Opinion - Green Buildings Need Green Light
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By Patrick Starr, Note: This opinion piece addresses a recent controversy in Waterless urinals are part of the green-building movement across the nation, one that seeks to reduce environmental impacts and save money. Many cities, from With some thoughtful caveats on installation and maintenance, the board of directors of the National Association of Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Contractors is in agreement with the concept of waterless urinals. But before we become too critical of The state Turnpike Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection, the headquarters of Liberty Property Trust in Malvern, and the W. S. Cumby & Son office building in In other locales, this green-building technology wasn't embraced overnight. Like most successful environmental solutions, this approach required an education component and more than a few successful demonstrations before becoming widely accepted. But being in the vanguard is not easy. We should be thankful that Liberty Property Trust is willing to exemplify sustainable business practices in Organizations such as the Delaware Valley Green Building Council and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council have been working with developers and architects to encourage the use of sustainable building features such as green roofs, energy-efficient windows and machinery, and nontoxic, local materials. The Licenses and Inspections, city contractors and tradesmen need to prepare for a tidal wave of these types of buildings. As energy costs escalate and consumers clamor for economical buildings that don't lay waste to our air and water, the demand for green building practices will swell. We need to scour the building code now to remove barriers to these environmental and economical practices. Waterless urinals can contribute to a sustainable We also need to preserve the competitive advantage of our labor force. Unions have an opportunity to embrace this new product, which could lead to the additional work of replacing the more than 50,000 urinals throughout In our experience, encouraging collaboration between unions, architects, developers and environmental organizations is vital to ensuring that we best meet the needs of our growing city, manage our limited resources, and maintain standards we've set for today. The stage is already set. The membership of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council includes several union representatives and has developed Green Advantage for Commercial Construction, a green-building training program for contractors. The Urban Sustainability Forum, of which the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and the Delaware Valley Green Building Council are partner organizations, brings Philadelphians together to set an agenda for making ours the greenest, most livable city in Only through continued cooperation can we hope to make green-building initiatives a success in Jill Kowalski is executive director of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council. NewsClips: Truce Over Waterless Urinals Plumbers’ Board Approves Waterless Urinals Editorial: Flushing Away an Opportunity Take a Stand on No-Flush Urinals - Anyone? |
4/7/2006 |
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