Require of graduating architects full competence to design energy-neutral buildings.

Climate change is one of the most important issues facing our society and the world (more info at www.epa.gov/climatechange/indicators/pdfs/ClimateIndicators_full.pdf). Buildings - both existing and new - consume roughly 49% of all energy consumed by the US economy, and produce roughly 47% of all CO2 emissions of the US economy (more than either transportation or industry). Electricity in particular is a major component of the energy consumption of buildings, and by being produced by power plants - especially coal-fired power plants - loses roughly 70% of its efficiency - between production and transmission - before it reaches you or me as consumers. There are many ways that buildings can be designed to minimize their demand for energy, and architects are key decisionmakers in how buildings are designed. Therefore all graduates from professional schools should be well equipped with the tools, skills and methods to design energy-neutral buildings and projects. Schools are where professional architects are being trained, and the sole US regulating body of these schools, the National Architectural Accrediting Board, has a singular role to play in challenging all US schools of architecture to develop curricula that will produce such fully competent professionals.  

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