Green building will be driven by the need for energy efficiency, whether its motivation is the political will to combat global warming or individual self-interest to save money.  In either case, it’s a safe bet  that the pace of environmental issues in residential, industrial, or commercial building will continue to accelerate.

It makes sense then to look at the underlying energy demands that will drive green building.

For example, did you know that the USA has 5% of the world population but uses 25% of the world’s energy?

Future Energy Consumption

The United States Department of Energy predicts that the global consumption of hydroelectric and other renewable energy sources will increase by 2.1% annually from 2005 to 2030. During the same period, according to the US Annual Energy Outlook 2008 Report, the annual global consumption of nuclear energy is predicted to increase by 1.5%, fossil liquid fuels by 1.2%, natural gas by 1.7%, and coal by 2%.

The International Energy Agency sums it up with the forecast that global energy consumption will increase by 50% from 2004 to 2030.

Energy Video

Here’s a link to a video entitled “Investing in Energy Efficiency.”

The video is very brief so take a look.  It focuses on reducing energy consumption so America will be less dependent on foreign sources of fuel.

Green building can play a big part in energy reduction.