The Green Building Expo Online Event Series continued yesterday with a multi-hour event focused on Remodels and Retrofits. The event was a big success and started off with a round table discussion answering attendee questions live on everything from home performance tips to tax incentives for energy efficient construction. From there the event moved towards an individual presentation by Jean Carroon on sustainable preservation. It's amazing to think that our current building stock accounts for around 40% of total energy use and carbon emissions in this country.

Following Jean's presentation was a talk tailored towards home performance, and Lucas Johnson shared words of wisdom on the necessity for a home performance assessment. More states are making these necessary before a home or building is sold, but there is a lot of work left to do in this arena. Audience participation yesterday was very high, and I found myself running out of time posting questions to Jean. It seems that there is a large number of professionals out there interested in or already involved in the reuse market that are seeking guidance.

Lately I have been reading more and more in the news about an upturn in starts and building activity. It's nice to see something positive, especially in an industry that's been hit pretty hard this past year and half. According to a recent statement by Eric Belsky, Managing Director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, we should see a healthy rise in home improvement activity this fall and into 2011.