Two weeks ago, I wrote about the challenge of adopting green building codes. If you have been following the LexisNexis feed on the main page of theEngineered Systems website, you would have read that California recently raised its standards for green buildings. According to an article in theLos Angeles Timesand posted on theUSGBC website, the rules, which will initially be voluntary but revert to mandatory status in 2010, seek to reduce both energy use and water in landscaping. Read the articlehere.

If you browse around on the site's "In the News" section, there are two other articles on green building codes. Green Building Mandates, by Philip Proefrock, discusses the challenges of requiring LEED in green buildings. In the article titled, State Exploring Green Building Standards, by Walt Williams writing for The State Journal, the West Virginia legislature is exploring adopting green building codes. According to the article, 14 states already have such regulations in place.