Rising hopes for 2008

Remember how, way back in 2007, green was the new black? Watch for a new new black in 2008: green building.

The press is gushing with green-building news:

• According to a report from the American Institute of Architects, the number of cities with green-building programs has increased 418 percent since 2003, and AIA — which has issued a list of 50 strategies for reducing buildings’ fossil-fuel consumption 50 percent by 2010 — says more cities are on track to start programs this year.
• The American Society of Landscape Architects says clients both residential and commercial are keening for green, SelfBuild & Design magazine says the money-saving properties of green properties make them a hot item for ’08, and groups from Habitat for Humanity to a Boston homeless organization are also realizing and promoting the cost-saving benefits.
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• The city of Chandler, Ariz., is considering reducing permit fees for people who incorporate green into their homes, and a coalition of national groups is inviting comments on new guidelines for the Sustainable Sites Initiative — a sort of LEED for landscapes that will apply to everything from city parks to transportation rights of way.

Then there’s HGTV’s first-ever Green Home Giveaway: “We’re taking green mainstream … a green home can be a real home!” Win a green home in snooty Hilton Head, S.C.? Sounds OK on an ass-cold day like today.