Some Green Developments
by Tony Chavira
Let's start with this ridiculously cheesy PR informational video:
Despite the bad jokes and sight gags, the video is generally correct in terms of initiatives that the city and county of Los Angeles have been trying to push forward with an end-goal of totally greening-up the Southern California landscape. Already there's a local government mandate to at the very least attempt to make new buildings LEED-certified, at the very most make them 100% sustainable. Of course, there are a lot of technicalities involved with the process of making this happen, but personally I feel that the end goal really should be to completely turn all government buildings into Living Buildings:
Over the past couple of decades, architects and builders looking to green their projects turned to the addition of various piecemeal elements to save water here or cut down on electricity there. Those who added more than a few green touches could apply for and get certified by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) under its Leadership in Energy and Efficient Design (LEED) program. While these efforts have been laudable—essentially launching the green building industry as we know it today—they represent merely the infancy of what green building might someday become. [...]
The first building to be completed for consideration under the LBC program is the Omega Center for Sustainable Living, in Rhinebeck, NY. The 6,200 square-foot, one-level building, which serves as headquarters for the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, features a geothermal heating and cooling system, solar panels, rain gardens that direct water run-off to irrigate plantings, a 4,500-square-foot greenhouse that helps filter wastewater for reuse, “daylighting” design that brings natural light indoor to minimize electric light usage, and eco-friendly building materials all around. It was designed—per LBC criteria—to be “net-zero,” meaning it uses no more energy than it generates itself. Once the building has been in operation for a full year next summer, CRGBC will audit it to see if its performance lives up to the green hype.
Also, it's nice to see the city of Los Angeles put it's money where it's mouth is and commit actual funds (Measure R, for instance) to making sure that these goals get accomplished. If the climate conference at Copenhagen has brought anything to our attention, it's that the way we live in and use cities is critical to curbing emissions and living healthful lifestyles, so it's about time that our local government officials got with the program. American Public Media, in fact, has a great segment on this point on this week's Marketplace that I think is worth listening to:
Most of us have heard of engineering fixes, like swapping coal plants and SUVs with wind turbines and hybrid cars. Clean energy and green tech are critical, but they're being eclipsed by a more system-wide approach: building bright green cities. Cities offer us powerful leverage on our most stubborn, wasteful practices. Long commutes in our cars, big power bills from our energy-hogging buildings, shopping trips to buy stuff that'll spend a few short months in our homes and long centuries in our landfills.
These are unsustainable behaviors. And they're so difficult to change because they're spun into the very fabric of our cities and sprawling suburbs. Reweave that fabric, and we find change much easier.
Well-phrased. I also like that the point here isn't that Copenhagen should lead to a singular mega-policy that will dictate to the world energy and consumption landscape. Clearly, those kinds of pie-in-the-sky policies leave a huge disconnect between the international political community and, for example, people in developing countries that have to choose between polluting or starving. Instead, it's great to see the goals of the Copenhagen conference focus on wide, system-shifting changes that will effect our everyday way of living in a city.
And maybe one day we'll create, instead of a Living Building, a whole Living City. Someday.
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