Effective Federal Legislation for Building Energy Efficiency
By: Jake Tonkel, Jen Spartz, Dan Ibanez, Ian Sweeney, Jossued Rivera
The apocalypse1 is a concept acknowledged almost universally. In almost every holy text,
there is a tale of some disaster or battle that will destroy the world. Fires consume the world,
disease and death are rampant, and humanity as a whole is eradicated.
These dark prophesies are closer to the truth than one might think, but not because of
some vengeful higher power; If the apocalypse truly does occur, it will be by the hands of
humans, through the damage to the world caused by our wasteful lifestyles and endless pollution.
Global warming is a very serious threat to the ozone, the polar icecaps, and humanity itself. If we
do not take some action to stop global warming, it could very well destroy the human race.
If we leave it unchecked, global warming will melt the polar icecaps, causing sea levels
to rise around the world and completely submerging some smaller countries, forcing their
populations to relocate. If the icecaps melt, they will destroy two thriving ecosystems, one at
each of the poles, and cause the extinction of many species in both places. Polar bears will be
forced to relocate southwards or see their homes slowly destroyed by constantly rising
temperatures.
The rising sea levels and temperatures will combine to cause strange weather patterns,
greatly increasing the number of destructive storms. This effect can already be seen in the
unprecedented number of severe storms that have occurred recently, and only seems to be getting
worse.
As temperatures continue to rise, storms will occur more and more often, annihilating
coastal cities or even small island countries. Apocalyptic tales often tell of large fires; the world
created by global warming will certainly contain many. The increased temperatures in the United
States have caused heat waves and droughts, especially in the southwest, where it is already a dry
area. There have been many more forest fires than usual in California over the last few years,
because the increased temperatures make the forests dry and even more flammable than usual.
The wilderness of California and the arctic and Antarctic are not the only areas affected,
however. Global warming is a threat to all areas of the globe, even those developed specifically
for human habitation. Some of the places affected the most by global warming are cities. The
higher temperatures trap more of the harmful greenhouse gases at ground level, causing many
problems. As temperatures increase, it becomes easier and easier for emissions to form into
harmful mixtures, causing an increase in smog. It has the tendency to stay close to the ground,
where it can affect the health of anyone who breathes it. Smog can do serious damage to the
human respiratory system, even the levels we are currently experiencing are measurably
damaging the general health of people living in affected areas. Smog has been shown to cause
asthma in children. It damages lung tissue and causes heart and respiratory disease, and
sometimes even death.
These frightening facts are more than reason enough to take action against our own high
levels of emissions. The amount of carbon emissions released by our society is daunting, and we
must do all we can to prevent the situation from worsening. Carbon emissions are released by the
burning of fossil fuels for energy, and so to avoid their release, we must either find an alternate
source of energy or make current technologies more efficient.
1
Apocalypse is defined by Dictionary.com as any universal or widespread destruction or disaster
In our project, we chose to attempt to change the policy that furthers the use of energy
efficient technologies, instead of tackling the issue of creating an alternate source of energy. To
choose where to focus our efforts, we looked at the percentages of where the carbon emissions
are coming from, and it became apparent that the building sector was the one of the most harmful
to the environment. To fix this, we propose that legislation is created to regulate the energy
efficiency of buildings, and applied to all buildings in the commercial sector. This legislation
would instate a mandatory energy efficiency floor, based on an equation relating energy use and
volume of the building. The legislation will be created by seeking the assistance of related
experts to draft a sound plan and a reasonable requirement, and then asking certain congress
members to finalize a bill and present it to the floor.
The legislation will measure as a single metric the energy efficiency of each and all
buildings. It will use the combined power of a public rating system, an incentive system, and a
mandatory regulation to ensure the increase of efficiency along a viable timeline.
Aims
Our project is a legislative advocacy project. We aim to put in motion an effort on the
federal level to pass legislation implementing a multi-faceted scheme for ensuring the energy
efficiency of large commercial buildings.
We represent the United States Green Building Council, and this will not be the first
program that we have instated to regulate energy efficiency. The current system for quantifying
how “green” a building is, and acting accordingly, is LEED. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and
Environment Design, is a system that has a clearly laid out set of guidelines to reach green status.
