FEATURE ARTICLE

July 2009

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The Rapid Rise of Local Green Building Ordinances—Will they Survive Legal Challenge?

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption in buildings constituted about one third of this country’s total carbon dioxide emissions in 1980. At present, that number is approaching forty percent. Department of Energy, Buildings Energy Data Book 1.4.1 (Sept. 2008). Thus, it is not at all surprising that there is a growing chorus advocating for “green building.” The eagerness of local governments to respond by adopting green building ordinances quickly has become a national phenomenon. See, generally, Edna Sussman, “Reshaping Municipal and County Laws to Foster Green Building, Energy Efficiency, and Renewable Energy,” 16 N.Y.U. Envtl. L. J. 1 (2008). Building code drafters have been catching up.