Every Saturday the Budgeteer gives Dr. Dixon a bully pulpit to hype the School system. Today’s column is building on the District’s recent press release which hypes its announced LEED silver-level certification which touts its environmentally friendly design. His column has a long list of supposedly “green” improvements to our school buildings. But here’s what one source says of LEED certification.
“Some feel that buildings may be using LEED and other “green†buzzwords to help sell properties without any real significant benefit in terms of resource and energy efficiency.”
Since the Red Plan is supposed to be so eco friendly its worth remembering it is attacking buildings that average a mere 54 years in age. Demolishing these buildings will generate a great deal of waste and the new construction materials will require considerable energy to produce. Under these circumstances it is a stretch to describe this project as Green. Furthermore the likely energy use will be greater due to increased transportation costs and the addition of air conditioning. In fact, energy costs were never studied before the Red Plan began.
