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One of Arnold's areas of expertise is the American green building

standard LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). This

is a standard with various quality ratings that is based of five principles:
efficiency in energy consumption, efficiency in water consumption,

quality of isolation in the interior area, efficiency and conservation in
building materials and resources, and planning accessibility for public

transportation and existing infrastructure. Sounds obvious? Well, not at
all. "When (people) speak about pollution and (global) warming [of the

earth], it all starts in the homes, not in the cars. Buildings are the main

world source of CO2 emissions – the heating, the lighting, the
construction (work) itself, the waste, the destruction of the environment –

all these contribute to global warming. More efficient construction, by

means of smart planning of houses and new living areas, changes the
level of pollution considerably. For example, proper [correct] positioning

of homes in relation to the sun can alone reduce energy consumption by

30 percent. This, of course, you can do only before you build. That's why
we must start now – there's no time. Scientists tend to say that we have

ten to twenty years to drastically lower our CO2 emissions."
- In the meantime the United States is the biggest CO2 producer.

"True. Five percent of the world lives in it, and they produce 25 percent

of the carbon quantity. We must change this, and that's what we're
dealing with at the American Green Building Council. It's a non-profit

organization: a coalition of contractors, architects and professionals, who
deal not only with new buildings, but with old buildings as well."

A New Type of American Dream
Arnold doesn't suffice with the economic outlook to justify the green

view. "At the end of the day it's also a moral issue. Religious

communities in the United States and in other countries understand that
the rule of man in the world is not just (about) exploiting resources and

making profits. We have to think of our children and the generations to
come. How will they succeed in correcting all that we‟ve destroyed, if we

don't start outlining the path already from now? This subject busies

Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities, and in the United States they
have a joint umbrella [roof] organization.

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