News from Green Building Source

The foundation of former President Bill Clinton has secured $5 billion to develop a green building program. The program will retrofit old buildings in 16 cities around the world. The project hopes to combat the 50 to 80 percent of greenhouse gases emitted from cities.

The CEO of Constellation Energy, Mayo A. Shattuck, proposes the use of nuclear power to create a sustainable form of energy for the future. Building green energy requires a sustainable resource and to accommodate this in the energy industry, Constellation Energy hopes to build new nuclear reactors in several different locations.

Building a building larger that is 10,000 square feet or large may require a 20 point rating on the LEED System. The County Council in Montgomery, Maryland proposed a bill that would require buildings to use green building products in construction. The LEED system is monitored by the U.S. Green Building Council.

CSE Live reports that the U.S. Green Building Council is working to lower energy-related greenhouse gas emissions by require the increased use of green building products during construction. The LEED system may soon require that buildings earn 2 points in the "Optimize Energy Performance" category in order to receive LEED certification.

The cement manufacturer, CEMEX, received an award for its environmental efforts which includes retrofitting a plant with green building material. The Tennessee plant received the award from the Portland Cement Association for installing energy sufficient technology and using production techniques that protect the environment.

Building industry leaders are joining the U.S. Green Building Council at a rapid pace. Membership in the Council grew tenfold since 2000. The Council sponsors the LEED system which was created to score and certify the "greenness" of a building.

The technology company, HP, uses environmentally friendly material for its ink cartridges. Through a program created by HP, ink cartridges are now recyclable. HP CEO, Mark Hurd, states that with "global reach becomes global responsibility" and with the recycling program HP fulfills its global responsibility.

At its monthly board meeting the South Shore Chamber of Commerce proposed a bill that included eight environmental initiatives. One initiative, "Build it Green" will promote the use of green building practices while developing an eco-tourism marketing campaign.

Realty Times explores the movement of using green building materials when building homes. The increased use of green building materials results from growing concern over global warming and steady increase in energy prices.

The U.S. Green Building Council certified the first green home in New York. The home, built in Syracuse, uses green building supplies like cork flooring, cabinets made from an agricultural waste products, and water saving toilets.