.
10/24/12, "In U.S. building industry, is it too easy to be green?" USA Today, Thomas Franks
"A USA TODAY examination shows that thousands of
"green" builders win tax breaks, exceed local restrictions and get
expedited permitting under a system that often rewards minor, low-cost
steps."
"Across the United States, the Green Building Council has helped
thousands of developers win tax breaks and grants, charge higher rents, exceed local building restrictions and get expedited permitting by
certifying them as "green" under a system that often rewards minor,
low-cost steps that have little or no proven environmental benefit, a
USA TODAY analysis has found.
The council has certified 13,500
commercial buildings in the U.S. as green and become one of the most
influential forces in building design by helping persuade public
officials and private builders to follow its rating system, known as
LEED.
More than 200 states, cities and federal agencies now
require LEED certification for new public buildings, even though they
have done little independent and meaningful research into LEED's
effectiveness. LEED can add millions to construction costs while
promising to cut utility bills and other expenses.
Los Angeles,
Miami, Boston, San Francisco, Baltimore, Washington and roughly 85 other
cities go an extra step and require some private commercial buildings
to follow LEED. And nearly 200 jurisdictions give LEED builders tax
breaks and other incentives....
USA TODAY conducted the first public analysis of the 7,100 LEED
certification records posted on the council website and found that
designers emphasize LEED points that can be won through simple
purchasing decisions and shun labor-intensive options and cutting-edge
technology.
The most popular LEED option — earned in 99.7% of the
buildings — has no direct environmental benefit but generates millions
of dollars for the building council by giving one point if a design team
has a LEED expert. People become experts by passing a LEED course and
paying $550 to $800 to a non-profit that the building council created in
2007.
The building council gets 5% of those fees — $3.3 million
from 2008 through 2010, council tax records show. The council rewards
the inclusion of LEED experts to encourage building designers to learn
about LEED.
More than 90% of the buildings got points for using
indoor paints, adhesives and flooring that aim to protect occupants'
health by emitting fewer contaminants. Widely used, the materials add
little cost or effort and have no impact outside the building....
Cheap points can add valuable tax breaks. In Las Vegas, the Palazzo
scored just two points above the minimum needed for its $27 million tax
break....
A little-noticed study of Navy buildings in January showed that four
of 11 LEED-certified buildings used more energy than a non-LEED
counterpart. Of the seven others, four were better than their
counterparts by 9%, a level of improvement that is insufficient to earn
any LEED points.
"Energy savings are not closely related to the
number of points received," concluded the study by University of
Wisconsin researchers.
LEED tries to address the problem by
offering one point for buildings that measure actual energy use. Only
23% of the LEED-certified buildings have taken that option, USA TODAY
found....
Government-fueled green
Governors, mayors, state
legislators and federal administrators have been forceful LEED advocates
who helped it flourish nationwide. About 26% of LEED-certified
buildings are government-owned.
But officials have embraced LEED
and similar standards "often without fully understanding their benefits,
trade-offs and costs," says a 2009 study by the National Institute of
Building Sciences, a research group that interviewed building officials,
regulators and advocates.
The federal General Services
Administration (GSA), which owns and leases space in 9,600 buildings,
gave crucial support in 2003 when it began requiring LEED certification
for its new and substantially renovated buildings. Every federal
department now follows green building practices along with 35 states.
Roughly 170 cities give LEED builders tax breaks, grants, expedited
permitting or waivers allowing them to construct larger buildings than
local law allows. Roughly 2,000 developments, buildings and homes have
received $500 million in tax breaks nationwide, USA TODAY found....
Public LEED buildings typically cost taxpayers extra. In Ohio, LEED
certification for new state-funded schools has added $131 million in
construction costs since 2007. "Soft costs," such as fees to the
building council and to LEED consultants, add about $150,000 to the
price of a new federal building, the GSA estimates.
Governments
seeking to justify LEED often rely on reports funded by the council or
written by council leaders asserting long-term cost savings....
The GSA released its largest report on its green buildings in August
2011, which studied only 16 of the agency's roughly 40 buildings that
were LEED-certified by the end of 2009. Seven LEED buildings were "not
cooperative" in disclosing energy use, the report said. The report found
13 of the 16 LEED buildings used less energy than typical office
buildings but acknowledged studying only "a small number of buildings."
The
council has advocated for more research. Its strategic plan says the
"lack of data on green building performance makes it difficult to
address perceptions that green building is not cost-effective."
One
researcher says the council tried to suppress a critical 2002 report by
the federal National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that
said some LEED points were too easily earned and that others had only
marginal long-term benefit.
"USGBC wanted NIST to take it off
line, not to publish it," recalled study author Greg Keolian, who is
co-director of the University of Michigan's Center for Sustainable
Systems."They didn't like the findings. They were concerned we were
criticizing LEED." NIST published the report."...via Breitbart story, 1/26/13, "DC Tops List of Costly, Subsidized 'Green' Buildings," Capitol Confidential
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment