So this post is a farewell of sorts. And, an introduction that I am very excited about.
The Farewell
I can’t write for this blog anymore. You may have noticed — or not noticed — that I stopped writing about one year ago. It’s not because green building doesn’t interest me any more.
I stopped writing because I just didn’t have anything positive left to say. And that is not what I wanted this blog to be about. I started this blog because I was excited about the green building movement. I started this blog because I had an “Aha!” moment when I studied for the LEED AP exam. I started this blog because I wanted to help design and construction professionals navigate the legal hurdles certain to pop up from the green building movement. I would like to think I helped in some way.
(Quick plug: I also stopped writing because I found a new passion: making ediscovery simple and affordable for small and medium sized law firms. Check out ClaimKit if you are interested).
But along the way, I came across one green building project that is a microcosm for all of the problems facing — and created by — the green building industry. That project is Destiny USA.
I was going to go into all of the details once again regarding that project. But what’s the point? I’ve already written about it extensively. Needless to say, I am skeptical that a mall expansion was deserving of LEED Gold certification or millions of dollars it received in government green subsidies.
An Introduction
Despite my lack of interest, I didn’t want this blog to die because I really appreciate the community that came together around it. I didn’t want this blog to die, because I believe new green building programs, like energy benchmarking, will replace LEED certification as the primary driver of green building development.
Thankfully, I have found someone to take over:
Stuart is one of my favorite people. I often refer to him as the Godfather of green building law. He is the only attorney I know that has figured out how to make a living from green building law. Stuart is incredible at fixing green building problems, whether through contracts, mediation or informal negotiations.
And Stuart tells it like it is.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
So thank you to everyone for reading this blog. Thank you for everyone that contributed. And thank you for giving Stuart a chance — I think you will enjoy his insights.