'Green' goes mainstream: environment-friendly retirement housing on the rise by Marilynn Larkin, MA

Until recently, green building was often associated with the counterculture environmentalists of the 1960s and ’70s. No longer. Today, mainstream developers increasingly recognize that green communities benefit the environment, the health of residents and, yes, the bottom line. The annual market for green building in products and services is now about $7 billion, representing 37% growth from 2003 to 2004, according to the US Green Building Council (USGBC). This coalition of building industry leaders works to promote buildings that are “environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.”