THEN:

Tempers flare as DuPont asbestos trial enters fourth week

Thursday, March 06, 2008

By David Yates

Tempers began to flare last week as the possible billion-dollar asbestos trial of Willis Whisnat Jr. et al vs. DuPont De Nemours wrapped up its third week of testimony on Friday, March 7.

The demand for sustainability in construction projects is on the rise.

According to McGraw-Hill Construction Analytics, the annual U.S. market in green building products and services has grown from more than $7 billion in 2005 to more than $12 billion by the end of 2007. John White, energy management and environmental solutions manager for Eaton Corporation’s Electrical Group, believes the growth potential is huge.

“Green” construction was one focus of the “Outlook ‘08” conference sponsored by McGraw-Hill Construction. Reasons included:

• Rick Fedrizzi, founding chairman (and still CEO) of the U.S. Green Building Council, was a speaker.
• MHC’s newest publication—which has already won several awards—is the quarterly GreenSource magazine (find it at http://greensource.construction.com).
• Judging by audience response to Fedrizzi’s presentation, the more than 400 attendees wanted to hear about things green.

What’s driving the environmental/sustainable construction movement? There’s much more than hype.