I was looking into this a bit over a year ago, and there was quite a bit going on in the background. ASHRAE and AIA had clearly had some back-channel communications going, and then the AIA approached the Council of Mayors to persuade them to issue a Resolution calling for "greener" buildings, which some did (Resolution #50?).
After the issuance of that resolution the ASHRAE president issued his big proclamation of "the Mayors have said we need more energy-efficient and green buildings to help stop global warming", announcing the aforementioned efficiency guides.
I got to hear his talk at a green buildings conference last fall; definitely believes all this.
“the Mayors have said we need more energy-efficient and green buildings to help stop global warming”,
So basically you guys were tasked with giving the mayors something “positive” they could campaign on. :)
The AIA National President is a hugh f-ing lib from San Francisco. He has been pushing green down everybody’s throat all year. I’m afraid the new guy isn’t a whole lot better.
Are you an architect?