Comments on: LEED Green Building Myth http://ecobrooklyn.com/leed-green-building-myth/ New York Green Design/Build Contractor Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:24:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: John http://ecobrooklyn.com/leed-green-building-myth/comment-page-1/#comment-70538 John Tue, 13 Apr 2010 21:08:34 +0000 http://ecobrooklyn.com/?p=2229#comment-70538 As a mechanical engineer. LEED sucks. It sucks time and money and poops out paper work and a placard. I agree with you. I can design an efficient building without nearly doubling my design fees by trying to figure out a energy model. As a mechanical engineer. LEED sucks. It sucks time and money and poops out paper work and a placard.

I agree with you. I can design an efficient building without nearly doubling my design fees by trying to figure out a energy model.

]]> By: Gennaro Brooks-Church http://ecobrooklyn.com/leed-green-building-myth/comment-page-1/#comment-69213 Gennaro Brooks-Church Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:06:12 +0000 http://ecobrooklyn.com/?p=2229#comment-69213 Having had a night to reflect, I admit I was harsh in my post. It was my gut reaction after wading through over 100 architect applications. It felt that most of them became LEED APs to boost their resume. One or two of them spoke about LEED with enthusiasm, which is great. They will probably use LEED to build greener buildings. But most of the applicants...well, I can't read their minds, but it was my impression that it was one big collective hoax: if we all believe that LEED is green then it will be and therefor our buildings are no longer damaging the environment. Hooray! Problem solved! Lets take Gene Keyser who commented above, a passionate Corcoran agent who is also involved in the green aspects of building. Tell me honestly Gene is the world a better place if the luxury condo you are selling is LEED Platinum? My opinion? No. A LEED Certified luxury condo is like a fur coat made from organically raised animals. You aren't fixing the problem. You are just covering it up. If everyone in the world built to LEED standards the world would be destroyed immediately. The only reason everyone in the world is not building is that most of the world lives in poverty. They are too busy fighting off hunger. So those of us with money (that is most of NY if you compare us to the world) are justifying this unsustainable building amount by saying it is built greener. How about the luxury hotel built in Manhattan for millions of dollars to serve 1% of the world population. Who the hell cares if it is LEED?! It makes no difference to the health of the world. Either way it will increase the need to chop down forests, mine the earth and pollute the air. It is an astronomical waste of resources and burden on the environment. And there are thousands of buildings like this built every year. Great now they are LEED. I can relax now. Gene to be honest with you I don't know if you would have a job if you really bought into what I am saying and I am not somebody to judge another persons need to feed themselves and their family in a comfortable way. So the change needs to be done incrementally otherwise we'll have other problems on our hands. But the change has to happen fast. Time is ticking and the problem is already exploding. Having had a night to reflect, I admit I was harsh in my post. It was my gut reaction after wading through over 100 architect applications. It felt that most of them became LEED APs to boost their resume. One or two of them spoke about LEED with enthusiasm, which is great. They will probably use LEED to build greener buildings. But most of the applicants…well, I can’t read their minds, but it was my impression that it was one big collective hoax: if we all believe that LEED is green then it will be and therefor our buildings are no longer damaging the environment. Hooray! Problem solved!

Lets take Gene Keyser who commented above, a passionate Corcoran agent who is also involved in the green aspects of building. Tell me honestly Gene is the world a better place if the luxury condo you are selling is LEED Platinum? My opinion? No. A LEED Certified luxury condo is like a fur coat made from organically raised animals. You aren’t fixing the problem. You are just covering it up. If everyone in the world built to LEED standards the world would be destroyed immediately. The only reason everyone in the world is not building is that most of the world lives in poverty. They are too busy fighting off hunger.

So those of us with money (that is most of NY if you compare us to the world) are justifying this unsustainable building amount by saying it is built greener. How about the luxury hotel built in Manhattan for millions of dollars to serve 1% of the world population. Who the hell cares if it is LEED?! It makes no difference to the health of the world. Either way it will increase the need to chop down forests, mine the earth and pollute the air. It is an astronomical waste of resources and burden on the environment. And there are thousands of buildings like this built every year. Great now they are LEED. I can relax now.

Gene to be honest with you I don’t know if you would have a job if you really bought into what I am saying and I am not somebody to judge another persons need to feed themselves and their family in a comfortable way. So the change needs to be done incrementally otherwise we’ll have other problems on our hands. But the change has to happen fast. Time is ticking and the problem is already exploding.

]]> By: Gene Keyser http://ecobrooklyn.com/leed-green-building-myth/comment-page-1/#comment-69168 Gene Keyser Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:39:37 +0000 http://ecobrooklyn.com/?p=2229#comment-69168 Gennaro, you are sounding angry:) Most people need a system to follow, and either don't have the time to approach green building as an art form, or are interested in government incentives. Many are not end-users, and intereted in selling their property to others, so marketing is important to them. I would be willing to bet that there are few LEED projects that actually hurt them environment more than non-leed, and that's a good thing. Gennaro, you are sounding angry:)

Most people need a system to follow, and either don’t have the time to approach green building as an art form, or are interested in government incentives.

Many are not end-users, and intereted in selling their property to others, so marketing is important to them. I would be willing to bet that there are few LEED projects that actually hurt them environment more than non-leed, and that’s a good thing.

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