title: Alexander Acosta

text: The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held confirmation hearings on March 22, 2017, and Acosta's nomination was reported out of the committee on March 30, 2017.


title: Alexander Acosta

text: On April 27, 2017, Acosta was confirmed as Secretary of Labor by the U.S. Senate in a 60–38 vote. He received the support of eight Democratic Senators and all Republican senators except Senator Pat Toomey, who did not participate in the vote. On April 28, 2017, Acosta was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence.


title: Alexander Acosta

text: In 2019, Acosta proposed cutting the funding of his department's International Labor Affairs Bureau from $68 million in 2018 to under $20 million in 2020. That agency combats human trafficking (including child sex trafficking), child labor and forced labor internationally.


title: Alexander Acosta

text: During Acosta's confirmation hearing, he discussed the need and his support of apprenticeship as a workforce development tool to close the skills gap. On June 15, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13801, "Presidential Executive Order Expanding Apprenticeships in America," establishing the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion with Acosta serving as the chair. The task force held five public meetings and issued their final report to President Trump on May 10, 2018.


title: Alexander Acosta

text: Following the task force final report, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the following initiatives to expand and promote apprenticeship opportunities:


title: Alexander Acosta

text: Acosta resigned as Labor Secretary, effective July 19, 2019, following criticism of his role in the Epstein case.


title: Alexander Acosta

text: Acosta has twice been named one of the nation's 50 most influential Hispanics by "Hispanic Business Magazine". He serves or served on the Florida Innocence Commission, on the Florida Supreme Court's Commission on Professionalism, Florida Supreme Court's Access to Justice Commission, and on the Commission for Hispanic Rights and Responsibilities. In 2008, Acosta was named as one of the 100 most influential people in business ethics by the Ethisphere Institute.


title: XE.com

text: Xe.com (Xe) is a Canada-based online foreign exchange tools and services company headquartered in Newmarket, Ontario. It is best known for its online currency converter application offers exchange rate information, international money transfers, and other currency-related services via its website, mobile apps, and other online channels. It has been a subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide since 2015.


title: XE.com

text: , independent ranking site Alexa ranked Xe in the top 500 of all sites worldwide by traffic, and a top 100 traffic site in Ireland, South Africa, and the UAE. As of 2016, Xe claimed that its services attracted over 280 million unique visitors annually.


title: XE.com

text: Xe's name at founding was Xenon Laboratories Incorporated and originally, the company provided computer consulting and Internet services to businesses. In December 1994, the company registered the domain name Xe.com, choosing the letters Xe from the two-letter atomic symbol for Xenon. A year later, the company launched a currency converter, providing live currency information online.


title: XE.com

text: In early 2001, as the Internet became more prevalent, the company formally changed its name to Xe.com Inc. and focused its efforts on its website and online currency tools. In 2002, Xe launched an international money transfer service called Xe Trade. In 2016, Xe Trade was rebranded as Xe Money Transfer. Offered online, this service allows both consumers and businesses to send funds internationally.


title: XE.com

text: On July 6, 2015, electronic payments provider Euronet Worldwide, Inc. announced that it had acquired Xe.


title: XE.com

text: In December 2018, Xe merged with sister company HiFX and the two companies will continue to do business under the Xe brand name.


title: XE.com

text: Xe.com offers various free online currency tools, including the Xe Currency Converter which allows visitors to check live exchange rates of any world currency. The website also offers free historical charts and rate tables. The company provides a foreign exchange service (Xe Money Transfer) and a commercial currency data feed service (Xe Currency Data) that offers accurate and reliable exchange rates for businesses.


title: XE.com

text: Other features include customized converters, a currency encyclopedia, travel expense calculator, and forex currency news. In 2009, the company introduced a free mobile app (Xe Currency) on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Windows 8, and Firefox OS devices. In early 2013, a paid version (Xe Currency Pro) was made available for iPhone users. In September 2016, the Xe Currency App reached over 55 million downloads.


title: LEED

text: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes, and neighborhoods, which aims to help building owners and operators be environmentally responsible and use resources efficiently.


title: LEED

text: By 2015, there were over 80,000 LEED-certified buildings and over 100,000 LEED-accredited professionals. Most LEED-certified buildings are located in major U.S. metropolises. LEED Canada has developed a separate rating system adapted to the Canadian climate and regulations.


title: LEED

text: Some U.S. federal agencies, state and local governments require or reward LEED certification. This can include tax credits, zoning allowances, reduced fees, and expedited permitting. Studies have found that for-rent LEED office spaces generally have higher rents and occupancy rates and lower capitalization rates.


title: LEED

text: LEED is a design tool rather than a performance-measurement tool and focuses on energy modeling rather than actual energy consumption. It lacks climate specificity, and has been criticized for a point system that can encourage inappropriate design choices and make energy conservation the weakest part of the evaluation. It has also been criticized for the phenomenon of "LEED brain" in which the public relations value of LEED certification drives the development of buildings.


title: LEED

text: Development of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program began in 1993, spearheaded by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) senior scientist Robert K. Watson and supported by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Among the contributors to the initial guidelines were J. D. Polk, co-founder of Solar Cells, Inc. (now First Solar), and solar-power advocate Lawton Chiles, the Governor of Florida at the time. Watson led a broad-based consensus process for two decades, bringing together non-profit organizations, government agencies, architects, engineers, developers, builders, product manufacturers and other industry leaders.


title: LEED

text: The USGBC Board of Directors was chaired by Steven Winter from 1999 to 2003. At that time, USGBC's Senior Vice President of LEED, Scot Horst, became chair of the LEED Steering Committee before joining USGBC staff. Early LEED committee members also included USGBC co-founder Mike Italiano, architects Bill Reed and Sandy Mendler, builders Gerard Heiber and Myron Kibbe, and engineer Richard Bourne. As interest in LEED grew, engineers Tom Paladino and Lynn Barker co-chaired the LEED technical committee, formed .


title: LEED

text: From 1994 to 2015, LEED grew from one standard for new construction to a comprehensive system of interrelated standards covering aspects from the design and construction to the maintenance and operation of buildings. LEED also grew from six committee volunteers to an organization of 119,924 staff, volunteers and professionals.


title: LEED

text: Many U.S. federal agencies, states, and local governments require or reward LEED certification. the leading four states, based on certified square feet per capita were Illinois, Washington, Massachusetts, and Colorado.


title: LEED

text: However, lumber, chemical and plastics trade groups have lobbied to weaken the application of LEED guidelines in several southern states. In 2013, the states of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi effectively banned the use of LEED in new public buildings, in favor of other industry standards that the USGBC considers too lax.


title: LEED

text: Unlike model building codes, such as the International Building Code, only members of the USGBC and specific "in-house" committees may add to, subtract from, or edit the standard, subject to an internal review process. Proposals to modify the LEED standards are offered and publicly reviewed by USGBC's member organizations, which number almost 6660.


title: LEED

text: USGBC's Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) offers various accreditations to people who demonstrate knowledge of the LEED rating system, including LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP), LEED Green Associate, and LEED Fellow. GBCI also certifies projects pursuing LEED.


title: LEED

text: LEED has evolved since 1998 to more accurately represent and incorporate emerging green building technologies. The pilot version, LEED New Construction (NC) v1.0, led to LEED NCv2.0, LEED NCv2.2 in 2005, LEED 2009 ( LEED v3) in 2009, and LEED v4 in November 2013. LEED 2009 was depreciated for new projects registered from October 31, 2016.


title: LEED

text: LEED also forms the basis for other sustainability rating systems such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Labs21 and LEED Canada. The Australian Green Star is based on both LEED and the UK's Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM).


title: LEED

text: LEED 2009 encompasses ten rating systems for the design, construction and operation of buildings, homes and neighborhoods. Five overarching categories correspond to the specialties available under the LEED professional program. That suite consists of:


title: LEED

text: LEED v3 aligned credits across all LEED rating systems, weighted by environmental priority. It reflects a continuous development process, with a revised third-party certification program and online resources.


title: LEED

text: Under LEED 2009, an evaluated project scores points to a possible maximum of 100 across six categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environment quality (IEQ) and design innovation. Each of these categories also includes mandatory requirements, which receive no points. Up to 10 additional points may be earned: 4 for regional priority credits and 6 for innovation in design. Additional performance categories for residences (LEED for Homes) recognize the importance of transportation access, open space, and outdoor physical activity outdoors, and the need for buildings and settlements to educate occupants.


title: LEED

text: The aim of LEED 2009 is to allocate points "based on the potential environmental impacts and human benefits of each credit". These are weighed using the environmental impact categories of the EPA's Tools for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other Environmental Impacts (TRACI) and the environmental-impact weighting scheme developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).


title: LEED

text: Prior to LEED 2009 evaluation and certification, a building must comply with environmental laws and regulations, occupancy scenarios, building permanence and pre-rating completion, site boundaries and area-to-site ratios. Its owner must share data on the building's energy and water use for five years after occupancy (for new construction) or date of certification (for existing buildings).


title: LEED

text: The credit weighting process has the following steps: First, a collection of reference buildings are assessed to estimate the environmental impacts of similar buildings. NIST weightings are then applied to judge the relative importance of these impacts in each category. Data regarding actual impacts on environmental and human health are then used to assign points to individual categories and measures. This system results in a weighted average for each rating scheme based upon actual impacts and the relative importance of those impacts to human health and environmental quality.


title: LEED

text: The LEED council also appears to have assigned credit and measured weighting based upon the market implications of point allocation.


title: LEED

text: From 2010, buildings can use carbon offsets to achieve green power credits for LEED-NC (new construction certification).


