OPINION & EDITORIAL
UW should sign climate deal
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by Letters to the Editor
Friday, April 13, 2007
While it is admirable that some people at UW-Madison are moving to make clean, renewable energy a larger source of power, more steps need to be taken to accomplish this goal. Big Red Go Green (BRGG), a WISPIRG affiliated student campaign, believes that the University should immediately do two things: announce that all future buildings be LEED-certified, and that Chancellor Wiley should sign the President's Climate Commitment.
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, provides a set of guidelines to builders focusing on the sustainability of the building, its overall energy performance, and its impact on the surrounding environment. LEED certification stresses five major areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.
It is possible for all future structures on this campus to be certified by these standards.
BRGG would also like to see Chancellor Wiley sign the President's Climate Commitment. This is a pledge that requires the university to develop a plan to achieve climate neutrality as soon as possible, to take definite steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to make all actions and plans available for public viewing. By signing this document, Madison could become a role model for other large universities and join the ranks of countless other schools that have already committed to make a difference in the fight against global warming.
Devin Trezise Big Red Go Green intern UW-Madison sophomore Horticulture and Chinese Major
Anonymous (April 13, 2007 @ 7:58am):
LEED is a scam. Collecting rainwater to flush toilets? That's perfect for a shack in the Ozarks.
Anonymous (April 13, 2007 @ 10:33am):
I think yer sposed to drink the rainwater. Use yer dirty wash water to flush. And corn cobs to wipe!
Anonymous (April 13, 2007 @ 10:53am):
global warming doesnt exist, why wont anyone fight for the other side?
Anonymous (April 13, 2007 @ 11:52am):
but global warming DOES exist - maybe someday it will be as warm as it was a thousand years ago, when Greenland was green.
Anonymous (April 13, 2007 @ 1:21pm):
Hmmm, how much energy does it take to produce that "renewable" stuff? How much CO2 will all that energy produce? Seems to me people are not looking at the whole cycle, just the end result, there is a lot they are not looking at. Is that typical of all activists?
Anonymous (April 13, 2007 @ 2:40pm):
Yeah, we should demolish all old buildings and needlessly create new green ones. That's the hallmark of efficiency.
Anonymous (April 13, 2007 @ 2:47pm):
"How much CO2 will all that energy produce?"
None, in the case of pebble bed nuclear power plants.
Anonymous (April 14, 2007 @ 10:03am):
Compliance with Kyoto would reduce global warming by an amount too small to measure. But the cost of compliance just to the United States would be higher than the cost of providing the entire world with clean drinking water and sanitation.
http://www.kansascity.com/273/story/70023.html
Gabrielle Hinahara (April 14, 2007 @ 5:08pm):
LEED certification doesn't encourage "demolishing old buildings and needlessly creating new green ones". It also has standards for retrofitting old buildings.
Anonymous (April 15, 2007 @ 11:17am):
Re: LEED certification. Do they retrofit the existing buildings for free? Do they do it out of their undying concern for planet earth? Or, do they do it for money?
Everyone is a capitalist, even the very greenest of us. Anyone will sell their soul for a few green pieces of paper, even those with "principle."
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