Browsing the web this morning brought two important news items to my attention. The first covers a recent news release by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concerning their Energy Star Leaders program. Last year the 'Leaders' prevented over 220,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions and saved over $48 million across their commercial building portfolios. According to the EPA these savings have quadrupled since 2008 and make this past year the most successful since the program's launch in 2004. This is wonderful news! 

According to the EPA, these emissions are equivalent to those from the electricity use of almost 39,000 homes annually. With success like that it will be exciting to see the numbers from 2010. It should be noted for those that don't know, that the EPA labels any organization an Energy Star Leader that cuts its energy use by 10 percent across its entire building portfolio. Those aspiring to become a "top performer" must perform on average in the top 25 percent of similar buildings nationwide.