title: LEED

text: For LEED BD+C v4 credit, the IEQ category addresses thermal, visual, and acoustic comfort as well as indoor air quality. Laboratory and field research have directly linked occupants' satisfaction and performance to the building's thermal conditions. Energy reduction goals can be supported while improving thermal satisfaction. For example, providing occupants control over the thermostat or operable windows allows for comfort across a wider range of temperatures.


title: LEED

text: On April 2, 2019, the USGBC released LEED v4.1, a new version of the LEED green building program, designed for use with cities, communities and homes.


title: LEED

text: In 2003, the Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC) received permission to create LEED Canada-NC v1.0, which was based upon LEED-NC 2.0. As of 2021, Canada ranked second in the world (not including the USA) in its number of LEED-certified projects and square feet of space. Buildings in Canada such as Winnipeg's Canadian Museum for Human Rights are LEED certified due to practices including the use of rainwater harvesting, green roofs, and natural lighting.


title: LEED

text: As of March 18, 2022, the Canada Green Building Council took over direct oversight for LEED™ green building certification of projects in Canada, formerly done by GBCI Canada. CAGBC will continue to work with Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) and USGBC while consolidating certification and credentialing for CAGBC's Zero Carbon Building Standards, LEED, TRUE, and Investor Ready Energy Efficiency (IREE).


title: LEED

text: LEED certification is granted by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), which arranges third-party verification of a project's compliance with the LEED requirements. The certification process for design teams consists of the design application, under the purview of the architect and the engineer and documented in the official construction drawings, and the construction application, under the purview of the building contractor and documented during the construction and commissioning of the building.


title: LEED

text: A fee is required to register the building, and to submit the design and construction applications. Total fees are assessed based on building area, ranging from a minimum of $2,900 to over $1 million for a large project. "Soft" costs – i.e., added costs to the building project to qualify for LEED certification – may range from 1% to 6% of the total project cost. The average cost increase was about 2%, or an extra $3–$5 per square foot.


title: LEED

text: The application review and certification process is conducted through LEED Online, USGBC's web-based service. The GBCI also utilizes LEED Online to conduct their reviews.


title: LEED

text: Applicants have the option of achieving credit points by building energy models. One model represents the building as designed, and a second model represents a baseline building in the same location, with the same geometry and occupancy. Depending on location (climate) and building size, the standard provides requirements for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system type, and wall and window definitions. This allows for a comparison with emphasis on factors that heavily influence energy consumption. The number of points achieved in this credit is proportional to the predicted energy savings.


title: LEED

text: This method has been criticized for inaccurately predicting actual energy usage. The USGBC admits that "current information indicates that most buildings do not perform as well as design metrics indicate. As a result, building owners might not obtain the benefits promised."


title: LEED

text: The process of the LEED for Homes rating system, available in the U.S., Canada and Sweden, differs significantly from the LEED NC rating system. LEED for Homes projects are low-rise residential and are required to work with either an American or a Canadian provider organization and a green rater. The provider organization helps the project through the process while overseeing the green raters, individuals who conduct two mandatory site inspections: the thermal bypass inspection and the final inspection. Although LEED for Homes is typically viewed by the construction industry as a simpler rating system than LEED NC, the latter does not require an on-site inspection. The provider and rater assist in the certification process but do not themselves certify the project.


title: LEED

text: Research papers provide most of what is known about the performance and effectiveness of LEED in two credit category areas: energy and indoor environment quality (IEQ). In one study of 953 New York City office buildings, 21 LEED certified buildings collectively showed no energy savings compared with non-LEED buildings, although LEED Gold buildings "outperformed other NYC office buildings by 20%". IEQ-related studies provide two contrasting results: the first used occupant survey results in 65 LEED buildings and 79 non-LEED buildings and concluded that occupants of both groups had equal satisfaction with the building overall and with the workspace. The second IEQ study used occupant interviews and physical site measurements at 12 LEED buildings to report superior indoor environment performance compared with 12 similar non-certified buildings.


title: LEED

text: Buildings certified under LEED do not have to prove energy or water efficiency in practice to receive LEED certification points, but instead LEED uses modeling software to predict future energy use based on intended use. This has led to criticism of LEED's ability to accurately determine the efficiency of buildings. The USGBC has noted that "Buildings have a poor track record for performing as predicted during design."


title: LEED

text: In 2009, architectural scientist Guy Newsham (et al.) of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) analyzed a database of 100 LEED certified (v3 or earlier version) buildings. In this study, each building was paired with a conventional "twin" building within the Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) database according to building type and occupancy. On average, LEED buildings consumed 18 to 39% less energy by floor area than the conventional buildings, although 28 to 35% of LEED-certified buildings used more energy. The paper found no correlation between the number of energy points achieved or LEED certification level and measured building performance.


title: LEED

text: In 2009 physicist John Scofield published an article in response to Newsham et al., analyzing the same database of LEED buildings and arriving at different conclusions. Scofield criticized the earlier analysis for focusing on energy per floor area instead of a total energy consumption. Scofield considered source energy (accounting for energy losses during generation and transmission) as well as site energy, and used area-weighted energy use intensities (EUIs) (energy per unit area per year), when comparing buildings to account for the fact that larger buildings tend to have larger EUIs. Scofield concluded that, collectively, the LEED-certified buildings showed no significant source energy consumption savings or greenhouse gas emission reductions when compared to non-LEED buildings, although they did consume 10–17% less site energy.


title: LEED

text: In 2013 Scofield analyzed 21 LEED-certified buildings in New York City. He found that LEED-Gold buildings used 20% less source energy while Silver and Certified buildings used 11 to 15% more source energy, on average, than did their conventional counterparts.


title: LEED

text: In 2014, architect Gwen Fuertes and engineer Stefano Schiavon developed the first study that analyzes plug loads using LEED-documented data from certified projects. The study compared plug load assumptions made by 92 energy modeling practitioners against ASHRAE and Title 24 requirements, and the evaluation of the plug load calculation methodology used by 660 LEED-CI and 429 LEED-NC certified projects. They found that energy modelers only considered the energy consumption of predictable plug loads, such as refrigerators, computers and monitors. Overall the results suggested a disconnection between assumptions in the models and the actual performance of buildings.


title: LEED

text: Energy modeling might be a source of error during the LEED design phase. Engineers Christopher Stoppel and Fernanda Leite evaluated the predicted and actual energy consumption of two twin buildings using the energy model during the LEED design phase and the utility meter data after one year of occupancy. The study's results suggest that mechanical systems turnover and occupancy assumptions significantly differ from predicted to actual values.


title: LEED

text: Most of the current analysis of LEED buildings focuses on LEED v3 (2009) or earlier versions rather than LEED v4 (2014) certification. According to Newsham et al., these analyses should be considered as preliminary and should be repeated with longer data history and larger building samples, including new LEED v4 certified buildings. Newsham et al. also noted that further work needs to be done to define green-building rating schemes to ensure more consistent and substantial long-term reduction of energy consumption at the individual building level.


title: LEED

text: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines indoor environmental quality (IEQ) as "the quality of a building's environment in relation to the health and wellbeing of those who occupy space within it." The USGBC includes the following considerations for attaining IEQ credits: indoor air quality, the level of volatile organic compounds (VOC), lighting, thermal comfort, and daylighting and views. In consideration of a building's indoor environmental quality, published studies have also included factors such as: acoustics, building cleanliness and maintenance, colors and textures, workstation size, ceiling height, window access and shading, surface finishes, furniture adaptability and comfort.


title: LEED

text: In 2013, a paper published by Schiavon and architectural physicist Sergio Altamonte studied occupant IEQ satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED buildings. Using occupant surveys from the Center for the Built Environment at Berkeley database, 65 LEED-certified and 79 non-LEED buildings were analyzed for 15 IEQ-related factors. These factors include the ease of interaction, building cleanliness, the comfort of furnishing, the amount of light, building maintenance, colors and textures, workplace cleanliness, the amount of space, furniture adjustability, visual comfort, air quality, visual privacy, noise, temperature, and sound privacy. The results showed occupants tend to be slightly more satisfied in LEED buildings for the air quality and slightly more dissatisfied with the amount of light. The overall finding was that there was no significant influence of LEED certification on occupant satisfaction in consideration of the overall building and workspace ratings. The paper noted that the data may not be representative of the entire building stock and a randomized approach was not used in the data assessment.


title: LEED

text: Based on similar dataset (21,477 occupants) in 2013, Schiavon and Altomonte found that occupants have equivalent satisfaction levels in LEED and non-LEED buildings when evaluated independently from the following factors: office type, spatial layout, distance from windows, building size, gender, age, type of work, time at workspace, and weekly working hours. LEED certified buildings may provide higher satisfaction in open spaces than in enclosed offices, in smaller buildings than in larger buildings, and to occupants having spent less than one year in their workspaces rather than to those who have used their workspace longer. The study also notes that the positive value of LEED certification from the aspect of occupant satisfaction may tend to decrease with time.


title: LEED

text: In 2015, a study on indoor environmental quality and the potential health benefits of green-certified buildings was developed by environmental health scientist Joseph Allen (et al.) showing that green buildings provide better indoor environmental quality with direct benefits to human health of occupants of those buildings in comparison to non-green buildings. One of the limitations of the study was the use of subjective health performance indicators since there is a lack of definition on such indicators by current studies.


title: LEED

text: Newsham et al. published a detailed study on IEQ and LEED buildings in August 2013. Field studies and post-occupancy evaluations (POE) were performed in 12 green and 12 conventional buildings across Canada and the northern United States. On-site, 974 workstations were measured for thermal conditions, air quality, acoustics, lighting, workstation size, ceiling height, window access and shading, and surface finishes. Responses were positive in the areas of environmental satisfaction, satisfaction with thermal conditions, satisfaction with outside views, aesthetic appearance, reduced disturbance from HVAC noise, workplace image, night-time sleep quality, mood, physical symptoms, and reduced number of airborne particulates. The results showed green buildings exhibited superior performance compared with similar conventional buildings.


