, President and CEO of Collins Companies, has announced plans to retire this fall. Under Quinn’s leadership, Collins became national leaders in Forest Stewardship Council-accredited certification of their forest lands, which include areas in northern California, southern Oregon, and (as Kane Hardwood) Pennsylvania. Quinn will be replaced by Eric Schooler, formerly of Hampton Affiliates.

Newsbriefs

In response to ongoing environmental concerns with refrigerants such as HCFCs and HFCs, a naturally occurring fluid may be making a comeback:

carbon dioxide. Although CO₂ is the principal greenhouse gas, compared to most other refrigerants on a per-molecule basis it is extremely benign. According to the July 14, 2000 issue of

Global Environmental Change Report, researchers at Purdue University are testing CO₂-based refrigeration devices. CO₂ can be used in refrigeration systems only at very high pressure, but new equipment may be up to the task. An advantage of the high-pressure operation is that thin tubes can be used, resulting in compact units for portable application.

A study released in May by the Harvard School of Public Health links

air pollution from two coal-fired power plants—in Salem and Somerset, Massachusetts—to 43,000 asthma attacks and 159 premature deaths. More than 32 million people in New England, New York, and New Jersey are exposed to plant emissions. Both plants are owned by PG&E Generating Company.

has left his longtime post as The American Institute of Architects’ staff member responsible for the Committee on the Environment (COTE), for a position with broader authority and more growth potential as Director of Convention Programs for the Institute. At a time when many AIA Professional Interest Areas struggled to get competent staff support, COTE members were always grateful for Gribbs’ skills and attention. COTE operations have now been transferred to the AIA’s Center for Building Performance under the direction of Jack Jackson, DArch. The Center will be renamed to reflect its new environmental focus. The project manager responsible for day-to-day interaction with members and the general public is Peg Hamil, 202/626-7317, phamil@aia.

org (e-mail).

The

Arctic ice cap has thinned by 40% over the past 40 years, according to preliminary findings presented at a May meeting of the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States. Climate changes will make it difficult for native Alaskans to maintain subsistence life-styles, say researchers, because of declines in walrus seal populations and because wetter summers are making it harder to dry fish and caribou meat.

BP Amoco and an unnamed group of other investors announced in May that they will invest up to $100 million in

GreenMountain.com, which sells green power to customers in California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The financing will help the company expand into Ohio, Texas, and other states that are deregulating their energy markets.

unanimously adopted a proposal in April to meet all future electricity needs with no net emissions of greenhouse gases. The city’s municipal utility, Seattle City Light, will employ a combination of energy conservation, existing hydropower, and new renewables, including solar, wind, geothermal, and landfill gas. If fossil fuel generation is required, the city will offset emissions through tree planting or other measures.

Newsbriefs

A proposal has been submitted in the Canadian House of Commons for a

nationwide ban on “cosmetic” pesticides for residential lawns—those used to get rid of dandelions or make the grass look greener. Dozens of small communities in Canada have already banned or severely limited use of such chemicals, according to a June 5 article in the

Christian Science Monitor, and Halifax, Nova Scotia is holding hearings on such a measure. The environment committee in the House of Commons wants lawn pesticides regulated the same way as tobacco, lead, and asbestos. According to Karen Kraft-Sloan, committee vice chair, it would not actually be an outright ban, but the restrictions would lead to a

de facto phaseout.

Following discovery of trace amounts of

perfluorooctanyl-based chemicals in water supplies and in humans, 3M Company announced that it is phasing out products that use these chemicals, including its Scotchguard™ anti-soil coating for carpets and other materials. These products represent about 2% of the company’s $16 billion in annual sales. While insisting that the chemicals do not pose a health threat at the concentrations in question, 3M is taking a proactive stance toward more benign materials. In a company press release, executive vice president Charles Reich says, “We’re reallocating resources to accelerate innovation in more sustainable opportunities and technologies. This decision is not only in the public interest, it’s in the best interests of all our constituencies.”

Maryland has adopted a Consumer Benefits Act in May that offers tax credits to employers who provide staff with

incentives not to commute by car—such as subsidizing public transit or providing a cash benefit instead of free parking.