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Fare, if you must, well
That’s why I cannot write, as some editors do, a column that does nothing more than describe what is in the magazine. You want to know that, go to the contents page. Such a “Here’s what’s here” column is bad, an editor’s cheap way of taking credit for the hard work reporters did. Worse is the farewell column. It is maudlin, self-congratulatory, chocked full of memories and acknowledgements that clearly mean more to the writer than the reader. You want weepy, rent “Titanic.” Good columns entertain, inform or force a reader to reconsider what previously seemed obvious. For instance, no one would, at least in public, deny that green building is good for the industry and the environment. It took years for the idea to take root, and while not yet standard on all construction projects, green building definitely is blooming. Builders now use wood from sustainable forests, high-efficiency lighting, solar heating systems and more recycled material than a Vegas comedian. It’s a wholesale improvement in the industry, and it’s gaining every day. How do I know? Because contractors large and small bellow the news of their latest feats of green wizardry. If a roofer uses recycled shingles, he puts out a press release. If an architect designs a building with a green power source, she lets everyone know about it. It’s exactly what they should do. Green building exists because the industry talks about it. The more builders talk, the more clients listen. It’s a grassroots movement in its purest form, down to its colorful buzzword. But purity, particularly in business, is fleeting. Green building should have locked the door as soon as it arrived. But it didn’t, and in strolled certification. Now, simply building green isn’t good enough. It’s somehow not valid without a level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification attached. Certification isn’t enough either. The U.S. Green Building Council offers, in descending order of cachet, the platinum, gold, silver and bronze LEED certification packages. That costs money. It’s hard to pin down exactly how much (and I have been assured over and over that any cost is recovered in future energy savings), but I have an example. The $20 million Brown County Mental Health Center project, according to a story in The Daily Reporter, is seeking a silver LEED. The actual construction portion of achieving that standard will cost about $180,000. On top of that, the LEED consulting fees and paperwork will run about $100,000. Why does the project need certification? I think it’s because everyone else is doing it. If two side-by-side buildings are equally green, but only one has certification, that’s the one getting the glory, those are the builders glowing with greenness. No doubt the process of certification has standardized a relatively new segment of the industry, but I don’t buy LEED in the sense that it somehow makes green greener. The reward is in doing what is right, not in pointing to a plaque. You might not agree with me, but at least (I hope) I got you thinking. And what’s the alternative? Five hundred words covering as many points from the contents page as possible? And don’t get me started again on the smug farewell columns. The columnist who must write one can achieve some level of quality and dignity by diverting attention from it, for instance, by picking a substantial topic to dominate the column, then, if there is space, to say farewell at the very end. — Chris Thompson, Editor
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If
you’re going to take the time to write a column, you better
make sure you have something worthwhile to say.