July 28, 2009
by Environmental Building Strategies
in Energy, Green Building, Uncategorized
Tags: Cap and Trade, Government Mandates, Green Building
HR 2454 or the Waxman-Markey bill, named after its two major supporters Henry A. Waxman and Edward J. Markey of the Energy and Commerce Committee, was passed in the US House of Representatives on June 27. Its major mandate is a cap and trade system though it does have other green practices scattered throughout. There has been a lot of talk recently, because of this bill, of the viability of a cap and trade system in the US. To evaluate the government’s ability to implement this new system we have to first understand it.
The basics of a cap and trade are fairly simple. It is a way to limit emissions through a credit system. Every business acquires a certain amount of credits; depending on the type of system these credits are either auctioned off or given away by the government. These credits represent the amount of carbon that businesses can emit. If the business cannot adhere to the limit of emissions their credits allow, they must buy credits from companies who are below their cap. Thus the companies who are responsible and limit their emissions are rewarded and those who are not as environmentally friendly are punished.
With this particular cap and trade system only 28% of the credits would be auctioned off over the next ten years. The other 72% will be given away for free, especially to heavy users of coal and other fossil fuels to help them cope with the change. The auctioning of the 28% will generate an estimated 276 billion dollars, which will be distributed to a range of places. Low and middle income families will receive money to help them deal with the increases prices passed down as a result. Big carbon emitters will also receive money on top of getting a good chunk of the free credits.
Where the trouble begins
The specifics of the cap and trade system embedded in HR 2454 are a little troubling. Understand that many businesses with currently high carbon emissions are going to have a hard time adjusting to meet the new standards, but giving them free credits is not the way to go. Auctioning off all the credits would generate government revenue – money that could be distributed to more of the people hardest hit from the resulting increase in prices of energy and goods. Maybe this increase in rebates would quell some of the opposition to the bill.
Besides implementing a cap and trade policy, the bill mandates a 17 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and an 87% reduction by 2050. Considering the mandates being implemented in California and 21 other states (for instance, buildings will use net zero energy or have net zero carbon emissions by 2030), these reductions do not seem extreme.
The public response to this bill has not been good. Googling the bill generated several articles: almost all were in opposition. Sadly, people tote it as another method Obama has found to increase taxes. They claim it is an unnecessary step to solve a group of alarmists’ wild and false theory, Global Warming. Without arguing the validity of Global Warming, one friend put it to me this way:
“If the believers are wrong and Global Warming is not true then we have implemented changes that will improve our environment and the Earth, if the naysayers are wrong and Global Warming does exist and we do nothing, our cities are underwater.”
The United States is the economic leader of the free world and the most powerful nation on the globe, but we have never been a leader on sustainability. We haven’t signed on to the Kyoto Protocol, we have very few “Green” standards in place, and per capita we emit the most carbon out of any country in the world (19.6 metric tons/person/year compared to 3.7 tons/person/ year from second place China).
Many people claim we are alone in this ever-growing crusade to save the Earth. Interestingly, they claim Europe has given up on sustainability because it is not feasible and unnecessary. Amazing how facts can become so skewed. Not only has the EU accepted the Kyoto Protocol, they have also implemented strict green building standards, emissions limits for cars and many European Countries already have an existing cap and trade system in place. Interestingly, they implemented all of these environment-saving standards with their economies intact…
The US has always lagged behind Europe and other developed nations when it comes to environmental conservation measures. Though this bill is flawed it is a positive step forward in its intent and its power to reduce emissions. Nation-wide opinions need to change on the role of sustainability in our society and hopefully the success of this bill can be the catalyst.
–The EBS Team–
June 7, 2009
by Environmental Building Strategies
in Green Building, LEED, Uncategorized
Tags: Education, Green Building, LEED, Training
Following our recent posts, the 7th Step in the 12 Steps to a Successful LEED Project requires team members to attend LEED workshops
7. Attend LEED Training workshops
Make sure everyone on the team has a copy of the LEED reference guide and their pages are highlighted. The LEED Consultant should provide the teams with the technical details and any specifications such as VOC limits and such but at the end of the day it is the responsibility of the project team members to be up to speed with LEED.
Attending these workshops is a great way for everyone to get on the same page and understand the system to a more comprehensive extent. In fact attending together can hash out conflict areas and will allow the team the ability to ask questions affecting each team members responsibilities as they pertain to LEED.
