GREEN MACHINE

“Phase I” renovations to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center began last week to expand the size of the center by almost half by 2010. When Wired magazine held its technological jamboree, NextFest, at the center last month, one of the exhibits was dedicated to explaining the future of “green” technology. This technology is supposedly more eco-friendly because it reduces the amount of waste and pollution caused by development. New York is joining in the conservation effort: Gov. George Pataki said the center’s renovations will now be using the “cleaner, energy-saving ‘green building’ technology.” According to the U.S. Green Building Council, green buildings are specifically designed to conserve energy and water and reduce pollution typically caused by buildings in the United States. But the renovations don’t come cheap: The building will be getting green for giving green—in the form of $1.68 billion.