Taylor Schermer
Research Question:Does the LEED certification system adequately achieve its goals of encouraging green building construction while maintaining a symbiotic relationship with the environment through certification?
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Thesis Statement:For the LEED certification to reach its true goal of encouraging the construction of green buildings three aspects of the program must be reevaluated: refinements in the point system, such as how points are weighted, creating categories based on location, and long-term tracking of building progress.
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Thesis Paper:
Action Project Description:
The main goal of my project is to inform schools on different ways they can adapt their operations in order to create a more sustainable way of living. There is a lot of progress being made on new construction to make a greener living environment but there should also be focus on buildings and structures that are already built. As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise it will be important for humanity to take steps to encourage reduction of those emissions. I created a guide for schools to encourage different practices they can implement in order to live greener. It is in the form of a written document. It is structured very similarly to LEED and CHPS certification credit documents, where there are different categories of sustainability and within those categories there are different credits. Those credits have their requirements and an explanation their impact. I shared it with local student councils in order to spark a change in their schools.