Green Building
In February 2000, Seattle became one of the first U.S. cities to enact a green building policy. Called the Sustainable Building Policy, it requires all city-funded projects covering more than 5,000 square feet (460 m2) to achieve at least a LEED-silver rating. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, is a voluntary, national green building rating system that certifies buildings for their sustainable construction and operation. Projects can receive four levels of certification - Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. These four levels are determined by the number of points a project receives using the LEED rating system. As of May 2006, the city has 9 LEED-certified buildings, with the most notable examples being the Seattle City Hall and Seattle Public Library, both of which are LEED-silver rated. On April 21, 2005, Washington became the first state to require that new public buildings meet the LEED standard. Similar to the Sustainable Building Policy, this law covers all state-funded facilities larger than 5,000 square feet (460 m2), including school buildings.
Examples of innovative green building techniques appear here at the Green Building Features Page.
Read more about this topic: Climate Change In Washington
Famous quotes containing the words green and/or building:
“Lately our poets loiter’d in green lanes,
Content to catch the ballads of the plains;”
—Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864)
“The legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, ... thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)