A look at what distinguishes the different types of ICFs.

ICFs (Insulating Concrete Forms) are permanent, stay-in-place forms for making insulated poured-concrete walls, floors, and roof decks.

The EcoDorm at Warren Wilson College houses 36 students who are interested in environmental responsibility and want to live with like-minded students. The co-ed dormitory is one of a series of four dorms surrounding a common lawn.
The Lacks Cancer Center, the only dedicated comprehensive cancer center in western Michigan, supports all components of cancer care, including inpatient and outpatient care and traditional and complementary therapies. The building houses 42 private patient rooms, expansion space for 42 additional rooms, family hospitality spaces, treatment spaces, surgical suites, outpatient services, healing gardens, sheltered promenades, a chapel, and a resource library.
Fuel prices reached historic height last year.

When I started writing this weekly column for the Brattleboro Reformer one year ago this week, the price of oil was spiraling to an all-time high of $147 per barrel. Residents were dealing with pre-buy heating oil contracts at over $4.50 per gallon. Panic was brewing.

New to Green Building? Try GBA.

Recently, I broke one of my long-standing rules and blogged about something BuildingGreen-related at my own blog. My Costanzian fears were indeed warranted, and I've been egged on to cross-post it to the Live blog. Here she is, warts and all: my unvarnished opinion on the very best parts of the BuildingGreen product GreenBuildingAdvisor.com./BF

The D'Mand system, installed under a sink, allows the user to bring hot water to the sink very quickly without wasting the water.

Over the past several weeks, I've written about water conservation as a strategy for saving energy and examined a number of water heating options. This week, we'll look at the issue of water waste while waiting for hot water and what to do about it.

This morning, at 33rd St and 7th Ave in the middle of New York City — right outside of Madison Square Garden and Penn Station — a 70-foot-tall digital billboard displaying a real-time running total of atmospheric greenouse gases was unveiled. The display reflects a measurement of 24 long-lived greenhouse gases (not including ozone and aerosols) named in the Kyoto and Montreal Protocols, and is based on Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) research.

Twice each month, BuildingGreen publishes an email news bulletin with current news and product information briefs. Sign up here — it's free. We will never share or sell your email address, and you may unsubscribe at any time.

Read the current bulletin
The Northeast Natural Building and Living Colloquium is a "conference" I go to every year. It's not everyone's cup of tea. No continuing education credits are offered. There's no high-power, big-project architectural, engineering, interior designing firm reps to hobnob with. There isn't a product expo in a cavernous auditorium. No suits, no ties, no shiny shoes.
Diagram of an electric water heater.
It has become a truism that the U.S. is addicted to foreign oil. Heck, even George Bush owned up to it a couple years back. As we're trying to climb out of that addiction, are we about to fall into another?
In this photo, the indirect water heater is the large tank on the left.