WGBA Monthly Newsletter
April 2014
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Greetings!

 

Each year, Earth Day -- April 22 -- marks the anniversary of what 

many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

 

The height of hippie and flower-child culture in the United States, 1970 brought the death of Jimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Protest was the order of the day, but saving the planet was not the cause. War raged in Vietnam, and students nationwide increasingly opposed it.

 

At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. "Environment" was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.

 

Although mainstream America remained oblivious to environmental concerns, the stage had been set for change by the publication of Rachel Carson's New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962.  The book represented a watershed moment for the modern environmental movement, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries and, up until that moment, more than any other person, Ms. Carson raised public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment, and public health.

 

Earth Day 1970 capitalized on the emerging consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns front and center.

 

Along the same timeline, the contemporary green building movement arose out of the need and desire for more energy efficient and environmentally friendly building practices. The oil price increases of the 1970s spurred significant research and activity to improve energy efficiency and find renewable energy sources. This, combined with the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s, led to the earliest experiments with contemporary green building.

 

We have come a long way as an industry and I hope you will continue to support the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance and USGBC's efforts to keep it moving forward for the future of our planet, the people living on it, and the economy that supports us.

 

Mark your April calendars and join us to continue creating a more sustainable planet as we celebrate Earth Day. Participate in the Menomonee Valley Clean-Up effort in Milwaukee, or spend a day constructing an outdoor classroom for the Spring Harbor Middle School in Madison.

 

See you soon,

 

 

 

Heather Goetsch

Program Manager

Wisconsin Green Building Alliance

(414) 224-9422

[email protected]

Now available:
LEED v4 candidate handbooks

Starting on June 30, 2014, the LEED Green Associate and LEED AP exams will evolve for the LEED v4 rating system - and the candidate handbooks are now available to help you prepare.

  • The last day to take the credential exams with LEED v2009 content will be June 15, 2014.
  • The first day to take the exams with the new LEED v4 content will be June 30, 2014.
  • No tests will be administered in between these dates.

Don't miss your opportunity to prep for the new LEED GA Exam with our expert, Joe Azzarello. Sign up for the April 24 class!
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