Posted on 02/04/2007 2:27:01 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
San Francisco is aiming to become one of nation's first large cities to require that new, privately developed buildings meet rigorous standards of environmental friendliness.
The decision to pursue such standards, which will need Board of Supervisors approval, follows similar actions taken in Boston and Washington. Smaller cities have also adopted such mandatory rules, including several in the Bay Area.
It is part of a nationwide "green building'' revolution that experts say is prompted by government incentives and mandates, growing consumer demand and fears of global warming.
"It's a virtual tsunami of green buildings,'' said Charles Lockwood, a real estate consultant in Southern California and New York, who has written articles about green building for Harvard Business Review and other publications. "Within the last year, the entire debate has shifted, and it's not a question of can we go green, it's how do we do it and how quickly."
Green buildings minimize environmental impacts with features such as natural lighting, solar power, low-flow water fixtures, no-flush urinals that use a chemical trap instead of water, and even use of nontoxic paints, glue, carpets and varnishes. A popular new product is an elevator that produces electricity as it descends.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, buildings use more than 70 percent of the nation's electricity and more than 50 percent of natural gas. Roughly 15 million new buildings are expected to be built by 2015.
A 2003 study sponsored by state of Massachusetts showed that the added cost of building according to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards was less than 2 percent, but the financial benefits 10 times that amount due to less energy and water use, waste production and maintenance costs. The study estimated that such buildings were, on average, 25 to 30 percent more energy-efficient...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I'm not sure if I'll visit the "green" building, especially if it contains waterless urinals. Now what to do about that "smell"?
SF is Sodom & Gomorrah with nice decorating. The more stupid and self destructive their policies the better.
You mean the Eau du San Francisco smell ?
ping
I especially like #9, Bicycle racks and staff showers.
Riding your bike to work is great (I've done it) but depending on how long, difficult, and/or how warm the weather is, it can make for a very uncomfortable start to your day. Showers would be great.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, buildings use more than 70 percent of the nation's electricity and more than 50 percent of natural gas. Roughly 15 million new buildings are expected to be built by 2015.
Well the 'obvious' solution is that everyone live in Mud Huts lit by candles.
You're right. Personally I think much needs to be done to encourage more exercise at work, because it will make the workers healthier and thus more productive at the end.
It's San FranSicko. The whole city smells like that anyway.
Ah, yes. Butt and eggs.
Just pretend you're in Oakland.
It still comes down to, "Turn out the lights..."
Well it's find and dandy to be "green" as long as it's not against any law to just be alive.
This is echoing through my industry. As I recall from researching this a few months ago this resolution was orchestrated by the The American Institute of Architects (AIA), who then took it as a call by which they could then get the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) to push forward very quickly on its guidelines for green & energy-efficient buildings (not a bad thing in and of themselves, actually, but like any new technological direction quite expensive if pushed too far too soon), and the latest ASHRAE president is pushing this *very* hard.
IMHO, cities who push this too quickly will soon find themselves in decline, in terms of their building stock. The only thing that annoys me about seeing Seattle go down this route is that it will push more liberals out our way.
I did that, summer and winter (excepting only illness and ice), until I bought a house from where it's too dangerous to ride. I miss the quiet ride along the river, away from the roads, even if it meant two showers a day.
That's next.
Who'd have thought it. I mean, don't bicycles and footballs need power too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.