Although the U.S. used slightly (0.5%) less petroleum in 2005 than it did in record-breaking 2004, the percentage of that petroleum that was imported reached a new high in 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. Of the 99.84 quadrillion Btus used, a net 59.8% was imported. Of those imports, 17.0% came from the Persian Gulf and 40.7% came from OPEC countries. More information is online at www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/mer/.

The average new, single-family home built in the U.S. in 2004 came in at 2,349 ft² (218 m²)—13% larger than the average in 1990 and 2.4 times as big as the average in 1950—according to the National Association of Home Builders’ newest “Housing Facts, Figures, and Trends” report, released in March 2006. Of new homes in 2004, 95% had two full bathrooms or more, compared with 87% in 1990 and only 4% in 1950; and 91% had a garage or carport, compared with 84% in 1900 and 47% in 1950. The complete report is available at www.nahb.org (search for “figures”).

Humanity’s ecological footprint exceeds the planet’s capacity by 39%, according to Redefining Progress, a nonprofit policy organization based in Oakland, California. The ecological footprint is a measure of the amount of “nature” it takes to sustain a given population over the course of a year; comparing this footprint to the same area’s biological capacity shows the degree to which the population is living sustainably, or within its ecological means. The new report finds humanity’s current footprint to be an average of 57 acres (23 ha) per person, while Earth’s biological capacity is just 41 (17 ha). It identifies overfishing, industrial agriculture, urban sprawl, and carbon emissions as the chief culprits driving the overshoot. The U.S. has the world’s third highest ecological deficit, coming in well behind the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The entire report is online at www.ecologicalfootprint.org.

A Rhode Island court found Sherwin Williams Co., Millennium Holdings, and NL Industries liable in February 2006 for creating a public nuisance by making lead-based paint before it was banned in 1978. Although the judge dismissed punitive damage claims, the jury ordered the companies to abate lead-based paint on an estimated 240,000 Rhode Island homes, a process expected to cost at least $1 billion. A fourth defendant, Atlantic Richfield, was found not liable. The ruling, the paint industry’s first loss in a lawsuit of this type, could have national ramifications. “This case is hugely precedent-setting,” Jack McConnell, one of the state’s lawyers, told

The Providence Journal. “And my phone has been ringing off the hook.”

A federal appeals court has overturned a policy that would have allowed power plants, refineries, and other industrial facilities to upgrade without also updating their pollution-control equipment. While the New Source Review program of the Clean Air Act ensured that older plants would clean up emissions whenever they performed upgrades beyond “routine maintenance,” the Bush administration’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) modified that rule in 2003 to allow renovations costing up to 20% of the replacement value of a plant’s entire production system to proceed without the emissions-reducing measures (see

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Vol. 12, No. 10). Stating that the new interpretation would be allowed “only in a Humpty Dumpty world,” the court found against EPA and in favor of a coalition including 14 states and a range of environmental organizations. “We decline such a worldview,” said the unanimous decision. EPA could appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has approved tighter standards for dishwashers that carry the Energy Star^® label. The new standard, which requires Energy Star dishwashers to be 41% more efficient than minimum federal standards, will take effect January 1, 2007. Current standards require Energy Star dishwashers to be 25% more efficient than minimum standards. Details are online at www.energystar.gov.

The National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., will open “The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design” on May 20, 2006. The exhibition will feature descriptions of 22 homes from around the world, a full-size green home, and a resource room with building-material information, including a kiosk featuring our

BuildingGreen Suite. Details are online at www.nbm.org.

Thirty plants across the U.S. are now producing Energy Star^® manufactured homes, according to the Manufactured Housing Research Alliance. A complete list is available at www.mhrahome.org/pages/es_plant_list.htm. Encouraging further development, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (see

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Vol. 14, No. 9) permits producers of manufactured homes to receive a $1,000 tax credit for each Energy Star home they build. The Energy Star Homes program is online at www.energystarhomes.com.

The International Code Council (ICC) has developed Coastal Construction Flood Plain Inspector certification, which indicates “knowledge of general construction provisions, special high wind and load path continuity, special flood hazard areas, detached and accessory structures, and governmental regulations.” Certified individuals will be able to ensure that homes and businesses meet relevant codes, including special requirements in high wind zones, as well as assess damage caused by hurricanes and floods, says ICC. For more information, contact Jim Slaght, ICC certification programs administrator, at 888-422-7233, ext. 5221.

Disturbing old farmland can release pesticides applied more than 100 years ago, contaminating surface water, according to Dartmouth researchers. The researchers found that lead and arsenic, widely applied as lead arsenate pesticide on orchards in the late 1800s and well into the 1900s, have become part of the fine silt and organic matter in the top 10 inches (25 cm) of soil, making the contaminants susceptible to erosion. “While the arsenic and lead in the soils of old orchards is essentially immobile as long as the land is not disturbed, our work suggests that the development of these lands can inadvertently mobilize these metals toward bodies of water,” says Carl Renshaw, associate professor of earth sciences. The study was published in the January/February 2006 issue of the

Journal of Environmental Quality.