In late July, the U.S. Department of Energy will hold its annual
national conference on building energy codes in Portland. Until
recently, energy codes were seen as arcane regulatory
requirements that few people outside of the building trades knew
or cared about. Now they are a hot topic among policy-makers --
from President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress to the
governors and legislators of Oregon and Washington. According to
the Energy Information Administration and the U.S. Department of
Energy, buildings consume almost half of all energy used in the
United States. Improved energy codes mean lower energy bills for
building owners and occupants, and less energy production
required -- which means reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Each
new building constructed to an improved code uses less energy
than an equivalent older building. Over time, as more new
buildings are built and older ones get demolished, the impact of
improved energy codes continually increases. In the Northwest,
almost 30 percent -- or 6 b