The American Institute of Architects Committees on Design and the Environment (COD and COTE) are cosponsoring a conference called “The Architecture of Sustainability” and a design competition called “A House for an Ecologist” (formerly known as eco:dwell) to explore sustainability as an architectural agenda. Judges for the competition are Peter Bohlin, FAIA, of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Allison Ewing, AIA, of Hays + Ewing Design Studio in Charlottesville, Virginia; and James Timberlake, FAIA, of Kieran Timberlake Associates, LLP, in Philadelphia. More information about the conference, to take place May 4-7, 2006, is online at www.aia.org/ev_cod_may06. More information about the competition is at www.aia.org/br_cfe_cod_ecodwell06.

The 3,600 ft² (334 m²) Hawaii Gateway Energy Center, located at the entrance to the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority in Kailua-Kona, has achieved a LEED^® Platinum rating. The building features a 25-kW photovoltaic array designed to produce more energy than the building consumes, and uses a deep-seawater system for passive space cooling, shallow-root condensation irrigation, and condensation collection of nonpotable freshwater for deep-rooted plant irrigation and toilet flushing. The building was designed by Ferraro Choi and Associates, Ltd., with the Rocky Mountain Institute/ENSAR Built Environment Team serving as LEED consultant.

Centennial College, a community college based in Toronto, Canada, has launched a full-time program in architectural technology that emphasizes green building design and construction. “The three-year program prepares students to work as technologists alongside architects, engineers, builders, contractors, and municipal building departments,” according to the school. “Using state-of-the-art computer technology, students will learn to create designs, construction drawings, and specifications for residential, commercial, and institutional buildings.” For more information, visit www.centennialcollege.ca/setas/.

Greenpeace International unveiled the Music Wood Initiative at the January 2006 trade show of NAMM, the International Music Products Association. The Music Wood Initiative was created to limit the environmental and social degradation caused in the making of musical instruments. “If you walk through a music store, the instruments are comprised of a virtual who’s who of often exotic species from the four corners of the globe,” according to the program’s website. The Music Wood Initiative encourages instrument manufacturers to use wood certified according to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards and encourages musicians to request these products. The campaign is focused on Sitka spruce, which grows only in the North American coastal temperate rainforest and is commonly used to make soundboards for guitars and pianos. Gibson, C. F. Martin & Company, Dave Maize Acoustic Guitars, and the Toyo Piano Manufacturing Company, Ltd., already offer FSC product lines. Details are online at www.musicwood.org.

Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Warren, Vermont, together with ReCycle North of Burlington, Vermont, and Habitat for Humanity, will offer two five-day training courses in April 2006 on building deconstruction and the use of reclaimed building materials in new residential construction. The courses are intended for nonprofit organizations interested in starting building deconstruction programs or reused materials programs, or for existing programs seeking to increase their skills and effectiveness. A grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will cover all tuition costs and provide travel stipends for participants. For more information, contact Kate Stephenson at 802-496-5545 or kate@yestermorrow.org.

The New York State Education Department and the State University of New York (SUNY) have approved a new four-year undergraduate program in renewable and alternative energy applications, including wind, solar, geothermal, fuel cell, biofuel, and other emerging technologies. SUNY Canton will offer the program beginning with the fall 2006 semester. The New York State Department of Labor anticipates 750 new job openings in this field by 2010. SUNY Canton is online at www.canton.edu.

Recognizing that “utilizing less hazardous cleaning products in our State facilities and workplaces, and implementing measures to reduce exposure to those products, can minimize harmful impacts to office and custodial workers as well as improve air quality and reduce water and air pollution,” New Jersey Governor Richard Codey signed an executive order in January 2006 requiring State facilities to use only green cleaning products, defined as “having properties that minimize potential impacts to human health and the environment.” The order is online at www.state.nj.us/infobank/circular/eoc76.htm. For information on design for cleanability, see

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has set tougher standards for clothes washers to qualify for the Energy Star^® label, beginning January 1, 2007. The new standards increase the modified energy factor (MEF), the capacity of the clothes container divided by the total energy consumption per cycle, from 1.42 to 1.72 ft³/kWh per cycle. The new standards also introduce a water factor (WF), defined as gallons of water used per cycle divided by the cubic feet of washer capacity, and cap it at 8.0. (The current criteria for clothes washers to be listed in

GreenSpec^® are more stringent, requiring a minimum MEF of 1.8 and a maximum WF of 5.5.) More information about Energy Star is online at www.energystar.gov.

The new energy tax credits outlined in the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005 took effect on January 1, 2006. For more information on the provisions in the act, see

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The Swedish government has set the aggressive goal of eliminating its dependence on fossil fuels by 2020, according to Mona Sahlin, minister for sustainable development. Sweden plans to harness tax credits, research, and large-scale investment in district heating, among other strategies, to wean the country off fossil fuels. Transportation, which currently accounts for about half of the country’s fossil-fuel consumption, will likely prove the biggest hurdle. “Carbon-dioxide-neutral fuels” will be exempt from the country’s carbon dioxide and energy taxes for the coming five years. Sweden is also helped in its goal by the fact that most of its electricity is generated using nuclear and hydroelectric power (45% and 35%, respectively), and 40% of its household waste is burned to generate energy. The minister’s statement is at www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/5992/a/51058.