Many of us participate in the conversion of family farms and forestland into private and institutional developments as dictated by our clients. We, as professional engineers and architects, strive to lessen the environmental impact of the built environment, but we cannot entirely escape our alteration of the landscape.
The U.S. GBC LEED® standards are terrific guiding principles, regardless of whether the project seeks certification. Low Impact Design (LID) practices for managing stormwater treatment facilities and the practice of maximizing stream buffers have great potential to improve on-site impacts.
I’m a big fan of anything passive, like stormwater infiltration, daylighting, and thoughtful site orientation. Good life-cycle cost analyses are an important part of “selling” some of these practices to our clients.
Similarly, in my personal life I strive to leave a smaller carbon footprint through the choices I am able to control such as where I live, what I purchase, and other actions like recycling. I always try to keep in mind the inescapable truth about our environment–land, water, and air: we’re not making any more of it.
