A Green Amenity, Above It All
The New York Times
Office landlords have increasingly been wooing prospective tenants in recent years by marketing their buildings as environmentally friendly. Typically, these buildings are energy efficient or recycle water. But even in these buildings, one environmental feature has been rare: a green roof.More

AGC Unveils Comprehensive Plan to Revive the Construction Industry
Building Design & Construction
The Associated General Contractors of America unveiled a new plan designed to revive the hardest hit sector of the economy, the nation’s construction industry. The plan, "Build Now for the Future: A Blueprint for Economic Growth," is designed to reverse predictions that construction activity will continue to shrink through 2010, crippling broader economic growth.More

European, Australian Energy Efficiency Programs can be Good Models for U.S., Study Says
GreenerBuildings
The United States could make its buildings more environmentally responsible and create more green jobs by taking a cue from programs in the European Union and Australia, according to new research by the Rand Corporation.More

Great Recession Transforms Workplace, Work Force
The Associated Press
Going to work may never be the same again. The Great Recession has reshaped the American workplace and work force in ways that will last years, if not longer. The work force is graying as college graduates can't find jobs, young workers get laid off and older workers delay retirement. People in white-collar jobs are feeling increasingly vulnerable to economic downturns, an insecurity that blue-collar workers have known for years.More

New York City Cultivates Green Building Upgrades Two Ways
Environment News Service
New York City's latest effort to turn the Big Apple green aims to train 1,000 building superintendents in the latest energy efficient practices. More

The Key to Unlocking Efficient Solar Thermal Energy: Collaboration and Research
RenewableEnegryWorld.com
The principle of solar thermal power is sound: focus the sun's energy on heat fluid-filled pipes, then transfer the heat and produce steam to run electricity-generating turbines. Cost, however, has prevented this promising clean energy technology from contributing more to the nation's power grid.More

Two Million or More U.S. Buildings Could Benefit From Lighting System Upgrades, National Lighting Bureau Says
Sustainable Facility
More than 2.2 million of the nation's 2.7 million older (pre-1980) commercial buildings have been using the same lighting for the past three decades, the National Lighting Bureau reports, citing data published by the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration. The Bureau estimates that 3 million or more commercial and other nonresidential buildings are candidates for money- and energy-saving lighting-system upgrades.More

Italy Announces Intention to Bid for 2020 Olympics
USA Today
Italy believes the selection of Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 Olympics has given it a shot for the 2020 Summer Games, with Rome and Venice both announcing plans to bid moments after Brazil's victory. More

NASA Opens Doors to New LEED®-Gold Building
GreenerBuildings
The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center recently cut the ribbon on the space administration’s newest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building—a green building with a white roof and black walls in labs. Constructed in less than two-and-a-half years, the three-story Exploration Sciences Building has a roof that is designed to reflect heat and a large skylight atop a centralized staircase to bring in a lot of natural light. More

Six Keys to Running an Efficient Green Business
Reuters
With unprecedented energy price volatility and looming climate regulations, businesses face a new and complex energy paradigm that few are fully prepared to manage. While individual approaches will vary by sector and company, new research from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change shows a growing number of companies recognize that energy efficiency must form the backbone of any corporate strategy to address the new energy frontier. More