title: LEED

text: A 2017 study by Altomonte, Schiavon, et al. investigated whether a green rating itself leads to higher occupant satisfaction with IEQ. Based on the analysis of a subset of the CBE Occupant IEQ including 11,243 responses from 93 LEED-certified office buildings, this study found that the achievement of a specific IEQ credit did not substantially increase the satisfaction with the corresponding IEQ factor. In addition, the rating level and version of the certification had no impact on workplace satisfaction. There are some possible explanations. Many intervening factors in the time between design and occupancy can alter the existence or performance of the strategies that LEED awarded. IEQ certification metrics also face the challenges from substantial differences that characterize the modern workplace in terms of spatial needs, task requirements, users' characteristics, and disciplines of product design and marketing. Survey participants may also misinterpret the satisfaction with an IEQ parameter, or bias with personal attitudes.


title: LEED

text: The daylight credit was updated in LEED v4 to include a simulation option for daylight analysis that uses spatial daylight autonomy (SDA) and annual sunlight exposure (ASE) metrics to evaluate daylight quality in LEED projects. SDA is a metric that measures the annual sufficiency of daylight levels in interior spaces and ASE describes the potential for visual discomfort by direct sunlight and glare. These metrics are approved by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) and codified in the LM-83-12 standard. LEED recommends a minimum of 300 lux for at least 50% of total occupied hours of the year for at least 55% of the occupied floor area. The threshold recommended by LEED for ASE is that no more than 10% of regularly occupied floor area can be exposed to more than 1000 lux of direct sunlight for more than 250 hours per year. Additionally, LEED requires window shades to be closed when more than 2% of a space is subject to direct sunlight above 1000 lux. According to building scientist Christopher Reinhart, the direct sunlight requirement is a very stringent approach that can discourage good daylight design. Reinhart proposed the application of the direct sunlight criterion only in spaces that require stringent control of sunlight (e.g. desks, white boards, etc.).


title: LEED

text: Innovation in LEED architecture is linked with new designs and high-quality construction. One example is use of nanoparticle technology for consolidation and conservation effects in cultural heritage buildings. This practice began with the use of calcium hydroxide nano-particles in porous structures to improve mechanical strength. Titanium, silica, and aluminum-based compounds may also be used.


title: LEED

text: Material technology and construction techniques could be among first issues to consider in building design. For the facade of high-rise buildings, such as the Empire State Building, the surface area provides opportunities for design innovation. New York City has five other high rise green buildings; Bank of America Building (One Bryant Park), Hearst Building, One World Trade Center, The New York Times Building and Condé Nast Building. VOC released from construction materials into the air is another challenge to address.


title: LEED

text: In Milan, a university-corporate partnership sought to produce semi-transparent solar panels to take the place of ordinary windows in glass-facade high-rise buildings. Similar concepts are under development elsewhere, with considerable market potential.


title: LEED

text: The Manzara Adalar skyscraper project in Istanbul, designed by Zaha Hadid, saw considerable innovation as part of the Urban Transformation Project of the Kartal port region.


title: LEED

text: Extreme structures that have received LEED certification include: Amorepacific Headquarters in Seoul by David Chipperfield Architects; Project: Brave New World: SFMOMA by Snøhetta in San Francisco, California; Project: UFO in a Sequinned Dress: Centro Botín in Santander by Renzo Piano; Building Workshop in Zusammenarbeit with Luis Vidal + Architects, in Santander, Spain; and Project: Vertical factory: Office building in London by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris in London.


title: LEED

text: A 2003 analysis of the savings from green building found in a review of 60 LEED buildings that these buildings were, on average, 25–30% more energy efficient. It also attributed substantial benefits to the increased productivity from the better ventilation, temperature control, lighting control, and reduced indoor air pollution.


title: LEED

text: From a financial perspective, several 2008 studies found that LEED for-rent office spaces generally charged higher rent and had higher occupancy rates. Analysis of CoStar Group property data estimated the extra cost for the minimum benefit at 3%, with an additional 2.5% for silver-certified buildings. More recent studies have confirmed these earlier findings in that certified buildings achieve significantly higher rents, sale prices and occupancy rates as well as lower capitalization rates, potentially reflecting lower investment risk.


title: LEED

text: LEED focuses on the design of the building and not on its actual energy consumption, and therefore it has been suggested that LEED buildings should be tracked to discover whether the potential energy savings from the design are being used in practice.


title: LEED

text: The USGBC and Canada Green Building Council maintain online directories of U.S. LEED-certified and LEED Canada-certified projects. In 2012 the USGBC launched the Green Building Information Gateway (GBIG) to connect green building efforts and projects worldwide. It provides searchable access to a database of activities, buildings, places and collections of green building-related information from many sources and programs, including LEED projects.


title: LEED

text: The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) describes its LEED professional accreditation as "demonstrat[ing] current knowledge of green building technologies, best practices" and the LEED rating system, to assure the holder's competency as one of "the most qualified, educated, and influential green building professionals in the marketplace." Credentials include the LEED Green Associate and the various types of specialized LEED Accredited Professionals (AP).


title: LEED

text: LEED-certified buildings are intended to use resources more efficiently when compared to conventional structures inspected only to mandatory building codes. However, analysis of energy and water use data from New York City shows that LEED certification does not necessarily make a building more energy or water efficient.


title: LEED

text: Often, when a LEED rating is pursued, the cost of initial design and construction rises. There may be a lack of abundant availability of manufactured building components that meet LEED specifications. There are also added costs in USGBC correspondence, LEED design-aide consultants, and the hiring of the required Commissioning Authority, which are not in themselves necessary for an environmentally responsible project.


title: LEED

text: Proponents argue that these higher initial costs can be mitigated by the savings incurred over time due to projected lower-than-industry-standard operational costs typical of a LEED certified building. This life cycle costing is a method for assessing the total cost of ownership, taking into account all costs of acquiring, owning and operating, and the eventual disposal of a building. Additional economic payback may come in the form of employee productivity gains incurred as a result of working in a healthier environment. Studies suggest that an initial up-front investment of 2% extra yields over ten times that initial investment over the life cycle of the building.


title: LEED

text: The USGBC has stated support for Architecture 2030, an effort that has set a goal for a building to operate with no greenhouse-gas-emitting energy by 2030. In progression toward this, from LEED's existing certifications, the Living Building Challenge (LBC) is currently the most stringent sustainable design protocol. It sets 20 imperatives that compel building owners, designers, operators and tenants beyond current LEED rating levels.


title: LEED

text: LEED is a design tool and not a performance measurement tool. It is also not yet climate-specific, although the newest version hopes to partially address this. Because of this, designers may be encouraged to make design choices to gain a LEED point, even though this choice is not optimal for the specific project. Additionally, LEED is not energy-specific; it only measures overall performance, allowing builders to choose how to achieve points under various categories. A "USA Today" review showed that 7,100 certified commercial building projects targeted cheap and easy green points, such as creating healthy spaces and providing educational displays in the building. Few builders adopted renewable energy because of the initial cost. Builders game the rating system and use certain performances to compensate for the others, and energy conservation becomes the weakest part in the overall evaluation.


title: LEED

text: LEED has been developed and continuously modified by workers in the green building industry, especially in the ten largest metro areas in the U.S.; however, LEED certified buildings have been slower to penetrate small and middle markets. There has been criticism that the LEED rating system is not sensitive and does not vary enough with regard to local environmental conditions. For instance, a building in Maine would receive the same credit as a building in Arizona for water conservation, though the principle is more important in the latter case. Another complaint is that certification costs could be better used to make the project more sustainable. Many critics have noted that compliance and certification costs have grown faster than staff support from the USGBC.


title: LEED

text: For existing buildings, LEED has developed LEED-EB. Research has demonstrated that buildings that can achieve LEED-EB equivalencies can generate a tremendous return-on-investment. In a 2008 white paper by the Leonardo Academy comparing LEED-EB buildings vs. data from BOMA's Experience Exchange Report 2007 demonstrated LEED-EB certified buildings achieved superior operating-cost savings in 63% of the buildings surveyed ranging from $4.94 to $15.59 per square foot of floor space. The overall cost of LEED-EB implementation and certification ranged from $0.00 to $6.46 per square foot of floor space, demonstrating that implementation is not expensive, especially in comparison to cost savings.


title: LEED

text: Many federal, state, and local governments and school districts have adopted various types of LEED initiatives and incentives. Many local governments have adopted LEED incentive programs, which can include tax credits, tax breaks, density zoning bonuses, reduced fees, priority or expedited permitting, free or reduced-cost technical assistance, grants and low-interest loans.


title: LEED

text: Cincinnati, Ohio, adopted a measure providing an automatic 100% real property tax exemption of the assessed property value for newly constructed or rehabilitated commercial or residential properties that earn a minimum of LEED Certified. In Nevada, construction materials for a qualifying LEED building are exempt from local taxes. Pieces of construction that are deemed 'inseparable parts', such as concrete or drywall, qualify. Maryland's High Performance Buildings Act (2008) requires all new public construction and renovations greater than to meet LEED Silver standard or two Green Globes. Between 2009 and 2014, the state is required to fund half of the required additional cost for public school construction or renovation to attain that standard.


title: LEED

text: In June 2013, USGBC announced a promotion called LEED Earth that refunds LEED certification fees to the first LEED-certified project in a country that doesn't have one.


title: LEED

text: The Philip Merrill Environmental Center was the first building to receive a LEED-Platinum rating, version 1.0. It was recognized as one of the "greenest" buildings constructed in the U.S. in 2001 at the time it was built. Sustainability issues ranging from energy use to material selection were given serious consideration throughout design and construction of this facility.


