Of course, a lot of this was driven by the new NAHB National Standard for Green Building, which is "almost ready for prime time," as NAHB says. The organization is proud of this program; a lot of hard work has gone into it.

A big chunk of my work at the show was interviewing some of the industry's movers and shakers. No matter how those conversations started out, sooner or later they all came around to green.

Geoffrey Mouen, architect for the Tradewinds show house, kept energy efficiency in mind through the entire project -- from choosing the site to speccing the products.

Fernando Pages, who built the first PATH Concept Home last year, talked with me about affordable housing and quality, but he emphasized that almost by definition, quality construction and affordability have to be green.

Dick Titus, executive VP of the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association, is very enthusiastic about that group's highly successful Environmental Stewardship Program. So are KCMA members, it seems; in only 15 months, 90 companies have signed on.

If you're a builder, what do you think are the most important issues that the new guidelines should address? Green building covers a lot of ground, after all; which aspects give builders (and homebuyers) the biggest bang for the greenback?

If you're a homeowner, what kind of standards would you like to see? Is there something about your house that you wish had been done greener? More insulation, maybe, or higher-performance windows?

I have my own long list of "Why didn't the builder do this in my house?" points, of course. If enough builders adopt the new standards, maybe future homeowners won't have to worry about such deficiencies.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking retro-fit.