LEED separates its certification into four different levels. The lowest is just certification, and can
be reached by having between 26 and 32 points on their scale. The next is Silver certification,
which is attained by having between 33 and 38 point, followed by Gold certification, between 39
and 51 points, and the highest is Platinum, between 52 and 69 points. These points are gained by
buildings for being sustainable, using water efficiently, being energy efficient, producing low
levels of carbon dioxide, using environmentally friendly building materials, having a good
indoor environment quality, and by having an innovative design process. Energy efficiency is the
most heavily weighted of these, due to its vast importance to society today. This system is very
sophisticated, and has been in effect for a number of years, 11 to be precise, but it does not meet
the specific needs of our project, in that it is voluntary rather than mandatory, and that it is much
wider in scope and does not focus specifically on energy efficiency. LEED also applies to both
residential and commercial buildings, while our proposal only applies to those in the commercial
sector. LEED gives credits based on the construction of a building, making it a prescriptive
based system. This means that if the materials used are very green, and are made in a way that
supports energy efficiency, the same amount of points are given whether the building plan has its
intended result, low energy use and emissions, or not. Our plan is performance based, meaning
that there are no set rules of how to achieve energy efficiency, because buildings are rewarded
based on their actual energy use. This type of program is ultimately more effective, because there
are no loopholes due to its simplicity.
Our target audience is mainly the United States government, specifically Congress. One
possible course of action would be to gain the support of certain Congressmen already
implementing similar legislation in their own states. Of course, legislation which concerns
energy efficiency should be targeted to the Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the
Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.
We would eventually petition a key member of Congress and propose the legislation to
them. The reason is that legislature needs to be introduced by a member of Congress, and a
Congressional legal team would complete the final processes of refinement. At this point, the
proposal would truly become a bill and would be mostly out of the hands of our group. The
Committees are now the most powerful portion of the legislative process. For whatever reason,
mainly because of the daunting number of bills that the House has to sift through, Committees
now provide the only in-depth and powerful review of a proposal (Johnson, 2003). Thus we
focus on approval in the Committee review process. General approval is sought with only some
general publicity and mainly by assembling a bill which solves conflicts with previously
opposing parties.
Our legislation is multi-faceted in that we have decided to incorporate multiple schemes
that have previously been implemented around the world to target building energy efficiency.
The first of these systems is the voluntary eco-labeling scheme, which is a detailed derivation of
the energy efficiency subsection of the LEED certification. Using this, we wish to award credits
for improving the overall energy efficiency of the building in question above a benchmark. The
benchmark is determined by a function of a certain level of efficiency predetermined annually
and the conditions of the particular building being assessed.
The legislature we propose is a significant improvement over the LEED system in several
ways besides its legal status. One of the most serious and lesser-known issues with the one-time
LEED certification is that the intended efficiency improvements are not verified, and the error
between the projected improvements (Robinson). By verifying the actual efficiency as well as
other factors annually, we ensure that all the buildings are, in fact, as efficient as we rate them.
This benchmark then acts as the minimum requirement for a regulatory scheme. Using a
regulation in conjunction with a rating system for excellence was determined by a thorough
study of all previous similar legislation to be the most effective choice. The reason for this is that
voluntary labeling is the only really effective method for encouraging buildings to improve
efficiency, while regulation is the most effective measure for ensuring efficiency across the
entire sector (Lee, 2004). This combination removes a huge number of problems associated with
other legislation.
As it needs to create an annual process of evaluation for all buildings, our legislation also
creates an administrative body to update benchmarks, requirements, and correctional procedures.
The legislation will also allow them to take certain actions necessary for the process of efficiency
regulation.
Rationale
There has never been a much better time to implement a program like the one our
legislation will entail. With concern for global warming consequences on the rise and the current
economic recession within the country, our Building Efficiency Standards will have many
positive effects.
First of all, experts agree that unless emissions are reduced globally by 80% many of the
most serious consequences climate change will not be avoided. Demand for all types of energy is
expected to increase by about 57% over the next 25 years worldwide, according to
energystar.gov. The United States in particular is expected to see increases of 31% or more.
