Orlando Sentinel Editorial:
Our position: It's great to see "green" development, but more are needed
April 27, 2008: Orange County keeps working at becoming one of the greener counties around. It's trying to get solar and other eco-energy sources to provide at least 15 percent of the power that county-owned buildings will generate in the next 15 years. And it says all new county buildings will meet independent green standards.
Good, as far as that goes.
But the county's not yet requiring the same tough standards of new developments. How many developments have committed to following them anyway? One.
Along a once polluted, recently restored stretch of south Lake Apopka shoreline, Castle & Cooke is building an independently certified green development, where each of its 750 homes will feature double-paned windows, foam insulation and water heaters requiring far less energy than traditional heaters, among other green features.
There will be zoysia instead of water-guzzling St. Augustine grass, and walkways routing rainwater underground. Houses should use 30 percent less energy than traditional homes -- but cost just 2 percent more to build.
The slumping economy makes it a terrible time to start a community, its developer says. Nevertheless, Castle & Cooke didn't hesitate to incorporate the slightly more expensive conservation features. They'll save owners money later, and they're needed so new developments don't reverse the gains fighting climate change found elsewhere.
Castle & Cooke is right. But it needs company. The next important step is for county officials to do more to get other developers to follow its lead.
Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel
Joe Kilsheimer Consulting Inc.
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