Green Exam Prep partners with Clean Edison

Green Building Education Services also the owner of greenexamprep.com has partnered with Clean Edison Education Centers to offer LEED AP prep courses in various cities in the US. Classes are scheduled as early as this Monday, May 18, 2009 through September 3, 2009 and features a two day course taught by a LEED AP.

The classes offer prep courses for LEED for homes, LEED Green Associate, LEED for New Construction (NC) 2.2.

Clean Edison is the leader in LEED AP courses and also offers Building Analyst I training courses in seven cities. Register at Greenexamprep.com for a class near you or visit Clean Edison for more information.

House OKs $6.4 billion to make schools greener

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House on Thursday passed a $6.4 billion school modernization bill that would commit funds for the construction and update of more energy-efficient school buildings.

Solar electric panels likes these on a California building could soon come to schools across the country.

The measure passed 275-155 in a largely party-line vote, and will now move to the Senate for further review.

Among other things, the bill allocates substantial funds for improvements along the Gulf Coast, where many school districts are still struggling to repair buildings damaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The legislation, according to the House Education and Labor Committee, also makes schools part of the effort to revive the U.S. economy and fight global warming by "creating clean energy jobs that will help put workers in hard-hit industries back to work."

The committee says the bill would require that 100 percent of the funds go toward green projects by 2015, which is the final year of funding under the bill.

"All students and teachers deserve safe and healthy learning environments, but too often, their schools are literally falling apart," said Rep. George Miller, D-California, who is the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and one of the bill's sponsors.

"This legislation is a victory for students, workers and our planet. It will help improve educational opportunities and boost student achievement, it will help transition us toward a green economy by making our classrooms more environmentally friendly," he said.

Opponents of the legislation, nearly all Republicans, criticized the high cost and the increasing role of the federal government.

"The federal government has always maintained a limited role in education, focusing on key academic priorities such as closing achievement gaps between disadvantaged students and their peers and ensuring services for children with disabilities," said Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-California, the Education and Labor Committee's top Republican. "The construction and renovation of schools are among the most fundamental rights and responsibilities belonging to states and local communities."

McKeon added: "Federalizing this role is a stunning Washington power grab; something that has become all too familiar in recent months."

The nation's schools are hundreds of billions of dollars short of what it would take to bring them into good condition, according to recent estimates cited by the House committee.

In fact, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave schools across the country a "D" on its national infrastructure report card for this year. Read the report

The American Federation of Teachers also estimates it would cost almost $255 billion to fully renovate and repair all the schools in the country.

Rachel Gutter, of the U.S. Green Building Council, says the benefits of an eco-friendly school will pay off economically.

"The typical green school saves $100,000 a year on direct operating expenses. In school terms, that's enough to hire two new teachers, purchase 200 new computers or 5,000 textbooks," Gutter said.

"So these are major savings. And that's just one year. The typical school lasts 40 years. And when you do the math, it starts to become some serious savings. ... It pays for itself after a few years of operation."

The council, on its Web site, lists several benefits of green buildings, such as improving air and water quality, conserving natural resources, reducing operating costs and improving employee productivity.

But Gutter says that part of the concern over green schools is the fear over construction costs.

"The research shows the greatest barrier to getting more green schools built is the perception that they cost more up front to build," she said. "The fact of the matter is that they don't. ... Building green doesn't have to cost more, and then everything else, all the savings over the lifetime, are just savings you get to put back in your community's pocket."

The legislation, if signed into law, would also help to create new jobs -- around 136,000 positions, according to calculations by the Economic Policy Institute.

But much more is at stake, Gutter says.

"It's about raising a new generation of leaders who inevitably are going to inherit the problems we will leave behind," she said. "So when you're actually able to use the school itself as a teaching tool, as an opportunity for learning, that's when the connections with curriculum really start to happen."

