Green Building Committee Fundraiser L.E.E.D's the way!

HUNTINGTON BEACH. July 26 2008, 2:00 pm Led by a Democratic dream team of sorts , Speaker of the California Assembly, Fabian Núñez(D-Los Angeles), Assembly Democrats, State Senator Jack Scott, State Senator Sheila Kuehl, State Senator Jose Solorio, Huntington Beach Mayor Debbie Cook who all have introduced a package of legislation designed to improve the state’s environment while at the same time boosting the growing market for “green-collar” jobs were honored at a luncheon of the home of my new friends Flossie & Paul Horgan, Sierra Club pioneers who live the change they want to see. In speaking with our honored guests, I learned Democrats in the California Assembly want California to again lead the nation – this time by getting out in front with a comprehensive strategy to spur Green business and advance Green collar jobs for Californians in everything from high tech work in the lab, to installing one of our million solar roofs to weatherizing homes and businesses. Learning this prompted me to reach out to MR. Nunez~ assistant, Sonia Campos (Ms. Campos accepted the award on behalf of the Speaker of the Assembly) to set up an initiative working closely with Speaker of the Assembly legislative efforts. We would like to begin to keep track of his green building related legislation to keep the green community up to speed on the changes taking place that make a difference. No longer can it be said that politicians aren't doing there part. Please take a moment and read more so you can make an informed decision when we need you the most. Stay tuned to for latest in California Assembly green legislature news in the coming weeks from all of our political movers & shakers that are making a difference!

Surely Green Circle Guide

Whew! It's good to be back in the blog saddle. For the past three months I've been assembling key team members and working on The SURELY GREEN CIRCLE Residential Remodeling Guidelines that have been made possible only through the efforts of many dedicated volunteers, staff members, and others in the ASID and USGBC community. As a USGBC member of the Green Building Committee it's my intention to educate the end user on the scope of green remodeling & new construction guidelines that have emerged from conversations occurring among a variety of residential building experts of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Whole-House, Systems-Thinking Approach…
It is easy and tempting to boil down green building to simply product selections and glide over or even ignore the challenges of green building as a process. The SURELY GREEN CIRCLE Program and the SURELY GREEN CIRCLE Residential Remodeling Guidelines are about products and process, about synergies and unintended consequences. In green building, it is rarely a single product or building component or a collection of attributes that results in a building’s being labeled “green.” Green building is almost always about how systems work together to reduce environmental impacts. In the SURELY GREEN CIRCLE guidelines, systems thinking and integration are encouraged by the cross-listing of strategies by project and environmental category, as well as by the “potential issues”. Want to know more...