GreenStep Education is a great resource for team members. Alex Spilger is a seasoned sustainability professional who has the tools to get any team up to speed.
Another great resource is Pass the LEED which is an online resource for all things LEED. They provide LEED Exam Prep Training as well as Project Training courses designed for all project types.
–The EBS Team–
May 24, 2009
by Environmental Building Strategies
in Green Building, LEED, Uncategorized
Tags: Design Charrette, LEED
5. Charrette – More the better
An Eco-Charrette is a crucial tool for success. All ideas are put on the table and all sustainability goals are addressed. You will also get a chance to see where the experience is in the room and then can decide how to coach those less experienced folk through the ins and outs of LEED.
Often called a Design Charrette (much more appropriate name), these “meetings” need to be approached with an open mind on all fronts. Often architects feel pressured in these meetings as needing to be the know it all and can be left defending their design. However if these are facilitated early in the process architects can influence sustainability to a large degree as can engineers.
The idea is to work as a team and make sure everyone’s expertise gets addressed and realized. Often General Contractors are the most difficult to convince and they see the “old way” of doing things as their only way. Work with those people who are most unconvinced about LEED and take them under your wing. Bring them to USGBC Chapter events or have a lunch with them and the owner of a LEED facility to which that person can share their success with the process.
–The EBS Team
May 4, 2009
by Environmental Building Strategies
in LEED, Uncategorized
Tags: Green Building, LEED, LEED 2009
2. Evaluate compliance and strategies
Teams must initially evaluate their projects ability to comply with LEED and which system is most appropriate. Sometimes costs will be too much of a hurdle to overcome especially with certain versions of the new LEED 2009 system. If region is a hurdle then often more expensive credits will have to be sought after such as Enhanced Commissioning or Thermal Comfort Verification. Some credits can be easily figured into a project at the end – these credits include the ID Credit for Green Cleaning or the EA Credit for Green Power
It’s important to understand that only two things are truly required in LEED – Basic Commissioning and an energy model demonstrating a 14% more energy efficient building than ASHRAE 90.1-2004 (now 2007). Evaluate your ability to get those credits first. They are the initial hurdle in any project and while they aren’t normally difficult, they do provide a good starting point for evaluation of costs and feasibility. Also, make sure you have read what is required of a team on a LEED project and verify that your team has the tools, resources, and drive to see it through to success. The documentation portion can be a frustration and sticking point – see Real Life LEED for more information on this.
I will say in closing however that documentation is supposed to be easier with LEED 2009. The latest update from a member circle event the other night was that many advancements had been made in the area of speed and reliability.
The EBS Team
May 1, 2009
by Environmental Building Strategies
in LEED, Uncategorized
Tags: Green Building Examples, LEED
We are starting this weekend off with a new series. 12 Steps to a Successful LEED Project.
In an effort to get updated with LEED 2009 we are offering up a document we’ve compiled to educate building owners and developers on how to organize their LEED project.
We’ll start with the basics and describe in relative detail the importance of each step. The first one is called Delegate or Hire a LEED Manager. This is an important first step in any LEED project and it’s crucial to get started down the right path. See below for more details.
1. Delegate or Hire a LEED Manager
This person will be the point of command for all paperwork and communication throughout the LEED process – this person should be copied on all e-mails regarding LEED requirements, training, preparations, and questions. This person should have an openness to learn something new and should be at least fluent with the version of LEED you are working with and/or a LEED AP+ in the project category.
This person will primarily be responsible for herding and making sure the team is on track. Often this can be performed by the LEED Consulting firm that is documenting the project; however it is a good idea to have this type of person in house on the project so as to not have to increase the time the LEED Consultants spend answering tedious questions.
This person should also be in charge of spreading the word. LEED is something that we want to use as a market transformation tool. In order to transform, we must spread the word about our successes and challenges. This person should constantly keep updated by reading articles and books, making sure the project has an online presence, and attending green building conferences and USGBC chapter meetings.
If this is a LEED for Existing Building Operations and Maintenance project then this person with often be the lead engineer or facilities manager however doesn’t need to be. Sometimes Facilities staffs don’t have the interest or ability to keep up with the paperwork and requirements of LEED. That being said, he will need to develop a comprehensive strategy for gathering information at the beginning of the project, and throughout in order to stay current with documentation/scheduling requirements.
Check back next week for more tips for Successful LEED Projects
The EBS Team
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