title: LEED

text: The first LEED platinum-rated building outside the U.S. is the CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre (CII GBC) in Hyderabad, India, certified in 2003 under LEED version 2.0.


title: LEED

text: Pittsburgh's David L. Lawrence Convention Center was the first Gold LEED-certified convention center and largest "green" building in the world when it opened in 2003. It earned Platinum certification in 2012, becoming the only convention center with certifications for both the original building and new construction.


title: LEED

text: In Pittsburgh, the visitor's center of Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens received a Silver certification, its Center for Sustainable Landscapes received a Platinum certification and fulfilled the Living Building Challenge for net-zero energy, and its greenhouse facility received Platinum certification.


title: LEED

text: Also in Pittsburgh, Sota Construction Services' corporate headquarters, which features a super-efficient thermal envelope using cob walls, a geothermal well, radiant heat flooring, a roof-mounted solar panel array, and daylighting features. It earned a LEED Platinum rating in 2012 with one of the highest scores by percentage of total points earned in any LEED category, making it one of the top ten greenest buildings in the world.


title: LEED

text: The Cashman Equipment building is the first construction equipment dealership to receive LEED certification. It is the largest LEED industrial complex in Nevada. Caterpillar corporate has rewritten their development guidelines for new facilities based on this building.


title: LEED

text: Around 2010, the Empire State Building underwent a $550 million renovation, including $120 million towards energy efficiency and eco-friendliness. It received a gold LEED rating in 2011, and at the time was the tallest LEED-certified building in the United States.


title: LEED

text: The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens Bosarge Family Education Center, completed in 2011, achieved LEED Platinum certification and became known as "Maine's greenest building".


title: LEED

text: In October 2011 Apogee Stadium at the University of North Texas became the first newly built stadium in the country to achieve Platinum-level certification.


title: LEED

text: In May 2012, Soldier Field in Chicago became the first National Football League (NFL) stadium certified LEED. In July 2014, the San Francisco 49ers' Levi's Stadium became the first NFL venue to earn a LEED Gold certification. The Minnesota Vikings' U.S. Bank Stadium equaled this feat with a Gold certification in Building Design and Construction in 2017 as well as a Platinum certification in Operations and Maintenance in 2019, a first for any professional sports stadium.


title: LEED

text: In September 2012, The Crystal in London became the world's first building awarded LEED Platinum and BREEAM Outstanding status. It generates its own energy using solar power and ground-source heat pumps, and utilizes extensive KNX technologies to automate the building's environmental controls.


title: LEED

text: When it received LEED Platinum in 2012, Manitoba Hydro Place in downtown Winnipeg was the most energy-efficient office tower in North America and the only office tower in Canada with a Platinum rating. The office tower employs south-facing winter gardens to capture solar energy during the harsh Manitoba winters, and uses glass extensively to maximize natural light.


title: LEED

text: In San Francisco's Presidio, the Letterman Digital Arts Center earned a Gold certification. It was built almost entirely from the recycled remains of the Letterman Army Hospital, which previously occupied the site.


title: LEED

text: Torre Sul of Green Tower Brasilias received LEED Gold certification in 2014. In the public retail area on the first floor, visitors can see the largest green wall in Latin America, which is high.


title: LEED

text: In 2017, Kaiser Permanente, the largest integrated health system in the United States, opened California’s first LEED Platinum certified hospital, the Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center. By 2020, Kaiser Permanente owned 40 LEED certified buildings.


title: LEED

text: Its construction of LEED buildings was one of multiple initiatives that enabled Kaiser Permanente to report net-zero carbon emissions in 2020.


title: LEED

text: In 2005, Auden Schendler and Randy Udall, respectively a LEED-accredited professional who is the director of environmental affairs at the Aspen Skiing Company and a Colorado-based environmentalist, published an article titled "LEED is Broken; Let's Fix It", in which they criticized numerous aspects of the LEED certification process. They characterized as "costly, slow, brutal, confusing, and unwieldy ... that makes green building more difficult than it needs to be". Schendler and Udall also identify an environmentalist fallacy which they call "LEED brain", in which the public relations value of LEED certification begins to drive the development of buildings. Writer David Owen, in his book "Green Metropolis", gives as an example of "LEED brain" the building by Gap Inc. of a green showcase building in San Bruno, California, that, in itself, was a paradigm of environmentally-friendliness, but by its location, from the company's corporate headquarters in downtown San Francisco, and from Gap's corporate campus in Mission Bay, was actually harmful to the environment by forcing Gap employees to drive more miles, and the addition of shuttle buses between the various buildings. Owen points out that "no bus is as green as an elevator".


title: LEED

text: In his book "Walkable City", city planner Jeff Speck provides another example of "LEED brain": the federal Environmental Protection Agency relocated its Region 7 Headquarters from downtown Kansas City, Missouri, to a LEED-certified building away in the suburb of Lenexa, Kansas, causing many of the agency's 627 employees to drive additional miles to and from work. Kaid Benfield of the Natural Resources Defense Council estimated that the carbon emissions associated with the additional miles driven were almost three times higher than before, a change from 0.39 metric tons per person per month to 1.08 metric tons of carbon dioxide per person per month. Speck writes that "The carbon saved by the new building's LEED status, if any, will be a small fraction of the carbon wasted by its location".


title: LEED

text: Both Speck and Owen make the point that a building-centric standard such as LEED, which doesn't sufficiently account for the location in which the building stands, will inevitably undervalue the strong positive effect of people living closer together in cities, which are inherently environmentally efficient, especially when compared to the automobile-oriented sprawl.


title: LEED

text: LEED standards have also been criticized for not actually creating energy efficient buildings. In 2013, The "Washington Examiner" analyzed energy efficiency data of New York City buildings and found that LEED-certified buildings actually performed worse than buildings in general. An analysis by "USA Today" found that building makers target LEED's easiest points – those that don't necessarily increase the energy efficiency of a building.


title: Containerization

text: Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the process of unitization of cargoes in exports. Containerization is the predominant form of unitization of export cargoes, as opposed to other systems such as the barge system or palletization. The containers have standardized dimensions. They can be loaded and unloaded, stacked, transported efficiently over long distances, and transferred from one mode of transport to another—container ships, rail transport flatcars, and semi-trailer trucks—without being opened. The handling system is completely mechanized so that all handling is done with cranes and special forklift trucks. All containers are numbered and tracked using computerized systems.


title: Containerization

text: Containerization originated several centuries ago but was not well developed or widely applied until after World War II, when it dramatically reduced the costs of transport, supported the post-war boom in international trade, and was a major element in globalization. Containerization eliminated manual sorting of most shipments and the need for dockfront warehouses. It displaced many thousands of dock workers who formerly handled break bulk cargo. Containerization reduced congestion in ports, significantly shortened shipping time, and reduced losses from damage and theft.


title: Containerization

text: Containers can be made from a wide range of materials such as steel, fibre-reinforced polymer, aluminum or a combination. Containers made from weathering steel are used to minimize maintenance needs.


title: Containerization

text: Before containerization, goods were usually handled manually as break bulk cargo. Typically, goods would be loaded onto a vehicle from the factory and taken to a port warehouse where they would be offloaded and stored awaiting the next vessel. When the vessel arrived, they would be moved to the side of the ship along with other cargo to be lowered or carried into the hold and packed by dock workers. The ship might call at several other ports before off-loading a given consignment of cargo. Each port visit would delay the delivery of other cargo. Delivered cargo might then have been offloaded into another warehouse before being picked up and delivered to its destination. Multiple handling and delays made transport costly, time-consuming and unreliable.


title: Containerization

text: Containerization has its origins in early coal mining regions in England beginning in the late 18th century. In 1766 James Brindley designed the box boat 'Starvationer' with ten wooden containers, to transport coal from Worsley Delph (quarry) to Manchester by Bridgewater Canal. In 1795, Benjamin Outram opened the Little Eaton Gangway, upon which coal was carried in wagons built at his Butterley Ironwork. The horse-drawn wheeled wagons on the gangway took the form of containers, which, loaded with coal, could be transshipped from canal barges on the Derby Canal, which Outram had also promoted.


title: Containerization

text: By the 1830s, railroads on several continents were carrying containers that could be transferred to other modes of transport. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway in the UK was one of these. "Simple rectangular timber boxes, four to a wagon, they were used to convey coal from the Lancashire collieries to Liverpool, where they were transferred to horse-drawn carts by crane." Originally used for moving coal on and off barges, "loose boxes" were used to containerize coal from the late 1780s, at places like the Bridgewater Canal. By the 1840s, iron boxes were in use as well as wooden ones. The early 1900s saw the adoption of closed container boxes designed for movement between road and rail.


title: Containerization

text: On 17 May 1917, Benjamin Franklin Fitch inaugurated exploitation of an experimental installation for transfer of the containers called demountable bodies based on his design in Cincinnati, Ohio in the US. Later in 1919, his system was extended to over 200 containers serving 21 railway stations with 14 freight trucks.


title: Containerization

text: In 1919, Stanisław Rodowicz, an engineer, developed the first draft of the container system in Poland. In 1920, he built a prototype of the biaxial wagon. The Polish-Bolshevik War stopped development of the container system in Poland.


title: Containerization

text: The US Post Office contracted with the New York Central Railroad to move mail via containers in May 1921. In 1930, the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad began shipping containers between Chicago and Milwaukee. Their efforts ended in the spring of 1931 when the Interstate Commerce Commission disallowed the use of a flat rate for the containers.


