As I listened to President Obama’s State of the Union Address and his bold meeting with the Republican Caucus a few days later, I found myself silently thinking, “Jobs, jobs, jobs. We need more jobs.” I sounded like the folks who chanted “Drill” “Drill” “Drill” at the Republican Convention. 

I was recently confronted by someone who believes this whole “global warming” thing is just a big lie. They said that we shouldn’t waste any time, effort or tax dollars on reducing our carbon footprint because “CO² is nothing but plant food …”

Wow. There were 28,000-plus attendees from 75 different countries that attended GreenBuild Expo 2009 in Phoenix!

According to recently released reports from OSHA, the percentage of work-related fatalities in the construction industry is on the decrease. And while the numbers are adjusted to reflect the smaller workforce, it is not clear as to the cause of the decline.

In the wall and ceiling industry, approximately 20 percent of the workforce is unionized, and as a result of collective bargaining, those employed by union shops have medical insurance provided as part of their compensation.

The production of Portland cement, which is the primary ingredient in stucco and concrete, produces 7 percent of all man-made carbon dioxide. It produces pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, into our atmosphere. Not to mention it’s pretty dusty stuff and contributes significantly to particulate matter pollution.

You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a product touting itself as “green” these days.

In 2005, several national trade unions separated themselves off from the AFL-CIO because of some differences among the leadership; most notably were the Service Employees International Union and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, along with a few other labor leaders they formed a national coalition called “Change to Win.”

Congress is about to begin debate on a union-sponsored proposal that if passed, would make it easier for employees choose to be represented by a union-or not.

Some of President Obama’s critics have sarcastically nicked-named him the “Messiah” suggesting that his rhetoric makes people think he can walk on water.