The country’s

largest commercially owned photovoltaic system was recently installed on Long Island, New York. Covering 102,700 ft² (9,540 m²) of three buildings owned by Fala Direct Marketing, the system is owned by the Long Island Power Authority and was designed and installed by PowerLight Corporation, using Shell Solar panels. The system is expected to generate one full megawatt of electricity, enough to power more than 1,000 homes during the day.

The current

“safe” level of lead exposure, endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, is not actually safe, according to a study recently published in the

New England Journal of Medicine. The study found that any level of blood lead concentration negatively affects children’s IQ. What’s more, contamination levels in the previously assumed “safe” range affect IQ at a more severe rate than those in the acknowledged danger zone. The full report is available at

www.nejm.org.

Responding to Bush administration interest in ethanol and hydrogen, the

American Solar Energy Society (ASES) has reconstituted its Renewable Fuels and Transportation Division. Paul Notari, founder of the Colorado Renewable Energy Society and former president of ASES, will serve as chair of this new division.

New Urbanist

Jeff Speck took over as director of design at the

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in August. Speck spent the past decade at the Miami, Florida firm Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, most recently as director of town planning for the firm. Along with Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Speck co-authored the classic

Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream.

The

use of ground granulated blast-furnace slag in cement reached a record 22.9 million metric tons (25.2 million tons) in 2002, up 22% from 2001, according to the Slag Cement Association (SCA). Blast-furnace slag, a mixture of nonmetallic minerals, is created in the reduction of iron ore to iron. According to SCA, using slag cement in place of a portion of the portland cement in concrete improves workability, strength, and durability, and results in a lighter-colored concrete. SCA is online at

www.slagcement.org.

The Path of Painted Potties.” After gracing the streets of Santa Fe during June and July, 75 creatively decorated toilets vied for honors in various categories, including TP Cruisers (for mobile entries) and Best Use of Light and Sound. The toilets were among 10,000 units removed by the city last year as part of a low-flow toilet retrofit program. The contest was designed to raise water-conservation awareness, and all proceeds from the contest and ensuing auction will benefit local water-conservation efforts. For additional details, visit online at

www.thepathofpaintedpotties.com.

After surveying its member companies, the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association estimates that the industry used nearly 2 billion pounds (900 million kg) of

recycled glass and blast-furnace slag in the manufacture of fiberglass and slag-wool insulation last year. Of that total, 58% was glass cullet and 42% was slag. Since the industry began an aggressive recycling campaign more than a decade ago, it has recycled nearly 22 billion pounds (10,000 million kg) of material. The association’s Web site is

www.naima.org.

The Environmental Council of Concrete Organizations is crisscrossing North America this August with a

“Road Show” on the role of concrete in sustainable design. The faculty includes two lecturers from the U.K. and one American, representing expertise in urban planning, architecture, engineering, and materials research. The speakers, format, and program for these events vary by location, so check the Web site for specifics on the program in a city near you:

www.ecco.org.

Sunlight can convert triclosan, a disinfectant used in antibacterial and antimicrobial soaps and other products, into dioxin, according to a paper in the May 30, 2003 issue of the

Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry. Photodegradation of triclosan in the absence of chlorine can produce a relatively benign form of dioxin, but when chlorine is present (as in wastewater treatment), a very dangerous form of dioxin can be produced. The U.S. Geological Survey found triclosan in 58% of the natural waters it tested last year. Triclosan is manufactured in the U.S. by Ciba-Geigy under the trade name Irgasan DP300 and by a number of manufacturers in other countries.

The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) has developed a voluntary

certification program for installers of photovoltaic (PV) systems. NABCEP plans to hold its first exam on October 25; in order to participate, candidates must complete their applications by July 31. For details or to apply for certification, visit

www.nabcep.org. NABCEP’s new executive director, Peter Sheehan, can be reached at 518-889-8123 or psheehan@nabcep.org.