You probably don’t know this, but buildings are the largest contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Making them more energy efficient is one of the most immediate and measurable ways to address this growing concerns. So what about historic sites? Are we contributing to the mess? Can we reduce a site’s impact on the environment without compromising our efforts to preserved them? Please don’t tell me I need to replace windows, use grey water, and install geothermal climate control system.
Let’s start by remembering that by simply reusing an existing building rather than replacing it with a new one makes a tremendous difference. There’s no need to demolish the old building, haul away the lumber and brick, haul in steel and glass to create a new one. When you include all the labor, it becomes quite obvious that historic preservation (and your historic site) makes good economic and environmental sense.
But, of course, we should do more than simply stand satisfied in front of our historic house museum:
1. Examine all of your existing buildings to see if green practices can be incorporated during remodeling or restoration. The Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center, a 1905 Beaux Arts building at President Lincoln’s Cottage, was renovated following both the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The result is a building that preserves most of the historically significant elements and has attained enough points for LEED Gold.
2. Consider how green practices can be incorporated into your daily operations (and life). But before you start a big LEED-rated project, figure out if there are other smaller things you can do now that have a major return on investment. One of the major failures I observe at historic sites is they trip all over themselves to install an expensive climate control system with computerized thermostats but neglect to do basic improvements , such as installing attic insulation, weather-stripping doors and windows, and turning off lights in empty rooms. For ideas and inspiration, see:
- The Green Museum by Sarah Brophy (AltaMira Press, 2008) and her interview at ExhibiTricks.
- Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution—and How It Can Renew America by Thomas Friedman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008)
3. Promote historic preservation as one of the best green practices your city, county, or state can pursue.
- “‘Green’ Buildings Don’t Have to Be New” by Amy Cortese (New York Times, January 27, 2008). The vast stock of older buildings presents a much bigger opportunity to cut down on energy consumption and carbon emissions.
- “How Changes to LEED will Benefit Existing and Historic Buildings” by Barbara Campagna, AIA, LEED AP (Forum News, November/December 2008) and a slightly different version for the American Institute of Architects.
- The National Trust for Historic Preservation has a Historic Preservation and Sustainability page at PreservationNation.org as well as a blog posting the latest developments and ideas.
The Decatur House will be hosting a “green” wedding in April, which suggests there are many other ways to be green at historic sites. Indeed, offering these types of options for existing activities may make your site more attractive to visitors. For more details, check out: http://www.districtweddings.com/planning-a-green-wedding/.