The Ultimate Green News Year in Review 2007

It’s been an incredible year in green news, and coverage on the environment seems to increase every week.  Below, you will find links from the last year that I think are important.  Unfortunately, tons of good stories didn’t make the cut because the links were broken and I couldn’t find an adequate replacement.  Regardless, 2007 has been a great year, don’t you think?  Collectively, we’re taking big steps to respect the environment.  Republicans, Democrats, businesses, individuals, etc.  Everyone wants to do their part.  And even if you don’t click all, er, 151 links below, scan the titles as a reminder of what has been accomplished.  Let’s keep the momentum in 2008. 

LEED

• It’s way too easy being green: the decidedly dupable system for rating a building’s greenness.
• The sooner cities adopt LEED & other standards, the better off we’ll be.
• Green standards irk (lumber) dealers.
• A foundation for green building.
• San Francisco to have the greenest building codes in nation?
• America’s most expensive private development is getting LEED certified.
• Can LEED survive the carbon-neutral era?
• Green ratings system proliferate for green builders.
• USGBC certifies world’s first carbon neutral building.
• Hard Facts on Soft Costs, what is LEED Going to Cost Me?
• The Green Standard?  LEED buildings get buzz, but is the point getting lost.
• What’s right and wrong with LEED.
• USGBC advised to make location part of LEED to avoid sprawl.
• Developer sells LEED project getting stellar return ($).
• Wells Fargo passes $1B mark in financing LEED buildings.
• USGBC to allow Cradle to Cradle points in certification process.
• USGBC committee issues final report on PVC.
• Building greener and cheaper than LEED.

BUSINESS

• The Eco-nomics of carbon markets.
• Energy efficiency is a good first step for business that want to fight climate change.
• Green workplaces increase worker productivity.
• Finding financing for your green building.
• The real costs of saving the environment.
• To spur second home sales, developers tout environmental attributes.
• New eco-friendly towers defy the logic of the market downturn.
• Market for green homes expected to reach $20 B in next five years.
• Clinton Climate Initiative and Wal-Mart team up to provide low-cost green building technology.
• 50 ways to green your business.
• 7 Steps in the lifecycle of a green product.
• Environment holds up Donald Trump’s $2 B development.
• Hyper-green products go Cradle to Cradle.
• Most Americans & Canadians say "green" labeling is a marketing tactic.
• Nanotechnology can make green buildings even greener.
• Sustainable building is all the rage and big banks want in on the action.
• Alcoa places 588,000 Watt photovoltaic system on facility roof.
• HGTV announces the Green Home Giveaway for 2008.
• Sun Microsystems’ green data centers to save $1.1 M/year in energy costs.
• Creative financing to drive energy-efficiency.
• With more large companies going green, the entire industry is under scrutiny.
• Businesses going green, but consumers still skeptical.
• There’s money to be made in green ideas.
• Businesses invest in energy efficiency to decrease rising energy costs.
• 41% of U.S. REITs actively pursuing efficiency and green building upgrades.
• Call your project "smart" and get millions in public funds.
• Healthcare industry going green to save energy, cut infection rate.
• Study says most corporate leaders are interested in sustainability.
• A $3 million green gas station opens in South Baltimore.

< li>Hoteliers build green properties and renovate old ones green.

• Bank of America announces $20B environmental initiative.
• Smart businesses are beginning to hug the treehuggers.
• CoStar adds Energy Star rating to commercial properties in database.
• New bank aims to make it easier to build green.
• CBS Radio launches first green-focused radio station.
• Wal-Mart announces the Sustainability 360 program.
• 77% of Americans say U.S. must do more to spur green tech.
• China chokes on coal-fired boom.

POLITICS

• Incandescents Gone by 2014: Saving U.S. $40 Billion.
• Al Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize.
• Portland Oregon will pay green builders to build more efficient homes.
• Kansas coal-fired power plant rejected over carbon dioxide.
• Ten principles for sustainable city governance.
• Congress celebrates first green building on Capitol Hill, saves 48% in energy.
• California state sues county for failing to rein in sprawl.
• NYC Mayor Bloomberg announces switch to green taxi fleet.
• Future UK Prime Minister announces five eco-towns.
• U.S. Supreme Court rules 5-4 that EPA violated Clean Air Act.
• Massachusetts power plant to pay emissions penalties.

