Going green is all the rage, especially when job creation is the topic of conversation.

In fact, North Carolina's Clean Energy Economic Forum will be held at the Mint Museum of Art next Wednesday, from 7:oo - 8:30 p.m. It's free and open to the public. The keynote speaker is Lt. Gov. Walter H. Dalton. The big topic: Green Jobs. You can submit a question to the panel here and register -- again, it's free! -- here.

Meanwhile ...

Work is under way on the Mecklenburg County parks and recreation department’s first LEED-designed facility.

The $10 million Revolution Regional Sports and Learning Academy has been registered for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system.

The main athletic area at the Revolution site will be used for boxing, wrestling and martial arts.

The nearly 30,000- square-foot sports facility also includes space for a golf shop and lounge, lockers, offices and a kitchen.

LEED standards are quickly becoming a mainstream method of construction, says Darrel Williams, a principal at Neighboring Concepts and a former county commissioner.

“A lot of folks still use cost as an excuse,” he says. But he cites long-term benefits from saving energy and water.

The sports academy site is near two major bus routes and adjacent to a proposed extension of the Irwin Creek greenway.

The facility is slated for completion by April.

The Police Athletic League, Charlotte Boxing Academy and The First Tee of Charlotte plan to offer programs at the building.

The county is paying for the project from a 2004 bond issue.

In other green-county news:

Hybrid buses will start running Monday along a new, high-frequency route to the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.

Read the entire Charlotte Business Journal article here.

Check out one of the county's new solar cars: