What is Greenprints?

Greenprints
Conference and Tradeshow
March 13 & 14, 2008

Greenprints has again proven that it is the Southeast region’s most thought-provoking forum on sustainable building science. The conference attracted more than 600 practitioners, policy makers, building owners and concerned citizens interested in the exploration of better ways to link planning, architecture, construction and the use of natural resources.

News Flash

Conference venue for Greenprints hit by twister hours after end of conference

Broken windows were scattered around the cylindrical facade of the 73-story Westin Peachtree Tower, and curtains could be seen flapping from the rooms now open to the elements. Ed Walls, the hotel's general manager, told WGCL-TV that about 100 windows were knocked out of the iconic Atlanta hotel. Guests were relocated, Walls said, noting that there were no injuries reported in the hotel. Though the hotel is operational, it could take months to repair the damage, Walls told the television station.

The twister had winds of 130 mph making it an EF-2 on the enhanced Fujita scale of intensity used by meteorologists. It was an EF-1, with winds of about 100 mph, when it hit the heart of downtown.

According to CNN ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN)
UPDATED: 11:47 AM EDT March 17, 2008

Keynote
Kenneth J. Ostrowski
"Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost?"

Mr. Ostrowski is the leader of McKinsey’s North America Electric Power and Natural Gas (EPNG) Practice, and co-leads the Global EPNG Practice.

Ostrowski discussed research by a McKinsey team that worked with leading companies, industry experts, academics and environmental NGOs to analyze more than 250 options for reducing greenhouse gases (GHG). The options encompassed efficiency gains, shifts to lower-carbon energy sources and expanded carbon sinks.

The central conclusion is that the United States could reduce GHG emissions in 2030 by 3.0 to 4.5 gigatons of CO2e using tested approaches and high-potential emerging technologies. These reductions would involve pursuing a wide array of abatement options with marginal costs less than $50 per ton, with the average net cost to the economy being far lower if the nation can capture sizable gains from energy efficiency. Achieving these reductions at the lowest cost to the economy, however, will require strong, coordinated, economy-wide action that needs to begin in the near future.

In-depth coverage of the report can be found on the McKinsey website