Green Buildings!! YAY!!

Hey everybody!! Its Dave Kessler, your political outreach coordinator for the E-CAT's New City Project. For those of you who are new to the campaign, I want to give you a warm welcome and I hope that you enjoy your time volunteering with us. I am always open to suggestions and I am always happy to have people assume leadership positions. So if you are motivated, have the time and passion to help your community please feel free to organize and lead. Just remember, that the possibilities are endless!!! Also, I would like to emphasize that this should be a fun endeavor. As a team we should enjoy our projects and recognize that everyone is on an equal playing field.

Last week, a few of us from the group got together and discussed some of the major themes of our campaign and tried to create a road map towards implementing them. We've decided that each leader in the group should manage a specific campaign issue area semi-autonomously. For example, Joanna Winchester is the "go to person" when group leaders or volunteers are having difficulty completing their projects. John Wickham will be handling public outreach and volunteer coordination. Mary Lou is helping us with delivering our campaign to schools. Janet Bumpas is helping us with media efforts. And as the political outreach coordinator, I will be assisting in policy research for the project. Once again, these positions are not written in stone and ANYONE is welcome to step up and assume responsibility anywhere. We highly encourage you to initiate a leadership role.

We decided that our first hands on, grassrootsy campaign effort will be a letter writing campaign. Each personally crafted letter should include the talking points which I've included at the bottom. They address the issue of "green buildings" and "green urbanism." The New City Project, as many of you probably know, will be the development of the old convention center site. For more info check out http://dcbiz.dc.gov/dmped/site/default.asp. This site should include elements of green buildings and low impact energy efficient design. This is the perfect opportunity for Mayor Williams and the DC City Council to support the development of an environmentally friendly space within Dowtown Washington since the signing of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement of 2005. A letter writing campaign would give our public servants an opportunity to provide us with their positioning on this issue. Even though we are promoting "green urbanism," we must maintain our focus on this particular project which will occupy the old convention center. The Sierra Club is refering to it as the New City Project.

Our message is simple and our defining goals can be summed up as follows:

- Energy efficient buildings not only help reduce the risk of climate change by lowering green house gas emissions, but they also provide energy cost savings for their proprietors. Because of these benefits, they are exemplary for future building projects in an age of much needed and critical environmental reform.

Some of the design features that the Sierra Club would like to see implemented into this new building include the following:

- LEED certification. For more info check out: http://www.usgbc.org/
- the use of compact flourescent lighting
- large windows to provide natural lighting
- stormwater management technologies, example: raingardens to absorb greywater
- tree-lined streets to help add to the biodiversity of the neighborhood.
- green rooftops to help absorb carbon dioxide
- the fostering of car-sharing and and bicycle-riding. Example: a bike shelter
- all buildings should contain appliances and technology that earns Energy Star ratings such as computers, fax machines, copy machines etc. http://www.energystar.gov/
- the city should create "environmental guidelines" for the site similar to those of Battery Park City in New York. For more info check out: http://www.batteryparkcity.org/Working/green-guidelines.htm
- emphasize the importance of including green spaces in the proposed public plaza
- waste should be treated through nutrient-recycling and greywater re-use systems.
- finally, a certain percentage of energy consumption in the buildings should come from renewable sources.

To learn more information about green urbanism and buildings check out:
http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/
http://www.batteryparkcity.org/

We should write our letters to city council members and to the mayor's office.
This website will provide you with the name of your council member:
http://www.grc.dc.gov/grc/cwp/view.asp?a=1206&q=447541&grcNav_GID=1421&portal_link=hr

Our letter writing campaign should emphasize the message stated above, and it should also include the following set of talking points.

Dear ____________,

I am writing today to ask you to support the environmentally friendly construction of the
buildings which will occupy the site of the old convention center in Downtown Washington.

Mention that this would be a great opportunity for the District of Columbia to follow through on its commitment to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement to lower green house gases. Mention the importance of how this would look to the DC community and the country.

Explain the scientific importance of having this green building project in DC.
- mention its effect on lowering green house gas emissions
- mention its potential to lower energy costs at a time when energy is costly and in short supply
- mention how constructing green buildings on this site will help influence future green building projects.

Here is some important data for you to include in your letter:

- In the United States, buildings account for:
36 percent of total energy use and 65 percent of electricity consumption
30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions
30 percent of raw materials use
30 percent of waste output (136 million tons annually)
12 percent of potable water consumption
Source: U.S. Green Building Council

Green buildings would significantly lower these percentages by using energy efficient building materials and allowing for an increase in renewable energy consumption.

"The Benefits of Greener Buildings: An increasing number of studies support the idea that green building is good for business. Initial investments in environmentally preferable building technologies and materials often pay for themselves within a few years. In fact, investments in green buildings pay for themselves ten times over, according to a landmark study drawing on national data for 100 green buildings in the U.S. The report found that the financial benefits of green design are between $50 and $70 per square foot in a LEED building, over ten times the additional cost associated with building green. The benefits include cost savings from reduced energy, water, and waste; lower operations and maintenance costs; and enhanced occupant productivity and health." - According to greenbiz.com

"Appliance efficiency has also benefited consumers; by reducing electrical demand in our homes and offices, energy efficiency standards have saved over $50 billion since the majority standards were passed." -

Also the Mayor stated the following according to a July 8th, 2005 News Release from the dc.gov web site.

“Global warming is perhaps the most urgent environmental threat that we now face,” said Mayor Williams. “We in Washington, DC have become accustomed to Code Red and even Code Purple days in the summer. Cities are hotter than surrounding areas due to the urban heat island effect, caused by our roads and other impervious surfaces absorbing heat from the sun. The District of Columbia is committed to doing its part, as a major US city, to reduce our impact. I commend Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels for his leadership in reaching out to mayors nationwide in order to speed the adoption of local strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

In May, Mayor Williams announced his support for the creation of a stand-alone Department of the Environment for the District saying, “It’s time that the Nation’s Capital has a Department of the Environment to help ensure that our natural environment is clean and healthy for our residents and for the millions of visitors we host every year. A new department would enable us to focus our efforts on critical issues such improving the city’s air quality, cleaning up our local rivers and streams and developing our parks and open spaces.”

Check out these links, they contain some useful information: http://www.earthjustice.org/news/print.html?ID=567
http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/pdf/purchasing_guide_for_web.pdf
http://www.epa.state.oh.us/opp/greenbuilding_web.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/pdf/purchasing_guide_for_web.pdf

Finally, before you write your letter please check out the following web sites to learn more about green buildings if you are new to the topic. A great source in the EPA's web site.

Enjoy!! Have fun!!
Dave Kessler