In honor of President’s D
ay, I’d like to salute former president George W. Bush for his creation of the first presidential library that has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification for design and construction; the first presidential library and museum to do so. The George W. Bush Presidential Center houses both the presidential library and museum, as well as the Bush Institute. Located on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, Texas, the center features green roofing systems that work to reduce both heating and cooling demands, solar panels that work to produce both electricity and hot water, and locally sourced building materials. The center also recycles rainwater that will help with irrigation. Materials used in the center include limestone from Central Texas, Permian sea coral limestone from Midland, TX, and Texas mesquite hardwood floors. A 15-acre urban park surrounds the Bush Center included over 900 trees; nearly half transplanted from the Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas. Drought tolerant grasses were used on the lawn, and native grasses and wildflowers adorn the prairie. While we can’t all achieve LEED certification on our home, there are things we can do, such as plant native grasses and plants, capture rainwater for your backyard garden, and use solar panels to reduce use of electricity. For more things you can do, take the HMI Challenge! Happy Presidents Day!