Feature
Green Schools: Learning as We Go
Schools should be among our highest priorities for greening. One out of five people in the U.S. spends his or her days in school buildings, making IAQ considerations very important, and our nation is embarking on a tremendous amount of school construction--more than $100 billion in the next few years. This article defines green schools, explains why school buildings are different from other non-residential buildings, explores the benefits of green schools, and points readers to resources for green school design. The article explores daylight controls and displacement ventilation in depth.
From the Editors
EBN’s Alex Wilson Testifies Before U.S. Senate
EBN's Alex Wilson Testifies before U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on high-performance, green schools and their potential for improving our nation's learning environments.
What's Happening
Decking Products Under Fire
The California Forest Products Laboratory has spent a lot of time and effort setting decks on fire--in an effort to determine the fire resistance of various decking options, including wood, plastic, and plastic-composite. There are significant differences among these products, which is of particular interest to people in fire-hazard areas.
EPA Target Finder Helps Architects Set Energy Goals
A new, free, Web-based tool from the Environmental Protection Agency helps architects set energy goals early in the design process.
Then & Now
Life-Cycle Information on Building Materials
We've learned a lot about the environmental impacts of building materials since EBN reviewed AIA's Environmental Resource Guide in 1992. Life-cycle data is now available from the second version of Athena's Environmental Impact Estimator and the third version of Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES).
|
