taliesinred

LEED is a MANUFACTURERS organization first and foremost. They have been designing codes here in Kalifornia and really adding to the cost of the building tremendously without any real gain for the consumer or the environment. As a elected office holder who is a registered Democrat, I have been to many a recent party meeting where the talk was of forcing the green economy into law and all the money that various people could make. I am totally disgusted by this.

I have been a green builder and a whole life span systems cost guy since Wes Peters took me under his wing some thirty five years ago. My entire practice has been devoted to sustainable passive energy design. I am being MANDATED to use MORE energy under the new Cal Title 24 energy codes for systems that are being imposed by the Califonia Energy Commission(made up of PG&E, Edison and ASHRE members)in my new buildings than the buildings I designed before that code was enacted in January.

I am being forced with every code revision to use more steel and more wood, in spite of the fact that there are systems that use less and resist combined earthquake/snow loads.

Code writing has been taken over by industry and industry is mandating we use more of its product. The green involved has nothing to do with the ecology and EVERYTHING to do with the manufacturers bank accounts. Its theft with teh aid of government and it wont change until Architects, engineers and home builders organize together and say oh hell no, enough is enough.

Thank you Henry for proclaiming that the king is nekkid.
We don't need more or better regulations, we need fewer proscriptive constraints, none of whom were written by those standing in place to gain economically.