Opportunities, The Value of LEED and Is Desalination Sustainable??

 

 

 

 

Irving Steel
Founder of Green Drinks – Shanghai
And China Green Advocate

2010=Opportunities
With the start of this New Year there are many reasons to be optimistic. Coming out of 2009 and the Great Recession is going to be difficult but there are an immense amount of opportunities to take advantage of. One of the areas where individuals, companies, investors, and others can truly gain from in 2010 and beyond is in the realm of sustainability.

Simply by making a new project LEED certified in America gives the developer an instant 7% increase return on the investment! The cost of making the project LEED certified generally increases the cost by roughly 3-5% and the real estate value is subsequently increased by 12% according to figures from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).

We hear it all the time but what is sustainability? But most importantly, how much does it cost?
A great definition to think of for sustainability is MIT Sloan School of Management Professor Richard Locke’s: the preservation and stewardship of natural and social resources. Sustainability is about creating a more just and environmentally conscious world through business opportunities.

There are vast amounts of opportunities for companies pushing sustainability but sometimes companies are pushing something completely different. Example: Desalination might seem like a perfect and legitimate way of helping the environment and our water troubles but the simple process does a lot more harm than good--

What is the effect of desalination:

The positive: The International Desalination Association stated that in 2008 desalination plants produced 12 billion gallons of water a day.

The negative: the energy supplying the process, comes largely from fossil fuels causing air and water pollution and green house gas emissions. Additionally, The highly concentrated waste product from the system, brine, is spewed into the ocean or other waterways further contaminating and causing detriment to the ecosystem.

We can take something from Confucius who said, “He who does not think of the future is certain to have immediate worries.” 孔子说：“人没有长远的考虑，就一定会有前的忧愁。”

The push towards water desalination, has been see as an INSTANT CURE to a long term supply problem, which effects billions people.

But, desalination requires huge capital investment. Additionally, desalination plants require ?significant amounts of energy, to sustain. This energy (which is provided by burning coal), indirectly poisons the current water infrastructure.

We must push for more SUSTAINABLE OPTIONS.