Users can search for businesses by name, or they can search neighborhoods for businesses that are on IzzitGreen’s green list. One of the web site’s most helpful aspects is its “Guides” page. From pizza places to used bookstores, IzzitGreen posts information about the percentage of green businesses there are in each category, where you can find the ones that are green, and they go for the dirty details…or clean in this case.

For example, if you own a business in Boston, chances are that IzzitGreen has found out what kind of lightbulbs you use, whether or not you recycle any of the materials your business or your employers use and will have a comment on what working conditions are like. And that’s just the beginning of the list.

A lively discussion forum will soon be debuting on the site. For now, all registered users are listed under the People section with varying levels of contact information.

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The latter has long been a focus of the green development. One need only look at the mass of stories coming out of the Middle East and Asia to see that a green focus on design and architecture is now more important than ever.

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Whatever the cause (and there’s good reason to blame all three to some degree), most so-called experts these days aren’t expecting oil prices to drop anytime soon. In fact, Newsweek this week features a sobering article titled, “The Coming Energy Wars,” that predicts we’ll soon see oil prices top $200 a barrel. When that happens, the authors warn, we can expect everything about our daily lives to change.

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Two weeks ago Eylon Israely conducted an interview with King Corn’s Director and Producer, Aaron Woolf . Today we’ve got interesting updates on the film and its creators.

Firstly, If you haven’t seen this documentary yet, here’s your chance - King Corn airs on PBS on April 15! So mark it down in your calender.

And there’s also a new film from the creators of King Corn - The Greening of Southie. The film will have its world premiere on the Sundance Channel on Earth Day, April 22 at 9:40PM. This time, the filmmakers explore green building, and they’re focusing on the first green residential project in one of the favorite neighborhoods: South Boston, or Southie as everyone calls it. Here’s a little bit more about it:

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Atlanta: Arms Around Atlanta sounds like a blast. It's all going down at Grant Park on Saturday & Sunday.

Boston: Clean Up the Charles on Saturday, April 21!

Chicago: Check out Green Festival happening all weekend long! Green vendors & organizations galore!

Dallas: Run, don't walk to downtown today for EarthFest from 10am - 2pm.

Denver: Visit the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and enjoy yourself at their Earth Day Renewable Energy Expo April 21-22.

Houston: The Houston Zoo is celebrating Earth Day all weekend - family fun.

Los Angeles: Lots to choose from. Clean Rivers, go to a Conscious Living Fair, or Let Worms Eat Your Garbage!

Miami: Check out EarthFest:WaterFest Gone Green a full day of music, eco-village, food, and fun. (Organized by yours truly.)

New York: Choose from a variety of events, and don't forget the slideshow in Grand Central!

San Francisco: Get on over to East Bay on Saturday and have fun at the Berkeley Earth Day Festival.

Seattle: Do a little Earth Day tour and check out several events this weekend in Seattle.

Washington, D.C.: Go to GreenDC Week Earth Day Celebration or check out some other events.

I didn't mention your city? Search for local events at Earth Day Network or EnviroLink.

Rather not party it up? Do something green like a beach clean-up or planting a tree.

LEED (which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the premiere certification for eco-friendly construction in the U.S. as determined by the U.S. Green Buildings Council. The Boston requirement of 26 points is the minimum for LEED certification in the U.S.

The new building codes will affect both private and public construction, a first for the U.S. They exist to reduce the negative impact of buildings on the environment and occupants in five areas: sustainable site planning, water savings, energy efficiency and renewable power, materials and resource conservation, and indoor environmental quality.

The article goes on to mention that Washington, D.C. is considering a similar mandate within the next couple years. Right now, it looks as if Boston might be a model for the rest of the country to mimic once the value of such moves is proven on such a large scale.

One interesting part of Boston's plan is that while builders are required to adhere to LEED standards, they do not have to apply for certification (a move that can be costly). Instead at least one person on the building team must be a LEED-certified professional; who can then make sure the project is abiding by the rules.

Way to go Boston! Here's to hoping more cities play 'follow the leader' and that the requirement dips below 50,000 sq. ft. to cover even more construction projects.

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