Article: Force of nature: Green building migrates toward mandatory as governments embrace LEED

In Broken Arrow, Craig Thurmond is struggling with the role of government in the green-building movement.

A building consultant and City Council member, Thurmond leads a committee sifting through proposals to put green in Broken Arrow's building codes.

Standards such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the widely used system devised by the U.S. Green Building Council, will make construction more expensive, Thurmond fears, hurting Broken Arrow as it competes against other Tulsa suburbs for commercial and residential development.

"Competition is the marketplace," Thurmond said. "Over 20 percent of the cost of a house is regulation. Do you want to regulate the housing market out ...

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