Specifically, the demand for Electricity in the United States will grow by at least 40% by 2032
(Energy Strategy for the Future). When the 113 million houses and the 4.7 million commercial
buildings in the U.S. consume almost 40% of our total energy use, adding up to about 39.7
quadrillion Btu’s, it is very easy to see why this particular sector of our countries energy usage
should be targeted for efficiency (United States of America, 2009).
Two-thirds of the construction industry has committed itself to the trend of green
building, creating plans and unspoken standards for its application. The most widely known
scheme for promoting energy efficiency, LEED, has ridden the wave of newfound demand to a
nearly regulatory status, with 15 states and 46 cities requiring LEED certification for all new
construction. Any remaining critics of green building will find themselves in a dilemma between
stubborn opposition and profitable growth (Ritter, 2006). With the help of these labeling
schemes which publicly display the environmental efforts of each building, the people have been
able to clearly focus their general interest in these improvements on the right parts of the market.
We are past the all-important tipping point described by several studies of the green building
phenomenon (Robinson). Now it is time to solidify all the public support and market momentum
into a key foundation of our future infrastructure.
Commercial Buildings account for about 18% of the U.S. total energy consumption alone
and are expected to grow at an annual rate of 1.6% in the next 25 years (United States of
America, 2009). This is the main reason why we plan to focus specifically on the commercial
buildings energy efficiency. The other reasons include our project's ability to help the economy,
its high probability of success and the fact that all the resources needed are readily available.
The project will help the economy by creating jobs, specifically in the construction sector
and help create U.S. energy independence. America will be less vulnerable to energy supply
disruptions, energy price volatility and have less stress on the energy infrastructure. Also,
because of the money that this project hopes to save individual buildings, there will be more
money available to be spent and circulate within the economy.
There is a high probability of success because there are already many great examples to
follow. Previous similar legislation has been passed. An example of previously passed legislation
would be the Energy Efficiency Act of 2005. The Act “included a new tax incentive, backed and
advocated by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC), to improve the energy efficiency of commercial
buildings. The "Commercial Building Tax Deduction" establishes a tax deduction for expenses
incurred for energy efficient building expenditures made by a building owner. The deduction is
limited to $1.80 per square foot of the property, with allowances for partial deductions for
improvements in interior lighting, HVAC and hot water systems, and building envelope
systems. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (HR-1424), approved and signed
on October 3, 2008, extends the benefits of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 through December 31,
2013” (Background). Our legislation is very similar and should pass for many of the same
reasons these two bills passed.
Buildings can also be used as guides. The Aldo Leopold Foundation Headquarters,
located in Wisconsin, has been certified as the first ever, fully LEED-platinum certified, carbon
neutral building in the world (Chapa, 2007) and the Academy of Sciences Museum which is the
largest LEED Platinum building in the world as well as the world’s most sustainable museum
building (Rockmael, 2008).
There is also the fact that many companies and building owners are already taking steps
in the direction of energy efficiency. Companies like DOW Chemical, Johnson Controls and
even Wal-Mart have inserted efficiency programs. Dow Chemical has saved $8.6 billion since
1994 by becoming more efficient. Wal‐Mart has made 95 percent of its Supercenters more
efficient, reducing energy usage by up to three‐quarters per store. Lastly, Johnson Controls
employs more than one third of its 140,000 employees in building efficiency sector (Energy
Efficiency: The Smart Way to Save Money & Create Jobs).
All of the technology needed to meet the efficiency standards already exists and
continues to be refined and perfected month after month. Most of the improvements involve
intuitive, logical organization of systems such as the HVAC and lighting. Energy efficiency can
be nearly doubled before high technology need even be considered.
Finally, it is important to consider how available the resources needed for this project are.
There is a considerable amount of government tax credits and rebates, as well as private funding
for these efficiency projects. There is no immediate need for any research and development
because almost all of the technology is readily available. Many solutions to individual
inefficiency problems in buildings are not very costly to fix and over time all of a person’s
investments in energy efficiency will pay off due to a decreased energy bill.
Overall, the project should save people money, save electricity, reduce CO2 emissions,
help with energy independence, and create cleaner cities and more comfortable living.
As the bill goes through the federal government, it should succeed because it appeals to
both demographics in congress; those who are concerned with climate change and the health of
our planet, as well as those who believe that national security and the economy are more
important issues to deal with.
