This post was written by Becky Striepe of Important Media.

Green building is a fast-growing field, and there are more sustainable building jobs out there than ever before. Whether it's working on new construction or retrofitting older buildings to be more efficient, there are definitely more and more opportunities out there for folks knowledgeable about sustainable building. 

We're building an addition on our house, and all of these interviews with contractors have me wondering what is it that draws folks to focus on green construction.

I just read about an initiative going on right now called 'Greening America's Capitals.' It's a project of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which is composed of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). This program helps state capitals implement their visions of environmentally friendly neighborhoods complete with green building and design strategies. This is definitely something we fully support here!

According to the news the first projects will begin this fall, and the program itself will help between three and four communities a year. Each capital city will have a different way of implementing these green features and whether that includes efficient recycling programs, renewables, more public green spaces,  or alternative transportation. The EPA will fund a team of designers to visit several state capital cities and produce designs to kickstart the planning process and environmental considerations. I want to note again that these are neighborhoods, and it is believed that once these pilot projects get underway they can influence citywide changes and even larger movements if done right. 

Following ten years of planning last week, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved a controversial offshore wind project off the coast of Cape Cod. This project will provide 420 megawatts of clean, renewable energy.  In average winds, this project known as  Cape Wind will provide three quarters of the cape and islands electricity needs.

Of course with every project their are vocal critics and this one no doubt will be caught up in the courts for some time.  With many locals decrying the potential loss of view along with a tribe of Native American's  citing sacred grounds, I am sure this project is dead in the water.   While I can see both sides, I’d much rather see wind turbines than oil rigs.
As a native of Santa Barbara, a small town 90 miles north of Los Angeles that experienced a large oil spill 40 years ago that inspired the birth of Earth Day a year later, oil derricks still dot our shoreline.  We see them every time we drive in town, visit the beach, kayak, sail or take a trip to the Channel Islands.  While the lights at night are nice, I’d love to see a moon lit ocean than these beasts working 24/7 to quench our thirst for oil.  Not to mention that the quality from our coast isn’t pure enough to fuel cars, just clean enough to make water bottles and plastic bags.

Our lapse in memory to the risks of offshore drilling was awoken late last month with the horrific BP blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.  It is well known that all off-shore wells are not the same.  At depths below 30,000 feet, such as the drill site in the gulf, extremely high pressure and high temperatures make drilling a considerably high risk and a blow-out’s ticking time bomb.  

While the cost of clean up is BP’s responsibility to a certain extent, no where near the cost of clean up or restoration.  The minimal amount of cash from the oil company and the associates, can’t possibly cover the cost on the environment, clean up, loss of jobs as well as the quality of life for years to come..  We can no longer depend on the status quo of our current energy supplies.  

While implementation of clean energy projects will take time, I hope that we start now and not look back in 5 years after another horrific  event takes place and we wonder why again accidents like this have happened again.
I challenge us all to to conserve energy, fight for policy change and think of creative solutions to our dependence on the status quo for our energy needs.

A new proposal that was approved last month by the Department of Public Works in Los Angeles, CA will require new homes, large developments and some redevelopments to capture, reuse or infiltrate 100% of water during rainstorms.  Those not in compliance will be required to pay a storm water pollution mitigation fee that will fund off-site, low impact public developments. 

This is a much needed approach to manage storm runoff that pollutes the ocean and an innovative way to use grey water to maintain LA’s love of green lawns in an area facing severe droughts. 

Companies and institutions all over the world are aggressively pursuing energy efficiency measures. It seems like every day you hear or read about a new project being undertaken to reduce electrical demand. As we enter into 2010, this undertaking will become more popular in terms of its adoption and more important in terms of its impact.

The federal government has made its stance known with a focus on home weatherization. If we are to move towards a reduced carbon state we need to start with existing building stock, with homes representing a decent percentage of that. I myself have been taking inventory of things like appliances and windows in my apartment to see what measures I can take. While there’s not a whole lot I can do as I live in a rented apartment in a small student community, it is still important to change what I can. This revolves mostly around lighting and living habits. Swapping any incandescent bulbs out for CFLs, taking shorter showers, and putting on extra layers of clothing instead of using the heater. That’s all good and well to a point, but I also live with three other people who all have different ideas of comfort. That's something a little harder to work with.