Home r TRUC Pi Going Green THE NEV 25 ' ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION , or - - Environmental building development goes mainstream. R to see and hear the latest information ecently, the U.S. Green Building Council (usgbc.org ) on green building. Greenbuild 2010 seemed to have announced that more than accomplished its objectives with a 1 billion square feet of green build- sprawling 200,000-square-foot expo ing projects had been LEED-certified hall featuring 1,800 exhibi- under the third-party rating tors, educational and speak- system. In a good economy, er sessions, green building that may raise an eyebrow tours and over a week of or two, but certainly in the activities. stagnant economy experi- New this year was a enced in the United States Green Jobs Summit with 35 and most other developed companies, including Bank countries, that is quite an of America, CB Richard achievement in such a short Ellis, Turner Construction period of time. and Underwriters The USGBC was formed Robert Laboratories Inc. They were in the mid-1990s and only Mattler there to speak with interest- has had a sustainable build- Special to the ed prospects and otherwise ing rating system in place Jewish News fill positions in the growing over the last decade. green economy. Since it was first intro- With a prediction of green jobs sup- duced to the marketplace in 2000, thousands of commercial projects and porting and creating millions of jobs over the next four years, that makes single-family homes have participated the green economy one of the fast- in obtaining a LEED (Leadership in est growing sectors in the entire U.S. Energy and Environmental Design) designation. Since 2007, with the economy. USGBC's adoption of stricter energy Michigan's Embrace standard prerequisites, LEED-certified buildings consume less energy, which There has been small, but steady growth in the Michigan green build- results in lower energy costs for fami- ing economy. While the Grand Rapids lies, businesses and taxpayers. metro area leads the state with the These structures also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and con- largest number of LEED-certified buildings, Metro Detroit is home to tribute to healthier environments more and more of these certified for residents, workers and the com- munity. In a recent report, McGraw buildings. Even in one of the most difficult Hill Construction noted that the green building industry has grown by 50 local economies in the country, LEED- percent in the last two years, despite a certified buildings have multiplied; the crippling recession that has prevented momentum will only accelerate as our economy continues to recover from its the growth of or negatively impacted many other industries. darkest period in almost a century. Public schools have been in the fore- That same report projected the green building industry will contribute front of this movement as the Detroit $554 billion to the U.S. gross domestic School of Arts building was the first local LEED-certified school building product and create or save 7.9 mil- lion American jobs between 2009 and back in 2006. Institutions of higher learning have 2013. embraced this "green wave" of energy Generation Green efficiency, water conservation, re-use Last November, the annual Greenbuild of material resources and innovation International Conference and Expo in design. Even religious institu- tions such as Temple Kol Ami in West was held at McCormick Center in Chicago, with more than 28,000 people Bloomfield and the IHM Motherhouse in Monroe have seen the importance in attendance. Attendees from a vari- ety of building and business back- of striving for this designation. grounds and from 110 countries came Municipalities, eager to reduce ON SALE NOW! _, Fisher Theatre • March 22—April 3 — Ticketmaster.com , 800 982 2787, box office & ticketmastedi* - - G mops of l 2+: GroupsOfiBroadwaylnDetroit.cw-n or 313-871;113 2 Info: .313-S72-1000 & Broadwavl n roit.com . LINCOLN Broadway in Detroit sponsored by your Southeastern Michigan Lincoln dealers • Lincoln.com DETROIr .tEW;SH NEWS Buy 1 subscription to the Detroit Jewish News and get the second subscription This special offer runs through Feb. 28th! *Offer applies for in-state subscriptions only Going Green on page 30 February 17 • 2011 29