Long time, no blog

I’ve been out of the loop lately, but will be more diligent about keeping current. Just got back from Greenbuild Expo in Boston the US Green Building Council’s annual conference. I haven’t been to this one in a few years, mostly because until now they have paid little attention to the residential market, so I found little of interest for me there. This year marks a big change at the USGBC with the official release of the LEED for Homes program and the ReGreen remodeling guidelines. This year featured a full day devoted exclusively to home builders and renovators, and it was very well attended. There were both keynote speeches and educational sessions, as well as a reception and full access to the exhibit hall. Interestingly, in the middle of probably the worst housing market (and overall economy) in generations, the mood was surprisingly upbeat. I heard few of the concerns that are frequent in builder and remodeler circles about work slowing down. This seems to reinforce my unscientific research that green builders and remodelers are faring better than those that aren’t. I don’t mean to suggest that green professionals are immune to a slowdown, just that those who have staked their claim in this market have already established a point of differentiation by being green, giving them an advantage in a crowded, shrinking market.