Green Religion
April 29th 2009 13:06
Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation synagogue in Evanston, Illinois, USA is the only whorsip building in the USA to be awarded the U.S. Green Buildings Council's highest green rating.
The USGBC is a not-for-profit organization that sets standards for green architecture. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the professional standard for sustainable design in the construction industry. The LEED rating system judges five environmental categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources and Indoor Environmental Quality. It is a rigorous system requiring creative integrated design, detailed record keeping and a demanding submission process. There are four levels of LEED certification; Platinum is the highest, requiring fifty-two LEED points. In the end, JRC earned all fifty-three of the LEED points for which we applied!
from the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation websiteWhilst it is an impressive achievement, it means little in comparison with the buildings timeless design, which seems to take styling cues from contemporary residential architecture and echoing some of Walter Burleigh Griffin's flair for combining natural wood with more industrialised steel and concrete components.
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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Comment by Mau-Medellin
Mau-Medellin
Thanks for your comments.
I think this particular story is really inspiring. It seems that even those of faith are now starting to consider how much impact we have on the environment, global warming etc.
Mau-Medellin
Comment by samaritan
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What is sad though is how you said 'even those of faith are now starting to consider how much impact we have on the environment'. I understand completely why you said it, because traditionally chuches haven't been that worried about the environment. But Christians should care about the environment, and the world and nature. I mean, from a Christian perspective, it's God's gift to us. If someone you loves gives you a gift, you take care of it. So why do feel it's okay to treat God's gift to us like it's disposable. Not to mention all the people who will suffer if climate change issues aren't addressed.
Sorry about the rant - this is a big issue for me.
Samaritan
Comment by Mau-Medellin
Mau-Medellin
Yes, that is exactly why I made the statement; and I do stand by it. I think a lot of Christian's are still under the impression that global warming is completely beyond our control - and I'm sure those same people also don't see any connection between progress and the extinction of flora and fauna.
Whilst I don't doubt that many religious groups are doing their bit for the planet, the facts remain that the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation synagogue is the only worship building in the USA to be awarded the U.S. Green Buildings Council's highest green rating. It would however, be interesting to see if other groups have been awarded anything at a lesser level?
Thanks for your comments,
Mau-Medellin
Comment by samaritan
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I agree. Lots of Christians still don't want to think about the environment. I think there's lots of reasons for this. One is they want to focus on people, not nature - even though when nature is affected, it affects people too. And another really silly reasons is they think the end times are here anyway. So why bother saving the world, when it's about to end anyway.
In terms of the building thing, I think one reason for this is the churches who don't care about the environment tend to be the big huge ones that are putting up buildings. The ones that do care tend to be either traditional mainstream churches, that have really beautiful old churches that they meet in - and a decreasing number of people meeting in them. Or they're small groups that meet in places like school halls etc. And so the church buildings being built are likely to be built by those who don't think the environment is important.
I think there probably would be smaller awards that are won by churches. And I know that, in terms of other things besides buildings, churches are doing what they can. And I think that's about all we can do. Most of us don't live in green buildings. But we do what we can with what we have. And there are lots of green initiatives out there from churches that are pretty exciting.
Samaritan
Comment by Janet Collins
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