Tom Fudge: In the United States, buildings use 1/3 of our total energy, 2/3 of our electricity and 1/8 of our water. Those facts come to us from the U.S. Green Building Council . Buildings, in other words, are big energy hogs. To some extent, that's to be expected. But there are things that can be done to reduce the use of heating, air-conditioning, and lighting. Things can be done to make the best use of available land and encourage the use of alternative transportation. In fact, the U.S. Green Building Council has a certification process that spells out what constitutes a green building.
So should local governments in San Diego country require all new construction to build green?
Norm Miller will give a presentation at the U.S. Green Building Council-San Diego Chapter's GreenMeet . The event is tonight, Feb. 20, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. at the San Diego Gas & Electric Metro Administration Building.
Guests
- Norm Miller , real estate scholar, professor, and director of academic programs at USD's Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate.
- Bill Dumka, senior vice president at Black Mountain Ranch LLC , which developed Del Sur , an 1800-acre Platinum LEED-certified community.
