Here is a speech by Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO. It’s just a moving, simple, short, powerful speech. I highly recommend watching it. Things are happening in this country. Obama’s ascendency is forcing our country to confront itself.
An Electric Moment
Last night a football stadium was packed to the gills, not with football fans cheering on their home team, but rather with people from all walks of life who endured long lines and heat in order to listen to a politician deliver a speech. It was a speech given 45 years to the day after Martin Luther King’s I have a dream speech that, symbolically and literally, opened the way for a black man to accept the nomination for president of the United States. It was a speech given to cheering crowds and extraordinarily high expectations. It was given to a nation that has gone decades without an inspirational leader. It was a speech given during an inflexion point in history, when the world is facing new global challenges and new global opportunities, and the very strength of America’s place in the world depends on the direction we choose to take; will we once again be a nation that does not torture, that does not invade sovereign nations, that leads by example? Will we be innovators? Will we rebuild our infrastructure, provide health care to all, protect social security and educate our children?
Something Amazing is Stirring
So it was that Obama stood up before the crowd and, looking calm, confident and collected, gave a speech that at times soared into the clouds and at times swept along the earth. He gave a speech that moved to poetry and then, in a smooth change in tone and cadence, became an explanation of policy positions. He gave a speech that attacked his opponent without disrespecting his opponent. He gave a speech that moved commentators–myself included–to soaring commentary. And finally, he gave a speech that will resonate in history not because of any one line or phrase, but because of the context and the moment. We will look back on this night when we are older and proudly say, “I remember that.” We will think back on where our country was headed and realize that something amazing was stirring all along.
Passing the LEED Exam
Last Thursday I took–and passed!–the LEED accreditation exam. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and it is a performance-based rating system for green buildings established by the U.S Green Building Council. It has come to be accepted as the benchmark for green building, and covers all aspects of a building, from materials, to energy, water and building operation. Becoming a LEED accredited professional (LEED AP) allows you to be a consultant on a LEED project, and it is also something you can put after your name to improve your credibility.
How LEED works
I studied for about a month to pass the exam, which consists of 80 questions covering all aspects of the rating system. The way LEED works is that the points are broken down into 5 topic areas: Sustainable Sites; Energy & Atmosphere; Water Efficiency; Materials and Resources; and Indoor Air Quality. A final category rewards efforts that don’t fall under the other topic areas. Within each category, points are awarded for achieving environmental performance. For instance, 1-10 points can be earned in the Energy & Atmosphere, depending on the energy-efficiency of the building. Each category has pre-requisites that must be earned, and depending on how many points the project is awarded a building can be rated anywhere from LEED certified to LEED platinum. (Learn more about how LEED works here)
I recently discussed the fact that renewable energy projects are becoming increasingly large and centralized, a trend that has led some to fear that the “residential revolution” of small-scale wind and solar in every home would never come to pass. But now, thanks to “reductions in their size and cost, along with improvements in efficiency,” sales of small wind turbines “have been growing steadily since 1990.” 7,000 small turbines (classified as producing no more than 100 kilowatts) were sold last year, a number that is expected to reach 10,000 this year. These turbines are typically rated at between 2 and 10 kilowatts, are from 33 to 100 feet in hight, and range in cost from $12,000 to $55,000. (For comparison, large wind turbines are rated at up to 3 megawatts, or 3,000 kilowatts, and stand up to 300 feet tall).
Several Factors Behind the Trend
Several factors are driving the increase in sales. Concern about climate change and energy costs are certainly important, especially considering that “a 10-kilowatt turbine in an area with an average wind speed of 12 miles per hour can lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to removing 1.3 cars from the road.” But perhaps the most compelling reason to “go wind” has to do with the economics. 23 states in the U.S. offer net metering, which means that if your wind turbine generates more power than you use, then your meter will actually spin backward as you sell that power back into the grid. Additionally, Congress is considering a measure that “would offer a 30 percent federal tax credit on turbine purchases” capped at $4,000. That same federal tax credit is already being offered to residential solar installations. Lastly, various state incentives can further sweeten the deal.
