Eco Only

To get the gold level LEED certification buildings around the great state of Minnesota are turning to setting aside up to 5% of parking spaces nearest the doors (think right next to the handicap spots) of the building for people who drive fuel efficient or hybrid cars.

Personally I think this is bull shit.

1.) Opting for this kind of requirement to help a building get a LEED rating doesn’t really force the building to do anything different. The focus should be more on energy saving or building materials etc that the actual building is made up of…not the kind of cars that the tenants drive.

2.) It is a social-economic penalty. Most fuel efficient cars are new cars. New cars that are not affordable to a large percent of the population. Giving primary parking by the door to people with more money or more ability to pay kind of trumps the first come first served mentality that I think is America. Imagine if the sign said BMW parking only.

3.) I could see the justification if the company offered say outlets for electric cars. This would make sense since logistically at this time on the demand curve for electric cars it would not be feasible to put electric outlets everywhere. You would designate a few spots with outlets and help the people out. I asked the property manager at my school who was putting up a sign for eco-parking if they were reserving the spot to put an outlet in…..he said are you kidding do you know how expensive it would be for us if we let everyone charge their cars here?

This comment led me to believe this whole movement is just a feel good, PR crock of shit, and a social economic slam against poor people who can’t afford the upgrade.

(All that said I believe that eco and electric cars are a great move forward and if you can you should get one)