From Treehugger comes news of the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center. I regret to say that I'm ignorant of who Aldo is, but I'm excited by this building, built in the Wisconsin countryside. Here are some of the features...

- Underground earth tubes supply fresh, tempered air to the facility in all seasons.

- Wood was harvested onsite from trees originally planted by Leopold.

- The zero net energy building generates over 50,000 kWh of electricity annually.

Can't say I'm too excited about number two above, but I've never even heard of the earth tube idea, which I gather is different from anything geothermal, and the energy generation is impressive.

The comments section is interesting: Someone asks about cost; another laments that wind power isn't part of the plan, considering how ungreen the manufacture of PV panels is; and someone else wonders if a yurt wouldn't be more green.

(BTW, the quote in the headline comes from the president of the U.S. Green Building Council, which, I guess, is whom you would want making such a judgment.)