Urban Planning | January 22, 2009 |
San Diego Recognized for Stepping Up Sustainable Efforts
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently awarded the San Diego Gas and Electric’s (SDG&E) Sustainable Communities Program the 2008 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Deign (LEED) award for excellence in achieving sustainability. The award places San Diego on the sustainability map amongst other cities like Austin, Chicago and Portland. According to SustainLane, an organization that tracks the progress of sustainable efforts across the nation and on an annual basis ranks the most sustainable cities, San Diego ranks 26th on the list. But, the city could quickly move up toward the top 10 with further implementation of the Sustainable Communities Program, which works with schools, communities, developers, architects, and others to build green, refurbish green, and generate renewable energy supplies. While many programs are trying to implement just one of those efforts, SDG&E is giving them a run for their green, money and otherwise.
Director of San Diego’s local USGBC group notes, “thanks to SDG&E’s Sustainable Communities Program, San Diego County has gained significant momentum in the green building movement... working together, we can make San Diego a national model for sustainability.”
There are a few things to learn from San Diego’s efforts and for those cities on the bottom half of SustainLane’s list. First, energy efficiency is productive at any level. According to Alex Kim of SDG&E, the more than 5 million kilowatt hours of energy saved through energy efficiency measures in the community is equivalent to taking more than 650 vehicles off highways.
Second, there is profit in taking a risk. SDG&E has set up solar energy generation operations in buildings around San Diego to provide those buildings the ability to generate their own energy while sending excess energy back to the utility company at a profit.
Lastly, any building can achieve some degree of sustainability. San Diego is working to increase the number of LEED restaurants, an industry not typically built green outside of composting and using local, organic resources. Even though restaurants have missed the early bird LEED special, the house is wide open to bring in sustainable practices helping cities reduce climate change impacts and increase energy and water efficiency.
Photo courtesy Wikimedia commons
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Comments By Readers
There could be no better investment in America than to invest in America becoming energy independent! We need to utilize everything in out power to reduce our dependence on foreign oil including using our own natural resources. Create cheap clean energy, new badly needed green jobs, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. OPEC will continue to cut production until they achieve their desired 80-100. per barrel. The high cost of fuel this past year seriously damaged our economy and society. Oil is finite. We are using oil globally at the rate of 2X faster than new oil is being discovered. We need to take some of these billions in bail out bucks and bail ourselves out of our dependence on foreign oil.If all gasoline cars, trucks, and SUV's instead had plug-in electric drive trains, the amount of electricity needed to replace gasoline is about equal to the estimated wind energy potential of the state of North Dakota. Jeff Wilson has a really good new book out called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence Now. He explores our uses of oil besides gasoline, our depletion, out reserves and stores as well as viable options to replace oil.Oil is finite, it will run out in the not too distant future. WE need to take some of these billions in bail out bucks and bail America out of it's dependence on foreign oil. The historic high price of gas this past year did serious damage to our economy and society. WE should never allow others to have that much power over our economy again. I wish every member of congress would read this book too.
www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com
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