Recently friends of mine considered having their home designated as LEED certified. With local materials, recycled material, geothermal for heating and cooling and several other features under all the LEED categories this house would be sure to qualify for LEED certifications. They have applied and received all the government incentives for choosing environmentally friendly methods, balanced all the LCC and looked at the benefit-cost ratios and have decided not to apply to LEED Canada.

Why? LEED would become a marketing feature to their house. They are no incentives for being LEED certified. In the end it was just an extra $5000 to say that they were environmentally friendly.

I decided to do a quick Google search on why it is important to register your building with LEED. Here are some of the things that were returned.

• Buildings that are LEED certified almost always use resources more effectively when compared to traditional buildings that are built to code. Because of this, they are recognized as better for their surrounding environments.
• LEED certified buildings often provide healthier work and living environments, contributing to higher productivity and improved employee health and comfort.
• LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: (1. sustainable site development, 2. water efficiency, 3. energy efficiency, 4. materials selection and 5. indoor environmental quality)
• Encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria.
• Promotes integrated, whole-building design practices
• Building amenities include lush rooftop gardens, individual storage units, covered parking for bicycles, proximity to transit lines and direct access to car sharing.

This list could get quite lengthy. There are many benefits to having a LEED certified building.

My argument – if you’re willing to do all the environmentally friendly things to your house, do you really need the label of LEED? And what does that money that you pay for registration go towards?

In the end if we take the steps forward to think of the environment before we think of the bottom line, when we’re constructing, we are taking the right steps forward. LEED certification may only be a ‘label’ but it embodies what designers should be thinking when they start any new design.

Reading the LEED manual really gets you thinking out all the small things one can do to have a more energy efficient home and office. Simple things like living or working near a grocery store and restaurants. Changing old lightbulbs to more energy conscious ones. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Bringing your own coffee mug instead of the non-recyclable, non-compostable cafeteria/Starbucks one.

The LEED manual also showed me that it is not enough. Have 5% recycled material. Reduce water consumption by 20%. Use pervious materials on 50%. What? That’s it? At a conference about a year ago a someone said that being sustainable isn’t enough, that we need to regenerative; meaning our buildings have to be carbon-neutral or better yet carbon-negative (meaning that they absorb more carbon than they produce).

LEED Canada is changing in the beginning of 2010 and I believe that the US is already there. More stringent, real changes should be part of the manuals; hopefully we are moving toward sustainable, regenerative buildings.

No cars? Ok well it would make transporting food, goods and people impossible so Zermatt allows small electric shuttles – they look like mini buses. All the vehicles are made in the town. The goal is to minimize the air pollution and preserve the view of the Matterhorn by eliminating the combustion engine.

The first thing I noticed on my trip was the amount of electric vehicle congestion. The roads are very narrow in Zermatt and everyone walks, with their skis in tow, to and from the lifts. Our walk each day was almost a km and we frequently were halted as we had to wait for the vehicles to pass us and others coming from the opposite direction.

Zermatt is also in a construction boom, in every direction you look you can see a crane. This means even more vehicles are passing through the streets delivering construction materials. Plus they have now permitted large, diesel trucks to deliver concrete and other large machines (i.e. bobcats) to site. Some of the sites were so inaccessible that goods were delivered by helicopter. Overall is what congestion mania, in the sky with the cranes and helicopters, and in the streets with all the vehicles.

Overall Zermatt is pristine, preserving the air and it’s cultural heritage. Hopefully this construction will come to an end soon. I’v never been to Zermatt in the winter, when the slopes are fully covered, but even in my preseason visit I can see the majesty of the Swiss Alps.

By Merging GO Transit and Metrolinx Ontario should be able to create more jobs in our fragile economy

The merger will be lead by Robert Prichard and he will be advised by several others including current Metrolinx Chair Rob MacIsaac and GO Transit Chair Peter Smith. By merging Metrolinx with GO Transit this will not only allow Metrolinx to fulfill the original intent of Metrolinx, but also to take advantage of the Federal budget announcements and get shovel ready projects in the ground.

This merger also means that Ontario tax payers will own selected new regional transit infrastructure. But municipalities will also have to consult with Metrolinx on any changes to their existing transit system. With this merger it should hopefully mean the end of municipalities acting as silos and transit being more consistent across Southern Ontario.