Author:	Ed Hornick
Source:	CNNPolitics.com
Date Written:	5/14/2009

LEED V.3 Unveiled in Washington

Title:	LEED version 3 unveiled in Washington
Author:	Karl Burkart
Source:	Mother Nature Network
Date Written:	5/15/2009
New LEED version 3 includes special regional incentives and weights points based on CO2 emissions. Today was a big day on Washington for renewable energy and energy efficiency. While the Renewable Energy Expo was taking place at the Cannon House on Capitol Hill, the US Green Building Council was presenting their brand new LEED version 3 at the Federal Green Building Summit at the International Trade Center just off the Mall. The event featured a talk by Senior White House Advisor Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality who discussed how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would help to achieve the environmental and economic goals set forth in the Energy Independence and Security Act. Energy Efficiency in commercial buildings is a big part of the equation and is seen by energy experts and political heavyweights alike as the fastest (and most politically viable) route to energy independence. According the the USGBC press release of today's event, buildings in the United States are responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 13% water consumption and 15% of GDP per year. This represents an unprecedented business opportunity that could create more than 2.5 million American jobs. Energy efficiency in buildings is also the promising source of "renewable energy," one that does not require the construction of any new power plants at all. According to the USGBC, a full 85% of future U.S. demand for energy can be provided by retrofitting existing buildings with energy efficiency measures and engineering new construction to take advantage of the latest and greatest in energy efficiency technology. LEED version 3, which was unveiled in late April and explored today in D.C. has updated checklists for both new construction and existing buildings, allowing owners of old inefficient buildings to go through LEED v. 3. New technologies like super insulating curtain walls (which were on display at the Expo) and high-efficiency HVAC (heating & cooling systems) allow a building as old as the Empire State Building to become LEED-accredited. LEED v. 3 has 3 major advances -- harmonization of checklists, credit weightings and most significantly Regional Priority Credits. The LEED revamp included a detailed restructuring of HOW points are calculated. The previous congeries of different LEED systems for different project types has been "harmonized" to be more universal, with weighting given to the specific efficiency strategies that have the BIGGEST positive environmental impact. In other words, LEED has evolved out of an abstract checklist of points, and into a real weighting system tied to real impacts, in particular CO2 emissions. It also gives "extra credit" to strategies that have a particularly desirable impact in a climatic region (i.e. passive cooling in the desert southwest). This marks a major turning point both in the standards that define "green building" as those standards inch closer each day to becoming a federal mandate. The federal government currently owns 139 certified LEED buildings and has an additional 1,560 registered projects, totaling over 263 million square feet. One speaker at the Energy Expo said that if Obama wanted to really kick-start the green economy he should simply require the thousands of buildings currently operated by the DOE to become LEED-certified. This would create the demand necessary to scale (through private investment) the many great energy efficiency technologies that are currently available.

from: U.S. Green Building Council

Investing In Environment-Friendly Buildings- The Latest Trend

Environment friendly buildings seem to be the latest trend in corporate America. This holds true especially in many of the corporate offices that are being set up and is also in demand compared to other buildings. The environment friendly buildings are commonly referred to as the Greens or Green Buildings.

A few big companies operating from these green buildings include Goldman Sachs, Hearst, IBM Corp. JP Morgan Chase and Toyota Motor. Taking this trend to newer heights is the Bank of America. They plan to build a 52-story eco skyscraper near Times Square. Accenture is also an active participant in this trend and has set up green office spaces, which are let out on lease all over the country.

Sustainable construction (referring to the construction of environment friendly buildings) is one of the fastest growing industries. Many of the new construction companies that are coming up and many existing construction companies are getting themselves certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Most of the constructions nowadays are environment friendly and soon much commercial construction will be made green.

Developers also realize the potential in the existing constructions and are renovating these properties and making them eco friendly, if not completely at least partially. The green buildings help to save a significant amount in terms of funds spent on utility. They use less energy and water as compared to the traditional buildings. This becomes very cost effective for benefits both, the environment and the builders.

An added reason for the popularity of green buildings is the higher rent they receive. The fact that a building is environment friendly helps to increase the rent up to 3% on an average. These buildings also increase the value of the property by about 7.5%. They are not only cost effective but also help you to make more profit out of the building.

The sustainable materials available keep improving with technology, being cheaper and readily available for use. The materials used also improve in terms of quality and quantity. This is very profitable to investors. So how can the investors get their hands in on this money? The simplest option available is the Real Estate Investment Trust or REIT. There are many trusts available from which you can choose and these trusts have commitments not only towards renovating existing projects but also new constructions. They continue to add new projects to their investments, as and when they fulfill existing commitments.

The trusts believe that the green buildings will continue to grow even if there is a dip in the commercial real-estate market. The best option for investors who are not so sure of the longevity of this boom in commercial eco-real-estate is the Spectra Green Fund. This fund invests a percentage in the REIT, along with the various other clean energy stocks. This is now a safe bet for the cautious investors.

Another investment option available is to invest in the companies that produce the materials for the construction of the green buildings, the companies that measure the energy produced etc.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/

About the Author

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New Classes Being Offered for LEED Training

The leader in LEED AP certification education, Clean Edison, is now offering classes for the 09 year. With 25 cities so far and counting there is sure to be a class near you. According to their website " Clean Edison is one of the world's leading providers of Renewable Energy Education. They offer programs for Architects, Engineers, Contractors, Attorneys, Real Estate Professionals, Graduate and College Students, and anyone interested in knowing more about renewable energy or getting into the Renewable Energy Job Market."

The LEED exam has been considered one of the most difficult exams to successfully complete. Currently the LEED exam consists of 80 questions and students must score a 170 or better out of a possible 200 to pass.

It's actually funny that most people who post in forums I've visisted that have suggestions and tips on how to pass actually have a hard time passing the LEED exam themselves.

Barack Obama proposed that the federal government spend $150 billion over 10 years to promote alternative energy and create several million jobs. What better way to become part of the revoluion than to pass the LEED exam and become a LEED Accredited Professional.