Photograph courtesy of Ann and Tom Friedman.

Ann and Tom Friedman: Eloquent advocates for clean energy

Ann and Tom Friedman are a one-two punch.

Ann is involved with Conservation International, which partners with corporations and organizations to protect global biodiversity and increase environmental awareness. Three years ago, she started the Women’s Conservation Forum to educate women about complex issues such as carbon offsets. She’s also a public-school teacher in Montgomery County and has done special programs using the study of geography to talk about world cultures and their impact on the planet. Tom’s books and New York Times column make the case that America’s future depends on clean-energy technology. In his book Hot, Flat, and Crowded, he says the United States must take the lead in green power by creating clean-energy equivalents of Microsoft and Google.

Ann is on the committee building a new synagogue in Rockville. “We’re aiming for LEED gold certification,” she says. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards are the industry’s measure of buildings that use green materials and energy.

The Friedmans hope such building practices will become so commonplace that “green” will disappear from our vocabulary.