Logistics
Legislative Logistics:
In order to be a performance-only judgment system, we have decided to use a unified
metric for energy efficiency. This metric will form the basis of every facet of evaluation in the
legislature. It is defined by the amount of energy used annual per floor space of a building. A
small mathematical consideration: the floor space more accurately represents usable volume, as
spaces with high ceilings usually do not make much use of the upper portion of the space. The
metric is easy to determine, a simple reading of utilities' records will suffice. This leaves the
inspection process free to evaluate more specific details.
The initiation of the new regulation systems would begin with the election of the administrative
group and the allocation of funding for assessment and advisory services. All commercial
structures will be required to register for the system and registration will be verified via property
tax cross-reference. The legislation will create an administrative body under the Energy and
Commmerce Committee.
Two groups, a regulation group and an enforcing group, will be elected by the Committee for
Energy and the Environment and will have responsibilities as follow in the description of the
regulation process. The regulation group will have the responsibility to approve new benchmarks
and to change the rules for determining benchmarks for limited buildings. The enforcing group
will be allowed the following powers in the course of fulfilling their duties:
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Form government-funded contracts with inspectors
Hire contractors with funding from the subject building
Impose tax penalties on any non-compliant building, according to regulation terms
Legally remove the owner of a building and place that building up for purchase
Inspection teams will be for the most part allocated under the Environmental Protection
Agency. They will be hired under the proposed plan and will be directed by the EPA, who will in
turn transfer the data acquired to the newly created administration.
Hired government agents will be hired to carry out the assessments of the buildings and
the inspections on these buildings. There should be at least one such group in every state of the
United States, and they will gather energy use data as well as evaluate the extra points of the
incentive system and report this to the regulation group.
Both the incentive-based system and the regulatory system depend principally on the
definition of the benchmark energy efficiency. Not all buildings should be considered equal
when it comes to energy efficiency. Many types of buildings require more energy than the
average commercial office building. Other differences may include the buildings age or style,
that make it much more expensive to retrofit. Having preset categories that buildings fall into
will help even out the cost of energy efficiency across all building owners. New buildings should
have the highest energy efficiency requirement; older buildings will be allowed more leeway.
Other considerations to a buildings energy category would be location, price of real estate, and
rent or lease price. A group of people inside the EPA would create the final categories. This
group should consist of Scientists, architects and a financial review panel. However, the
categories would generally look be; Commercial office buildings, Hotels, Factories, Hospitals,
Schools, Restaurants. Under each functional category will be the buildings age category:
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Still in planning stages
Under construction
Buildings less than 5 years old
Buildings 5-10 years
Buildings 10-20 years
20 + years old
If it is unclear what category the building is in or if the owner feels like the needs special
consideration due to its situation, a certified inspector from the EPA will exam the buildings
activities and necessities to determine a minimum level of efficiency for that building. These will
be done on a case by case basis.
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The annual determination of the benchmark level of efficiency will be carried out in this
series of steps:
The results of the annual assessments for all buildings in question will be considered.
The statistics for overall efficiency will be calculated.
The statistics will be separated into those for buildings with certain limitations and those
without, as defined by a predetermined list of limiting conditions.
Using the statistics for normal buildings, the benchmark efficiency will be calculated,
usually near the lowest percentile for all these buildings. Notes:
 The aim of our minimum regulatory benchmark is not to push buildings forward beyond
reasonable cost, but mainly to prevent lagging behind or reverse progress.
 The choice of percentile for this benchmark will determine the rate of growth that the
regulation is forcing.
This efficiency will become the minimum required efficiency for buildings without
limitations. The rules of the regulation will then apply using this value.
Benchmark efficiencies will be calculated for each of the limiting conditions, using a
function determined by civil engineering consultants.
The average of these benchmarks must comply with the prescribed time table for
efficiency improvement. If not, the administrative body must first review the percentile for
normal buildings, and then the functions for limitations, and change them until the schedule is
followed.
