Leading the nation in environmental initiative once again, the California Building Standards Commission has unanimously approved the country's first green building code for all new structures'from homes to businesses, schools to hospitals'built in California. 'We have already committed to making our state-owned buildings more green and energy efficient. This statewide code will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy efficiency and conserve water in all new buildings,' Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement. As part of its goal to curb emissions by 2020, the new standard is voluntary for now, but will become mandatory in 2010.  This green code looks

Architect Edward Mazria’s Architecture 2030 seeks to convert the building sector from the worst offender of greenhouse gas emissions to an active supporter of global-warming solutions. In an effort to achieve this goal, the non-profit, research organization recently released “Meeting the 2030 Challenge Through Building Codes,” a guide for local governments, states, and industry leaders to significantly reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Click on image to view larger. Image © 2008 2030, Inc./Architecture 2030 Architecture 2030 has released this chart that allows states and local governments to meet the targets using their current building energy codes and standards as baselines. The paper