USGBC counts its legislative gains

As we all know, legislation moves at a snail’s pace. So it’s unsurprising that legislation regarding energy efficiency and green building, two topics that Republicans and Democrats don’t exactly see eye to eye on, moves even slower. Regardless (and luckily), the United States has continued to make bounds of progress to advance and implement green policy.

The U.S. Green Building Council recently announced its “30 wins”, a mid-year review of hundreds of state bills trying to make their way into law this year. Although the wins include some legislation that did not pass, USGBC knows that any type of approved legislation can help get green going.

Wide-spread support for green measures has been the driving force behind the passing of landmark state legislation recently. Connecticut, for example, just passed a bill that created the country’s first green bank, which will provide loans for green projects. But Connecticut isn’t the only state in the race. Florida, Montana, Texas, Oregon and New Mexico have also begun to pass legislation to create state energy codes and standards, as well as tax credits for green projects.

Although few of us have seats in Congress, we all have the ability to influence the political agenda. Visit your local or state government website to view the current legislation, and participate in anything from green energy political meetings to a local neighborhood clean-up initiative. Trust us, you and the environment will be happy you did.