Is LEED a Worthwhile Investment for Today’s Environmentally Savvy Devel

Is LEED a Worthwhile Investment for Today’s Environmentally Savvy Developer? What is Wrong with the Environment It should not be a surprise to anyone that landfills around the world are filling up. The North American lifestyle is one to which the majority of the undeveloped world aspires. Such a lifestyle is, however, completely unsustainable, today, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, non-renewable resource consumption, and non-biodegradable waste production, let alone in the future as other countries become developed. As some of the second and third world nations such as China and India quickly jump toward production levels that match those of the developed world this epidemic is destined to worsen. Thus, many different groups have stepped in to develop plans and programs to curb the destruction of our wonderful planet. One of these programs that focus specifically on the construction industry is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System (LEED). This program is designed to create awareness and try to decrease the environmental degradation created from c onstruction and demolition. When and How Did LEED begin? This program was designed in 1998 by a government funded organization called the United States Green Building Council. This program was created to generate incentive for environmentally friendly contractors and architects to continue pursuing the implementation of environmentally friendly building practices. Soon, that guide became the leading green construction guide in the United States. As commonly occurs when an idea gains acceptance in the American market, there soon became a demand for a Canadian version of that same guide. The American guide was adopted and aug... ...r Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Benzene, found on April 12, 2007, http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/mhmi/mmg3.html †¢ http://oce.ncran.gc.ca/newbuildings.cbip.cfm †¢ Canadian Green Building Council, LEED Certified Projects in Canada – Complete Listing, Retrieved April 7, 2007, http://www.cagbc.org/uploads/LEED_Certified_Projects_in_Canada_Updated_070226.p df †¢ Dauncey, Guy. LEEDing the Way; Alternatives Journal, Nov/Dec2004, Vol. 30 Issue 5 http://web.ebscohost.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/ehost/pdf?vid=5&hid=19&sid =323f957c-9796-40e2-a7cd-8a3a5bf34e6f%40sessionmgr2 †¢ Recycle Steel.com http://www.recycle-steel.org/PDFs/2005Graphs.pdf †¢ Terri Meyer Boake, Caroline Prochazka. LEED: A Primer, 2007 from Academic Search Premier †¢ Mark Gorgolewski. â€Å"The Implications of Reuse and Recycling for the Design of Steel Buildings† from Academic Search Premier