NovDec 2008: From the Editor – A light at the end of the tunnel
Words: Bronzella Cleveland
NovemberDecember 2008
From the Editor
by Cory Sekine-Pettite
Cory Sekine-Pettite,
editor
To make comments
or suggestions, send
e-mail to
cory@lionhrtpub.com.
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|
Cory Sekine-Pettite,
editor
To make comments
or suggestions, send
e-mail to
cory@lionhrtpub.com.
|
|
Cory Sekine-Pettite,
editor
To make comments
or suggestions, send
e-mail to
cory@lionhrtpub.com.
|
In the Sept/Oct issue of Masonry Design, my publisher pondered the future of sustainable design (“from the publisher,” pg. 6) and how the current economic crisis in the United States could have a detrimental impact on green building and its supporting industries. In the short term, this may well be true because the entire construction industry is experiencing a decline. Long term, however, I can only see green building getting bigger and better. If you were in attendance at this year’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Boston, then you likely are of the same opinion.
During the conference, Rick Fedrizzi, U.S. Green Building Council president, proclaimed: “When people ask if the green building movement is going to survive the recession, you’ll say ‘We are how the economy will get back on track – with green jobs, green energy and green innovation.’”
According to the show’s organizers, more than 26,000 people convened at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in November for the 7th annual Greenbuild – an 18-percent increase over last year’s attendance in Chicago and a remarkable increase over the 4,000 people who showed up for the first Greenbuild conference just six years ago. Attendees in Boston mixed and mingled with representatives from more than 800 exhibiting companies, which is another indicator of just how strong the green building market is and will continue to be. Another telling figure: I’m told that more than 200 potential exhibitors were turned away earlier this year because the 2008 conference was sold out.
Yet another positive sign for the green building community is President-Elect Barack Obama’s campaign promise to be an advocate of green building and sustainable design, starting with a close look at the energy use of the White House. He also wants the United States to become the world leader in this industry by helping the private sector to create 5 million new, “green collar” jobs. Of course, most of these jobs are intended to be in green energy production, but encouraging more Americans and American corporations to see (and value) the real benefits of a sustainable lifestyle will lead to more innovations in green building products and therefore more green projects.
As you know, recessions are temporary and though our current economic conditions may be the worst in decades, our determination and ingenuity will pull us through. And as I have witnessed during the past 12 years of covering the construction industry, green building will continue to grow and thrive. I can see a light at the end of this dismal, financially troubling tunnel, and it is, indeed, green.
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