Once the benchmark efficiency has been determined, the conditions for the voluntary rating
system will be reviewed. The total number of credits will remain the same, and will determine
the amount deduced from the building's property tax. This is the incentive mechanism. By using
taxes as the variable, control is kept within government and no new funds have to be allocated
for incentives. Most of the credits will always be given for percent improvement above the
benchmark efficiency for the building in question. The rest of the credits will be earned by
satisfying conditions determined to be necessary in the context of the particular time period.
Some examples are:
 The use of energy in a pattern that alleviates stress on the generating facilities; the use of
less energy at peak times or even more energy at off-peak times. Both are needed by the
utilities.
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The use of on-site renewable energy sources
The purchase of renewable energy from utilities.
Efforts to limit unnecessary transportation, which then leads to energy conservation.
In accordance with the aims of the High Performance Building Council, a definition of
high performance buildings.
Many of these criteria will be added with a time limit on their effect and some may be added
later as an amendment to the original bill. The main reason for including them is that our
proposition provides a framework for inspection, onto which more or less points from the
inspection can be attached. It would be very cost-effective to have a dynamic set of extra credit
criteria that adapts to the expedient needs of the time.
The total number of credits will determine the building's energy quality rating. For publicity's
sake, certificates can be given for a few intervals between a minimum and the maximum credits,
much like LEED uses.
Any building whose annual energy efficiency is measured below the benchmark efficiency
for its respective category will become subject to the correctional procedure. This procedure will
consist of a period of government supervision and aid, without penalty. Should that period
terminate without sufficient efficiency improvements, the enforcing body will apply penalties.
These will be in the form of a tax rate on the amount of energy used annually above their
maximum energy limit, which is simply determined by multiplying the benchmark efficiency for
its category by the floor space of the building.
Advocacy Logistics:
It is possible for us to test the legislation on a sub-federal level. A city is slightly too
small to truly see an average impact of annual improvements to buildings. Perhaps the state
government of a state which has already adopted LEED certification as a standard would be a
good target for proposal.
Our proposed legislation will at some point be presented to the Energy and Environment
Subcommittee of the United States Congress. It may then face the criticism of the Congressmen
and be evaluated to pass for law.
In the process of legislation, a Member is required to bring forward a bill as its primary
sponsor. That title is more literal in our case, as that Member will become the sponsor for our
efforts. In realistic scenarios, since the bill is so radical, it will require a great majority of support
from all stakeholders involved. As a consequence, the bill will likely have attracted multiple cosponsors by that point. To enroll more Congressional interest we would hire lobbyists that
would shed a positive light on the project to other Congressmen. The lobbyists would mainly be
used as advertisers within Congress. Even though having lobbyists is seen with a negative
connotation, ours would work in a legal manner.
Three Congressmen have been identified in a preliminary search as good candidates to
bring this legislation forward. Representative Ed Perlmutter of Colorado's 7th district and Senator
Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island have already brought forward a bill to regulate energy
efficiency in the residential building sector. The residential sector's regulation is the complement
of our proposal and together they complete the transformation of the building sector necessary to
avert climate change. The third is Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon's 3rd district, which
includes the city of Portland. Portland, Oregon is known to be the nation's leading city in the
construction of environmental structures and communities. With his experience in overseeing a
whole city that is holistically environmental, Representative Blumenauer would be superior both
for refining the legislation and presenting it to a Committee or Chamber.
Our organization will draft the bill with the help of all consultants needed. This draft
would contain everything we consider necessary to be in the regulation and would explicitly
define the obligations of all involved. The draft will then be reviewed by the Congressman
approached so that he knows what is being proposed and so that he can give insight to the
possibility of success within Congress. If he finds the draft too undesirable, we would draft it
anew. If he thinks the proposition is promising, he would then take the draft and present it in the
Committee where it’s most likely to be approved for voting.
Since the bill impacts such a large sector of the economy with strong regulation, it will be
deemed necessary to have a hearing on the subject. In light of this it we have prepared a list of
individuals to testify.
Expert Witnesses
1. Energy and Environment Building Alliance (EEBA)- Board of Directors
Consists of certified experts on fields that apply to our proposal including:
 Energy efficiency
 Building sciences
 Engineering
 Architecture, etc.
