CURRENT ISSUE
| Cover Story |
| Columns |
| Enjoy A Green Summer |
| Column | |
| By Liz Dehrer Howard | |
| Sunday, 01 July 2007 | |
 The LEED rating system was created to provide consistent and credible standards for what constitutes a green building, recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. In the 2000 national best seller ,“The Tipping Point,” author Malcolm Gladwell examined why major changes in our society so often happen suddenly and unexpectedly. And the moment when they take off, when they reach that critical mass, that moment is called the tipping point. For sustainability, the tipping point is here, as evidenced by recent coverage in the media. In April, I read about the Build & Buy Green Conference in May in Hawaii which featured Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and building green information. The LEED rating system was created to provide consistent and credible standards for what constitutes a green building, recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. “Placement of doors and windows to enhance natural ventilation and lighting, use of low-e-glass, insulation and radiant barriers in the walls and roof, installation of the solar water heater, energy star appliances, fluorescent lighting, construction and demolition, waste management and the use of recycled, environmentally friendly materials are just a few of the basics that can and should be specified when planning a new home or remodeling an existing home,” said Dean Masai, energy analyst at the Hawaii State Department of Economic Development and Tourism. That was followed by a April 29 Sunday New York Times, article “A Starring Role for ‘Green’ Construction.” This article noted that until recently, green building and sustainability have been rejected as impractical. Now they make sense. Energy costs have gone up, and in the long run there are big savings for green buildings. Technology has helped to advance energy conservation and knowledge has helped us make better choices. The article, written by Vivian Marino, observes “that 6 percent of the commercial developments are certified as sustainable or have applied for certification through LEED, and that number should reach 10 percent by 2010. It’s what the customers want.” Back in Honolulu, a May article in BIA-Hawaii Progress, the official publication of the Building Industry Association in Hawaii, quotes a very talented local interior designer as saying clients are beginning to request green products. Also in May, a Hawaii-based family home developer goes green, with an article called “Eco-Elements Built In” in Hawaii Home + Remodeling magazine’s green issue. The featured developer believes that by making a home more efficient through green building, they save the buyer money every month and reduce the strain on Hawaii’s already-overloaded electrical grid. Next, an article came out about Prince Charles, who came to the United States recently to receive a Global Environmental Citizen Award given by the Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment. Not satisfied with 20 years of environmental work, Prince Charles has just launched a proposal to label products with their carbon-emissions costs. His idea is that if a can of soup can list calories, why can’t it list the environmental costs of getting that can of soup to market? Companies can strive to lower their environmental costs and consumers can make green buying choices. The May/June issue of the American Society of Interior Designer’s (ASID) ICON magazine just arrived with a sidebar article about what ASID headquarters is doing to get even greener. When ASID remodeled its headquarters a few years ago it made use of green building standards. But now they are “doing more to advance the society’s platform issue of sustainability.” Recycled paper and vegetable-based inks will be used for the ASID ICON and other printed materials. Commodes have been replaced with TOTO Aquia dual-flush commodes that use 1.6 gallons of waster – 80 percent less water than the previous models that used 5 gallons per flush. ASID is also looking into a green roof project to evaluate the viability of installing a green roof on the ASID headquarters building. Recycling bins are now standard throughout the building, and INTERIORS 07 was the first virtually paperless conference for ASID. All presentations were on CD, and thousands of trees were purchased from Trees for the Future to help offset the carbon emissions caused by attendees’ travel. OK, I get it; I saw Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.” But I’m one person, and my carbon emissions don’t make a difference to the planet. But, then here comes another local magazine that contains yet another article about achieving a green home – along with 13 tips to create an eco-friendly home. And now I can see what I can do. Adding an eco-friendly component to my strategic plan can change everything. Just as I work to reduce my office expenses every year, I can target commonsense ways to live and work eco-friendly. Recycling and using compact fluorescent light bulbs and Energy Star appliances are a few of the ways I can reduce carbon emissions. If I unload heavy carpet and wallpaper books and samples more regularly from my car, I can reduce gas consumption, not to mention doing a better job of organizing trips to be more efficient and drive less. I think we’re there. I reached my tipping point this spring. I think lots of us did. We have all become more aware of what our carelessness is doing to the planet, and we want to be good citizens of the world. The building industry and related fields are on the cutting edge of this movement. We can do more by turning off lights in our showrooms and factories, and we can do more to educate professionals and the public about our ever-expanding design capabilities. Twenty years ago, businesses large and small were educating themselves on total quality management, and we learned how to quantify successes. We have that opportunity again as we begin the 21st century. One example is Joan Gaulden, FASID, who has written a course titled “Future Perfect Materials,” which provides a brief look at terms such as nanotechnology, biomimicry, sustainability and smart textiles. The course examines what is on the horizon, what we need and how we might use it. It’s presented through Education-Works Inc. (www.education-works.com). To quote Time magazine’s profile of Al Gore as one of the most influential people of the world, “his movie and book have moved the global-warming debate as nothing else before them has done. But as the planet edges closer toward environmental tipping points from which we could never recover, there is much more to be done.” Here’s to many more green summers ahead. Liz Dreher Howard, FASID, is president of Howard Design Group. For more information, call 808-732-4915 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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