LDS Church going green

Excerpts of Going green: Mormon church implements environment-friendly building practices, by Jennifer Dobner, AP
--
The Mormon church — which begins a new construction project on every work day of every week — is looking to lessen its imprint on the environment.

Church officials on Tuesday debuted a pilot building program that features solar panels generating electricity, tankless water heaters, high-tech insulation, motion sensor lighting and other features designed to maximize economic savings and minimize environmental impact.

Outside features include low-water landscaping, sensors that track the weather and automatically shut down sprinkler systems, bike racks and preferred parking for electric or other environmentally friendly vehicles.

The church is showcasing the new building practices at projects in Farmington and Eagle Mountain, Utah, Logandale and Pahrump, Nevada and Apache Junction, Ariz. The facilities all meet the silver-level LEED certification standards of the U.S. Green Building Council, church bishop and senior administrator H. David Burton said.

"We're working very hard to find ways to conserve the precious resource, help with clean air and use those kind of resources that are environmentally responsible," Burton said.

If the new prototypes perform well, the environment-friendly building practices will be implemented on a broad scale, both in new construction and as older buildings need renovations or retrofitting, Burton said.

"Issues that involve the community, involve being good citizens and being responsible citizens, that's not as quantitative," said Burton.