2. High Performance Building Council of the National Institute of Building Sciences
Consists of member organizations working to put standards in place to define the
performance goals of a high performance building
Can base our definitions and standards off theirs
3. Alliance to Save Energy
Influential in the passage of both the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007
4. Building Science Corporation
A building science consulting and full service architecture firm servicing North
America
Expertise
There are many types of knowledge required to achieve our goal of creating federal
legislation for the promotion of energy efficiency in buildings nationwide. One important piece
of expertise to carry out our objective is knowledge of energy efficiency improvement
technologies. This knowledge consists of costs and defining factors of effectiveness for various
technologies. It is also important to know good construction practices that are affordable,
feasible, and also efficient. In order to positively promote the idea to a wide range of people, it is
necessary to have persuasive speakers, public educators, and good relations skills in the business
sector. Legal expertise would be helpful to avoid problems when actually putting a bill together
to avoid any unexpected outcomes. In order to back up our proposal, numbers are needed to
show why this project will help the future of America. High-tech modeling and prediction
capabilities as well as economic predictions would assist in this endeavor.
Many people would be necessary to fulfill these requirements. Some roles that have to be
filled would be lobbyists. These people would promote our idea and persuade government
officials to support our goals. Legal consultants and a government official legal team would be
necessary when writing the change in policy document to ensure that the policy change is written
successfully. The government official legal team would also be important to bring forward our
idea to a government official who is in a place to actually propose our policy as a bill. That being
said, Congressional support is necessary to enact the policy in the first place. If the bill does not
pass, there is no reason considering the after effects of the bill. The support we expect will
hopefully come from the state of Oregon, as the city of Portland has the highest green standards
and is widely accepted as the greenest city in the United States. We also would like the support
of the Energy and Environment committee within the House of Representatives as this is where
the bill will be the most likely to be considered. Technology analysts, researchers, high-tech
modeling teams, and civil engineering analysts would help immensely in determining and
analyzing the numbers needed to back up our proposal. Architectural consultants would also be
beneficial since they would be the ones designing the buildings based on the new standards.
They would be helpful in showing what current energy efficient technologies are available for
new commercial buildings. Overall, a wide range of skills is needed through a wide range of
experts.
Funding
Many sources of funding for improving the energy of individual buildings would be in
the form of state and national grants. There are also grants that come through various companies
and institutions. Some state LEED programs offer money to building projects whose plans are
potentially LEED certified at a higher level2. One example of this program is in King County,
Washington where projects that are potentially Gold and Platinum certified receive money from
LEED. King County LEED Grants Program receives this money from the Department of Natural
Resources and Parks. Two other sources of funding come from the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Both
departments offer grants to community development corporations (CDCs). Beyond HHS and
HUD, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI)
gives out $3.5 billion in tax credits through New Markets Tax Credits3. Other groups that
promote green building across the nation to new or renovated commercial buildings through
economics include Bridgemer Investment Properties, Federal Business Tax Credit, Federal
Energy Efficiency Tax Deduction for Commercial Buildings, Kresge Foundation’s Challenge
Grant Program, and Sustainable Jobs Fund4. These offer a variety of grants and tax deductions
depending on how energy efficiency will be achieved as well as the success of the project.
Overall, there are many potential contributors to those who wish to build green or renovate their
current buildings.
Funding for the publicity and payment to those working to carry out the policy will come
from organizations with a similar purpose to ours. Through the High Performance Building
Council, there are many related companies that have money, who would support the idea well
enough to help with publicity and networking with other influential people within the field of
green building.
2
3
4
“Commercial Green Building Incentives”
Weiss, Marcus. “Trends for Funding CDC Commercial Projects”
“Funding for Green Building Projects”
Stakeholders
Our project stakeholders can be broken down into those parties which are supportive of
the rationale stated previously and those who would be suspicious of such regulatory
propositions.
Architects, the creative force from which our constant stream of new structures flows,
have long been the strongest proponents of environmental consideration in buildings. Whether or
not it was an esoteric aesthetic branch of art for them, it has now been validated and solidified
into the new direction for human structures of the future. Green building is so open to new
solutions and interpretations that architects have accepted new requirements.
Most residents of cities know the consequences of energy waste and have long been
acquainted with exactly what sacrifices must be made to live efficiently. Recent green building
projects have been built with the comfort of the futuristic age in every panel, duct, and window,
and residents appreciate this. They must know that efficiency will come as a benefit to quality of
life, not another sacrifice.
