University questions LEED rankings
Late last night, the nearly vacant Malone Engineering Center was fully lit.
Not surprising, perhaps, for many buildings, except that the Malone Center received a gold certification, the second-highest rating, from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s Green Building Rating System .
#2
By anon (Unregistered User)
12:49am on February 12, 2008
"Yale does not seek certification on its renovation projects"
That's not really true; there were several major LEED-certified (Gold level) laboratories recently renovated at the Yale Medical School.
A ‘Whale’ of a renovation in store for Ingalls Rink
Another problematic aspect of LEED is that it does not prohibit, or take points off for, any environmentally-destructive materials that are used. I'm thinking about tropical hardwoods as an example. While using destructively-harvested woods like old-growth mahogany would not earn any LEED points, neither would it prevent obtaining a high LEED rating. Thus we are seeing LEED certified buildings around the country that include tropical hardwoods in flooring, cabinets, or other features. That's not acceptable, and the U.S. Green Building Council needs to address this issue.