Every now and then I'm reminded that for all the noise made in the last few years on sustainability, the green building movement is barely into adolescence. Yes, the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED program has found some healthy market acceptance. But when it comes to energy efficiency, we have a long way to go.

This week's reminder came from New York Times Columnist Thomas L. Friedman. He was speaking at the Energy Efficiency Forum, a program sponsored by the United States Energy Association and Johnson Controls.

Global energy consumption stands at about 13 terawatts of energy, said Friedman. He predicted that population growth will push that number to 26 terawatts by 2030.

According to Friedman, meeting those energy needs while combating global warming means that the growth will need to be met by energy efficiency, while simultaneously shifting much of the existing energy supply to sources that don't emit carbon.

Of particular concern is that some 350 million Chinese (that's more than the entire population of the United States) will be moving from rural China to the cities in that time. When they do, they will need buildings in which to live, work and play. If those buildings aren't efficient, the repercussions will be global. Friedman described it this way:

"China is going to give birth to a pig. And that pig is going to eat China out of house and home and the rest of us with it."

Clearly, facility executives don't have control over what happens in China. But they do have control over their own energy budgets. The more efficient a facility is, the less exposure that facility has to the risk of soaring energy prices.

It's time to get to work.