Robotics at the Trane factory In the Trane factory

When you can and when you cannot count one material as contributing to more than one credit in the Materials and Resources category of LEED has confused me for years. Even the LEED Reference Guide doesn't lay it out clearly. So, after sorting it out for LEEDuser, I thought laying it out in a table might help.

Multiple MR Points for the Same Material: When is it allowed?   MRc1 MRc2* MRc3 MRc4 MRc5 MRc6 MRc7 MRc1:

Building Reuse

The press release says, "Yosemite black bears select minivan as 'Car of the Year'":
I received an email from a Design student at Kingston University (London) writing a dissertation on "why people are drawn to design inspired by nature." Three questions were sent; I went overboard answering the first one, and basically wussed out on the second two. I'd be interested in your takes on this highly subjective stuff, and will be sure to let our dissertation author in on the discussion.
The North Road Technologies Geyser heat pump water heater..

There's a revolution underway with electric water heating. It could be just as significant as the shift from top-loaders to horizontal-axis front-loaders that we've seen in the laundry appliance industry.

Alex and others from GreenBuildingAdvisor.com recently attended the West Coast Green conference in San Francisco -- the nation's largest green building conference and trade show focused exclusively on residential applications.
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. Here's an unformatted, text-only version of the current bulletin:
When inspecting your heating system, recognize that some things you can do yourself, and others are best done by a professional.

Mechanical systems need to be tuned up periodically to keep them operating smoothly and efficiently. That's true with our cars, and it's true with our heating systems. If you haven't done so already, now is the time to get your heating system inspected, cleaned, and tuned.

If you've been working with LEED Online in the last, um, ever, you've probably noticed that it can be slow and buggy. And as the portal for certifying your LEED project, that can be a little frustrating. Then along came LEED 2009, part of the LEED v3 update that was supposed to include a new and improved LEED Online.
Social justice--it's a topic of conversation throughout the green building industry, but what does it mean, exactly? And how does it relate to buildings? I worked with the following definition while writing this month's feature article:
Over at The Last Straw blog, Jeff Ruppert has posted a review of Making Lime Mortars, the first of a four-disc tutorial offered by St. Astier Natural Limes. Perhaps the thing I like best about the review is that it doesn't get into the whole "Why use lime" conversation... it respectfully assumes that you already know.
Over at GreenBuildingAdvisor, veteran journalist Richard Defendorf combined his abiding interests in green building and politics by taking a look at a Fox News Forum opinion piece from the policy director the conservative advocacy group (natch) Americans for Prosperity.

Architectural testing concern HTL will be at GlassBuild America shooting missiles at windows again. The demonstration/demolition follows the Miami-Dade large missile protocol by shooting 2x4s at impact-resistant and non-impact-resistant windows. A press release from HTL quotes NGA Industry Events Director Susan Jacob: "There is nothing quite like the drama of a 2x4 missile shot from an air cannon at glass windows." Wish I was going!