President Clinton announced in an Earth Day address on April 21st that the United States would commit to “reducing our emissions of greenhouse gases to their 1990 levels by the year 2000.” This policy announcement reverses the Bush Administration’s position at the Earth Summit in Brazil last year. Within the Clinton Administration, this announcement represented an important victory for Vice President Al Gore, who had supported the measure, over Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen and Energy Secretary Hazel O’Leary, who argued that the measure could hurt American industry, according to the

New York Times. Also announced was a U.S. commitment to sign an international biodiversity treaty, which was signed by about 150 countries at the Earth Summit, but not the United States.

Ozone levels dropped to record low levels in parts of Canada this past March, according to the

Global Environmental Change Report (Cutter Information). Environment Canada’s Ozone Watch Service found low ozone levels as far south as Toronto, where values reached a record 24% below normal. The low values are thought to be a result of ozone-depleting compounds (CFCs, halons, etc.), volcanic aerosols, and weather patterns.

News Briefs

Manville brand fiberglass insulation, manufactured by Schuller International, Inc., now carries Scientific Certification System’s “cross and globe” emblem, certifying its minimum 20% recycled glass content (see EBN,

Vol. 2, No. 1). This is the first insulation material certified by SCS. For more information, contact SCS, 1611 Telegraph Ave., Suite 1111, Oakland, CA 94612; 510/832-1415, or Manville Building Products Division, P.O. Box 5108, Denver, CO 80217.

Building With Value: Resource-Efficient Construction, a two-day regional conference on sustainable construction issues to be held November 12th and 13th, 1993 in Seattle, Washington. See Calendar for details.