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The operation of buildings in the U.S. accounts for 43 percent of all U.S. carbon emissions, and 76 percent of U.S. electricity use. Every year five billion square feet are built in the U.S., five billion feet are renovated, and 1.75 billion square feet of buildings are demolished. Energy conservation and efficiency improvements in the building sector have the "greatest potential for an effective near-term mitigation wedge for climate change," according to a study cited by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The building sector is the biggest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the U.S. Energy used in U.S. buildings produces about 43 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. However, buildings certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) have less impact on the environment, according to theGreen Building Impact Report 2008. The report assessed non-residential construction because it accounts for 40 percent of the environmental burden from the buildings sector.

The U.S. 2009 Lodging Report, published by Ernst & Young, LLP calls green hotels a global "niche trend" within the hotel industry whose growth is fueled by several factors: governments with requirements to build greener, investors, and hotel companies.

The fires in Australia are still raging. Parts of the Western U.S. are experiencing the worst droughts on record. It seems Fortune magazine summed it up correctly in a May 2000 article that called water a "precious commodity" in the 21st century. Consider this: less than three percent of the world's water is fresh. Unfortunately, beyond the challenges of a changing climate, three other factors have decreased that small amount of fresh water: pollution, habit degradation, and wetlands destruction. For both humans and their surrounding natural landscape, water conservation is critical.

A number of domestic and international considerations have led many political observers to conclude that the Unites States will take legislative action during the remainder of 2009, or in 2010, to address climate change. The goal of these legislative efforts is to achieve a gradual but significant reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their earlier levels by the middle of the century. Action in this area would be a watershed regulatory and tax development and would affect all types of businesses in many aspects of their operations.

Eighty percent of the cities surveyed by Living Cities listed sustainability as one of their top five priorities. Only one in six cities said sustainability is not a top priority.