In a fragile housing market where nationwide sales of new homes fell to a 13-year low in January, the sale of new "green homes" by San Jose-based Pinn Brothers Fine Homes, is taking off.  Seven out of nine new green homes sold quickly at Pinn Brothers' Orchard Heights development.  These 3,600-square-foot or larger green homes starting at around $1 million.  Each home meets the LEED standard for new homes. San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, who offered up a green vision for the city last fall, said his staff has started counting solar roofs in San Jose, and that fewer than 500 are now in place. His goal is 100,000 solar roofs in San Jose over the next 10 years.

Applying "green" building standards to new construction could cut carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent, or 1.7 billion tons, across North America over the next 22 years, an environmental experts' report claims. The expert panel reporting to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, set up under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), says moving quickly to ensure the uptake of readily available energy-efficiency measures in all new buildings could secure prompt, cheap and rapid cuts in emissions in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

The California Energy Commission recently adopted a report to develop comprehensive regulatory strategies to meet AB 32 greenhouse gas reduction goals. The "Interim Opinion on Greenhouse Strategies" was prepared jointly by the Energy Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The Opinion makes recommendations to the California Air Resources Board (ARB) for a regulatory structure that includes a combination of market and program approaches to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity and natural gas sectors. The foundation of this proposed regulatory framework is based on the state's "loading order" which puts energy efficiency as the top priority, followed by renewable energy investment.

The three remaining presidential candidates are discussing green building funds and cap-and-trade concepts. According to this article, the presidential hopefuls argue that recession can be countered by efforts to improve the environment. As each campaign continues to sharpen its rhetoric, energy and environmental policies are emerging as drivers for economic stimulus. Proposed reforms focus on commercial real estate, a $5 trillion industry in the United States that accounts for approximately 30 percent of the total U.S. carbon emissions, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.

British Columbia’s provincial government took a step toward modernizing and greening provincial building practices with an update of some overarching legislation. The government's Bill-10 makes changes to its Local Government Act, Community Charter, Vancouver Charter, Architects Act and Engineers and Geoscientists Act. Among the new initiatives in the bill is a provision allowing the provincial minister responsible for housing to designate an official to make binding interpretations of the provincial building code. M.J. Whitemarsh, CEO of the Canadian Homebuilders Association in B.C., said Bill-10 will give the industry some certainty around what it is required to meet new standards.

In Boston, a recently adopted code requires all new construction over 50,000 square feet to be LEED "certifiable." In 2004, Mayor Thomas Menino and the Boston Redevelopment Agency formed a Green Building Task Force to study how green building practices may be encouraged in the City of Boston. After a 12-month study, the task force recommended a set of "initiatives," implemented in January 2007 requiring private buildings over 50,000 square feet in Boston be designed and planned to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification.   However, actual certification is not mandated.  Some view this initiative as an attempt to appear environmentally sustainable.

San Diego State University's College of Extended Studies has developed an online certificate program for green building construction and design. The program is designed for anyone in the construction industry, from those with heavy experience to those with with a "beginner's" interest. Topics include an overview of sustainable construction and the USGBC's LEED program.