Rocky Mountain Institute released Green Footstep - a free online tool for architects, engineers and developers. The interactive software reveals design targets that achieve carbon neutrality in building construction and retrofit projects in both the commercial and residential arenas. Green Footstep shows designers how to comply with specific design goals such as LEED's energy credits. It's likely that you'll find the results a bit confusing if you’re not familiar with the jargon used on the graphs that are supposed to represent the calculations based on the data you entered.

This magazine has been promoting green technologies for years. We hope that some of what we published was used to help mitigate climate change or whatever is happening out there in the real world.

For example, the article titled “Caps and Taxes and Trades, Oh My” addresses various aspects of one of the options that our government is considering imposing on industry.

Another article, “Sustain a house of green,” provides access to online resources that have information about LEED certification for a variety of construction and retrofit projects.

“The power of element number six” is an article that explores the idea of reduced atmospheric carbon releases, carbon offsets and other concepts bandied about with respect to this topic.

And another of the many environmentally-oriented articles we’ve published is titled “Renewable energy resources.” This one offers links to material about hydrogen, biomass, and other ways to cut back on carbon emissions.

Each of these four articles has several links to even more online information from a variety of sources no associated with this publication.