trim tab, noun:

a tiny rudder attached to the larger rudder of a oceangoing vessel that must be adjusted first, with little force necessary, to change the vessel’s direction.

Oft cited by the futurist R. Buckminster Fuller as a metaphor of leadership and empowerment, a trim tab is in essence a small lever acting upon a large lever to create change out of all proportion to its size. Trim Tab is also the new quarterly magazine of the Cascadia Region Green Building Council – a publication that intends to mirror the metaphor evoked by its name. It showcases the provocative ideas, innovative projects, critical issues and premier events that are truly redefining how we design, construct and operate buildings and communities. Though regional in scale, Trim Tab is global in scope.