SIERRA VISTA HERALD: Mon., April 21, 2008
Local builders thinking toward future
By Ted Morris
SIERRA VISTA — Local builders are thinking green.
Recently, a grassroots organization has begun to form and has been holding “green mixers” to brainstorm ways to keep up with the global environmental challenges that affect the building industry.
“The green field is here,” Bob Kirk, immediate past president and director of the Southeastern Arizona Contractors Association, said at an April 4 social mixer held in Sierra Vista. “It’s coming in like a Mack truck. And there are a lot of decisions that have got to be made, and it’s going to affect how the government is run, and how the construction industry is going to run, and ... how businesses are going to run.”
Cochise County Supervisor Pat Call, who represents the Sierra Vista area, said green building is becoming more than a “common sense philosophy.” There is an impact on resources, particularly in the Southwest, including water, air quality, building materials and the cost of energy.
“Embarking on a green building effort is very critical as we move into the future,” Call said, noting that the county government holds a leadership position in the movement.
The city of Sierra Vista’s Vista Transit Center has been built to meet LEED green-building standards, meeting standards in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
FULL STORY: http://www.svherald.com/articles/2008/04/21/news/doc480c46ffcd69e642918445.txt