An undeniable shift is occuring within our society . " Eco' has become a shousehold word . Sustainable , earth-friendy , eco=friendly , organic , energy efficiency - all of these are such familiar terms that they pepper dinner table conversations , easily spanning the generations . In fact , it si almost ahrd not to think aout the environment with the prevasiveness of it in all media . Hournaliust write and report about envionmental issues in every print and digiatal format ; special green espisodes appear on television l cable channels have been created that are specifically geared towards the subject .
You can barely mention " green ' or sustainable ' or other environementally related terms without adding a qualifier or some level of specificity . Green What ? sustainable ' or other environmentally related terms without adding a qualifier or some level of specificity . Green what a?Sustainable what ? The options are too numerous toi leave without clarification of the basic terms . There is , also the alrger question L what is sustainability ? What does it mean to live in a sustainable manner ? Sure , driving a hybric is eco-firendy , but is it really sustainable ? How about buying organic ? Are you a better person for buying products that use compostable packaging ? WHen talking about a sustainable way of life , there are a number of isssues direction . " Green " is not black and white , but rather a world composed of shades of gray in which each person has his or her own values , perspectives , and tolerances . WHat may be the best and greenest option for one may not be the best and greenest for all .
THe same applies to green building . The realm of green building encompasses and incredible number of topics , issues , and compromises . As if there were not enough questions to deal with in the design and constructiuoin of a building before the emphasis on green building began , since its emergence the factors to be considered have multioplied in many diverse ways . Everthing from species miugration pateerns to new carpet smeels are now well within the realm of concern for green building practitioners .
That said , green building is but one of many important factors in achieving sustainability . Concerns about global warming ,natural disasters , endangered species , carbon footprints , and resource depletion of fossil fuels and nonrenewable energy sources aree hioghly complex subject . It's difficult to determine excabtly how big a contributing role building designa and construction play in the larger piucture , simply because everthing is so intertwined . If the design and construction industries tried to look at all issues comprehensively for each project , the effort would be so overwhelming that nothing would get done . Designers would be spread so thin that they would not be able to focus on crating good s, solids , valuable structures that are enjoyable , safe and beautfiul - the core of all that they are taught ind esign school ,. So where exactly does that line , that realm of influence , get drawn ? What can we , as building design adn construction industry professionals , address in our daily processes and products that will ive us the best - and greenest - result without totally overwhelming us ? Green building guidelines and rating systems provides us with a structure for answering the question .
Regardless of their individual approaches , rating systems and struyctured in a way that breaks down the considerations of green building design and construction into something manageable - that is , into criteria that an architect , designer , contractor , or anyone else in the construction industry can readily understand . The rating systems address all of the issues that designa dn construction industry professionals deal with on a daily basis , cross - reference dwith the larger issues of sustainability . Green building encompasses not only a structure's energy use and material soruces but also considerations of ecosystem preservation or restoration , regional watersheds , carbon footprints , even lifestyle . Given the interconectedness of all of these , it is no surrisethat these topics may enters the conversation druing design and construction meetings . The intention behind the various guidelines is to give strture to the process , organizing the primary topics to be addressed and acknowledging any related topics that hould also be considered . As with any product in a competitive mareket place , a number of different green building rating systems and guidelines have been created over the past decade or so and there may be moire on the horizon . The variations among them are not unlike other choices in our lives - car , jeans , residences , jobs . This book explores the array of options abailable and makes comparisons among the different alternatives so that construction professionals can consider their oprtions objectively and pick the one that is right for their project and project team .
I 've chosen to begin the exploration with the most recognizable rating system available in the united States : USGBC's LEED . Chapter 2 gioes through the LEED systems in a straight forward manner , looking at the structure of thes sytem as well as the different categories and issues it addressess and how it does so . Because LEED is such widely recognized system . I 've used it as the standard against which to compare other systems in the subsequent chapters of the book . I do not mean to suggest by this choice that LEED is necesaarily the best system available, only that it is the most well known. Other large-scale guidalines and rating systems are described in the subsequent chapter of the book . These systems include the Tnature Step , Green BLobes , and NAHBGreen developed by the National Association of Home Builders . Since Chapter 2 reviews both the topics covered by LEED as well as it systrem of credits , I have chosen not to burden readers with a review of similar credits for each of the other rating systems describbeed unless there is a notable difference between a given system and the LEED systems . The final chapter of the book exploires how different by taking a look at seven of the most respected and innovative local systems around the country .
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