It looks like the nation’s first provider of green insurance coverage for the commercial sector has decided to expand that coverage into the residential sector.  Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company will be offering green coverage to homeowners who either own a green home or who want to upgrade their home with green features in the event of a loss.  So in a loss situation, the homeowners can rebuild their home and have it certified under the LEED system. 

Homeowners with green homes will be offered a five percent discount on their insurance premium.  In addition, homeowners will be able to rebuild and replace as follows:

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It’s clear our country is reaching what future generations will see as a watershed moment as it relates to our current energy situation and how we handle it.  In the U.S. alone, buildings account for roughly 70% of electricity use and 39% of energy use, so any discussion of our energy future naturally implicates the built environment.  The current state of discussions on our energy future has brought together some incredible minds and one of those is the great T. Boone Pickens, an expert in recognizing scarce resources and future energy trends.  Just today, he announced his efforts relating to the PickensPlan — a plan he explains himself in the above video.

Now, I think Mr. Pickens is definitely probing one of the better ways to alleviate our dependence on foreign oil, but I also think he’s skipping over an important aspect of this discussion on our country’s energy mix. 

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Hopefully you’re eating good, hanging out with friends and family, and enjoying this day that we celebrate.  Keep it real, keep it careful, and we’ll be back with you as always tomorrow morning.

Photo credit: jonrawlinson.

The AIA has been publishing some interesting analysis of U.S. green building programs, which I wanted to share with all you enthusiasts.  In their report, Local Leaders in Sustainability, the AIA looked at 661 communities, or cities with a population greater than 50,000 people, and conducted research of each communities’ green building programs.  The AIA spoke with planners and other officials from 606 cities, getting a 92% response rate.  They found that 92 of the 606 responding cities had green building programs — or to put that in perspective, over 42 million people live in cities with green building programs.  The report also elaborated on program trends and includes case studies of programs in Portland, San Francisco, Scottsdale, Chicago, Austin, and Atlanta. 

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Well, I just want to kick out a shout to the writers at EarthFirst — they’ve found a way to make us blush not just once, but twice.  Much to my surprise, I was invited on their list of Top 25 Hottest Guys in Green: 10 We Missed Last Time (scroll down to #7).  No worries, though, I’m working my way up the list, so hopefully you’ll find me on the original Top 25 next year — maybe somewhere between Brad Pitt and Leonardo Dicaprio?!  But enough about me, how about Jetson Green contributor extraordinaire Sarah Meredith Roe!  She made their list of Top 25 Hottest Girls in Green: 10 We Missed the First Time (scroll down to #3).  Sarah beat out green belles such as Sheryl Crow, KT Turnstall, Amber Valetta, and Norah Jones, just to name a few.  If that doesn’t make a green writer blush, I’m not sure what does.  Thanks EarthFirst for thinking of Jetson Green!