TOURS HIGHLIGHT BENEFITS OF GREEN BUILDING ACROSS THE U.S.

Sierra Club, USGBC Volunteers Lead ‘Green Building for Cool Cities’ Project

Washington, DC - Local volunteers of the Sierra Club and the U.S. Green Building Council are holding public tours of green buildings across the U.S. this week to highlight the local economic and environmental benefits of energy-efficient, sustainable buildings.

The tours are part of the national "Green Buildings for Cool Cities" partnership between the Sierra Club and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).  The project is aimed at helping cities nationwide make green building a key component of their economic and environmental recovery efforts.

On July 16, 2007 at the National Association of Counties Annual Conference in Richmond, Virginia, 12 pioneering counties and the Sierra Club launched Cool Counties.

The Cool Counties initiative seeks to marshal the resources of all 3,066 counties across the nation to address the challenges climate change poses to the nation’s communities.

Participating counties commit to four smart actions:

1. Reducing their own contributions to climate change through the implementation of actions addressing internal operations.
2. Demonstrating regional leadership to achieve climate stabilization and protect their communities.
3. Helping communities become climate resilient.
4. Urging national leadership to support the efforts.

King County in Washington State, Fairfax County in Virginia, and the Sierra Club led the effort to draft this declaration and organize support for its approval. King County continues to serve as the lead organizing government for the program.

As it has done under its Cool Cities campaign, the Sierra Club has mounted a grassroots campaign to encourage counties across the country to become Cool Counties.

For more information about the Cool Counties initiative, please contact: John Hartz, Cool Counties Mobilizer, SC Chapter of the Sierra Club via email at myMailto("hartzjm1", [ "aol","com" ]); This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or via telephone at: 803-586-9711.