Save the Planet While Building Affordable Housing
- da: Care2
- destinatario: Your State's Governor
The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED green building standard is the top program in the country - and one that should be applied to all construction for the health of our planet.
Already, 44 states have adopted some form of regulation requiring government-funded buildings to be built according to LEED standards. But these policies can go farther. Seattle's Traugott Terrace - pictured at left - was the nation's first LEED certified affordable housing. Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development recently instituted a requirement that all affordable housing must meet Energy Star and LEED silver standards.
It's time to make saving the environment a national priority for all state-funded affordable housing projects! Urge your state's governor to develop a regulation requiring affordable housing projects to meet green building standards.
Dear Governor,
Boston's requirement that all affordable housing projects funded by the Department of Neighborhood Development must meet Energy Star and LEED silver green building standards is a win-win situation for both the low-income families who need the housing and our planet. I urge you to institute a similar program on a statewide level in [Your state here].
We can follow the example set by Traugott Terrace in Seattle, the nation's first LEED certified affordable housing project. Traugott Terrace offers 50 units of housing for individuals with incomes up to 30 percent of the median, many of whom have been homeless and on the path toward a healthy future. The project demonstrates that environmental, social and economic principles can be met on a limited budget.
[Your comment here]
I urge you to consider instituting a green building regulation for the affordable housing our state needs.
