Californians will vote on two ballot initiatives on November 4th. The first initiative requires utilities to generate half their electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar. The second initiative provides rebates of up to $50,000 for the purchase of alternative-fuel vehicles through a $5 billion bond. Supporters say the measures would help make California a leader in the alternative energy.  Critics claim the initiatives will actually undermine state efforts to promote alternative energy, add to California's already bloated budget deficit, saddle taxpayers with billions in debt and potentially benefit a handful of companies, including one linked to T. Boone Pickens.

Joe Lstiburek, a licensed engineer and principal of Massachusetts-based Building Science Consulting, said the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building-rating system is a “sham”. Lstiburek is not alone in questioning the energy performance of LEED-certified buildings. Among the skeptics includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: “We are seeing that because of the way LEED is set up, you can get points in different places, and it’s quite possible to have a green-certified building that is not energy-efficient” said Michael Zatz, manager of the commercial building program for Energy Star, an EPA program to promote energy-efficient products and practices.

Grand Rapids leads the nation in the number of LEED-certified buildings per capita, according to The U.S. Green Building Council. In 2005, Mayor George Heartwell pledged that more than 20% of the city's power would come from renewable sources by 2008; it hit that target a year early, and Heartwell upped the target to 100% by 2020. The municipal government's energy use has been cut by more than 10%. The public-transit fleet features hybrid buses. And here, in the heart of the Rust Belt, manufacturers are leading the greenification charge. Office-furniture heavyweights Herman Miller and Steelcase both have LEED-certified buildings in the area, as do industrial firms such as Cascade Engineering.

A partnership between the U.S. Green Building Council and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers will make the ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2004 and ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2007 User's Manuals available for free (regularly $55 or $69) with LEED registration under several rating systems. Std 62.1 is associated with a prerequisite and credit in each of those rating systems, and is thus essential to LEED. In order to receive access to the free download for one year, the project must be registered under one of the following rating systems:

• LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance 
• LEED for New Construction v2.2
• LEED for Core & Shell v2.0
• LEED for Schools
• LEED for Commercial Interiors v2.0
• LEED for Existing Buildings v2.0

The U.S. Green Building Council made its name on LEED, but the organization doesn’t make money on the program, according to Finance and Commerce. In 2006, the nonprofit USGBC spent $5.3 million running its  LEED green-building rating system, but federal tax statements show LEED certifications brought in only $1.35 million. Overall, the organization brought in $26.8 million and spent $23.1 million. As of Sept. 4, the USGBC had not filed its 2007 tax report. USGBC officials estimated a 2008 budget of $50 million, more than double the 2006 budget. The USGBC's shortfall on LEED is more than offset with revenue from programs that developed around the certification system. The council's main source of revenue is its annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, which will be held from Nov. 21 - 23 in Boston. Register using the above link. 

Boston's Logan International Airport has the first LEED-certified terminal in the US. A fleet of miniature wind turbines at the edge of the rooftop of the airport's headquarters, which are expected to generate about 100,000 kilowatt-hours annually, meet 3% of the building's energy needs. Logan's turbines are one of the most visible examples of the environmentally friendly initiatives being embraced by major US airports. Other airports making an effort to go green include Denver International and Fresno Yosemite, which recently installed solar panels.