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VIRGINIA BEACH
Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau officials announced Monday that the convention center has been recognized for environmentally friendly practices.
The green initiatives, cited by the national Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED accreditation panel, include recycling, waste reduction and reduction of water and energy use.
The building is the first of its kind to achieve the designation of "LEED Gold certification for existing buildings," officials said.
“The Virginia Beach Convention Center staff has set a great example for other buildings within the industry and the resort area by working as a team to efficiently perform and operate to LEED standards,” James B. Ricketts, director of the convention center and visitors bureau, said in a news release. “We pride ourselves on being innovative and forward-thinking, and by protecting our environment, we can look ahead to a sustainable and clean future.”
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hmm
you tear down a perfectly usable building and call it green....good snow job
Greenwash
The real question is: how long will it take to recoup the expenses from the investment made into this Green upgrade. Most of this green stuff can take upwards of 100 years to recoup the investments made. Tru-green means creating cheap and emission free electricity at the source to power up the standard light bulbs and neon lights. We won't advance our nation or create any innovations caulking windows and chaning bulbs.
You are off track. We
You are off track. We changed out all of our bulbs and replaced them with LED's 2 years ago. The energy savings were not only from the reduced wattage, but also the reduction in heat which brought our cooling bill down in the summer months. Our change has already paid for the LED's which not only last 10+ years, but saves on having someone replace hundreds of bulbs that would have burned out in the same time.
False
This is mostly misinformation that unfortunately discourages a lot of people for pursuing sustainable building practicing
The truth about go green
its just a coat of green paint on what we have been doing all along - energy conversation. Go Green allows contractors to put on green shirts and charge 3x as much for the same work and then kick back a tax break at government expense that makes the cost 2.8x what it used to be. Instead of going green, i will go do it myself. The other post is right, we have to see what the differential in utility bills are to see if there are any "tangible" savings.
"go green" is irrelevant, whatever it is
This is LEED rating, which is about sustainable design; it has nothing to do with quick fixes, swapping light bulbs, and trumped up labels people can buy to promote themselves w/o actually doing anything.
Lets see the power bills,
Lets see the power bills, and Kw/Hr usage along with natural gas usage of the new center versus the old one. Also the square feet numbers.
Virginia Beach Convention Center earns green distinction
I think that's great! The first LEED EB building in Hampton Roads. What would be even better would be some LEED Certified hotels. Then the Visitor's Bureau could host fully sustainable functions with visitors staying at a "green" hotel and attending a "green" conference. The Virginia Green certification that many hotels have is nice, but it's not nearly as rigorous or universally known as the LEED system.
Congratulations Staff~
This is a tremendous accomplishment and one that our community should be proud of. Go Green!