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To: La Lydia
I agree with him on all the architecture stuff.

In Phoenix, we have a courthouse that was built to be "Green". It is designed with lots of windows to let in the maximum amount of natural light, so that it uses fewer light bulbs.

Turns out, it's an enormous solar oven. Without air conditioning, you could literally cook hot dogs in the place just by setting them on the window sills. So the entire building is air conditioned to the max 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.

In principle, I am in favor of "eco-friendly" architecture, but in actual practice, anything designed to make a politician feel good will probably have negative unexpected consequences.

The best arbiter of how "eco-friendly" something actually is, is cost. The less something costs, the less land, labor and capital it took to produce that thing. So you could create an "eco-friendly" building simply by asking for the one which would cost the least to build and maintain for 20 years, than you could with 10,000 pages of regulations about window panes and toilet seats and such.
23 posted on 02/05/2010 11:02:10 AM PST by Question Liberal Authority ("My...health care plan is a Bolshevik plot... which will destroy America." - Barack Obama)
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To: Question Liberal Authority

He’s been getting an earful, has he?


25 posted on 02/05/2010 11:07:42 AM PST by Iowamerican
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