Air-kissed by Grist

Sacramento’s green-building movement might seem like a mere blueprint for what’s to come, but it sure wooed Grist.org this week. The Web site listed 15 of the greenest buildings around the world and placed the California Environmental Protection Agency headquarters, part of Sacramento’s cityscape, at No. 2. After all, it’s “the leading green agency of the greenest U.S. state,” said the Web site. Grist’s first nod went to Vancouver’s not-yet-constructed Center for Interactive Research on Sustainability. But Sacramentans should be proud that those compost-crazed worms, placed in bins under many desks at the EPA, chewed their way past New Zealand and Japan in the Grist spotlight. Not to mention the EPA building’s impressive $1 million-a-year savings from its sustainable features. The local California Department of Education Building was a runner up, boasting LEED platinum certification and $200,000 annual savings on energy costs.