Newsbriefs

InsulCot™ was a recycled cotton and polyester insulation product that was available on a limited basis since 1991. It has been temporarily discontinued but should be available much more widely this May. A major textile manufacturer is now gearing up for large-scale production. The new product (as yet unnamed) is being positioned to compete with fiberglass in both batt and blown-in applications. Look to the next issue of EBN for details (the company requested that contact information be withheld until the product is available).

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is planning a large-scale center for conferences, environmental education, and recreation on 1,040 acres on Mt. Greylock in Adams. The proposed $6.5 million center will feature state-of-the-art environmental technologies and design strategies. Requests for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) are available by calling Stephen Brown, Department of Environmental Management, at 617/727-3160 x521.

The

Environmental Resource Guide from the American Institute of Architects (reviewed in EBN

Vol. 1, No. 3) is now available at a lower subscription rate. The new price for one year of quarterly installments is $98 for AIA members and $165 for non-members. Call 800/365-ARCH to order.

Image Industries, Inc., formerly Image Carpets Inc., has become one of the largest recyclers of PET in the U.S. (Image Carpets has been widely promoted as the premier manufacturer of carpets from recycled plastic resin.) Carpet manufacturing may soon be taking a back seat to PET recycling at the company, which ranked 22nd in sales volume among the 112 U.S. carpet manufacturers, according to

Plastics News. Carpets from recycled PET will remain an important part of the business, however, as they provide a captive market for the company’s recycled resin that is contaminated by colored flecks or is otherwise off-spec.

The Alcyone Light Centre is offering a three-month course in green architecture in the spring of 1994, and another in sustainable building construction in the summer. Contact Architectural Internship Director, Alcyone Light Centre, 1965 Hilt Rd., Hornbrook, CA 96044; 916/475-3310.

This just in from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory: A gas oven consumes more electricity to bake a potato than a microwave oven. That’s right, more

electricity. The glow bar ignitor, which draws 350 to 400 watts during oven start-up, continues to draw power the whole time the oven is on. To bake a moderately sized potato, LBL researcher Brian Pon found that a gas oven started cold used 200 watt-hours (Wh), a pre-heated gas oven used 140 Wh, and a microwave oven used 110 Wh. The gas oven, of course, also consumes gas. From

Home Energy Magazine, November/December 1993.

The CNN Environment Unit is preparing a half-hour show on environmental home renovation featuring EBN Advisory Board members Steve Loken and Marc Rosenbaum. EBN subscribers are invited to suggest renovation ideas, materials, or techniques (for either contractors or do-it- yourselfers) for inclusion in the show, which will air in late May or early June 1994. Contact Peter Dykstra, Research Manager, CNN Environment Unit, One CNN Center, Atlanta, GA 30303; 404/827-3349, 404/827-4275 (fax).

News Briefs

The recycled plastic and wood fiber composite lumber product (reviewed in EBN

Vol. 2, No. 2) that began as Rivenite and later became Timbrex has a new name yet again. Mobil Chemical Company’s Composite Products Division, maker of the material, is now calling it “Trex™”. The change results from a trademark conflict over the Timbrex name, according to unofficial reports from the company.

Trus Joist MacMillan has broken ground for a second manufacturing facility for its Timberstrand™ laminated strand lumber product (see EBN

Vol. 1, No. 3 for product review). The new plant, scheduled to open late in 1995, is in eastern Kentucky. Locally available yellow poplar will be used instead of the aspen used at TJM’s Minnesota plant. The company had originally planned to expand its manufacturing operations in Minnesota, but increasing demand for aspen from paper companies and OSB manufacturers has cut into future supplies of that wood, which has in the past been described as underutilized.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Green Building Council have jointly announced a Green Building Conference for February 1994 in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The conference will cover assessment methodologies and performance criteria for rating buildings, case studies, activities of various government and independent agencies, and an assessment of the current status and future needs of green building technologies (see Calendar for contact information).