Today I managed to relieve a large burden off my back, something that took me many hours of study and reading to accomplish. I spent quite a few evenings when I’d have preferred to be blogging or watching baseball with my LEED Version 2.2 Reference Guide. However, this morning I passed my exam and am now a LEED AP.
For those of you who don’t know all the initials involved, it stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional. Thus my title at work becomes Michael Swartz, AIA, LEED AP. Having secured my reciprocal registration in Maryland over the spring, I’m entitled to both designations. (Technically I was already a full AIA Chesapeake Bay member because of my still-active Ohio registration, but now I can practice legally here.)
Frequent readers of monoblogue may scratch their head and wonder why I got into the green building field when I’m pretty far from the environmentalist wacko frame of thinking. Furthermore I don’t subscribe to the portion of the green buildings movement that believes designing sustainable buildings will combat global warming because I don’t think mankind (particularly American mankind) has that much to do with creating it.
On the other hand I do agree with the USGBC insofar as stating that energy efficiency is prudent practice and reusing existing sites and/or infrastructure on balance is a good thing. It can’t always be the case but when possible I like to see reuse of old buildings or sites with infrastructure already in place. But the real reason was, after working on a building that was seeking a LEED-style certification for state tax credits, I was asked to pursue the LEED AP designation thus I did so. After studying all of this, I can safely conclude that it sure would’ve helped me in that earlier case!
I do have one quibble with this movement, even though becoming a LEED AP gives me and my company a leg up on securing the work. Several pieces of legislation at the federal level mandate that new federal buildings achieve LEED Silver certification. And while it’s an admirable goal, I simply don’t believe in this being a hard and fast rule because I can just see the long arm of the federal government withholding certain amounts of money from states which don’t adopt similar regulations. It’s happened a lot in the realm of highway safety (like the .08 BAL controversy) and anytime the federal government gets a hammer on the states they tend to use it.
But I’m quite relieved today nonetheless because now I can spend my evenings doing other more interesting things that I’ve missed out on the last couple months. This was the second attempt for me at this exam, and the first time I missed the cutoff by one point. So I redoubled my efforts and it paid off – I passed this time by 21 points.
What this means in the near term is tonight I’m off to the Shorebirds game and I’ll be in a good mood. My work is slowing down back to relative normalcy so I can get into some items I’ve been meaning to start for monoblogue concerning my 50 Year Plan. Woohoo!
Michael,
You and I come from the same frame of mind vis a vis global warming (and mankind’s contribution)– as well as preservation/conservation in many respects.
I have a professional question for you. Cost aside, wouldn’t painting large surface roofs a lighter shade contribute to reducing the heat load on large surface structures? I remember when I traveled to New York on a regular basis for business, and standing in some of the larger buildings, you see this sea of elevated black. Since darker colors absorb light (and heat) at a more greater rate than lighter colors, it would seem that this would increase the heat load of any such building.
If nothing else, reducing the heat load of a structure would make it easier to cool, which means a more efficient use of energy in a general sense.
What do you think on this, and where does this fit in the “green building philosophy”?
(I watched a series on This Old House on a green building project in Austin, TX, and frankly, it seemed like the philosophy was much more common-sense oriented than any super-duper ideological approach. Was my impression correct?)
Yes, as a matter of fact one LEED credit comes from having a “cool” or “green” roof. (It’s known as Sustainable Sites Credit 7.2 – Heat Island Effect, Roof.) With the exception of climates that are extremely cold most of the year like Alaska, in general a white or light-colored roof is preferred for cutting down heat gain in the summer. The amount of heat not acquired during the cold months is more than balanced by the decreased cooling load.
Love your URL :). Just wanted to tell you, I am trying to get a conservative digg alternative going called GOP Hub (GOPHub.com). Anything you can do to help with this effort would be awesome. Plus feel free to submit any articles you write here on your blog :). Take care and have a great weekend!
Hey Michael It has been awhile since we both spoke at the State party convention a couple of months ago. I am gladly report that this fired Ehrlich appointee found a legal assistant position in the DC area which is more money but temporary but I am moving on with my life. The best revenge to these dimwitted O”Malley people is to get a new job and move on. Glad you are doing well. Hope to see you next time at the next covention