California has just adopted a green building code that is the first of its kind in the country. Signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, this code establishes targets for many sustainability principles, including energy efficiency, use of environmentally sensitive construction products like carpet, paint, coatings, and other eco-friendly building initiatives as well. The "California Green Building Standards Code" is voluntary for builders, local municipalities and communities until 2010, when it becomes mandatory.
Of course, like many laws that start out as well-meaning initiatives, this one is devoted to combating both climate change and environmentally unsound practices. However, sometimes it’s also good to take a better look at all these well-meaning guidelines, especially in our market driven economy. For instance, is there an expiration date to this code? Are there measures to examine its impact on the economy and the feasibility of bringing all the provisions into play by 2010? Are there markers to see if it offers some kind of genuine effect on the environment, and at what cost?
Another issue is the fact that the building industry, as well as many communities across the nation are already adapting their own standards, and they’re doing so for two very specific reasons. First, builders and developers are becoming aware of the long-term price they will pay if they ignore the green movement; i.e., essentially anything they build will be obsolete by the time the first shovel breaks ground. And secondly, local communities want to attract and retain a healthy population so they also can sustain their own viability as places to live and work.
The real question here is this: Can the movement towards green and sustainable also bring into play excess legislation which can, in effect, end up strangling the desired outcome?
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