Job creation. Innovation. U.S. competitiveness. In the eyes of the top CEOs in the U.S., before these goals become reality, the foundation of policies and comprehensive climate and energy legislation needs to be laid by those who reside in Washington D.C. As such, more than 80 CEOs from U.S. businesses, from eBay to PG&E to Virgin America, have sent a letter to President Obama and members of Congress asking them to create the impetus to achieve these goals by enacting climate and energy legislation.

A well-crafted green lease provides an opportunity to improve landlord/tenant collaboration on sustainability issues, leading to increased building performance, including energy efficiency. Green commercial leases provide incentives to reduce energy use and water, and increase recycling and the use of sustainable materials. A green lease detailing the sustainable use of a building by landlord and tenant is critical to the performance of a green building.

Looking for a way to transition your career into the new green economy? Need to boost your resume in a tough job market? Achieving the LEED Green Associate (LEED GA) credential allows you to market your knowledge of green building to potential employers. This first level of LEED professional credentialing is designed for professionals who want to demonstrate green building expertise in non-technical fields of practice, and to demonstrate basic knowledge of green design, construction, and operations.

Will Kirksey, SVP of Worrell Water Technologies, is passionate about finding practical, ecological solutions to the increasingly urgent water issues in the US. I spoke with him at The New Green Economy Conference in Washington, D.C., just before he facilitated a session targeted at forming policy recommendations on sustainable water reuse. Worrell Water’s water reuse system, the Living Machine, was picked as one of the ‘coolest green products’ at Greenbuild, 2009. Will recently authored the white paper, Sustainable Water Infrastructure for the 21st Century.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized eight landfill methane capture projects for innovations to reduce their emissions of methane – a potent greenhouse gas — and in the process recover renewable energy. The Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) gives these awards to acknowledge excellence in innovation, successful project development that achieves both environmental and economic benefits.

Beginning February 1, 2010, an estimated 82,000 construction sites must comply with the EPA’s new regulation governing construction site discharge. The new regulation outlines stricter measures to reduce water pollution and the EPA expects compliance with the rule to reduce the amount of sediment and other pollutants discharged from construction sites by 4 billion pounds per year.

Jennifer Kaplan takes a look at how small businesses can have a big impact on the economy and why it is to their advantage to go green.

The 2010 Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference, which will be held from May 4-6, 2010, at the Hilton Washington in Washington, D.C., is a conference that focuses on the implementation of the green economy and building a revitalized, green economy that creates good jobs, reduces global warming and preserves America’s economic and environmental security. To develop the program for the 2010 Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference, they are calling for proposals for workshops and panels.

The Missouri Economic Research and Information Center recently conducted a survey of state businesses, the Green Jobs Report that found that nearly five percent of the state’s total employment, or more than 130,000 job positions, are now part of the green economy sectors. These numbers are also expected to rapidly grow as soon as the general economy begins to recover.