A Summary of LEED Credits Help Protect Wildlife

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The US Green Building Council (USGBC) values the role that animals play within our planet; thus, they celebrated Wildlife Conservation Day by showing how buildings can help wildlife. The USGBC made some LEED credits to promote this awareness and started a #TheresАCreditForThat hashtag on social media. There was 1 credit/point for "bird collision deterrence". This point is meant to reduce bird injury/mortality from birds colliding with buildings. Up to 1 billion birds are killed due to them colliding into buildings; glass is a major factor in causing this issue.

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56% of collisions occur at 4-11 story buildings, 44% occur at 1-3 story buildings. To earn this credit, use bird-safe glass, patterned stripes/dots on windows, external screens/shutters, or shading to reduce glare/reflection. Also, shut off unnecessary exterior lighting at night and during migration, shut off rooftop and flood lights.

A realistic alternative is to use light motion sensors. There was 1 credit/point for "Light pollution reduction: BD+C, O+M".

This point is meant to increase night sky access and improve nighttime visibility. Light can interrupt night hunters and mating patterns. Also, moths can be killed by outdoor lights, and birds rely on the stars to navigate (and they can't due to light pollution). A way to reduce light pollution is to advocate a city to do a "lights out program” to raise awareness or adopt the "BUG rating method" which will reveal ways to reduce light pollution for a particular home/building. There is 1-2 credits/points for "protect or restore habitat: BD+C, O+M".

This point is meant to conserve existing natural areas and restore damaged ones. Protecting and restoring a habitat is essential to maintaining an ecosystem's health. Every project can get this credit; places that have disturbed areas can try to restore it by landscape design that replants native plants and revives soil. For existing buildings that truly cannot do anything, those buildings should try to provide financial support to a conservation effort. The Stuckeman building has LEED Gold for many reasons, including its dedication to Sustainable Sites. To fulfill this attribute, they used 95% recycled content from Revere Company, 94% recycled products from Ohio Steel Company, and the plywood was sustainably harvested from Forest Stewardship Certified Lumber. Also, 79% of the construction waste was recycled. Thus, they reused existing buildings and/or sites and protected natural areas (by using wood that was sustainably harvested).

Additionally, they reduced the need for automobile use by including showers so that someone can use a bike as transportation and then they can shower afterwards. Lastly, bike racks are at the front of the building. Another reason they got LEED gold was their dedication to Indoor Environmental Quality To fulfill this requirement, they have an interior sustainable feature with automatic daylight lighting controls and an HVAC system with natural ventilation in certain weather conditions. The HVAC system also reduces energy and need for the usual heating and cooling system. Thus, they have established good indoor air quality, ensured thermal comfort and systems controllability, managed indoor pollution (by natural ventilation), and the lighting provides a connection with the outdoors. A way to improve the builder's score in the "Water Efficiency" category is to install 1) automatic sinks and 2) automatic and low flow urinals/toilets. People leave sinks on, and the toilets were the standard ones used in all other buildings.

Leachate is the liquid that drains or leaches from the waste in a landfill. Leachate occurs because precipitation (liquids in waste or just due to liquids made from the waste) filters through the waste naturally. Also, rainfall or drainage can make leachate occur. Postconsumer recyclables are recyclables that have been used for their intended purposes (e.g. newspaper) whereas preconsumer recyclables are recyclables that are recycled before being used as a product. In other words, preconsumer recyclables have not yet been used for their intended purposes. Also, preconsumer recyclables are not included in EPA data and are not counted in laws mandating government purchases of products with recyclable content. Byproducts of paper, plastic, glass and aluminum are:

Paper: napkins, cardboard/paperboard, printing paper, shoe boxes, tablet backs. Plastic: soft drink bottles, detergent bottles, trash cans, carpeting, surfboards.
Glass: glass polymer composites, fiberglass, abrasives, reflective paint, aggregate for concrete.
Aluminum: soft drink cans, beer cans, pie pans, aluminum foil, parts of small appliances.

Positives and Negatives of the byproducts are:

Paper: It is good to recycle paper because it cannot be recycled repeatedly; the fibers eventually break down (which is a negative). A positive is that most of the recycled paper can be produced into some other paper product. A negative is that there is an additional de-inking which increases costs of recycling.
Plastic: A big problem with plastics is that there are a lot of toxic chemicals within them, so they must be recycled very carefully.

A negative of recycling plastics is that one plastic container with a different container than the machine is suppose to handle, can ruin the whole process and cost a lot of money. A positive is that some plastic can be put into plastic lumber, which resists insect and weather damage (but it costs more). Another negative is that when recycling the plastic, some of the toxic chemicals can be emitted in the atmosphere.

Glass: A negative with recycling glass is that a lot of glass bottles have metal caps or rings that need to be taken away to properly recycle the glass. Also, certain types of glasses melt at different temperatures.

Additionally, glasses need to be recycled by color. A positive of glass is that it is 100% recyclable when properly recycled. Also, money is saved the more glass is recycled over and over again.

Aluminum: A positive of aluminum is that aluminum cans can be recycled into more aluminum cans. Also, 2-3% of the energy to make a new aluminum can is used to make a recycled one. A negative is that aluminum from home appliances and furniture cannot be recycled.