Green building: good for environment and good for business

According to Don Moseley, senior Wal-Mart engineer for environmental innovation, these and other efforts "are good for the environment and good for our business."

That's the mantra of the so-called green building movement that's sweeping the nation. Among the adherents are financial institutions such as Citigroup, PNC and Bank of America; automakers such as Toyota, General Motors, Ford and Honda; and such retailers as Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, Chipotle and Patagonia.

The added costs of green building – long assumed to be 10 percent to 20 percent more than traditional construction – are falling and may have been exaggerated, according to some who've built green recently.

"There's an assumption of a green premium, but we haven't found that," said Jeffrey Smith, Harvard's director of facilities maintenance.—by Frank Greve, McClatchy Newspapers

The face of Waco's future

Unruffled and refusing to buckle under the pressure of intense questioning, Sarah Roberts, by all accounts, handled herself extraordinarily well last week. In getting grilled, she showed her best side, and ours.—by Carlos Sanchez, Editor, Waco Tribune-Herald