AIA President RK Stewart, FAIA, called on Congress to take the lead in the fight against global warming by establishing new energy consumption standards for federal buildings. “As Congress has jurisdiction over all federal buildings, Congress can literally show the way for the private sector to attain energy consumption reductions by the built environment,” Stewart told a subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee February 12. “The AIA believes strongly that now is the time to act to address climate change by tackling energy use in buildings. Our nation needs to begin making significant reductions in the amount of fossil-fuel generated energy our buildings consume.” For more on Stewart’s testimony, read The Angle.