The issue of energy efficiency has become increasingly important and we can expect more services and applications directed at that.

Yesterday General Electric announced that it was buying Lineage Power Holdings, a company specialized in high efficiency power conversion technology and services (more…)

The first step to any green building or renewable energy project of any size is finding the financing to make it possible.  Since the bottom fell out of the economy, finding investors and financial institutions willing to finance building projects of any sort has been close to impossible.  Real estate finance prognosticators, however, indicate that (more…)

The idea of turning whole buildings into envelopes to create power may sound almost too good to be true, but it is getting closer to becoming a reality.

The technology has a name: SolarWindow, which makes it possible to generate electricity on see-thru glass windows and is being developed by New Energy (more…)

The U.S. Department of Defense has historically been at the forefront of many of the innovative clean technologies of our generation-and for good reason. Distributed renewable energy installations have reduced the amount of liquid fuels being transported to remote bases, thereby minimizing the vulnerability of (more…)

When the clocked struck 12:01 on New Year’s, two important green regulations went into effect that may have a long term influence on green building and renewable energy.  If successful, either of these regulations would do more to change the green industry than any legal challenge to LEED’s legitimacy (see the continued coverage of the Gifford v. USGBC case (more…)

New research suggests protocell “skins” could be the secret to building carbon-negative architecture.

Researchers in Europe are collaborating on a project to develop materials that could eventually make it possible for buildings to produce water in desert environments or harvest sunlight to produce biofuels. (more…)

Although most of you are probably in St. Martin enjoying fruity cocktails on the beach, we here at GBLB are hard at work.  So take a break from your mai-tai to read about a very interesting appellate decision out of California on weighing the relative priorities of green development.  The case, brought to our attention by a loyal (more…)

Ahhh holiday time, when the sound of the clerk’s stamp on green litigation rings merrily in my ears.  On December 9, 2010, the Builders’ Association of the Twin Cities (BATC) sued Minnesota Green Star (GreenStar).  The Complaint and Motion for a temporary restraining order is available here. 

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It’s no secret that, regardless of how the world addresses the challenge of reducing global carbon emissions, buildings are going to be a central part of the puzzle. Buildings represent about one-third of emissions worldwide and provide some of the quickest and most cost-effective ways to reduce carbon emissions. (more…)

Check out Google Earth – the ‘view from above’ of your favorite American city. And look at the roofs of the office buildings, warehouses, shopping centers, and even the homes. Most of them are probably pretty dark in color – and this means they heat up a lot when the weather is warm – up to 50 degrees hotter than light roofs. All of those dark roofs mean that as a nation (more…)