The National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently released a series of publications designed to help communities deal with long-term disaster recovery. Each article contains a wealth of information that will be of interest not only to governmental and business leaders, but also to readers who want to be inspired by what's possible for sustainable community development.

Here is what you'll find for download:

Rebuilding After Disaster – Going Green From the Ground Up The why and how of energy planning in disaster recovery for city leaders

Greensburg, Kansas—A Better, Greener Place to Live The inspiring story of Greensburg's recovery, with many examples of disaster recovery accomplishments

Rebuilding It Better—BTI-Greensburg John Deere Dealership A fact sheet highlighting energy-saving features of a commercial building

How Would You Rebuild a Town Green? A fact sheet about the Greensburg Sustainable Building Database that provides specific examples about energy-efficient building projects in Greensburg

"From Tragedy to Triumph" is a series of four fact sheets intended to help community leaders reach out to and educate various community constituents to engage them in the rebuilding green process:

*Rebuilding Green Homes after Disaster Information for homeowners about the benefits of rebuilding green

*Rebuilding Green Buildings after Disaster Information for commercial building owners and operators

*Rebuilding with Renewable Energy after Disaster Information for community decision makers and community members about incorporating renewable energy into rebuilding

*Resources for Rebuilding Green after Disaster A resource list for builders and architects

According to Lynn Billman, a Senior Analyst with NREL, these documents are the culmination of the agency's work with assisting New Orleans and Greensburg recover from their respective disasters. "The focus of this work has been to help each city rebuild as a model sustainable community." We in Greensburg can vouch for the incredible impact NREL has had locally. Lynn Billman has been the "face" of NREL since June of 2007. She and fellow staff members were on the ground within a month of the tornado, and have maintained close contact ever since. Under the direction of Mary Colvin Werner, NREL has assisted the City, County, local businesses and homeowners, and GreenTown in pretty much every facet of the green building effort. They have provided expert advice and consultation, have developed a plethora of brochures and educational materials, have brought in the best minds in the renewable energy fields, and have been tireless champions of the Green Initiative.

We salute their work and are ever grateful for their involvement in our community's comeback. We urge readers to peruse NREL's website for the latest news about renewable energy research and technology. NREL is a program of the U.S. Department of Energy. Based in Golden, Colorado, they are our country's  "primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development," whose mission is to advance our national energy goals. In our humble opinion, they are a stellar example of a federal agency that is of tangible benefit to the people of this country.