Witold Rybczynski bemoans the green movement's emphasis on sustainability measure that treat environmental action as a process of accessorizing rather than changing lifestyles.
He calls out LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) as being a major cause for this mindset because of its emphasis on simple checklists to determine whether environmental standards are being met.
"The problem in the sustainability campaign is that a basic truth has been lost, or at least concealed. Rather than trying to change behavior to actually reduce carbon emissions, politicians and entrepreneurs have sold greening to the public as a kind of accessorizing. Keep doing what you're doing, goes the message. Just add a solar panel, a wind turbine, a hybrid engine, whatever. But a solar-heated house in the burbs is still a house in the burbs, and if you have to drive to it, even in a Prius, it's hardly green."
FULL STORY: The Green Case for Cities
The Search for a New Green Building Standard
The need to slash emissions from buildings is increasingly urgent, and critics say LEED won't get us there.
Affordable Housing Industry Embraces Green Building Techniques
Affordable housing advocates find that green building techniques result in higher-quality construction -- and often with costs comparable to traditional building techniques.
Tornado Clears Way for LEED Platinum Building
The 5-4-7 Arts Center in Greensburg, Kansas gets a LEED platinum designation- evidence that the town, which was 95% destroyed by a tornado in May, 2006, is making good on its sustainable rebuilding plan.
Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
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Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
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