Did you think America’s traffic was the biggest link in the air-pollution-to-global-warming chain?

If so, think again. It’s not the car you drive, but the buildings that you drive it to and from, that are the biggest carbon emissions culprits.

The buildings of America are responsible for one-third of its energy, and two-thirds of its electrical, consumption. And that consumption leads to more climate-changing carbon emissions than are produced by any other source.

Enter the “green building” movement. Begun with the establishment, in 2002, of the U.S. Green Building Council, it uses design standards which integrate energy efficient materials and renewable alternative energy power systems in building construction.

The green building movement has grown so quickly that, according to a September 2006 WorldWatch Institute report, it now has over 6,000 members planning to construct buildings meeting the Building Council’s “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” standards. Some of those standards, in fact, have been adopted as the legal standards for future construction by several state and city governments, including San Francisco, Boston, and Atlanta.

Solar power is the alternative energy cornerstone of many green buildings. Walgreen’s, the ubiquitous corner drugstore, will be installing PVs–solar panels–sufficient to supply alternative energy for between 20% and 50% of the electrical needs at 112 of its stores.

In New York City’s Battery Park, all buildings will, by 2009, have alternative energy solar panels to meet at least some of their electrical demands.

And the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, taking advantage of the blazing Texas sun, uses alternative energy solar power to fuel its air conditioning, reducing its operational costs by over 90% on the hottest days.

The Chicago Center for Green Technology, on the other hand, is not relying on the city’s capricious sunlight nor its famous winds for alternative energy; it has geothermal energy produced from 28 200-foot-deep wells.

Another advantage, along with being environmentally-friendly and more economical, of green buildings, is that, with their built-in alternative energy supply, they are assured of heat and light even during power outages.

The green building movement has met the alternative energy movement, and all systems are “go”.