Kevin Surace is the CEO of Serious Energy, and he's also the one of the best speakers in the country when it comes to detailing the opportunities created through energy efficiency. Energy efficient buildings consume less energy, which means lower power bills, which means cleaner air and less demand for burning coal or natural gas.

Green buildings also achieve higher rental and resale values, creating money in a relatively frictionless way, and put assembly line employees, contractors, electricians, and architects to work. It's a virtuous cycle if there ever was one.

But it's tough to do the performance justice in words. So here you can find some of his most recent speeches and press interviews.

If you are in real estate, you already know new building and housing starts are down. Now, the AIA has put some numbers around it. A new report shows that construction spending is down 27 percent since 2008, a loss of $300 billion in economic activity. Leanne Tobias at Greenbiz writes:

"As reported in a new study by the American Institute of Architects, construction spending in the U.S. has declined by 27 percent since 2008, an economic loss of close to $300 billion. (An additional $470 billion in construction-related spending also has been lost.) Private construction projects have been particularly hard hit, declining by more than a third, while public construction is down roughly 10 percent.

The goal: To offer zero-cost upgrades to commercial buildings by reducing energy consumption

Sunnyvale, CA - December 2, 2011 - Serious Energy Inc., a leader in energy efficiency solutions that increase the value of buildings, is proud to announce that it is a founding Financial Ally of the Better Buildings Challenge, an initiative to make America’s buildings 20 percent more efficient over the next decade, reducing energy costs for American businesses by nearly $40 billion. Serious Energy offers building upgrades without any up-front cost, with guaranteed reductions in the energy bill ranging from 10-30%.

President Obama announced the challenge today at the White House, which will involve $4 billion in investments in upgrades to federal and private sector buildings over the next two years.

Freezing right now? Broiling? Can't see because of glare? Blame your windows. Serious Energy is holding the I Want Better Windows contest. You could be one of the winners of 250 square feet of iWindows. (click here to enter) or vote for one of the entrants.

Today's entry comes from Michael in New Jersey. He's at a hospital:

"We are a non-profit hospital. Our windows are 30 or more years older... It would be great to have warmer patient rooms and offices for the staff. My office is in the basement... No windows for me but it would be realy good for the building."

Today's entry comes from Judy from Pennsylvania who works in a building that she says is stuck in the past:

"We in central PA tend to be 10 - 15 years behind the market for these sorts of technologies. It would be great for you to select this building -- a typical mixed use; older building commonly found in many older cities in the US -- so you can demonstrate how effective your product is for retrofitting older buildings."

Vote for Judy if you want her to jump into the modern age, or send us your own tale worthy of an extreme makeover.