The USGBC (hippie retreads and neo-hippies) is a consensus organization (there's that word, where have we heard it before).
They write their standards based on emotional opinion; not science, safety, or practicality. They can change what is required to achieve LEED Silver anytime they want.
If the city law says you have to get Silver, and the USGBC changes the requirement to include having no heat and no air conditioning, then the building would have to be built that way (although it would probably not meet code, in which case code would trump LEED but then it wouldn't be LEED Silver so you .....). This is an extreme and (maybe) absurd example, but it makes my point that a private organization of lefties should not be given building code authority.
As an aside, the new LEED system rates GLOBAL WARMING prevention and ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION higher than human safety! That should tell the masses something about USGBC and LEED.
I agree with ya man.