LDS Meeting Houses Might Be Going Green

The LDS Church might be going green by building environmentally friendly chapels. The LDS Church has unveiled a new chapel in Farmington, Utah that will have solar panels on the roof. 

Although the Church has sporadically enganged in earth friendly practices, this might be the new wave of church buildings in the future:  

The LDS Church has long used conservation practices in its buildings — deploying overhangs and verandas to reduce heat load in its structures throughout the world beginning in the 1950s, as well as using a system of several underground spring wells in the early 1970s to enhance the Church Office Building's cooling and heating system.

A meetinghouse in Susanville, Calif., has been totally heated by geothermal energy since the 1980s, and the conversion of the Vernal Tabernacle into the Vernal Temple in the mid-1990s featured reuse and recyle efforts. Based on the church's current "Heritage-T" design, the Farmington prototype has yet to be approved as a standard for the church.

"The early results are so overwhelming that it won't take long to determine where we're going on this," said Bishop Burton. "It's another step in our program to be environmentally responsible."

What are you feelings about the LDS Church's effort to create environmentally friendly and energy efficient buildings?