CalGreen
Green Building Information and References
Necessity for Green Building
Of the United State's resource usage, buildings use the following:
EIA Consumption and Efficiency
IPCC Summary for Policy Makers 5/9/2011
In general, the current methodologies for the extraction, manufacture, generation, usage, waste and emissions of the life cycle of acquiring, delivering, and using these resources is not sustainable.
Much data has been gathered by the Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, US Census, US Energy Information Adminstration and many other governmental and other organizations regarding energy efficiency and usage.
From the analysis of this data, the following programs have been implemented to increase the efficiency of our usage of resources.
Moving Toward More Efficient Benchmarks, Goals and Requirements
Programs, building guidlines, and benchmarks in the US and California:
The CalGreen building code is mandatory for new construction and remodels (area being remodeled) as of January 2011.
Given that architects, builders, and homeowners may wish to also comply with some of the other guidlines and benchmarks,
some comparisons may be helpful.
Recent emergency ammendments Section 5.106 (Light Pollution) to CalGreen Code.