USGBC has announced the opening of the third public comment period on LEED 2012, the latest update to the LEED rating systems, on March 1. It will run through March 20th, and then LEED 2012 in its final form will be voted on by membership between June 1–30. But to be eligible to vote, USGBC members will have to opt in to the official voting body, which good-standing members can do between April 2 and May 1.

LEEDuser will offer more detail on the current draft of LEED 2012 when the comment period opens.

In this final installment of my ten-part series on resilient design, I'm taking a look at where our food comes from and how we can achieve more resilient food systems.

We are seeing more and more review comments with requirements cited that don't seem to exist specific to our project's registration date and/or rating system. Generally, we are able to pose a further question about these comments that reveals that fact. Last week we got a clarification request on our EQpr2 Environmental Tobacco Smoke documentation for a v2.2 residential project. The comment denied our no smoking lease language and referred to 5 bullet points that must be included in a residential lease.

Energy modeling Q&A: first some answers on cost, and then it's your turn to ask (or answer) some questions.

There is so much confusion about energy modeling--what it should cost, what benefits it offers, how to approach it--that clear statements addressing these questions are like a breath of fresh air.

Going to BuildingEnergy this year? There are a lot of exciting sessions to choose from.

Interdisciplinary, cutting-edge, and combining high-flown philosophical ideas with practical nuts-and-bolts advice, the BuildingEnergy Conference in Boston is not only close to home but also close to our hearts. Every year, we look forward to meeting with old friends and hearing a lot of new ideas.

It's easy to get lost in a sea of greenwash. Our updated GreenSpec criteria provide clear direction on what makes a product green.

BuildingGreen has been defining what makes a product green since the start of the GreenSpec directory in 1998--and we're repeatedly surprised by how far and wide our list of green attributes travels. The industry is not static, though, and it is our aim to continue providing a compass that points from today's best practices to truly sustainable materials management.

There are plenty of products that simply aren't efficient, low-emitting, or sustainable. but here are some products that have a lot going for them, but also have some serious flaws.

In this ninth installment of my ten-part series on resilient design I'm focusing beyond individual buildings to the community scale.

Free Webcast: LEED Energy Reporting Made Easy: Fulfilling LEED-2009 MPR #6

Tues. Feb. 28, 2012 | 1 p.m. Eastern Time

When the Minimum Program Requirements (MPRs) were introduced in 2009, it quickly became clear that MPR #6 would be perhaps the most controversial and the most difficult to comply with. Under the requirements of MPR #6, certified LEED-2009 projects are committed to sharing whole-building energy and water usage data.

The Army is still going for Gold and Platinum despite recent legislation calling a halt to LEED spending.

The federal government has been one of the biggest supporters of LEED certification in the last few years, with the General Services Administration (GSA) requiring basic LEED certification for all federal buildings starting in 2003 and then upping that requi

Lighter, more fire-resistant, and a better insulator, autoclaved aerated concrete caught on in the rest of the world ages ago. It's taking a lot longer in the U.S.

To read what manufacturers and distributors say about it, you'd think autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) was some kind of new, space-age environmental miracle.

Periodic drought is something that a significant portion of the U.S. will have to get used to in the coming decades. Climate scientists tell us that while precipitation will increase overall with climate change, certain regions, including the American West, will see increased frequency of drought.

Will environmental product declarations end greenwashing for good?

I live in Vermont, where agriculture is an integral part of our culture. I drive past the farms as the seasons change and see when the corn is high or when too much rain has made plowing impossible. And the family sees the results at the local farmer's market. Whenever I visit urban areas, I inevitably end up at the local park or waterfront for my early-morning runs.

House location and design are the starting points in achieving resilience--where the house located, how well it can weather storms and flooding, and how effectively it retains heat and utilizes passive solar for heating and daylighting.