Featured Articles

A Star Is Falling--Builders Association of the Twin Cities Sues Minnesota Green Star

Shari Shapiro
December 17, 2010 15:30

 Ahhh holiday time, when the sound of the clerk's stamp on green litigation rings merrily in my ears.  On December 9, 2010, the Builders' Association of the Twin Cities (BATC) sued Minnesota Green Star (GreenStar).  The Complaint and Motion for a temporary restraining...

Garbage In, Garbage Out

Shari Shapiro
May 18, 2011 13:15

There is a corner of the Federal government that, unless you are as data obsessed as I am, you never knew existed.  For the part 25 years, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has collected  baseline data on commercial building energy usage, known as...

The Dangers Of Energy Myopia

Shari Shapiro
September 14, 2009 14:39

My new friend Timothy Hughes over at Virginia Land Use & Construction Law Blog had a nice piece highlighting the flaws in the New York Times analysis of the Nathaniel R. Jones Federal Building and US Courthouse (Youngstown, OH) which it used as a primary example of LEED buildings failing to...

Wal-Mart Sponsors Green Job Training For Women

Shari Shapiro
August 04, 2009 15:18

I have written before about the appalling lack of women in the green sector.  Greenerbuildings.com reports that Wal-Mart is attempting to do something about this by sponsoring green job training for women.  Together the two organizations are launching an initiative called...

Resolving Federalism Issues Through Form Based Energy Codes

Shari Shapiro
July 09, 2009 14:31

I wrote last week about the proposed National Energy Efficiency Building codes contained in Section 201 of Waxman-Markey.  Section 201 of the Waxman-Markey Act calls for the development and adoption by state and local governments of a national energy efficiency code. A summary of the main...

It's Earth Day. Do you know where your lawyer is?

Shari Shapiro
April 22, 2010 18:33

I have been having numerous conversations over the past few weeks about the state of sustainability and the law.  From the sheer number of articles, conferences, and, yes, blogs on the subject, you would think that there would be lawyers nation (and even world) wide with thriving...

A Look Back, A Look Forward and Many Thanks

Shari Shapiro
December 31, 2009 13:18

As my readers know, GBLB is on Maternity Leave until February 1, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a look back at the last year in green building, look forward to the next decade, and give a shout out to a few people and resources that are important to GBLB.  2009 In...

But Is There Fire: If LEED Is A Fraud, Why Aren't Developers Suing?

Shari Shapiro
February 09, 2011 14:12

NOTE: The opinions expressed in this post are entirely those of the author, and do not represent the position of the USGBC or the Delaware Valley Green Building Council. Yesterday, I discussed the fact that Henry Gifford filed an Amended Complaint in his suit against the USGBC for...

GBLB is Thankful

Shari Shapiro
November 24, 2010 15:20

It is quiet around the office today, giving me time to reflect on the past year and give thanks to all of the GBLB readers, friends and colleagues who help to keep me motivated and inspired.  In no particular order: The media leaders--Lloyd Alter at Treehugger, Leslie Guevarra at Greener...

Moving Green Forward, One Step at a Time

Shari Shapiro
May 26, 2011 13:58

Steven Johnson, in his book Where Good Ideas Come From (read an excerpt here) explained that great ideas, the ones that transform the marketplace, are based on the “adjacent possible:” The phrase captures both the limits and the creative potential of change and innovation. In the case...