1. What is LEED, and how does adhering to LEED standards help create a story to market the town to the world?

May 4, 2007, started out more or less like any other spring day for the 1,500 residents of Greensburg, Kansas. There was talk of storms later in the day, but few paid much attention—the folks in this rural community had seen their share of storms and knew what to do. Around 9:20 p.m., the storm sirens went off and the residents gathered in their bathrooms and basements to ride out the storm.
Minutes later, the town was gone.
“My town is gone,” announced Town Administrator Steve Hewitt in the first press conference on the next morning. “I believe 95 percent of the homes are gone. Downtown buildings are gone, my home is gone, and we’ve got to find a way to make this work and get this town back on its feet.” With 700 homes to rebuild, the town was essentially a clean slate. Hewitt rallied the town and, in the coming days and weeks, vowed to rebuild to the highest standard of energy efficiency and sustainability in accordance with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.
Thirty-five miles away, Daniel Wallach’s wife Catherine Hart wept as he read the first words of his new business plan: “What if we turned this tragedy into something beautiful?” Wallach and Hart had long been interested in sustainable, green living. Their home was not impacted by the storm, but their hearts were. Wallach and Hart used their experience developing nonprofits to launch Greensburg GreenTown, an organization designed to support resident and business green building efforts through education and fund-raising as well as provide public and media relations for the town.