Green Monster: Red Sox Cash In With Car-Focused Spring Training Park

Remember how the otherwise-green-conscious Red Sox moved to a new spring training facility called JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, FL that virtually forces you to drive there? Turns out there's plenty of green motivation behind the lack of transit and bike parking - the cash kind:

Fort Myers’ coffers retained parking fees collected from Red Sox games under the terms of the city’s 1991 contract.

Today, the teams keep all the money generated from game day parking, tickets sales, concessions and advertising, while the county pays for expansions that increased the teams’ ability to sell those items.

As the article details, Lee County is on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in ballpark costs while the Red Sox and nearby Twins owe only a small fraction of that in lease payments - and that doesn't cover the cost for road expansion & maintenance to bring all those cars to JetBlue Park.

But even with the driving mandate and JetBlue Park's total lack of solar energy despite the park's Sunshine State location, the Red Sox still got a baseline LEED green building certification, because the U.S. Green Building Council apparently is now giving them away to anyone who recycles.

Virginia General Assembly Takes Step Forward on Green Public Buildings

Even through the GOP's war on women's rights down in Richmond, a few rays of sunshine are emerging from the smoke:

Today the Virginia House of Delegates unanimously passed Senator Chap Petersen's “Cost Effective” Public Buildings Act (SB160) which requires state agencies to use environmentally-friendly protocols, such as LEED design and recycled materials, in constructing or renovating state buildings.

"This bill is about saving taxpayer money. It does that by using natural light, conserving electricity and water and reusing materials in new construction. Using these techniques, we will save money," [said Petersen.]

SB160 will require new state buildings to achieve standards such as the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) 'Green' and 'Silver' ratings. LEED buildings use modern technology to recycle materials, conserve energy and water, and lower operational costs. According to Petersen, LEED design techniques increase construction costs by 1-3%, but deliver immediate savings through cheaper utility costs.

Congratulations to Sen. Petersen for sticking with this effort through five frustrating years of inaction in Richmond, and congratulations to Virginia taxpayers, who (assuming Gov. McDonnell signs it) will start saving money soon.

Arlington Free Clinic Sets the (LEED) Gold Standard

Arlington's free clinic has become the first in the nation to become a LEED Gold certified green building:

The facility was designed by Perkins+Will in collaboration with the engineering firm Integral and builder Bognet Construction Associates.

“We wanted a space that would be welcoming and reflect our core values of excellence and respect,” said Free Clinic executive director Nancy Pallesen.

Building green “was the right thing to do,” said Mark Silverwood, a member of the Free Clinic’s board and an adviser during the design and construction process. “Earning LEED Gold shows that even a small non-profit can set the bar high and build a space that benefits the entire community.”

Congrats to the Arlington Free Clinic!