GLOBAL GREEN SEES RISE IN N.O.'S ECO-ACTION

TMES-PICAYUNE. MAY 24, 2008. By Molly Reid

Global Green USA and its New Orleans office last week celebrated the official opening of their first home in Holy Cross.

The house, built to platinum standards under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, will serve as a visitor's center and informational resource for residents interested in the rest of the Brad Pitt-sponsored Holy Cross project.

That effort will include four other single-family homes, an 18-unit apartment building and a community center.

For Matt Petersen, Global Green president and chief executive officer, and Beth Galante, New Orleans Global Green executive director, the grand opening was not just a landmark in the Holy Cross project, but also in the organization's history. After more than two years spreading the green word in New Orleans, the environmental nonprofit is seeing its dreams of a sustainable future for the city start to materialize.

And it's more than just the two-story house: From unprecedented state and federal solar tax credits to a tipping point in residents' Road Home finances, Galante said she believes New Orleans is poised to make sustainable rebuilding a major part of the city's recovery.

"Year one was crisis management. Year two was planning, and now, as we're getting into year three, it's action, " Galante said. "People are making decisions."

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