title: Containerization

text: In 1926, a regular connection of the luxury passenger train from London to Paris, Golden Arrow/Fleche d'Or, by Southern Railway and French Northern Railway, began. For transport of passengers' baggage four containers were used. These containers were loaded in London or Paris and carried to ports, Dover or Calais, on flat cars in the UK and "CIWL Pullman Golden Arrow Fourgon of CIWL" in France. At the Second World Motor Transport Congress in Rome, September 1928, Italian senator Silvio Crespi proposed the use of containers for road and railway transport systems, using collaboration rather than competition. This would be done under the auspices of an international organ similar to the Sleeping Car Company, which provided international carriage of passengers in sleeping wagons. In 1928 Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) started regular container service in the northeast US. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929 in New York and the subsequent Great Depression, many countries were without any means to transport cargo. The railroads were sought as a possibility to transport cargo, and there was an opportunity to bring containers into broader use. In February 1931 the first container ship was launched. It was called the Autocarrier, owned by Southern Railway UK. It had 21 slots for containers of Southern Railway.<ref name="S/S AUTOCARRIER"></ref> Under auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris in Venice on September 30, 1931, on one of the platforms of the Maritime Station (Mole di Ponente), practical tests assessed the best construction for European containers as part of an international competition.


title: Containerization

text: In 1931, in the US Benjamin Franklin Fitch designed the two largest and heaviest containers in existence. One measured by by with a capacity of in , and a second measured by by , with a capacity of in .


title: Containerization

text: In November 1932 in Enola, PA the first container terminal in the world was opened by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Fitch hooking system was used for reloading of the containers.


title: Containerization

text: The development of containerization was created in Europe and the US as a way to revitalize rail companies after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which had caused economic collapse and reduction in use of all modes of transport.


title: Containerization

text: In 1933 in Europe under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce the International Container Bureau (French: "Bureau International des Conteneurs", B.I.C.) was established. In June 1933, the B.I.C. decided on obligatory parameters for containers used in international traffic. Containers handled by means of lifting gear, such as cranes, overhead conveyors, etc. for traveling elevators (group I containers), constructed after July 1, 1933. Obligatory Regulations:


title: Containerization

text: From 1926 to 1947 in the US, the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railway carried motor carrier vehicles and shippers' vehicles loaded on flatcars between Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois. Beginning in 1929, Seatrain Lines carried railroad boxcars on its sea vessels to transport goods between New York and Cuba.


title: Containerization

text: In the mid-1930s, the Chicago Great Western Railway and then the New Haven Railroad began "piggyback" service (transporting highway freight trailers on flatcars) limited to their own railroads. The Chicago Great Western Railway filed a US patent in 1938 on their method of securing trailers to a flatcars using chains and turnbuckles. Other components included wheel chocks and ramps for loading and unloading the trailers from the flatcars. By 1953, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, the Chicago and Eastern Illinois, and the Southern Pacific railroads had joined the innovation. Most of the railcars used were surplus flatcars equipped with new decks. By 1955, an additional 25 railroads had begun some form of piggyback trailer service.


title: Containerization

text: During WWII, the Australian Army used containers to more easily deal with various breaks of gauge in the railroads. These non-stackable containers were about the size of the later 20-foot ISO container and perhaps made mainly of wood.


title: Containerization

text: During the same time, the United States Army started to combine items of uniform size, lashing them onto a pallet, unitizing cargo to speed the loading and unloading of transport ships. In 1947 the Transportation Corps developed the "Transporter", a rigid, corrugated steel container with a carrying capacity, for shipping household goods of officers in the field. It was long, , and high, with double doors on one end, mounted on skids, and had lifting rings on the top four corners. During the Korean War the Transporter was evaluated for handling sensitive military equipment and, proving effective, was approved for broader use. Theft of material and damage to wooden crates convinced the army that steel containers were needed.


title: Containerization

text: In April 1951, at Zürich Tiefenbrunnen railway station, the Swiss Museum of Transport and "Bureau International des Containers" (BIC) held demonstrations of container systems, with the aim of selecting the best solution for Western Europe. Present were representatives from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Great Britain, Italy and the United States. The system chosen for Western Europe was based on the Netherlands' system for consumer goods and waste transportation called "Laadkisten" (literally, "loading bins"), in use since 1934. This system used roller containers that were moved by rail, truck and ship, in various configurations up to a capacity of , and up to size. This became the first post World War II European railway standard UIC 590, known as "pa-Behälter." It was implemented in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, West Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark.


title: Containerization

text: With the popularization of the larger ISO containers, support for pa containers was phased out by the railways. In the 1970s they began to be widely used for transporting waste.


title: Containerization

text: In 1952 the US Army developed the Transporter into the CONtainer EXpress or CONEX box system. The size and capacity of the Conex were about the same as the Transporter, but the system was made "modular", by the addition of a smaller, half-size unit of long, wide and high. CONEXes could be stacked three high, and protected their contents from the elements.


title: Containerization

text: The first major shipment of CONEXes, containing engineering supplies and spare parts, was made by rail from the Columbus General Depot in Georgia to the Port of San Francisco, then by ship to Yokohama, Japan, and then to Korea, in late 1952. Transit times were almost halved. By the time of the Vietnam War the majority of supplies and materials were shipped by CONEX. By 1965 the US military used some 100,000 Conex boxes, and more than 200,000 in 1967. making this the first worldwide application of intermodal containers. After the US Department of Defense standardized an cross section container in multiples of lengths for military use, it was rapidly adopted for shipping purposes.


title: Containerization

text: In 1955, former trucking company owner Malcom McLean worked with engineer Keith Tantlinger to develop the modern intermodal container. The challenge was to design a shipping container that could efficiently be loaded onto ships and would hold securely on sea voyages. The result was an tall by wide box in -long units constructed from thick corrugated steel. The design incorporated a twistlock mechanism atop each of the four corners, allowing the container to be easily secured and lifted using cranes. After helping McLean create the successful design, Tantlinger convinced him to give the patented designs to industry. This began international standardization of shipping containers.


title: Containerization

text: The first vessels purpose-built to carry containers had begun operation in 1926 for the regular connection of the luxury passenger train between London and Paris, the Golden Arrow/Fleche d'Or. Four containers were used for the conveyance of passengers' baggage. These containers were loaded in London or Paris and carried to the ports of Dover or Calais. In February 1931 the first container ship in the world was launched. It was called the Autocarrier, owned by Southern Railway UK. It had 21 slots for containers of Southern Railway.


title: Containerization

text: The next step was in Europe was after WW II. Vessels purpose-built to carry containers were used between UK and Netherlands and also in Denmark in 1951. In the United States, ships began carrying containers in 1951, between Seattle, Washington and Alaska. None of these services was particularly successful. First, the containers were rather small, with 52% of them having a volume of less than . Almost all European containers were made of wood and used canvas lids, and they required additional equipment for loading into rail or truck bodies.


title: Containerization

text: The world's first purpose-built container vessel was "Clifford J. Rodgers", built in Montreal in 1955 and owned by the White Pass and Yukon Corporation. Her first trip carried 600 containers between North Vancouver, British Columbia, and Skagway, Alaska, on November 26, 1955. In Skagway, the containers were unloaded to purpose-built railroad cars for transport north to Yukon, in the first intermodal service using trucks, ships, and railroad cars. Southbound containers were loaded by shippers in Yukon and moved by rail, ship, and truck to their consignees without opening. This first intermodal system operated from November 1955 until 1982.


title: Containerization

text: The first truly successful container shipping company dates to April 26, 1956, when American trucking entrepreneur McLean put 58 "trailer vans" later called containers, aboard a refitted tanker ship, the , and sailed them from Newark, New Jersey to Houston, Texas. Independently of the events in Canada, McLean had the idea of using large containers that never opened in transit and that were transferable on an intermodal basis, among trucks, ships, and railroad cars. McLean had initially favored the construction of "trailerships"—taking trailers from large trucks and stowing them in a ship's cargo hold. This method of stowage, referred to as roll-on/roll-off, was not adopted because of the large waste in potential cargo space on board the vessel, known as broken stowage. Instead, McLean modified his original concept into loading just the containers, not the chassis, onto the ship; hence the designation "container ship" or "box" ship. (See also pantechnicon van and trolley and lift van.)


title: Containerization

text: During the first 20 years of containerization, many container sizes and corner fittings were used. There were dozens of incompatible container systems in the US alone. Among the biggest operators, the Matson Navigation Company had a fleet of containers, while Sea-Land Service, Inc used containers. The standard sizes and fitting and reinforcement norms that now exist evolved out of a series of compromises among international shipping companies, European railroads, US railroads, and US trucking companies. Four important ISO (International Organization for Standardization) recommendations standardized containerization globally:


title: Containerization

text: Based on these standards, the first TEU container ship was the Japanese "" from shipowner NYK, which started sailing in 1968 and could carry 752 TEU containers.


title: Containerization

text: In the US, containerization and other advances in shipping were impeded by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which was created in 1887 to keep railroads from using monopolist pricing and rate discrimination, but fell victim to regulatory capture. By the 1960s, ICC approval was required before any shipper could carry different items in the same vehicle or change rates. The fully integrated systems in the US today became possible only after the ICC's regulatory oversight was cut back (and abolished in 1995). Trucking and rail were deregulated in the 1970s and maritime rates were deregulated in 1984.


title: Containerization

text: Double-stacked rail transport, where containers are stacked two high on railway cars, was introduced in the US. The concept was developed by Sea-Land and the Southern Pacific railroad. The first standalone double-stack container car (or single-unit 40-ft COFC well car) was delivered in July 1977. The five-unit well car, the industry standard, appeared in 1981. Initially, these double-stack railway cars were deployed in regular train service. Ever since American President Lines initiated in 1984 a dedicated double-stack container train service between Los Angeles and Chicago, transport volumes increased rapidly.


title: Containerization

text: Containerization greatly reduced the expense of international trade and increased its speed, especially of consumer goods and commodities. It also dramatically changed the character of port cities worldwide. Prior to highly mechanized container transfers, crews of 20 to 22 longshoremen would pack individual cargoes into the hold of a ship. After containerization, large crews of longshoremen were not necessary at port facilities, and the profession changed drastically.


title: Containerization

text: Meanwhile, the port facilities needed to support containerization changed. One effect was the decline of some ports and the rise of others. At the Port of San Francisco, the former piers used for loading and unloading were no longer required, but there was little room to build the vast holding lots needed for storing and sorting containers in transit between different transport modes. As a result, the Port of San Francisco essentially ceased to function as a major commercial port, but the neighboring Port of Oakland emerged as the second largest on the US West Coast. A similar fate occurred with the relationship between the ports of Manhattan and New Jersey. In the UK, the Port of London and Port of Liverpool declined in importance. Meanwhile, Britain's Port of Felixstowe and Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands emerged as major ports.


title: Containerization

text: In general, containerization caused inland ports on waterways incapable of receiving deep-draft ship traffic to decline in favor of seaports, which then built vast container terminals next to deep oceanfront harbors in lieu of the dockfront warehouses that had formerly handled break bulk cargo. With intermodal containers, the jobs of packing, unpacking, and sorting cargoes could be performed far from the point of embarkation. Such work shifted to gigantic warehouses in rural inland towns, where land and labor were much cheaper than in oceanfront cities. This fundamental transformation of where warehouse work was performed freed up valuable waterfront real estate near the central business districts of port cities around the world for redevelopment and led to a plethora of waterfront revitalization projects (such as warehouse districts).


title: Containerization

text: The effects of containerization rapidly spread beyond the shipping industry. Containers were quickly adopted by trucking and rail transport industries for cargo transport not involving sea transport. Manufacturing also evolved to adapt to take advantage of containers. Companies that once sent small consignments began grouping them into containers. Many cargoes are now designed to precisely fit containers. The reliability of containers made just in time manufacturing possible as component suppliers could deliver specific components on regular fixed schedules.


title: Containerization

text: In 2004, global container traffic was 354 million TEUs, of which 82 percent were handled by the world's top 100 container ports.


title: Containerization

text: , approximately 90% of non-bulk cargo worldwide is moved by containers stacked on transport ships; 26% of all container transshipment is carried out in China. For example, in 2009 there were 105,976,701 transshipments in China (both international and coastal, excluding Hong Kong), 21,040,096 in Hong Kong (which is listed separately), and only 34,299,572 in the United States. In 2005, some 18 million containers made over 200 million trips per year. Some ships can carry over , such as the "Emma Mærsk", long, launched in August 2006. It has been predicted that, at some point, container ships will be constrained in size only by the depth of the Straits of Malacca, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, linking the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. This so-called Malaccamax size constrains a ship to dimensions of in length and wide.


title: Containerization

text: Few foresaw the extent of the influence of containerization on the shipping industry. In the 1950s, Harvard University economist Benjamin Chinitz predicted that containerization would benefit New York by allowing it to ship its industrial goods more cheaply to the Southern US than other areas, but he did not anticipate that containerization might make it cheaper to import such goods from abroad. Most economic studies of containerization merely assumed that shipping companies would begin to replace older forms of transportation with containerization, but did not predict that the process of containerization itself would have a more direct influence on the choice of producers and increase the total volume of trade.


title: Containerization

text: The widespread use of ISO standard containers has driven modifications in other freight-moving standards, gradually forcing removable truck bodies or swap bodies into standard sizes and shapes (though without the strength needed to be stacked), and changing completely the worldwide use of freight pallets that fit into ISO containers or into commercial vehicles.


title: Containerization

text: Improved cargo security is an important benefit of containerization. Once the cargo is loaded into a container, it isn't touched again until it reaches its destination. The cargo is not visible to casual viewers, and thus is less likely to be stolen. Container doors are usually sealed so that tampering is more evident. Some containers are fitted with electronic monitoring devices and can be remotely monitored for changes in air pressure, which happens when the doors are opened. This reduced thefts that had long plagued the shipping industry. Recent developments have focused on the use of intelligent logistics optimization to further enhance security.


title: Containerization

text: The use of the same basic sizes of containers across the globe has lessened the problems caused by incompatible rail gauge sizes. The majority of the rail networks in the world operate on a gauge track known as standard gauge, but some countries (such as Russia, India, Finland, and Lithuania) use broader gauges, while others in Africa and South America use narrower gauges. The use of container trains in all these countries makes transshipment between trains of different gauges easier.


title: Containerization

text: Containers have become a popular way to ship private cars and other vehicles overseas using 20- or 40-foot containers. Unlike roll-on/roll-off vehicle shipping, personal effects can be loaded into the container with the vehicle, allowing easy international relocation.


title: Containerization

text: In July, 2020, The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), a non-profit group established to further digitalisation of container shipping technology standards, published standards for the digital exchange of operational vessel schedules (OVS).


title: Containerization

text: Contrary to ocean shipping containers owned by the shippers, a persisting trend in the industry is for (new) units to be purchased by leasing companies. Leasing business accounted for 55% of new container purchases in 2017, with their box fleet growing at 6.7%, compared to units of transport operators growing by just 2.4% more TEU, said global shipping consultancy Drewry in their 'Container Census & Leasing and Equipment Insight', leading to a leased share of the global ocean container fleet reaching 54% by 2020.


title: Containerization

text: In 2021, the average time to unload a container in Asia was 27 seconds, the average time in Northern Europe was 46 seconds, and the average time in North America was 76 seconds.


title: Containerization

text: US domestic standard containers are generally and (rail and truck). Container capacity is often expressed in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU, or sometimes "teu"). An equivalent unit is a measure of containerized cargo capacity equal to one standard (length) × (width) container. As this is an approximate measure, the height of the box is not considered. For instance, the "high cube" and the "half height" containers are also called one TEU. 48' containers have been phased out over the last ten years in favor of 53' containers.


title: Containerization

text: The maximum gross mass for a dry cargo container was initially set at , and for a container (including the high cube) . Allowing for the tare mass of the container, the maximum payload mass is therefore reduced to approximately for , and for containers.


title: Containerization

text: It was increased to 30,480 kg for the 20' in 2005, then further increased to a max of 36,000 kg for all sizes by the amendment 2 (2016) of the ISO standard 668 (2013).


title: Containerization

text: The original choice of height for ISO containers was made in part to suit a large proportion of railway tunnels, though some had to be modified. The current standard is high. With the arrival of even taller hi-cube containers at and double stacking rail cars, further enlargement of the rail loading gauge is proving necessary.


title: Containerization

text: While major airlines use containers that are custom designed for their aircraft and associated ground handling equipment the IATA has created a set of standard aluminium container sizes of up to in volume.


title: Containerization

text: A full container load (FCL) is an ISO standard container that is loaded and unloaded under the risk and account of one shipper and one consignee. In practice, it means that the whole container is intended for one consignee. FCL container shipment tends to have lower freight rates than an equivalent weight of cargo in bulk. FCL is intended to designate a container loaded to its allowable maximum weight or volume, but FCL in practice on ocean freight does not always mean a full payload or capacity - many companies will prefer to keep a 'mostly' full container as a single container load to simplify logistics and increase security compared to sharing a container with other goods.


title: Containerization

text: Less-than-container load (LCL) is a shipment that is not large enough to fill a standard cargo container. The abbreviation LCL formerly applied to "less than (railway) car load" for quantities of material from different shippers or for delivery to different destinations carried in a single railway car for efficiency. LCL freight was often sorted and redistributed into different railway cars at intermediate railway terminals en route to the final destination.


title: Containerization

text: LCL is "a quantity of cargo less than that required for the application of a carload rate. A quantity of cargo less than that which fills the visible or rated capacity of an inter-modal container." It can also be defined as "a consignment of cargo which is inefficient to fill a shipping container. It is grouped with other consignments for the same destination in a container at a container freight station".


title: Containerization

text: Containers have been used to smuggle contraband or stolen cars. The vast majority of containers are never subjected to scrutiny due to their large numbers. In recent years there have been increased concerns that containers might be used to transport terrorists or terrorist materials into a country undetected. The US government has advanced the Container Security Initiative (CSI), intended to ensure that high-risk cargo is examined or scanned, preferably at the port of departure.


title: Containerization

text: Containers are intended to be used constantly, being loaded with new cargo for a new destination soon after emptied of previous cargo. This is not always possible, and in some cases, the cost of transporting an empty container to a place where it can be used is considered to be higher than the worth of the used container. Shipping lines and container leasing companies have become expert at repositioning empty containers from areas of low or no demand, such as the US West Coast, to areas of high demand, such as China. Repositioning within the port hinterland has also been the focus of recent logistics optimization work. Damaged or retired containers may be recycled in the form of shipping container architecture, or the steel content salvaged. In the summer of 2010, a worldwide shortage of containers developed as shipping increased after the recession, while new container production had largely ceased.


title: Containerization

text: Containers occasionally fall from ships, usually during storms. According to media sources, between 2,000 and 10,000 containers are lost at sea each year. The World Shipping Council states in a survey among freight companies that this claim is grossly excessive and calculated an average of 350 containers to be lost at sea each year, or 675 if including catastrophic events. For instance, on November 30, 2006, a container washed ashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, along with thousands of bags of its cargo of Doritos Chips. Containers lost in rough waters are smashed by cargo and waves, and often sink quickly. Although not all containers sink, they seldom float very high out of the water, making them a shipping hazard that is difficult to detect. Freight from lost containers has provided oceanographers with unexpected opportunities to track global ocean currents, notably a cargo of Friendly Floatees.


