Corona del Mar High School student Julia Kerr recently interviewed our Director of Education Lori Whalen for a paper she's doing on green building. Here it is:
Julia: Where do you think green construction is going in the future?
Lori: I think that the standards developed by the US Green Building Council - LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification - will become mandatory for new construction in things like recycling or sourcing a certain amount of materials locally. Hopefully, this will also include clean water and energy efficiency as well. Frankly, years and years down the line, I foresee a law stating that NO water can be used on landscaping at all, requiring homeowners and businesses to only use locally native plants that are adaptable to the climate & geography of an area.
Julia: How do you think all construction projects could become "greener"?
Lori: I think the best way for new construction to be green is to use land that is already being used. No new construction should occur on open space, ever. We should be building UP, not out, incorporating elements of “New Urbanism” in modern development, to revitalize our old downtowns and “Main Street USA’s” in the hopes of creating neighborhoods where people would want to live AND work. New Urbanism basically promotes walkable neighborhoods, in cities that use sustainable methods of expansion. This was the way cities grew before everyone had a car. We should be able to walk to the market and bike to the movie theatre, thrift store, park, etc. And with the growing awareness of environmental sustainability, people have begun to make an impact. The USGBC, for example, has a new "LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System" that integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism and green building into the first national system for neighborhood design.
Julia: How have green technology and the understanding of how we can work with our environment, changed environmentally-friendly construction or construction in general?
Lori: Well, the technologies are definitely out there to make buildings more green, but the common misconception is that they are too expensive for "regular people" to implement. In some cases this might be true, but in many cases it is not. Sometimes, the drivers holding back such an initiative are silly things like immobility. For example, my homeowners association will not allow homeowners to install solar panels because they are concerned that they might be visually unappealing. My response? Pollution from power plants supplying us with dirty energy is visually unappealing. Oil spills are visually unappealing and so is mountaintop removal mining for coal. The kids we teach here at the ENC understand this concept! Nonetheless, technologies are improving all the time and the building industry is implementing them, slowly but surely. Honestly, I think the building industry is making positive changes WAY faster than many individuals are. Everyone should be using a re-usable water bottle and coffee cups. Everyone should be using re-usable shopping bags. Everyone should be refusing Styrofoam and plastic containers. Alternatives are always available. Support those that have implemented them! These are just tiny changes that everyone can implement NOW, and there are no excuses!
Julia: How much more does it cost initially to build a “green” building verses a regular building?
Lori: To become LEED Certified, it requires no additional cost, because California’s standards on energy efficiency are stringent enough to make any new building certifiable. To move to Silver, it requires an additional 2%, Gold another 5-10%, and Platinum another 15-20%. The ENC building is certified LEED Platinum, the highest certification you can receive.
Julia: What are the most common ways of making a building green?
Lori: I've already mentioned some like using recycled or renewable resources and sourcing materials locally. In addition, there are other ways to make “green” buildings including recycling construction waste, using light colors to minimize the “heat island effect,” relying on renewable energy, implementing water conservation methods, using natural ventilation, and also alternative transportation. The ENC, for example, has parking spots for alternative-fuel vehicles and for those who carpool (We just installed an ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATION!)
Julia: In your opinion, what are the best building materials for reducing the environmental impact of construction?
Lori: The best building materials are simply the ones that are recycled, like our shelving made from sunflower seed shells, or our insulation made from recycled cotton denim.
After having learned how ENC promotes and incorporates LEEDing technology and construction, what are your thoughts on green building and how we can go about in achieving environmental sustainability?
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