Greener Than Thou is our report on San Francisco’s obsession with all things green, calling bullshit in the poseurs and lavishing praise on those who have secured their place in environmental paradise. Let it mellow longer than most? Holler!
When it comes to greening San Francisco, what the Gav wants, the Gav gets. His newest victory comes in the form of new nationally-hyped green building codes, singed into law yesterday. The new codes, aimed at water & energy conservation, recycling, and the reduction of carbon emissions, apply to all residential construction and large commercial buildings. They won't all take affect at once though — they'll phased in over the next four years. Large buildings undergoing evaluation according to the infamous LEED rating system will have to meet the less-stringent requirements of the GreenPoint rating system, as will smaller construction projects. Even though the directive has wide support, there are still detractors.
In this case, they're mostly worried about increased costs and possible loss of revenue. To the naysayers of the city, mayor Newsom had this to say: "It requires a mandate in order to get people to do what's in their best interests sometimes. It's called change." Mayor knows best, everyone. Remember that. Plus, he's sure that these new codes will have an impact on more than San Francisco, as his diabolically green master plan comes to fruition and cities across the country begin to follow our pious lead.
· Newsom signs strict green building codes into law [SF Gate]
· Fun With Building Codes: SF Goes Green [Curbed SF]
· Gavin Swears Greening Won't Send city into Red [Curbed SF]
Loading comments...