title: Containerization

text: In 2007 the International Chamber of Shipping and the World Shipping Council began work on a code of practice for container storage, including crew training on parametric rolling, safer stacking, the marking of containers, and security for above-deck cargo in heavy swell.


title: Containerization

text: In 2011, the MV Rena ran aground off the coast of New Zealand. As the ship listed, some containers were lost, while others were held on board at a precarious angle.


title: Containerization

text: Some of the biggest battles in the container revolution were waged in Washington, D.C.. Intermodal shipping got a huge boost in the early 1970s, when carriers won permission to quote combined rail-ocean rates. Later, non-vessel-operating common carriers won a long court battle with a US Supreme Court decision against contracts that attempted to require that union labor be used for stuffing and stripping containers at off-pier locations.


title: Containerization

text: Containers are often infested with pests. Pest introductions are significantly clustered around ports, and containers are a common source of such successful pest transfers. The IPPC Sea Container Task Force (SCTF) promulgates the Cargo Transport Units Code (CTU), prescribed pesticides and other standards (see ) and recommendations for use in container decontamination, inspection and quarantine. The SCTF also provides the English translation of the National Standard of China (GB/T 39919-2021).


title: Containerization

text: Shipping container architecture is the use of containers as the basis for housing and other functional buildings for people, either as temporary or a permanent housing, and either as a main building or as a cabin or as a workshop. Containers can also be used as sheds or storage areas in industry and commerce.


title: Containerization

text: Containers are also beginning to be used to house computer data centers, although these are normally specialized containers.


title: Containerization

text: There is now a high demand for containers to be converted in the domestic market to serve specific purposes. As a result, a number of container-specific accessories have become available for a variety of applications, such as racking for archiving, lining, heating, lighting, powerpoints to create purpose-built secure offices, canteens and drying rooms, condensation control for furniture storage, and ramps for storage of heavier objects. Containers are also converted to provide equipment enclosures, pop-up cafes, exhibition stands, security huts and more.


title: Containerization

text: Public containerised transport is the concept, not yet implemented, of modifying motor vehicles to serve as personal containers in non-road passenger transport.


title: Containerization

text: The ACTS roller container standards have become the basis of containerized firefighting equipment throughout Europe.


title: Containerization

text: Containers have also been used for weapon systems, such as the Russian Club-K, which allow the conversion of an ordinary container system into a missile boat, capable of attacking surface and ground targets, and the CWS (Containerized Weapon System) developed for the US Army that allow for the rapid deployment of a remote controlled machine gun post from a container.


title: Containerization

text: On September 5, 2008, the BBC embarked on a year-long project to study international trade and globalization by tracking a shipping container on its journey around the world.


title: Balhae

text: Balhae (, , , ), also rendered as Bohai, was a multi-ethnic kingdom whose land extends to what is today Northeast China, the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East. It was established in 698 by Dae Joyeong (Da Zuorong) and originally known as the Kingdom of Jin (Zhen) until 713 when its name was changed to Balhae.


title: Balhae

text: Balhae's early history involved a rocky relationship with the Tang dynasty that saw military and political conflict, but by the end of the 8th century the relationship had become cordial and friendly. The Tang dynasty would eventually recognize Balhae as the "Prosperous Country of the East". Numerous cultural and political exchanges were made. Balhae was conquered by the Khitan-led Liao dynasty in 926. Balhae survived as a distinct population group for another three centuries in the Liao and Jin dynasties before disappearing under Mongol rule.


title: Balhae

text: The history of the founding of the state, its ethnic composition, the nationality of the ruling dynasty, the reading of their names, and its borders are the subject of a historiographical dispute between Korea, China and Russia. Historical sources from both China and Korea have described Balhae's founder, Dae Joyeong, as related to the Mohe people and Goguryeo.


title: Balhae

text: Balhae was founded in 698 by Dae Joyeong (Da Zuorong) under the name (진, Jin), read as "tsyinH" in Middle Chinese. The kingdom's name was transcribed as in Chinese, with the same Middle Chinese reading as .


title: Balhae

text: In 713, the Tang dynasty bestowed the ruler of Jin with the noble title "Prince of Commandery of Bohai (Balhae)" (渤海郡王). In 762, the Tang formally elevated Balhae to the status of a kingdom. The kingdom's territories did not overlap with the Bohai Commandery. According to Jin Yufu, the Tang referred to the state as Mohe (Malgal, name of the ethnic group) until 713, and "Balhae" was possibly used as a different transcription of the same name. According to the "New Book of Tang", the state was called Mohe before it received investiture from China and assumed the name Bohai. Linguists Karl Heinrich Menges and Roy Andrew Miller raised another theory, suggesting that the name Balhae had an underlying native name which was cognate to Manchu "butha" ("hunting").


title: Balhae

text: The transcriptions Bohai (Chinese pinyin romanization), Po-hai (Chinese Wade–Giles romanization), and Parhae (Korean McCune–Reischauer romanization) are also used in modern academia. Most Western-language scholarship have opted for Bohai except in the field of Korean studies, however some scholars have chosen the Korean romanization to avoid a "Chinese" narrative spread by the usage of "pinyin" romanization. According to Pamela Kyle Crossley, neither Chinese or Korean transliterations can be correct. She chose to use modern Chinese transliteration "to indicate that the only referent we have is Chinese characters". Jesse D. Sloane chose to use "Parhae" because it was not covered in depth in the state-mandated curriculum of China, but used Chinese romanization for all other terms related to Balhae that appeared in Chinese sources first. Neither Crossley or Sloane meant to depict Balhae as essentially Chinese but used Chinese romanization out of convenience and to acknowledge the transnational origins of Balhae discourse.


title: Balhae

text: In 696, Li Jinzhong (Wushang Khan) of the Khitans along with his brother-in-law Sun Wanrong rebelled against Tang (Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty) hegemony, killed an abusive Tang commander, and attacked Hebei. Li died soon after and Sun succeeded him, only to be defeated by the Second Turkic Khaganate. The population of Yingzhou (營州, modern-day Chaoyang, Liaoning) fled eastward toward the Liao River during the turmoil. The Tang tried to appease Dae Jungsang (Da Zhongxiang) and Geolsa Biu (Qisi Biyu), two local leaders, by granting them the titles of Duke of Zhen (Jin) and Duke of Xu (Heo) respectively. Geolsa Biu rejected the offer but was soon defeated by a Tang force led by Li Kaigu, while Dae Jungsang fled with his followers but also died around the same time. Dae Jungsang's son, Dae Joyeong (Da Zuorong), left the Liao River valley for Mt. Tianmen (in modern Jilin Province). There, he dealt a heavy defeat to the Tang forces at the Battle of Tianmenling (Cheonmunnyeong), after which he led his followers to set up a state. In 698, Dae Joyeong declared himself King of Zhen (Jin).


title: Balhae

text: Another account of the events suggests that there was no rebellion at all, and the leader of the Sumo Mohe (Songmal Malgal) rendered assistance to the Tang by suppressing Khitan rebels. As a reward the Tang acknowledged the leader as the local hegemon of a semi-independent state.


title: Balhae

text: In diplomatic communications between Silla and Jin, Silla attempted to confer investiture to Dae Joyeong with the title of a fifth rank official: "Dae Achan". The people of Jin did not know the system of ranks used in Silla and thus accepted the title. After a while, Dae Joyeong realized the meaning of the title and sought to change Balhae's international status. In 713 or 714, the Tang dynasty recognized Dae Joyeong as the "Prince of Bohai (Balhae)", the name for the sea surrounding Liaodong and Shandong. Neither the Tang or Silla recognized Balhae as the successor of Goguryeo. The Tang considered it a dukedom while Silla considered it their vassal. The Tang later recognized it as a kingdom in 762. Between 713 and 721, Silla constructed a northern wall to maintain active defences along the border.


title: Balhae

text: The ethnic identity of Balhae's founder is controversial and disputed. Many Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Japanese scholars of Balhae believe its population was composed of Goguryeo remnants and Mohe tribes. Chinese scholars consider that Mohe people form the ethnic majority of Balhae, and arguments for this opinion are also viewed positively in Russia and in the West. While modern Korean scholars usually consider Balhae a Korean state and one of the Northern and Southern States of Korea, Russian and Chinese scholars reject this notion, echoing the position of historical Korean scholars such as Gim Busik, author of the "Samguk Sagi".


title: Balhae

text: Some historians view this dispute as the polemics reflecting modern politics rather than historical evidence.


title: Balhae

text: Historical sources give different accounts of Dae Joyeong's ethnicity and background. Among the official dynastic history works, the "New Book of Tang" refers to Dae Joyeong and his state as Sumo Mohe (related to Jurchens and later Manchus) affiliated with Goguryeo. The "Old Book of Tang" also states Dae's ethnic background as Mohe but adds that he was "高麗別種" ("gaoli biezhong"). Literally speaking, "biezhong" means "separate kind." The term is interpreted as meaning "a branch of the Goguryeo people" by South and North Korean historians, but as "distinct from Goguryeo" by Japanese and Chinese researchers. According to Sloane, Tang sources divided Balhae's population into two categories, Goguryeo and Mohe. The royalty and upper class were composed of Goguryeo remnants while the majority of Balhae's population were Mohe. In a diplomatic mission to Japan in 727 or 728, the Balhae envoy said that Balhae has "recovered the lost land of Goguryeo and inherited the old traditions of Buyeo." Some consider this divide to be a cause of tension that contributed to Balhae's eventual downfall. Chinese scholars have made claims that Han Chinese were a part of the Balhae population, but apart from Goguryeo and Mohe, no other group is associated with the foundation of Balhae in Chinese, Korean, or Japanese sources.


