Green & Design - May/June 2009 - (Page 48)

interview Up to the Challenge The building sector may be an energy hog, but Edward Mazria of Architecture 2030 believes that can—and must—change By Katie Weeks There’s no way to sugar coat it: When it comes to energy consumption, the built environment sucks, literally. The building sector is responsible for 48 percent of all energy consumption in the U.S., and globally, 76 percent of all power plant-generated electricity is used to operate buildings. The sector also is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere. These numbers, however, can change—and must do so dramatically in order to address the globalwarming crisis, according to Edward Mazria founder of Architecture 2030. Under Mazria’s leadership, the independent non-profit organization is challenging the U.S. and global building sector to transform the way its buildings and developments are planned, designed, and constructed. It started with The 2030 Challenge, which asks the global architecture and building community to adopt a number of targets, including the increase of the fossil fuel reduction standard for all new buildings and major renovations to 60 percent by 2010 and requiring carbon neutrality (using no fossil fuel, GHG-emitting energy to operate) by the year 2030. (More specifics on the 2030 Challenge targets are online at http://www.architecture2030.org/2030_challenge/index .html.) Also introduced under the organization is The 2010 Imperative, addressing ecological literacy in design education, and two new plans examining how creating energy efficient buildings can jump-start the economy both locally and nationally. Q: What is the significance of the year 2030 and how did you develop the 2030 Challenge targets? A: When we began looking at the issue of climate change, the scientific community was talking about green- 48 www.greenanddesign.com | March/April 2009 http://www.architecture2030.org/2030_challenge/index.html http://www.architecture2030.org/2030_challenge/index.html http://www.architecture2030.org/2030_challenge/index.html http://www.greenanddesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green & Design - May/June 2009

Green & Design - May/June 2009
Contents
Editorial
LEED v3: A Highly Evolved Solution
Book Review
Products
Learning Curve
Environmental Trends in Kitchen Design
The Butterfly Effect
Eastern Promise
Social Science
Retail Remedy
They Speak for the Trees
Up to the Challenge
Here Come the Lawyers
Green Gets Political
The Hardest Part of Being Green
Products: Designer’s Picks
Sources and Ad Index

Green & Design - May/June 2009

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