It’s that time of year again: temperatures drop, fruitcakes exchange hands, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” can be heard ringing across shopping malls from Tacoma to Toledo, and end-of-the year “top lists” are published. These lists chart the good, the bad, and the ugly of just about anything you could shake a stick at in 2008 -- from the top 10 hybrid cars to the top searches on Yahoo! (Britney Spears takes the crown, not surprisingly).

 

A list of particular interest that doesn’t involve Ms. Spears? The folks over at BuildingGreen, publisher of Environmental Building News and the Green Spec Directory, have announced their picks for Top 10 Green Building Products of 2008. Drumroll please...

 

The winners -- a mix of home improvement must-haves like paint and finish and more tech-y items like a device that monitors water, gas, and electricity consumption in real-time -- are diverse in their range of functions, price points, and eco-impacts.  Check out 2007's winners and read BuildingGreen's answer to a burning question: "What makes a building product green?"