If you’re in Boston right now, you might be at, or should check out Greenbuild, the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) annual conference. The USGBC was grown out of the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) and are best known for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Standard.   :

From the Greenbuild Webpage:

Boston – the historic cradle of the American Revolution, home to innovations that have far-reaching impact and the perfect place to celebrate Greenbuild 2008’s theme of “Revolutionary Green: Innovations for Global Sustainability.” Join us at the U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Boston November 19-21, 2008.

Buildings play a critical role in protecting and improving our environment and the health of the people who occupy them. USGBC’s Greenbuild conference and expo is an unparalleled opportunity to connect with other green building peers, industry experts, and influential leaders as they share insights on the green building movement and its diverse specialties.

As we’ve learned from EcoGeek, one of the things on the table at Greenbuild is that the USGBC has announced an update for the LEED standard, LEED 2009:

“LEED 2009 will also incorporate highly anticipated regional credits, extra points that have been identified as priorities within a project’s given environmental zone. LEED has also undergone a scientifically grounded re-weighting of credits, changing allocation of points among LEED credits to reflect climate change and energy efficiency as urgent priorities. This will be one of the most significant changes to the rating system, and will increase the importance of green building as a means of contributing immediate and measurable solutions toward energy independence, climate change mitigation, and other global priorities.”

But if you don’t have the chance to get to Boston for Greenbuild you don’t have to miss the master’s speaker series. These sessions will be simulcast from the expo on greenbuild365.org. Here is the line up:

• Van Jones, Wednesday, 2-3:30 p.m. President and Founder, Green For All
• Leith Sharp, Wednesday, 2-3:30 p.m. Director, Harvard Green Campus Initiative (HGCI)
• Stefan Behnisch, Wednesday, 4-5:30 p.m. Principal, Behnisch Architekten
• Majora Carter, Wednesday, 4-5:30 p.m. President, Majora Carter Group, LLC
• Richard Moe, Thursday, 8-9:30 a.m. President, National Trust for Historic Preservation
• Paul Anastas, Thursday , 4-5:30 p.m. Director for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering, Yale University
• Nancy C. Floyd, Thursday, 4-5:30 p.m. Founder and Managing Director, Nth Power, LLC
• Bill McKibben, Friday, 9-10 a.m. Environmentalist and author
• Howard Frumkin, Friday, 9-10 a.m. Director, The National Center for Environmental Health, CDC
• Greener Good: USGBC Chapters present local green jobs and social equality initiatives, Thursday, 10-11:30 a.m.
• Closing keynote address, Friday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Featuring E.O. Wilson, University Research Professor emeritus and honorary Curator of entomology at the Museum of comparative Zoology at Harvard University; and Janine Benyus, the author of “Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature”; moderated by NPR’s Kevin Klose.

“Let’s all get together and pick ONE city each year to host any and all green festivals. Want to be truly green and support the message of these festivals?”