In its largest green-power purchase ever, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has agreed to buy renewable energy certificates representing 100 million kilowatt-hours of electricity for each of the next three years. The renewable credits, supporting a biomass plant in Port Wentworth, Georgia, will offset the fossil fuels burned to power EPA’s facilities in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Including the recent agreement, EPA meets more than 75% of its national electricity needs through renewable energy.

In the wake of the U.S. Green Building Council’s April 2004 decision not to allow trade associations to become full members (see EBN

Vol. 13, No. 6), the snubbed organizations have banded together to create “The North American Coalition on Green Building.” This group, which at last count had 34 members but no single point of contact, claims to support green building principles but is opposed to the adoption and use of LEED by government agencies. It argues that green building rating standards should be developed through approved standards-setting organizations and should be based on objective scientific criteria

“Builders and consumers are realizing that by reducing a home’s footprint through better design, they can put the savings into details that are high-quality, energy-efficient, and environmentally sound,” says Sarah Susanka, whose books started the Not So Big™ movement. A showhouse built according to Susanka’s principles debuts January 13–16, 2005 at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Florida. More than 100,000 visitors are expected to tour the house, built by the Bradford Building Corporation with technical oversight from building science consultant Steve Easley and green builder Ron Jones. Details and a virtual tour are online at www.notsobigshowhouse.com.

When deciding where to live, Americans’ top priority is being within a 45-minute commute to work, according to the 2004 American Community Survey, sponsored by the National Association of Realtors and Smart Growth America. A short commute is “very” or “somewhat” important to 79% of respondents. The second most important factor, at 75%, was “easy access to the highway,” and third, at 72%, was “sidewalks and places to take walks.” More information is available at www.realtors.org.

Voters in 111 communities in 25 states approved $11 billion in new public funding for conservation in the November 2004 elections, representing a 76% passage rate. “American voters are remarkably consistent in approving three out of every four funding measures for land conservation, both before 9/11 and after, whether in recession or recovery,” said Will Rogers, president of the Trust for Public Land. Details are online at www.landvote.org.

The U.S. Green Building Council has announced the results of the election for its 2005 board of directors. The new members are

Charles Angyal, FAIA, chief architect of Sempra Energy Utilities;

Dan Burgoyne, sustainability manager at the California Department of General Services;

Tim Cole, director of support services at Forbo Linoleum, Inc.;

Sandra Mendler, AIA, vice president and sustainable design principal at HOK, Inc. (and an

EBN Advisory Board member); and

Sandy Wiggins, vice president of the contracting firm W. S. Cumby & Son, Inc. The Council website, www.usgbc.org, will be updated to reflect the recent elections.

Cartoonist Scott Adams has announced the completion of Dilbert’s Ultimate House (DUH), an online, virtual Silicon Valley home for his most famous character. DUH was created by Heartwood Studios, a 3D animation and multimedia studio, with suggestions from more than 3,000 Dilbert fans and energy consultation from Pacific Gas & Electric. The home’s extensive environmentally friendly features include optimal siting and orientation, structural insulated panel construction, double-glazed windows, photovoltaic panels, a whole-house air-filtration system, and xeriscaping. “Have you looked at your gas and electricity bill lately?” asks Adams, explaining the importance of efficiency. “It makes you want to drive your SUV to Saudi Arabia and start slapping anyone who’s in a good mood.” Despite its attention to green design, the home is lacking the key element of smallness. Even if Dilbert marries and raises a family, a possibility Adams encouraged his design team to prepare for, the home’s 6,000 ft² (560 m²) of living space and its three-car garage don’t exactly scream “green”—even if they are only virtual. Visitors can tour the house at www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/duh/.

The American Public Health Association, representing more than 50,000 researchers, health-service providers, administrators, teachers, and other health workers, has called for a phaseout of all polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants, including the widely used deca-BDE. The organization made its recommendation in light of “emerging science on the inherent toxicity and persistence of PBDEs, evidence of adverse health effects on animals, and the prevalence and rising levels in fish, biota, and human breast milk.” The policy also calls for incentives for the development of alternatives, labeling of chemical flame retardants, an expansion of the national biomonitoring program to include PBDEs, and federal funding for further research. The full policy is posted online at www.apha.org/legislative/policy/policysearch/index.cfm?fuseaction=view&id=1288. For more on PBDEs and other flame retardants, see

EBN

Vol. 13, No. 6.

During the international climate change conference in Buenos Aires in December 2004, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC), representing the 155,000 Inuit, or Eskimo, peoples, announced plans to demand a ruling from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that by contributing to global climate change, the U.S. is threatening Inuit culture and therefore violating the Inuits’ human rights. The ruling could lead to a lawsuit against either individual American companies or, in international court, the U.S. as a country. “We’re an adaptable people, but adaptability has its limits,” said Sheila Watt-Cloutier, head of the ICC. The ICC is online at www.inuitcircumpolar.com.

Shaw Industries, Inc. and Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. have announced a plan to generate steam energy from carpet and wood waste resulting from Shaw’s manufacturing processes. The plan will save energy while lowering Shaw’s plant emissions and reducing the amount of waste it sends to landfills. Siemens will build and service a conversion facility, to be operational by the end of 2005, near Shaw’s carpet-manufacturing plant in Dalton, Georgia. Shaw expects the plan to save the company $2.5 million each year.