Other quick facts:

• there are more than 1.6 million transit trips a day in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area
• GO Transit carries 55 million passengers a year
• Congestion of the Greater Toronto Area costs $6 billion annually

For more information please see Metrolinx, particularly the two articles Ontario Merging GO Transit and Metrolinx and Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area Transit Implementation Act, 2009.

1. Romaine Hydroelectric Complex Project(Value = $6.5 bil): An endeavour by Hydro-Quebec to build four generating stations along the Mingan area of Northeastern Quebec.
2. Bruce A Nuclear Generating Station Restart ($5.25 bil): Currently Bruce power operates 6 reactor units and generates 20% of Ontario’s energy. This will increase to 25% when CANDU units 1 and 2 are finished in 2009.
   As an aside the Darlington Plant is set for expansion as well. Infrastructure Ontario is likely to announce a partner this spring with construction expected to start in 2012.
3. Eastmain-1-A/Sarcelle/Rupert Project($5 bil): The plan is for Hydro-Quebec to divert the Rupert River into the Eastmain River and build a generating station at Eastmain-1 reservoir and a generating station at Sacrelle. The plan includes four dams, two diversion bays, 12,000m of diversion tunnels and two permanent access roads.
4. Spadina Subway Expansion ($2.63 bil): The line is to extend by 8.7 km extending the subway beyond the Toronto city limits for the first time. Service is expected to commence late 2014 or early 2015. 
5. Albert Clipper Project($2 bil): The pipeline be 1,607km, running from Hardisty, Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin. Expected completion is 2010 with the ability to deliver 450,000 barrels of oil per day with possible expansion to 800,000 barrels per day. It will be the largest pipeline in the world spanning three provinces and four states, the 914mm pipe is Enbridge’s largest project to date.
6. Canada Line ($2 bil):A 19km rail-based rapid transit service will connect downtown Vancouver with central Richmond.
7. Port Mann/Highway 1 Project ($1.6 bil): A 37km widening of Highway 1 from Vancouver to the rest of British Columbia.
8. Keephills 3 Generating Plant($1.6 bil): This 450-megawatt coal-fired generating plant that is 70km west Edmonton, Alberta is said to be doing their part for the environment by using supercritical boiler technology and high-efficiency steam turbines.
9. Autoroute 30($1.5bil): A 42km section that will extend from Veudreuil-Dorion to Chateguay will be a south bypass to greater Montreal
10. Edmonton Ring Road, Anthony Henday Drive NW ($1.42bil): The ring road is to the north end of the city and will be free-flow, with no major traffic lights with 8 interchanges, five flyovers, 2 rail crossings, a total of 27 bridge structures and 21 km of divided 4- to 6-lane highway.

Quebec seems to be the leader in large infrastructure updates. I find it interesting that in there is very little transit incorporated with the highway expansions. Aside from the TTC subway expansion there is no transit initiatives in the top 10. Both the new highway construction and expansions could include a transit-way. I think David Suzuki best sums it up “Essentially, it’s an old-school 1950′s style urban planning plopped into [the] twenty-first century.”

The full report for 2009 could not be found online yet but here is the link for 2008.

It’s one of those days Canadians seem to dread every year, budget day. What will it say? How will it affect me?

As we enter a recession Canadians were even more concerned with the budget. Prior to the holiday break an alliance was formed between the Liberals, the Bloc, and the NDP that threatened to take down the Conservative Government. With the presentation of the budget yesterday both the NDP and the Bloc said that they would reject the budget, but no word from the Liberals.

The Daily Exchange published a good summary from the budget found here.

It’s all in the shoes

Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, delivered the budget message in a pair of work boots. His message was if it’s designed we will build it. It’s time to put shovels in the ground, but of course there is a catch, Municipalities and Provincial governments are required to match the funding in order to receive it. Although the Provinces may be able to do this it will be next to impossible for the municipalities.

Although I haven’t had a chance to get into the budget in depth (but will try to tonight) I didn’t see enough about ‘green’ initiatives. What about tax incentives for reducing your carbon footprint? What about incentives for local farmers? (I’d rather have fruits and vegetables from Ontario rather than China).

Canada vs The US: who will be ‘greener?’

Just south of us President Obama has been asking republicans for advice on developing a budget. Why didn’t Harper go to the Liberals and ask for advice? There would have been more ‘green’ initiatives. It will be interesting to compare what the US and Canada decide to do with their budgets, either way they both come with large deficits.