This week in buildings, land and industry decarbonization, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation that will ban fluorescent light bulbs from the state. The law makes Washington the eighth state to adopt such a standard, which is meant to save energy and cut back on the use of mercury. GreenBiz has the story.

Elsewhere in the West, a group of building-related trade associations has sued the state of Colorado and the city of Denver over new building codes that are tougher than the federal rules and aimed at zeroing out carbon emissions from the sector, as local media reported. The suit uses the same argument as successful litigation against Berkeley, Calif.’s natural gas hookup ban that the regulations are pre-empted by the federal Energy and Policy Conservation Act. The lawsuit argues the rules would cost billions of dollars that would be passed along to consumers through higher rents and housing costs. 

GreenBiz also wrote about the green building movement’s evolution away from local, grassroots efforts to broader coalitions of professionals. Six regional groups united to form the U.S. Green Building Council California earlier this month, which is illustrative of a trend from around the country. The new group in California is meant to create a centralized entry point to help anyone in the state engage in the movement. 

For Earth Day, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel highlighted a $14.99 smart thermostat available to Wisconsin residents through the joint-utility energy efficiency program Focus on Energy. The price is inclusive of a $75 rebate from the utility-funded program. 

Read more stories in this week’s Intelligence Report: