanding that their state representatives demonstrate leadership in the critical arenas of economic development, environmental stewardship and the health of their people who spend 90 percent of their time in buildings.
This past month has been a real doozy.
We, here on USGBC National’s advocacy team, got wind that Big Chemical was lobbying the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (SENR) Committee to attach a “poison pill” amendment to popular energy efficiency legislation that would ban LEED for use by the federal government. Thanks to the quick action of our chapters and their unrelenting commitment to better, healthier places to live, learn and work, we were able to keep the amendment from being added during markup, but the fight is far from over.
What happens when you assemble a prestigious group of private and public building industry experts and ask, “How should the federal government build green?”
First, they will look at you a bit funny for asking an obvious question with such an obvious answer: “LEED, of course.” We’ve heard this answer multiple times just this year.
What happens when you assemble a group of politicians and lobbyists and ask them the same question? Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait to find out in the coming months.
Last Tuesday was an active day for the USGBC Nevada chapter (USGBCNV) at the state capitol in Carson City. USGBCNV members Kelly Thomas, Louis Helton and myself, along with USGBC Legislative Director Bryan Howard, engaged our State Legislators and Executive Branch Officials to advance legislative solutions that would equip Nevada businesses with the opportunity to invigorate Nevada’s building and construction economy, all while reducing operating expenses.