Green Building Builds Steam... and Corporate Copy Cats

You know you've found a winning environmental strategy when red states start building green--really. The strategy is the LEED Green Building Standard developed by the US Green Building Council. The LEED standard awards points to buildings that employ environmentally friendly materials, energy efficiency, and other environmentally friendly design techniques. Over 50 state and local governments--including Idaho's Ada County--have written some kind of LEED-certification incentives into government building codes. Last Spring, the county cut the ribbon on its new LEED-certified County courthouse.

You also know you're on the right track when big corporations try to deflate your strategy by rolling out a watered-down version of their own--usually with a flashier logo, and a much bigger marketing budget. Enter "Green Globes", a half-strength green building program ostensibly backed by a full-strength collection of old school industry trade associations calling themselves the "Green Building Initiative", but staffed by PR hacks from Louisiana Pacific, and headquartered in a PR firm just down the street from their former (current?) employer. In a targeted strategy to undermine the significant momentum building behind LEED green building standards, industry lobbyists are parachuting into state and county capitols across the country to push for inclusion of Green Globes in government building codes.

Thus far, the LEED standard has been able to hold its own, ceding ground to Green Globes in only a handful of cases. Even so, it might be worth asking your county or municipal government's what they're doing to promote green building. While imitation may be the sincerest form of flatery--in the case of Green Globes, it's lacking on substance.

**Free RAN t-shirt to anyone who can provide a documented list of funders to the "Green Building Initiative."**

Operation Ceasefire!

A Picture Share!
Originally uploaded by brant olson.

Meanwhile, Back in DC...

Driving around New Orleans
Originally uploaded by ioerror.

A stroke of luck has brought me to our nation's capitol just as plans are coming together for what promises to be the biggest show of anti-war support since this whole mess began.

That's no small feat. DC, of course, is a magnet for political organizing of nearly every creed--on the left and the right. On the left, sharp ideological divisions have kept these groups at odds for over a decade in the city. According to the WaPo this morning, however, amidst the various rallies, speeches, workshops and concerts this weekend "their message on the Mall tomorrow will be singular: 'End the war in Iraq'".

That's a good message, but it's missing the vision thing--no doubt because there's nowhere close to a consensus among this group that only recently has been able to sit in the same room together.

One issue that cuts across most ideological differences, though, should be obvious in the wake of one of the most devastating natural disasters in the nation's history and the potential of another right around the corner: "Oil is over" Whether you're interested in a peacefully foreign policy, a healthy planet, a fair economy or justice for all, you can agree that oil is getting in the way of your goals. Even the conservatives are beginning to understand that we're probably not going to survive unless we figure out how to recover from our collective addiction to oil.

'No pictures, No stories"

The Chron is reporting that journalists and photographers are still being kept away from body recovery operations in New Orleans despite an ruling by FEMA over the weekend to allow them.

While I'm loathe to immediately conclude nepotism (i'll need some time and more information to do that), it certainly follows from the emerging military dictum of staging victory and hiding failure.

Meanwhile, our erstwhile community hactivist Jake remains live on the scene

Disaster Blogging

The drive to NOLA
Originally uploaded by ioerror.

Occasional RAN IT guru and commensurate emergency response hacker Jake Appelbaum is working with communities in New Orleans to set up internet uplinks and other communications systems for residents.

He's also posting photos and blogging about the whole experience