Prelitz

I was the sustainability consultant for Arizona Mercedes Benz - first solar LEED silver auto dealership in the US.

I agree that LEED has a mess of problems. But,it has raised awareness for green building. It's not all bad...just needs a major overhaul and price reduction.
Here's some problems I see with LEED:

1. There is no education or experience required to become LEED certified. Pay your $250 and like magic, you are a green building pro. The test focuses primarily on how to get a project through the process, not sustainable design.

2. It's not climate specific. How can we design the same for Florida as Alaska?

3. It's a measurement tool- NOT a design tool. HEY! I need another point..how about that bike rack ;)

4. It doesn't embrace basic passive solar design principles nearly enough.

Here's a video of a keynote I gave to the USGBC and AIA last April http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=prelitz+leed&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#

Onward, Chris www.NewLeafAmerica.com