title: Balhae

text: According to Choe Chiwon (b. 857), the people of Balhae were Mohe. In the conflict between the joint Tang-Silla forces against Balhae, Silla described Balhae as "rebellious barbarians." Sillan aristocracy tended to view the Balhae population as consisting of solely Mohe people, but this could be due to the antagonistic relations between the two states causing the Sillan nobility to ignore Goguryeo elements of Balhae ethnic composition. The "Ruijū Kokushi", a 9th-century Japanese text, says that when Balhae was founded, it spanned 2,000 "li" and was filled with villages, each of which were Mohe tribes. Japanese diplomatic communications with Balhae recognized it as a "state of Go[gu]ryeo." The "Samguk sagi", written in the 12th century by Gim Busik, did not consider Balhae a Korean state. The "Samguk yusa", a 13th-century collection of Korean history and legends, describes Dae as a Sumo Mohe leader. However, it gives another account of Dae being a former Goguryeo general, citing a now-lost Sillan record. Alexander Kim considers this unlikely since Goguryeo fell in 668 while Dae died in 719, and young men could not receive the rank of general.


title: Balhae

text: Russian scholars argue that the ethnic composition of Balhae cannot be determined with great precision because no materials exist that can confirm either the Chinese or Korean claims. Some Russian scholars claim Balhae as part of Manchurian history while others believe Balhae was neither a Korean state or Chinese province and there is no direct link between Balhae and either modern China or Korea. E. V. Shakunov believes that Balhae's population also consisted of elements from Central Asia such as Sogdians and Tocharians. Many Uyghurs fled to Balhae after the destruction of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840 but they failed to adapt to Balhae society and caused social unrest.


title: Balhae

text: It is evident that Balhae had a diverse population, including other minorities such as Khitan and Evenk peoples. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Balhae culture was an amalgamation of High Tang Chinese, Korean, and Tungusic cultures.


title: Balhae

text: Dae Joyeong died in 719 and was succeeded by his son, Dae Muye (Da Wuyi, r. 719–737). While Muye accepted Tang gifts and title upon his succession, he showed his independence by giving his father a posthumous temple name, Gowang/Gaowang (high king). Muye adopted his own reign title in 720. In 721, the Tang asked Balhae for military support against the Khitans but they refused. To check Balhae's influence, the Tang appointed a chieftain of the Heishui Mohe (Heuksu Malgal) as prefect of Bozhou (in modern Khabarovsk) in 722. In 725, the Andong Protectorate suggested stationing an army in the region. In response, Tang officials dispatched an administration staffed by the leaders of smaller tribes under the command of the Youzhou governor-general. Muye was convinced that the Heishui Mohe and the Tang were plotting to attack him and required a preemptive strike. He ordered his brother, Dae Munye (Da Wenyi), to attack the Heishui Mohe. Munye, who had stayed at the Tang capital as a hostage and understood the implications of attacking a Tang ally, was reluctant to carry out the order. He advised Muye to abandon the plan twice.


title: Balhae

text: Muye paid his brother no heed and used his reluctance as pretext to remove Munye from command. Munye fled to the Tang dynasty. A Balhae envoy arrived at the Tang court in 732 requesting the execution of Munye. In response, the Tang secretly sent Munye to Central Asia while informing Muye that his brother had been banished to South China. The reality of events, however, leaked out, enraging Muye. A Balhae naval force led by Jang Mun-hyu (Zhang Wenxiu) attacked Dengzhou on the north shore of the Shandong Peninsula and killed its prefect. The Tang ordered Gim Chungsin, the nephew of Seongdeok of Silla and courtier in the Tang court, to return to Silla and organize an attack on Balhae. Chungsin excused himself from the request by asking to remain in China as the emperor's bodyguard. In his place, the Tang sent Gim Saran, a low ranking Sillan diplomat, and a Tang eunuch. Munye was also recalled to recruit soldiers in Youzhou. In the meantime, Balhae struck again, sacking the town of Mt. Matou (northwest of modern Shanhaiguan), and killing 10,000 Tang soldiers. The Balhae force raided and pillaged along the Liao River and the coast of the Liaodong Peninsula. In 733, Tang and Sillan forces attempted a joint attack on Balhae but were accosted by a blizzard that blocked all roads and killed half of the 100,000 Tang-Silla army, forcing them to abort the invasion. Muye continued to try to kill his brother. He sent an agent to Luoyang to plot the assassination of his brother. Munye was attacked in broad daylight near the Tianjin Bridge outside the imperial palace but escaped unharmed.


title: Balhae

text: In 734, Silla attacked Balhae with no success. In an effort to curb Balhae's ambitions, the Tang granted Silla's request to place troops in the Paegang region in 735.


title: Balhae

text: The strategic landscape began to turn on Balhae in 734–735, when the Khitan chieftain, Ketuyu, and his Turkic allies were defeated by Tang forces. In addition a force of 5,000 Kumo Xi cavalrymen surrendered to the Tang. The defeat of the Khitans and Turks, and the submission of the Kumo Xi removed the buffer zone that had formed between Balhae and the Tang. Sensing the change in strategic developments, Muye decided to reconcile with the Tang. In 737, Tang sailors and civilians detained in Balhae were repatriated. In 738, an envoy from Balhae requested Tang ritual codes and dynastic histories in a symbolic gesture towards peace. Muye died soon after.


title: Balhae

text: Muye's son and successor, Dae Heummu (Da Qinmao, r. 737–793), continued the course of reconciliation with the Tang. At the same time, trouble with the Tibetan Empire to the west forced the Tang to withdraw all military forces from Korea and adopt a defensive stance. Heummu cemented the geopolitical balance by sending an envoy to the Japanese court, which his father had done as well in 728 to threaten Silla with an ally from the southeast. Balhae kept diplomatic and commercial contacts with Japan until the end of the kingdom. Balhae dispatched envoys to Japan 34 times, while Japan sent envoys to Balhae 13 times. In 755, the An Lushan Rebellion broke out, causing the Tang to lose control of the northeast, and even after the rebellion's end in 763, warlords known as jiedushi controlled the former northeastern part of the Tang empire. In 762, Emperor Daizong of Tang formally recognized Balhae as a state and Heummu as its king. Although China recognized him as a king, Balhae itself referred to him as the son of heaven (emperor) and a king. The consort of the ruler was also called empress. A record in 834 says that Balhae had both kings and great kings. The epitath of Princess Jeonghyo (Zhenxiao), daughter of Heummu, states that his father was a "great king." During Heummu's reign, a trade route with Silla, called "Sillado" (), was established. King Mun moved the capital of Balhae several times. He also established Shangjing/Sanggyeong, the permanent capital near Lake Jingpo in the south of today's Heilongjiang province around 756; stabilizing and strengthening central rule over various ethnic tribes in his realm, which was expanded temporarily. He also authorized the creation of the "Jujagam"/"Zhouzijian" (), the national academy, based on the national academy of Tang.


title: Balhae

text: The bilateral relationship between the Tang and Balhae grew friendlier. From 766 to 779, 25 missions from Balhae paid respect to Daizong. By the end of Heummu's reign in 793, princes from Balhae's royal family were serving as guards at the court of Emperor Dezong of Tang of their volition. Peace with the Tang allowed Balhae to further expand its territory. After the death of Heummu, who was posthumously known as Mun of Balhae (Wen, r. 737–793), Balhae experienced a succession crisis. As a result, Balhae lost territory and bordering Mohe tribes rebelled. Both the reigns of Seon of Balhae (Xuan, r. 818–830) and Dae Ijin (Da Yizhen, r. 830–857) saw intrusions by Mohe tribes. Seon annexed the Yuexi Mohe and other tribes along the Amur valley in the north. In 818-820, he also invaded Liaodong and parts of Silla on Balhae's southern border. In 826, Silla mobilized tens of thousands of people to fortify the border with Balhae. In the middle of the 9th century, Balhae completed its local administrative system, which was composed of five capitals, 15 prefectures and 62 counties.


title: Balhae

text: In 907, Balhae came into conflict with the Khitan Liao dynasty because of the decision of the Khitans near modern Chifeng and Tongliao, who recognized the supremacy of Balhae, to become part of the Liao dynasty. The Liao ruler Abaoji took possession of the Liao River basin, which led to a long conflict. In 911, Silla allied with Balhae against the Khitans. In 924, Balhae attacked the Khitans. The next year, a Balhae general, Sindeok, surrendered to Goryeo. In 925, Silla allied with the Khitans and helped them in their war against Balhae. Afterwards, warriors from Silla were rewarded by the Khitan ruler. In 926, the Khitans laid siege to the Balhae capital Shangjing/Sanggyeong and forced their surrender. In Balhae's place, the Khitans established the autonomous kingdom of Dongdan ruled by the Liao crown prince Yelü Bei. Its independence ended in 929 when a new Liao ruler ordered the relocation of its population. It was soon absorbed into the Liao in 936. The name of Balhae was officially removed in 982. Meanwhile, a series of nobilities and elites led by key figures such as crown prince Dae Gwang-hyeon, were absorbed into Goryeo. Some Balhae aristocrats were forced to move to Liaoyang, but Balhae's eastern territory remained politically independent in Later Balhae, which was later renamed to Jeongan (Ding'an). The Liao invaded Jeongan in 975 but failed to conquer them. In 985–6, the Khitans attacked Jeongan again, this time successfully.


title: Balhae

text: Some scholars consider that the eruption of Mount Baekdu in 930–940s dealt a final blow to the surviving forces of Balhae, based on records of massive population displacement of Balhae people to the Liaodong peninsula of the Khitan empire and the Korean peninsula of Goryeo. However this theory has lost popularity in Korea in recent times and Russian scholars do not consider it a plausible reason for Balhae's collapse. The most paramount reason seems to have been military confrontation with a superior power, the Khitans.