National Association of Counties ("NACo") has released the findings of two new green government surveys.  To access more results from these surveys, visit www.greencounties.org/. 

(1) NACo County Green Programs Survey:  There are 3,068 U.S. Counties.  A random sample of 801 counties resulted in 147 responding counties (60% rural and 39% urban).  RESULTS:  58% of county respondents have a program to encourage green government practices; 14% generate renewable energy; 84% do not have a green purchasing policy; and 21% have, will or plan to conduct a county operations greenhouse gas survey.

(2) Local Leaders in Sustainability: Green Counties, a joint report from NACo and the American Institute of Architects ("AIA"):  This survey focused on the top 200 most populous counties in the country and discovered that green programs have increased by over 400% in the last three years. 39 counties have a green building program covering 43 million people (with 19 counties in the East, 7 in the Midwest, 3 in the Intermountain West, and 10 in the West.)

Beijing has built its key Olympics Game's venues into energy-saving "role models", according to Xinhua News. The National Stadium, known as the "Bird's Nest" for its unique latticework of interwoven steel, is said to be considered a template for water conservation, with 70 percent of its supply coming from recycled water. Other sustainable building features will include new energy supply systems, including a solar power generators with a capacity of 100 kw has been installed in the National Stadium's roof and south glass wall to supply power for its underground parking lot.

After six years of research, Raser Technologies is set to deliver geothermal energy to the city of Anaheim, California. The geothermal generator, which is located in Beaver County, Utah, will produce 10 megawatts of energy, or enough to power 9,000 homes. Anaheim's new energy source will put it on the fast track to reaching 20 percent of its total energy needs through renewable energy by 2012.

U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) designed a system to alleviate bottlenecks in connecting new power generation projects to the transmission grid in California. About two-thirds of the projects in the long queue for review by the Cal ISO are for renewable power. FERC ruled that the Cal ISO can waive some rules and schedules for new power plants hooking up to the grid, allowing the ISO to reduce the backlog, according to Reuters.  The Cal ISO has 361 interconnection requests totaling more than 105,000 megawatts in the queue. Of those, more than 68,000 MW are from renewable power generation.

Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente said that he will introduce green building legislation to require developers to include a base level of environmentally friendly features in new residential projects. The council president said his proposal strikes the right balance in protecting both environmental and development interests. The housing market has slowed dramatically, but De La Fuente said projects that do go forward should meet a standard set by the Berkeley-based nonprofit Build It Green's GreenPoint Rated system. New projects would have to be certified green under the rating system if De La Fuente's proposal is adopted.

Until now, there has been little, if any, active litigation related to the rash of green building regulations passed in the past few years. That changed when a group of HVAC and water heating equipment trade organizations, contractors and distributors sued the City of Albuquerque in federal district court to stop parts of the city's high performance building code from taking effect. The outcome of the case, and others that will surely follow in its wake will have far-reaching implications for addressing climate change and other carbon-based environmental damage. Local laws seeking to set higher green standards will be struck down if the federal government has exclusive authority to regulate energy efficiency, according to an article by Greener Buildings.

Grace Cathedral has announced that it is receiving $65,000 from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) for the installation of a new, state-of-the-art solar photovoltaic power system, according to CBS. The system, expected to be completed and brought online by the fall, is part of PG&E's $7.5 million commitment to increase solar power in San Francisco. The Rev. Canon Sally Bingham, president of California Interfaith Power and Light, helped bring together PG&E and Grace Cathedral for the solar program. The Interfaith Power and Light campaign is mobilizing a religious response to global warming in congregations through the promotion of renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation.

The number of building projects certified according to LEED standards has increased dramatically, as has the annual revenue, and expenses for the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council. But along with increased publicity for LEED has come criticism from some architects and builders that the system doesn't award enough points for site selection and design, and that the cost of certification is too high. From 2005 to 2007, the USGBC's revenue increased almost threefold, from $16.40 million to $46.44 million. Expenses increased 118 percent, from $16.39 million to $35.87 million over the same period. Some LEED features have become more common and more affordable, and in most cases, building to the level of Certified or Silver won't cost developers any more than older methods due to the evolving standards of the program, according to an article by Arkansas Business.