Those in Las Vegas are no different.

"I think it's taken off everywhere," said Jim Van Compernolle of JVC Architects. "Some of the evangelical Christian churches seem to be really grabbing on to the green movement in a more public way. But we're doing a lot of more traditional churches, Lutherans and Catholics, too. They're really grabbing on in a real way."

Several churches and other religious buildings in the valley have been remodeled in the past couple of years to conserve energy, increase comfort and decrease the organizations' carbon footprints.

Others have made it a priority that new structures be built to greener standards.

Van Compernolle has worked on many of these projects, including the recently completed Salvation Army chapel in North Las Vegas and St. Viators Catholic Church in Las Vegas.

In some churches, much of the push has come from congregants concerned with living a greener lifestyle - preserving what they feel God gave them and leaving a better planet for their children and grandchildren, Van Compernolle said.

"In public meetings for the congregations, it's amazing how many church congregants want green elements," he said. "They're definitely asking - it's catching on everywhere. And it's nice to see more churches finally acknowledge their role as stewards of the Earth and work to be good stewards."

But religious organizations often can't go as far with lessening their carbon footprints as they would like.

Because they don't pay taxes, religious groups can't take advantage of federal and state credits and incentives that help homeowners and businesses lighten their energy loads.

The first thing they generally eliminate from their wish list is solar photovoltaic panels, which often don't produce enough energy to justify the cost without incentives, Van Compernolle said.

They also generally can't persuade parishioners to dole out the extra dough for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified building.

And while religious organizations benefit directly from cost savings from conservation as owners of the structures, the buildings are usually only used a couple of times a week, and it generally takes much longer for improvements to pay for themselves.

Most religious groups instead have focused on relatively new technology and building techniques and supplies that can bring them high levels of energy or water conservation at a lesser cost.

"They've been really asking in the last year, year and a half, as energy prices have risen," Van Compernolle said. "They're going into shock (from the costs), but it's harder to miss the beating of the green drum, whether you're watching TV or reading the paper or just talking to people."

Among the most popular "green" improvements are superefficient air-conditioning systems, high-end and recycled insulation and - in areas not used for worship - increased use of natural light.

They are also preserving the building's original footprint and expanding and renovating the interior where they can.

"That's one of the greenest things you can do - don't throw it all away," Van Compernolle said. "That seems to be a Las Vegas trend, throwing things away. But if you can keep what you have, that's a savings. And you don't have to produce all those new materials when you keep the existing structure. You can keep the superstructure of the building and work around it."

The Salvation Army recently completed a new "greener" chapel on its Lied campus in North Las Vegas. The structure includes superinsulated walls made of expanded polystyrene blocks, basically a concrete and Styrofoam-type mix covered in stucco.

It also added an improved insulated roof system to the design, said Duane Sonnenberg, director of Clark County Salvation Army's grants and special projects.

The building also has an energy-efficient air-conditioning unit, but the organization hopes the design of the building will result in a limited need for it.

Conserving energy in the building was vital for the organization, which uses the campus to provide social and religious services to the valley's homeless population. The facility sees 6,000 visitors each year - a number expected to rise as the economy lingers.

It's times like these that the Salvation Army needs funds to help people.

"Part of the reason we did this was the increase in operating costs of all of our facilities," Sonnenberg said. "With rising energy costs, it becomes a significant part of our budget just to pay utilities. When those costs go up, the money available for services to the need to our community are necessarily reduced."

The Small Business Administration's SCORE volunteers and Web site services provider Concentric announced July 8 the launch of a free online workshop to help small-business owners define and implement a new Web site strategy.

The online course will provide small-business people with guidance in several areas including planning a Web site, choosing a Web site hosting service provider, tips on creating Web content, Web design tips and how to promote a new Web site.

"SCORE and Concentric know how important it is that small-business owners get the know-how they need to ramp up a Web site quickly," SCORE Chief Executive Ken Yancey said. "This workshop is a quick and easy way to help entrepreneurs gather information and build knowledge when using Internet technology."

It is one of about 40 free online workshops SCORE offers to help people start, manage and increase a small business.

Workshops can be found at www.score.org under the "Learn Online" section.