Two years ago, Congress was in the midst of trying to pass a major energy bill. During the ensuing debate, an obscure tax provision that provided incentives for the inclusion of sustainable and energy-efficient building technologies in new construction received undue and negative attention. The concept of the provision was simple: to provide an incentive to incorporate environmental design and construction concepts into buildings of every type — office, retail, residential and hotel. Add them at a large enough scale and a potential paradigm shift could occur, both economically and practically. The result? Bring bleeding-edge and expensive technology into the mainstream of not only the design and construction world, but also into the lives of everyday Americans.