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What Makes a Product Green?

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Lots of manufacturers call their products “green,” but are they? Here’s our guide to the high-performance attributes that matter.

What's Happening

For Cheap Solar, Look to Laws, Not Labs
New solar technologies make great headlines, but the real answer to cheap PV is government intervention.

Architects Fight Obesity Epidemic Through “Active Design”
The built environment is responsible for childhood obesity, but designers are trying to change that.

Newsbriefs

Two New Laws Restrict Use of LEED
EPA Approves Hydrocarbon Refrigerants for Home Appliances
HUD Funds Sustainable Communities
Large Firms to Expand Green Building Services
NYC Benchmarks Buildings, Finds Room for Improvement
Net-Zero Mart? Big-Box Design Guide Offers 50% Energy Savings
Historic Mercury Standards Will Clean Up Power Grid
Failing Water Infrastructure Drains Economy, Report Warns
More Sustainable Housing Options Could Bolster Economy
Changing Demographics Could Lead to More Sustainable Communities

 

Product Review

HydroGap Drainable Housewrap Doubles as Air Barrier
HydroGap housewrap creates a free-draining air space without fussy rainscreen detailing—and serves as an air and weather barrier too.

Soltecture Offers Option for Photovoltaic Facades
Soltecture’s Corium CIGS BIPV system allows thin-film panels to be integrated into building façades and can be used with Focus Material’s BIPV mounting systems.

BackPage Primer

What Is Building Science, Anyway?
Building science is an integrated discipline that stands many conventional design and construction ideas on their heads.

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