Energy Star forming group alliances

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, energy conservation should constitute about 40 percent of any multi-resources conservation initiative because of the demand it places on our resources. In support of that recommendation, Nevada Energy Star partners, a voluntary coalition of Southern Nevada home builders, developers, retailers, mortgage providers, energy consultants and local utilities promoting energy conservation, is actively forming alliances with other environmental groups in Southern Nevada to encourage energy conservation as a foundation for going "green."

"Energy Star is dedicated to promoting energy conservation through the purchase and use of products that are specially designed to use less energy -- including homes, appliances and even mortgages that offer advantages and benefits to Energy Star homeowners," said Annette Bubak, president of Nevada Energy Star Partners. "We recognize that energy conservation is an important first step to living a "green" lifestyle, yet in order to become truly "green," we must also conserve water, protect air quality, recycle and take other measures to reduce our carbon footprint on the planet."

To date, Nevada Energy Star has formed official alliances with Southern Nevada Green Building Partners as well as the Las Vegas High Rise Condominium Association and EcoBrand, a "green" business network and eco-marketing forum. According to Bubak, Nevada Energy Star partners is engaged in ongoing discussion with the U.S. Green Building Council, Southern Nevada Water Authority and the city of Las Vegas to form future alliances.

"One of our goals this year was to broaden our message of energy conservation by uniting with other organizations dedicated to saving and conserving resources," Bubak said. "With strong increased consumer interest in going green and doing the right thing for the environment, we've received tremendous interest from many groups in our community. We will continue to form alliances and partnerships throughout Southern Nevada to reach more people and generate increased interest in conservation.

"Thanks to the commitment of many companies, builders and public utilities in Southern Nevada, Energy Star has become a household word over the last decade. Consumer awareness of Energy Star is more than 90 percent and more than 67 percent of all new homes are built to meet or exceed Energy Star standards," Bubak said.

According to Bubak, the number of Energy Star homes in Southern Nevada has grown exponentially from fewer than 100 in 1998 to more than 76,600 in 2007. According to the EPA, homes built to Energy Star specifications use 15 percent less energy than homes built to standard codes.

"The environmental benefits of these 76,600-plus homes is the equivalent of eliminating emissions from more than 37,00 vehicles, saving more than 227 million pounds of coal, planting more than 62,000 trees or saving more than 445 million pounds of carbon monoxide each year," Bubak said.

Energy Star, the national U.S. government symbol for energy efficiency, was created by the EPA originally for energy-conserving computers in 1992 and is now jointly implemented with the U.S. Department of Energy.

For more information, visit the Nevada Energy Star Web site, thinkenergystar.com.