LEED, follow, or get out of the way

Many local U.S. governments are using a new building code that adheres to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards set out by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), according to Real Estate Portfolio magazine. The article, entitled "Growing Green," goes on to say..."What is happening across the market is that municipalities are realizing that there are measuring sticks, such as LEED, that they can use to evaluate how they are doing environmentally," says Stuart Brodsky, national program manager for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

A major aspect of achieving LEED certification is energy efficiency, so more LEED-certified buildings in Jacksonville could have a huge impact in three ways...

1. Jacksonville is a fast-growing city with many, many new buildings added every year. These buildings will need electricity for possibly hundreds of years after they are built. The more efficient they are, the less electricity JEA will have to produce which means...
2. JEA emits the most toxic mercury in Florida. Less need for electricity means less need for JEA to emit mercury that could harm pregnant women and children and make local fish poisonous to eat. Less need for electricity means JEA might not have to build the new, hugely toxic coal plant it is planning for Taylor County. Which means JEA might not have to raise our bills so much to pay for more capacity. Which means...
3. More money in your wallet and in the local economy. And since businesses in LEED buildings won't have to pay as much for electricity, they won't have to charge you as much for their products, they can pay their employees more, and Jacksonville would be a more competitive place to do business. And residents of LEED buildings wouldn't have to pay as much for electricity either.

So what is Jacksonville doing to ensure more LEED buildings in our city. As far as this blog can tell, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. (If someone from the city knows different, please email mercuryfallingjaxATyahoo.com) What is the rest of the country doing? Here's a small sampling from Real Estate Portfolio magazine:

• Washington, D.C.'s Green Building Act of 2006 requires that commercial developments larger than 50,000 square feet meet LEED standards for new and renovated buildings starting Jan. 1, 2012.
• Chatham County, Georgia provides tax incentives for LEED certification.
• San Mateo, Alameda, and Pasadena counties in California passed LEED initiatives and adopted green building policies
• Boston requires all major new and rehabilitation construction projects exceeding 50,000 square feet to meet LEED standards.
• Suffolk County, New York has passed LEED initiatives
• And once again proving that Jacksonville isn't where Florida begins to innovate...Sarasota County provides a 50% reduction in the cost of building permit fees for private contractors if they use LEED.