The parties from which we will face perfectly reasonable and much-needed criticism
follow.
Governments worldwide have attempted every known facet of legislation to promote
efficiency in their infrastructure. A study of these methods has concluded that the combination
used by our project incorporates all the elements of success seen in past legislation (Lee, 2004).
Should this be made clear to the government, they should have no trouble accepting such
favorable legislation. Still, the most devastating opposition will come during the Congressional
phase of approval.
Construction companies have a mixed opinion. Regulation in the past has made their job
increasingly difficult, and the main point to get across is that we focus on non-prescriptive
solutions as well as positive to zero cost plans. This will cover their primary concerns. Still,
companies are aware that the market is favoring those who build green, and opposing us directly
will do little to change the market momentum (Robinson).
Energy companies are a stakeholder which is difficult to evaluate. Some may argue that
they will oppose us to keep profits at maximum from selling more fossil fuel energy. In truth, it
depends on how much the legislation focuses on carbon emissions reduction and the expansion
of renewable energies. Although these motives guide the creation of the proposal and will be
incorporated to an extent, they are not the official points of regulation.
The actual owners of space in the structures we are assessing will need to know why they
should begin paying for upgrading their buildings.
Barriers
There are a few barriers that could potentially put a hold on the implementation of our
project and its standards, but none that have a high probability of actually stopping the whole
project indefinitely. Money is always an issue but can be fixed by waiting out for more funding
or by approaching a diverse number of people or groups. If there is opposition in the
government, lobbying and persuasion is possible, and if absolutely necessary certain sections of
the bill may need to be rewritten in order to pass. The bill must be looked over many times to
avoid creating loopholes and should also have a clause about annual updates to the bill that
would close any loopholes that went overlooked. Lastly, in order to avoid corruption within the
inspection teams and officials, no one group of people will check the same buildings time after
time. It is also important to hire dedicated inspectors who are already pushing for the kind of
change we want to implement.
Closing
Portland, Oregon's high-rise green buildings give us a good glimpse of the bright and
stable environment we could so easily achieve with coordinated efforts and creative solutions.
The structures were only approaching the end of the design phase when all of its residences were
sold out (Ritter, 2006). People know when they see the future, and they are naturally attracted to
solutions that do not harshly compromise in exchange for ideals. The fact is that it is certainly
possible to achieve great leaps of energy efficiency while increasing profit, meaning that the only
reason not to act is ignorance of solutions (Lee, 2004). With this in mind, we cannot be surprised
at the enormous growth of green buildings in the past few years.
Now, imagine that the year 2050 has been reached, and our plan's energy efficiency
targets were met. At the same time, renewable energies provide a large portion of our energy
supply, thanks in part to symbiotic relationship with buildings and cars. Electric vehicles coupled
with charging stations at every large structure act as a nationwide capacity for fluctuations in
consumer demand. HVAC systems of our largest buildings are optimized to have the easiest load
on utilities, and thus cost next to nothing for the global companies whose offices enjoy these new
homes. The people of these United States enjoy the same advanced comforts in their homes as
they do in their offices, and more.
This legislation alone could very likely bring the nation a needed portion of its needed
carbon reductions, the rest of which would be attributed mostly to general transportation.
Reducing emissions sufficiently would avert a barrage of natural disasters, some of which
actually last for decades, such as the restructuring of major agriculture due to changing climate
patterns. Further, it would allow the whole of the world's population to have the infrastructure
and energy supply that they need to make the social changes necessary for a sustainable and
peaceful existence on earth. Conflicts over limited resources are not solved until the resources
are once again shared effectively. Most known conflicts and wars have had clear economic and
resource-based origins. Our military would not need to drain us of money and priceless lives if
we did not drain the world of disproportionate resources.
On a more local scale, a green building refreshes the surrounding community in many
ways. It draws eager renters, which in turn bring a more active culture to the surrounding city.
The city's power system is supported by and cooperates with the building's electrical systems
rather than struggling to feed them. Lowered maintenance costs for everything from the
building's HVAC system to the streets of the city, eases the minds and wallets of its citizens and
frees the government's time to focus on the real issues of the year.
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