ARCHITECTURE

• Green takes strong hold with architects, designers.
• Can green homes be mass produced?
• Green buildings appeal to modern homeowners.
• Tackling the challenge of building green skyscrapers.
• Architects designing green to address demand for lower operating costs.
• MIT alleges design flaws in Frank Gehry Building.
• Green movement is changing design.
• Cement is crucial for development but an enemy of green.
• Architecture students set out to make green dwellings affordable.
• Will sustainable development "shake up" architecture?
• Big Steps in Building: Ban Minimum Floor Areas.
• Sustainable design makes you feel better.
• Building a green city in a climate-changed world.
• Green homes come with various costs and designs.
• Need for green counsel increasing as green claims rise.
• More hotels are using environmentally-friendly design.

CLEAN TECH

• Homespun electricity, from the wind.
• 67% of consumers willing to pay for green power.
• Thin-film solar sheets seek time in the sun.
• Winds of change blow in Roscoe, Texas.
• A deeply green city confronts energy needs and nuclear worries.
• Morgan Stanley estimates clean tech market could reach $1 trillion by 2030.
• Obstacles to growth in the small-wind market.
• As nations examine their carbon output, wind turbines provide an alternative to coal.
• Demand for clean energy is outstripping supply.
• Rooftop wind turbines are an increasingly popular way to generate electricity in cities.
• Stop coal, stop global warming, says Ed Mazria.
• Power to the people: run your house on a Prius.
• AlwaysOn Going Green 100 – hottest private companies in greentech.
• You can have the first small-wind turbine on the block.
• New roof/attic system could cut summer energy bills.
• 9 ways to make your home more energy efficient.
• Thin-film could top $7 billion by 2015.
• Clean tech investments are small but growing.
• 88% of new homes are crappy, GHG spewing energy hogs.
• The cost of saving energy and going on energy diet.
• 90% of Americans think that solar should be offered on all new homes.
• Google Dot Org to test hybrids that sell power to grid.
• Wind energy white paper outlines the defense of wind.
• Wal-Mart starts pilot program to put solar on stores.
• Small wind market continues to take off.
• Top 10 ways for commercial buildings to save energy.
• U.S. wind energy grew 20% in 2006!
• Zero-energy townhome community planned for Issaquah.
• DOE selects 13 projects for up to $168M in funding.
• Wind farm building boom poised to continue in 2007.

VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

• Affordable housing advocates build green and inspire innovation.
• City planner says going green has its advantages.
• One writer finds it’s not easy building green.
• 100 tips and resources to greenify your home.
• Study claims energy efficiency fails to cut consumption.
• The six sins of greenwashing.
• Builders return to class for lessons in green.
• Going green draws talent, cuts costs.
• Green building projects will skyrocket in next five years.
• Energy-efficiency audits can find savings in hidden places.
• Scientist James Lovelock says global warming is irreversible.
• Eco-friendly City Branding – Sacramento looking to become green.
• The swelling McMansion backlash. 
• Specialized training boosts real estate agent’s eco-credibility.
• ASLA announces new rating system for sustainable landscape design.
• The ‘green building’ trend is growing in residential construction.
• Greener homes means more than planting trees.
• Urban gardeners face off with neighbors over landscaping.
• Costs of green building are often misunderstood, and even overestimated by as much as 300%.
• Why is new housing so big and lousy?
• Unfortunately, going green is only of moderate concern to consumers.
• Housing slowdown offers a chance to get real about home sizes.
• Do eco-cities have what’s necessary to solve eco-problems?
• Rooftop vegetation and gardens are catching on.
• Monster homes, enough is enough!
• Warnings of a crowded future and no open spaces.
• Is that eco-friendly renovation worth the cost?
• New proposed green standard (Standard 189P) nears completion.
• Clinton Climate Initiative offers $5B to green city buildings.
• Why green buildings cannot save the planet.
• Britain assesses the pros and cons of green homes.
• Pre-1994 toilets can account for 40% of H2O consumption.
• Green homeowners happy with homes and likely to recommend them.
• No Impact Man makes an impact.
• Green building materials gain ground in soft housing market.
• U.S. homebuyers reportedly willing to pay premium for green home.
• Unleash your inner Al Gore with 12 Eco-tips.
• Short-term air pollution increases risk of heart attack.