The recent Forbes.com article "Building Green," highlights some of the benefits of this important trend. At its most basic form, green building is simply defined as eco-friendly, sustainable building practices that conserves natural resources and energy. There are two primary ways to incorporate green building into home construction: basic design technique and use of green building materials. Green building also has other benefits in addition to helping the environment, it can save money. There are two major financial benefits of green building: 1) long-term energy cost savings and 2) government rebates and incentive for certified green buildings. For more information on these topics please see the following sites:

www.ecobroker.com
www.usgbc.org/leed/homes
http://www.energystar.gov/
www.nahb.org/gbg