In a less ideal world, the building would still exist.  It would have CFLs, a green air conditioning system, no-formaldehyde wood components, working windows.  Some of the materials would be recycled, but some would not.  The developer might have purchased some carbon offset credits to adjust for this, but probably not.  Still, there would be recycling/composting facilities and solar panels on the roof to offset the impact on the fossil fuel-run energy grid.

In our world, there are still forests which aren’t sustainably run, pH-destroying nitrogenous fertilizers, formaldehyde in our processes, high-VOC stains and paints being used, and buildings which, although there might be a wealth of CFLs and LEDS, aren’t using any solar or wind power, let alone a green garden on the roof.

But that’s why we’ve got green building programs, I hear you say.  Or, do we?  The New York Times is reporting this week that some buildings certified by the USGBC aren’t meeting the program’s standards once certified and in use.  The USGBC doesn’t deny it, either.

The council’s own research suggests that a quarter of the new buildings that have been certified do not save as much energy as their designs predicted and that most do not track energy consumption once in use. And the program has been under attack from architects, engineers and energy experts who argue that because building performance is not tracked, the certification may be falling short in reducing emissions tied to global warming.

Yikes. 

The tack most of us in the green journalism community have taken on the subject is to say that if there weren’t organizations like the USGBC making their certifications desirable for tax credits and energy savings audits, the building community at large might have had less pressure from the green movement as a whole.  Basically, any movement toward sustainability is better than none at all.  Still, it makes this reporter wonder why a developer would bother going through the paperwork, the energy audits, and the bureaucracy of the process to attain LEED certification in the first place if the building’s overall performance wasn’t going to be tracked, monitored and, in some way, monetized.  Theoretically, it’s just as much as savings for them in the long run as it potentially is for the environment.

Let me know what you think! Leave your comments.

Happy World Environment Day!  For the uninitiated, today is the U.N.’s equivalent of Earth Day.  To learn more, check out the WED Web site here.

When you’re there, be sure to check out the Twitter for Trees (@UNEPandyou, for you Twitter twits out there) campaign and updates of David de Rothschild’s amazing Plastiki project.

(More about Plastiki, de Rothschild’s project to bring awareness to the cess pit that is the North Pacific Gyre, a story worthy of coverage in this reporter’s opinion, available here at The New Yorker)

Photo: BuffaloReadings.com, via TreeHugger.

The New Jersey-based company just announced it’s conducting monthly Webinars on what it’s calling “LED Basics”–what they are, how they work, and what their potential holds for energy efficiency.

See the complete release and info on how to sign yourself up, after the jump.

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Anything great and green happening in your ‘hood?  Leave it in the comments!

HGTV is practically required viewing for us scribes here at KBDN.  Nobody loves a good floorplan like we do.

But apart from its fix-it shows and the remodeling disaster diaries, HGTV has stepped up to the plate for green and really hit it out of the sustainably managed park, so to speak.  From groundbreaking programming to sponsoring an annual Green Home, the network is doing a lot of legwork for the sustainable design cause.

So that’s why I was particularly thrilled to see that the network’s Green Home earn some Brownie points and recognition from the powers-that-be at the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA announced this week that the 2009 Green Home in Port St. Lucie, FL  has earned both the Indoor AirPlus and Energy Star labels.  Doesn’t hurt that it’s pretty, either–protects viewers from visual pollution!

For more about the 2009 Green Home including product, process and professionals involved, visit HGTV’s Green Home Web site here.

Read the release after the jump, and let me know what you think of the photos in the comments.

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 Remember Greensburg, KS?  Remember how an F5 tornado 1.7 miles wide flattened 90% of the structures in town on Friday, May 5, 2007?  With virtually nothing left standing in Greensburg but the grain elevator, the New York Times reported on May 7, 2007 that the town of approximately 1,500 would have to be completely rebuilt. 

 Seven days later, there was already talk of rebuilding, and the town leaders were beginning to envision emerging from the tragedy.

 July brought the exciting news that Greensburg was literally going to become a Green burg, and the sustainable building folks rejoiced.  The goal: LEED Platinum, the first-ever city to aim for the rating. Zero-energy commercial buildings, houses and schools. Wind power, solar power, energy efficient everything. mong some donors to the reemerging town are names familiar to us in the k&b world like Caroma, Evolve and on the architectural/building side, companies such as Dryvit and PF Waterworks.

 And after one year had passed, the Discovery’s Planet Green channel announced that a new reality program called simply ‘Greensburg’, which had been in planning stages shortly after the LEED announcement, would follow the town’s journey from grisly scene to lean and green.

 Now, it’s the two-year anniversary of the tornado, the bustling town is well into its restructuring and is holding their annual celebration to mark the event.  Not only that, Planet Green renewed the town’s series for a second season; the season premiere is this Monday, May 4… it’s worth a look, for sure.  Check out details and local air times at Planet Green.

 Important themes here for green building and design in general, and a landmark achievement all around for everyone involved; it’s the making of lemonade from organic lemons, to be sure. I’ll be back with more K/BIS coverage later today.

 Stay green, America!

(To see the New York Times’ extensive coverage of the tornado and the rebuilding of Greensburg, click here).

First, a convenient slideshow–TreeHugger shows you what the new Prez is going to help you buy, via tax credits in the new stimulus package.

Nick Grohe of Hansgrohe addresses low-flow, aeration and the various green benefits water products can provide in this handy-dandy Q&A.

The USGBC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (doesn’t that sound peaceful?) with BREEAM, Green Star, Green Building Council Australia and the UK Green Building Council to get the beginnings of a standard metric of CO2 emissions assessment in new home and building construction started.  Read it here.

To wit, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (Don’t get the agency’s e-updates? Sign up here.  Are you on Twitter? They’re at @usepanews) sent out this rather reassuring press release yesterday:

Stimulus Plan Will Create Sustainable Jobs That Will Protect Public Health  

Contact: Enesta Jones, 202-564-7873 / jones.enesta@epa.gov
 

(Washington, D.C. – Feb. 19, 2009) The economic recovery plan signed by President Obama will create 3 to 4 million quality, sustainable jobs with many protecting our country’s public health and our environment.   

   “Through the President’s stimulus package, green initiatives will play a significant role in powering economic recovery,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “EPA’s portion of the plan will create good, sustainable jobs that help produce cleaner drinking water, purer air, environmentally friendly urban and rural re-development, and reduced greenhouse gases. This is a perfect example of economic growth and environmental protection working hand in hand to the benefit of all Americans.” 

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Now Google is giving users an easy way to check their hom energy consumption by adding an audit tool, Google Power Meter, to its stable of products in development, reports the New York Times.

More about Power Meter and some green news from paint giant Sherwin-Williams after the jump. (more…)