The current abstract impressionism of a regulatory scheme exits because of the perception that TSCA is no longer an adequate tool for providing protection against chemical risks, includes a patchwork of state laws that vary from the restrictive Washington state Children's Safe Products Reporting Rule to no regulation in some states, is made more complicated by non governmental programs like the USGBC’s LEED green building rating system that incorporates Materials & Resources credits including building product and material ingredient disclosure and optimization.

In spite of the speculation over whether Uber means more car miles or less and what impact Zipcar and other car sharing programs will have, off street parking will still be required. Green Garage Certification will go a long way toward resolving the debate of whether off street parking can be sustainable.

What may be most telling about this enactment is that before the change in law the USGBC listed Rockville as having more LEED projects than any U.S. city with a population below 100,000.

Property assessed clean energy (PACE) programs, where payments for energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy improvements to commercial real estate are made through a building owner’s property tax bill are beginning to hit their stride.

With LEED Dynamic Plaques starting to appear in building lobbies it is a good time to understand this new U.S. Green Building Council platform. It is a whole lot more than a 7 lb. display unit.

With the November 1, 2016 deadline approaching when new LEED projects must register under the new LEED version 4, the real estate industry has been uncertain about the first costs and benefits of LEED v4 building.

Proposed as Executive Regulation #21-15, the green building code will cover all new buildings and additions 5,000 square feet and larger.

There has been much recent discussion about mandatory arbitration since a series of New York Times articles earlier this month describing how, “.. clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts ...”