Fear and pessimism propagated by the world financial crisis continues to monopolize the headlines, ever more pointed now that the elections are over. And when it comes to green building, many in the media and elsewhere would have us believe that this financial crisis has put an end to the future we’ve worked so hard to envision.

I know that the building and construction industry, the real estate industry, and the homebuilding industry have taken a huge hit. I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with people asking: Is it over? Are we done? The truth is, we are just getting started. The bad decisions of others will not defeat our commitment to good work. And our commitment to change, even in the face of so great a challenge, will not waver — no matter how steep the climb.

If I’ve learned one thing in the past 15 years, it’s that the people in our movement know they can change the world. Every hour of every day they are out there doing it. And every single one of us has a contribution to make toward our goal of taking the second oldest industry on the planet, one that accounts for nearly 15 percent of U.S. GDP, and transforming it so that it contributes to the health and well being of our economy, our world, our families and our children.

Fifteen years ago, our work was no more than a back-of-the-napkin idea that today has become a movement dedicated to the proposition that every person deserves to live in a green home. Work in a green office or plant. Shop in a green store. Heal in a green hospital.

Learn in a green school. And USGBC has dedicated itself to working toward a vision that says this will happen within a generation. The green building movement is founded on a revolution of ideas, and in that revolution are the seeds of large-scale and fundamental change in our world. Change in technologies that improve everyone’s lives. Change in strategy that puts us on a clearer course. Change that is practical and doable.

IMPROVING BUILDINGS AND COMMUNITIES

And the change we’re in charge of is improving the buildings we build and the communities we shape. Green, efficient buildings with efficient appliances can meet 85 percent of America’s incremental electricity demand. And not only that — committing to energy efficiency in our buildings means creating new green jobs. About 2.5 million of them by our estimation. How? We will need skilled workers to perform energy audits, weatherize homes, optimize building systems and manage them to their highest performance. This new class of workers will create a wealth of energy efficiency to fuel our transition to a low carbon economy, and our industry is uniquely capable of creating them.

At the end of the day, it’s about outcomes, not outputs. It’s about healthier, greener buildings and communities for everyone — the children in every school, the elderly in every community, the families in every unit of affordable housing, the injured veterans in every hospital, the workers in every factory, every corporation, every government office building.

If there was ever a catalyst for the green revolution, it should be the financial mess in which we find ourselves. A new green economy can ignite the markets through innovation, build good green jobs that can’t be exported, help homeowners and small businesses save money and energy, and change how the building industry measures value. And sooner than we can imagine, every building — new or existing — will be powered by green energy, and built and operated by green collar workers who will be the linchpin of this new green economy that we can help to create.