Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer has signed into law a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requiring public utilities to purchase at least 5% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2008. Eligible technologies include wind, solar, geothermal, small hydropower, most biomass, and fuel cells using one of these fuel sources. The RPS ramps up to 10% by 2010 and 15% by 2015. There are now at least 20 states with RPS standards. More information, including a link to the standard, is available at www.dsireusa.org.

The Council of the District of Columbia has enacted a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) that applies to all retail electricity sales in Washington, D.C. The two-tiered system establishes yearly benchmarks for tier-one and tier-two resources. By 2022, all utilities must generate 11% of their electricity from tier-one resources, including solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, geothermal, and ocean technologies, as well as fuel cells using another tier-one electricity source. Tier-two energy sources include hydroelectric power and waste-to-energy operations. More information, including a link to the standard, is available at www.dsireusa.org.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is urging businessmen to doff their suits this summer to save air-conditioning energy. “I, too, will go without jackets and ties,” said Koizumi, who called for setting thermostats no cooler than 82° F (28° C). Japan imports more than 80% of its energy, and has committed, through the Kyoto Protocol, to bringing its greenhouse-gas emissions to 6% below its 1990 levels by 2012. For more on thermal comfort, see

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Vol. 13, No. 7.

Chris Schaffner, P.E., a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED^® advanced faculty, has started his own consulting firm, The Green Engineer. He will continue his work as an elected member of USGBC’s LEED-NC Core Committee and as a member of the LEED Indoor Environmental Quality Technical Advisory Group. Prior to founding The Green Engineer, Schaffner worked as an associate in the Boston office of the engineering design firm Arup. He can be reached at 978-844-1464 or chris@greenengineer.com. The new company is online at www.greenengineer.com.

The Enterprise Foundation has released a report that summarizes how different states are using federal low-income housing tax credits to support green building. “The report finds that many states encourage developers to meet some standard of energy and/or water efficiency; utilize sustainable, durable materials; and ensure proximity to services and amenities,” according to Enterprise. The full report is available at www.greencommunitiesonline.com. For more information about greening affordable housing, see

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Vol. 14, No. 3.

The organizers of the Rethinking Sustainable Construction 2006 (RSC06) conference, set for Sarasota, Florida, in September, are calling for “creative content” proposals, ranging from research papers to problem-solving workshops. The international conference is intended to “produce an agenda for the future of green buildings,” as described in the white paper

Radical Sustainable Construction: Envisioning Next-Generation Green Buildings, by Charles Kibert, Ph.D., P.E., and Kevin Grosskopf, both of the University of Florida. More information about the conference, including the formal call for content and a link to the white paper, is online at www.treeo.ufl.edu/rsc06/.

Stains and sealants can reduce the cancer risk posed by decks and playground equipment treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA), according to preliminary results from a study being undertaken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. “Oil- or water-based stains that can penetrate wood surfaces are preferable to products such as paint,” according to the report, “because paints and other film-formers can chip or flake, requiring scraping or sanding for removal, which can increase a consumer’s exposure to arsenic.” The full report is expected by the end of 2005. For details, visit www.epa.gov/oppad001/reregistration/cca/sealant_qa.htm. For more information on CCA, see

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Vol. 13, No. 2.

Jeffrey Johnson, executive director of the nonprofit New Buildings Institute, Inc., died in a mountain biking accident near his home in the Columbia River Gorge in May 2005. Johnson was instrumental in expanding the organization’s focus on such issues as daylighting, productivity, and regional and international codes and standards. Memories of Johnson and more information about the New Buildings Institute are online at www.newbuildings.org.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE) has released the first draft of Guideline 10P, “Criteria for Achieving Acceptable Indoor Environments,” for public review. “Guideline 10 will be most helpful to designers who want to understand the interactions between thermal conditions and indoor air quality,” according to Hal Levin, chair of the committee that wrote the guideline. “While the two are addressed separately in ASHRAE Standards 55 and 62, their important interactions are not,” he says. The comment period closes June 20, 2005. More information and a draft of the guideline are online at www.ashrae.org.

Terence Williams Architect, Inc., has merged with Busby Perkins+Will Architects Co., a Canadian company with offices in Victoria, Vancouver, and Calgary. The merger was prompted by the firms’ collaboration on the Dockside Green project, slated for LEED^® Platinum certification (see

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Vol. 14, No. 1).