The bad news is—The American Lung Association cites numerous health concerns and conditions caused by smog. This includes premature births, infant deaths, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, allergies, asthma, lower lung function, premature death, lung cancer, heart disease and heart attacks. The good news is—it’s now possible for a roof to reduce these harmful, disease-causing pollutants from the air. 

LOS ANGELES, CA, — West 27^th Place, a USC student housing community, has just received a LEED Platinum rating—the highest level of sustainability possible from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). It is one of a handful of Platinum certified developments in Los Angeles and one of the only student housing projects in the nation achieving this milestone.

The mixed-use community includes 161 apartment units and was developed by CityView and Symphony Development. The project, which opened for the fall semester and is fully leased, is now owned by Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors, the private equity real estate arm of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors that invests in specialized real estate sectors.

(Reuters) At the 2011 UN Climate Change Conference, serious doubt hangs over the future of the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period on tackling climate change expires at the end of next year.

The major issue for debate is how to drum up finance to help poorer nations adapt to a warmer planet, while the developed world wrestles with sovereign debt problems.

China, the world's biggest carbon emitter, gave a lift to the climate talks at the end of last week by suggesting it might sign up to a legally-binding deal to cut emissions, but it has set conditions.

November 23, 2011 — Four proprietary cool roof products manufactured by Coat’N’Cool have earned an ENERGY STAR rating, it has been announced by Michael Magallanes, vice president of marketing for Coat’N’Cool, an Orange County, CA – based company.  Marketed under the Coat’N’Cool brand name, Coat’N’Cool is a highly effective and long lasting reflective coating that is available in a variety of colors. The products earning the ENERGY STAR rating include four popular colors: Basecoat White, Topcoat Antique White, Topcoat Butter Cream, and Topcoat Siltstone. 

ENERGY STAR qualified cool roof products lower roof surface temperature, decreasing the amount of heat transferred into a building and reducing air conditioning costs.  According to Coat’N’Cool statistics, a cool roof can lower interior temperatures of a commercial or industrial building by 8-12 degrees during the hottest four hours of a summer day (noon to four in the afternoon), and can cut peak cooling demand by 10-15 percent. 

The tallest building in New York currently standing is the Empire State Building. It is a beautiful symbol of the greatness of New York, rising 1,250 feet (381 meters) with an antenna spire rising to 1,454 feet (443.2 meters) above bustling midtown Manhattan. It was named one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers, amidst the ranks of the Panama Canal, the Channel Tunnel, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Now it can add another notch in its belt, as it has just been awarded LEED Gold certification by the US Green Building Council.

Energy savings from the retrofits are expected to be about 38% by 2013, cutting energy costs by $4.4 million. The retrofits included upgrading windows and insulation, and renovating the cooling plant in the basement. Building manager, Malkin Holdings, are set to purchase 55 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy from retailer, Green Mountain Energy. Overall carbon emissions reductions from building operation and maintenance are expected to be 105,000 metric tons over the next 15 years.

Former HUD Secretaries and Senators to craft detailed vision for the future of U.S. housing policy

Washington, D.C. – The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) launched a bipartisan Housing Commission yesterday in Washington, D.C. After providing an overview of the Commission, former Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Henry Cisneros and Mel Martinez, also a former U.S. Senator, former Senator Kit Bond, and former Senator and BPC Founder George Mitchell, participated in a panel discussion with former U.S. Representative Rick Lazio and take questions from the audience.  

The Commission will develop consensus recommendations on the most effective way to meet the future housing needs of an increasingly diverse American society.  BPC’s Housing Commission will include some of the nation’s leading housing experts and will develop a comprehensive, politically viable plan for consideration by the administration and Congress.  

Greenbuild – Toronto, Canada  – Green jobs are now firmly established in the design and construction workforce, according to a new study released by McGraw-Hill Construction at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo last week in Toronto. According to the study, 35% of architects, engineers and contractors (AEC) report having green jobs today, representing 661,000 jobs and one-third of the industry workforce. That share is expected to increase over the next three years, with 45% of all design and construction jobs being green by 2014.

Bridgelux a greentec manufacture of LED's will cut about one-fifth of its workforce in Livermore, a move brought about by its decision to shift to cheaper ways to produce light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. Livermore-based Bridgelux is cutting 53 out of 250 jobs at its head offices in the East Bay, said Bill Watkins, CEO of the company. Worldwide, Bridgelux has about 300 employees.

These cutbacks come on the heels of the Solyndra shutdown that erased 1,100 (Silicon Valley) jobs.

Bridgelux's products include LED chips that deliver electrical impulses to activate a light bulb or other lighting device. LED chips are the basis for light-emitting diodes in general lighting, cellphones, backlit units in flat-panel televisions, signs, automotive applications and camera flashes for mobile units.

Bridgelux has determined it needs to shift its focus of producing LEDs on sapphire surfaces to a less expensive system of putting them on silicon surfaces. The company is eliminating its current production of LEDs on sapphire surfaces, which is what triggered the job cuts.

"We are spending all of our dollars on silicon," Watkins said. "We feel that is a real game-changer." A switch to silicon from sapphire could slash production costs by 75 percent, Watkins estimated.  "We are trying to gain technology leadership by doing this," Watkins said.

The cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations has declined some 30 percent over the past twelve months and continues to decrease dramatically, with some predicting the cost of solar to decrease by an additional 50 percent over the next decade. A key element of this decline is the role federal and state tax credits play in helping reduce the costs of purchasing and installing PV systems thus increasing volume. However, even with the decrease in upfront cost, many businesses are not embracing solar as they