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Edward Mazria is an architect and the founder of Architecture 2030. Architecture 2030 is a nonprofit organization that wants to use sustainable architecture to help fight global warming. Mazria has shown that green architecture can produce high-performance buildings with low energy consumption and low emissions. New buildings are easy to be made into low-energy buildings, but the American Institute of Architects is pushing to redo old buildings to be more energy efficient. Recently the Empire State Building had a top-to-bottom makeover to cut its carbon emissions in half. Many people are pushing to make and convert more buildings to low-energy buildings as a way to fight climate change (Ikenson).

In 1993, President Bill Clinton started a project to convert the White House to a green building. He wanted to see what it takes to make the White House energy efficient and reduce waste. Also the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) was founded in 1993. This organization is known worldwide to certify green buildings. The USGBC developed the LEED program or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. The LEED program rates buildings on design, construction, and operation costs of the building. With states like Washington making a mandate for buildings over 5,000 feet to be green buildings and the greening of the White House have helped other states and local communities have started to join green programs (Erpenbeck).

One major problem for green architecture is that many people don’t want to or don’t think about implementing energy efficient technology. Architects tend to build what the client asks for, and most clients are not asking for green buildings. Mike Fowler, who works at Mithun Inc. (a Seattle based architecture firm), always tries to present at least one energy efficient building. He also tells the client about the environmental benefits and cost savings. But most clients don’t choose these buildings because they can cost 2% to 3% more than regular buildings. Also the payback on energy efficient technology can take up to 7 years and most people don’t want to wait that long (Gold).