LEED and "greenwashing"

Definition of greenwashing:

From "Some Buildings Not Living Up to Green Label" in the New York Times:

The Federal Building in downtown Youngstown, Ohio, features an extensive use of natural light to illuminate offices and a white roof to reflect heat.

But the building is hardly a model of energy efficiency. According to an environmental assessment last year, it did not score high enough to qualify for the Energy Star label granted by the Environmental Protection Agency, which ranks buildings after looking at a year’s worth of utility bills.

The building’s cooling system, a major gas guzzler, was one culprit. Another was its design: to get its LEED label, it racked up points for things like native landscaping rather than structural energy-saving features, according to a study by the General Services Administration, which owns the building.

Builders covet LEED certification — it stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — as a way to gain tax credits, attract tenants, charge premium rents and project an image of environmental responsibility. But the gap between design and construction, which LEED certifies, and how some buildings actually perform led the program last week to announce that it would begin collecting information about energy use from all the buildings it certifies.

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Native landscaping is important. But a system of evaluation on environment- and energy- sensitive construction should be weighted towards energy consumption, not other glitz. Period. And should take into account the cost of losing embodied energy, i.e., demolition of buildings and replacement.

The best way to build in a manner that promotes energy conservation is compact development that promotes walkability and transit use. It's like health care, I read something last week that says 80% of people's health and wellness can be influenced by diet and exercise and not smoking. With energy saving in the built environment, build for long term use, in an energy efficient way, in a spatial pattern that isn't based on automobility.

As long as you drive to a "LEED certified" building, you aren't doing much for the environment, even if you drive a hybrid, you're still driving. And sure, while I support electric cars and recognize that we will be using coal to make energy (electricity) for a long time, it does have negative impact on the environment. So not driving, electricity or not, is even better...