Do terms like "organic" and "LEED certified" actually mean anything? Or is faking being environmentally friendly just a business gimmick? Especially the term "organic", which you could slap on a bottle of shampoo if you really wanted to. Sure, organic can mean produced in a healthier way, but even that is debatable. And what the heck is organic shampoo actually doing to be "organic"? It's shampoo. Did we suddenly discover some prehistoric way of lathering our hair in the shower? No. Clearly not. So, why put it on the bottle? Because people like the sound of it... organic. People read that word and think "I'm doing something to help just by buying this product". And companies know this and try to cash in all the time. But it's not just about lying, deceitful shampoos. It can be bigger than that. I'm talking buildings big.
So, buildings actually have their own kind of organic label they can receive. Similar to, say, an apple, a building can be constructed and maintained in a "healthier" way; in this case by being environmentally friendly and energy-conscious. The building receives a certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED. Great. But, like the shampoo, I have to ask: what did the building actually achieve to gain that status? Turns out, it may not have to do much. So, now a building too can lie about its environmentally-friendly intentions by getting a simple certification that means absolutely nothing. But how does this even happen? I mean, LEED certification is granted by the US Green Building Council; someone has to sign off on these loose certifications. And I want to know why its happening here. Why have this council, this certification, and not do the most with it? Is this kind of practice helping or hurting people's views on what is actually helping the environment?
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AuthorAndrew Colin MacKay is currently studying environmental and sustainable design at Arizona State University. ArchivesCategories
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