GreenClips.167 05.09.01 DOES LEED ASK LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS TO GO FAR ENOUGH? Increasingly, landscape architects need to understand the LEED Green Building Rating System, which evaluates environmental performance of buildings and sites for new commercial projects. LEED's Sustainable Sites section contains 22 percent of the rating system's possible points, and its Water Efficiency and Materials and Resources sections account for an additional 18 percent. Because LEED 2.0 is fast becoming a nationally accepted system, many are finding that it lends legitimacy to the practices of sustainable building. But some LEED users are concerned that it doesn't go far enough in asking landscape architects to address and build ecologically functional landscapes. Carol Franklin of Andropogon in Philadelphia feels that "there is a risk of just going by the rules, earning some points and not others, and not thinking holistically about how the land works on each individual site. Sustainable design looks at the management of the whole resource." Many LEED users feel that the system is not tough enough on projects built on inappropriate sites, such as those on ecologically sensitive, fire-prone, or prime agricultural land. And some landscape architects envision new LEED systems that would address site planning, multi-building developments, landscape and infrastructure projects, and related issues. Landscape architects have the opportunity to take a proactive role in developing LEED 3.0, which is planned for release in 2003. Landscape Architecture, May 01, p 36, by Meg Calkins. [More about LEED: http://www.usgbc.org] GREEN BUILDING ORDINANCE ADOPTED BY TEXAS TOWN The fast-growing city of Frisco north of Dallas recently became the first in the nation to require that all new homes meet federal Energy Star efficiency standards. The City Council also adopted far-reaching measures to encourage water conservation, recycling and improved indoor air quality in every new home. Frisco, once a small farming town, has surged to a population of 34,000, up 450 percent in the last decade. City officials estimate that the new Green Building Ordinance could increase the average home cost by about $1,500 to $3,000. But they say those costs would probably be offset by savings on utility bills. Paul Cauduro of the Homebuilders' Association of Greater Dallas says the group supports energy conservation but believes a more flexible ordinance would have been better. TXU Electric, a local utility company, will provide inspections to certify that homes in the Frisco service area comply with the Energy Star requirements. The Dallas Morning News, 4 May 01, by Ian McCann, and Houston Chronicle, 2 May 01. [More: http://www.ci.frisco.tx.us/planning/greenbuilding_index.htm] NATIONAL LABS' CONSERVATION STUDIES AT ODDS WITH BUSH POSITION Scientists at the country's national laboratories have projected enormous energy savings if the government takes aggressive steps to encourage energy conservation in homes, factories, offices, appliances, cars and power plants. Their studies, completed just before the Bush administration took office, are at odds with the administration's assertions in recent weeks that the nation needs to build a new power plant every week for the next 20 years to keep up with demand for electricity, and that big increases in production of coal and natural gas are needed to fuel those plants. A detailed report based on three years of work by five national laboratories says that a government-led efficiency program emphasizing research and incentives to adopt new technologies could reduce the growth in electricity demand by 20 to 47 percent. That would be the equivalent of between 265 and 610 big 300-megawatt power plants, a steep reduction from the 1,300 new plants that the administration predicts will be needed. The Bush administration has not publicized these findings, relying instead primarily on advice from economists at the Energy Department's Energy Information Agency, who often take a skeptical view of projected efficiency gains and predict a much greater need for fossil fuel supplies. The New York Times, 6 May 01, p 1, by Joseph Kahn. NATURAL FIBERS AREN'T NECESSARILY GREENER THAN SYNTHETICS It's a fallacy that natural fibers are automatically better than synthetics, according to many textile experts. "When someone says, 'It's a natural fiber, it must be green,' this is completely and utterly false," says Susan Lyons of DesignTex. "You really have to look at how the raw materials are being grown and processed, how they are being harvested, and what additives are being used to process them. There is still a lot of work to be done with synthetic fibers, but there is no reason to feel that they are inherently evil. It has to do with how they are created." DesignTex's products include the Redux Collection of 100-percent solution-dyed recycled polyester fabrics. Other textile manufacturers that are taking strides to offer environmentally sound products include BASF. "As part of our ongoing stewardship program, BASF rigorously evaluates our products using Eco-Efficiency Analysis that was developed in 1996," says BASF's Deanne L. Moskowitz. "The main factors analyzed are raw materials, energy requirements throughout the life cycle of the product, health hazards, risk potential, and emissions." Sirene by Yoma is made of BASF's environmentally responsible Zeftron 200 nylon. Interface Fabrics Group produces Terratex, a family of ecologically responsible fabrics sold through various contract fabric distributors, refurbishers and furniture manufacturers. Contract, April 2001, p 30, by Lisa Annunziato. [Manufacturers' Web sites: http://www.dtex.com; http://www.basf.com; http://www.interfaceinc.com] LANDLORDS, JANITORS TEAM UP TO SAVE ENERGY On May 7 landlords and janitors in California announced a plan to cut electricity use in major office buildings by 10 percent statewide. Calling it the "largest commercial partnership ever for conservation," Gov. Gray Davis hailed the Lights Out plan as part of an overall statewide effort to reduce the threat of blackouts this summer. As part of the campaign, cleaning crews will be encouraged to turn off lights in unoccupied areas and after cleaning an area. They will also switch off other machinery, including computers, and will clean floors in teams, rather than be spread out over several floors at the same times. Mike Garcia, president of SEIU Local 1877, says he and the 25,000 union members who clean the major office properties throughout the state were proud to be part of the landmark program. The program also calls for: encouraging energy-efficient cleaning practices, including switching more workers to a Sunday-to-Thursday workweek and establishing janitorial "lighting patrols" to shut off unneeded lights; implementing building-wide conservation programs, seeking input from janitors, engineers and other building staffers; conducting conservation training seminars for janitors and engineers; developing a program of rebates and other state-funded incentives for retrofitting buildings with energy-efficient equipment; and using newsletters, e-mail and lobby signs to spread the word about the program to the 2 million office-building workers. Los Angeles Times, 8 May 01, by Karen Robinson-Jacobs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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