The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) has recognized the Greenguard Children and Schools product certification program from the Greenguard Environmental Institute (GEI) as a means of improving indoor air quality in school buildings. GEI’s product certification program complies with California’s Department of Health Services Standard Practice for testing chemical emissions from products and therefore meets the requirements set out in the CHPS best practices manuals. The Greenguard Children and Schools program, started in 2005, tests products against emissions criteria that were created with the needs of children in mind. For more on both programs, visit www.chps.net and www.greenguard.org.

New Mexico Governor Signs Green Home Tax Incentive—New Mexico building owners can now earn an income tax credit for building or renovating a green building. Tax credits for residential buildings range from $4.50–$9.00 per square foot ($50–$100 per m²) for the first 2,000 ft² (186 m²) depending on the rating a building receives through the U. S. Green Building Council’s LEED Rating System or through the Green Building Initiative’s Build Green New Mexico rating system. Commercial buildings are assessed using LEED only, and the rates per square foot are priced differently. Although other tax incentives have targeted green buildings, this is among the first in the country to target individual homeowners as well as businesses. The credit, which is in effect through 2013 and is retroactive to January 2007, was part of a renewable energy bill signed by Governor Bill Richardson on April 3, 2007.

Energy Star, the federal energy efficiency program, has announced that it will no longer certify programmable thermostats. According to Energy Star spokesperson Jill Abelson, the thermostats have the potential to save homes $150 or more yearly when used properly, but in practice, homes with programmable thermostats don’t consume less energy compared with homes without them. Presence of the thermostats has even been associated with higher energy use in some studies. “Consumer confusion persists around whether programmable thermostats inherently save money or whether proper use is a factor,” said Abelson. She said that Energy Star would transition during 2007 to an “educational partnership” with manufacturers and retailers, which may allow products to carry a modified Energy Star label, rather than to a performance-based specification program. More information is at www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=revisions.thermostats_spec.

Fireman’s Fund, a major national insurance company, has announced that it will give the same policy discount to homes with a solar-powered backup power system as it gives to homes with backup generators. The company’s 2% policy credit for conventional backup power systems will apply to homes using the GridPoint Connect Series from GridPoint, Inc. The GridPoint system uses photovoltaic panels to generate grid-tied electricity while also using batteries to store energy for power outages. Fireman’s Fund customers can also earn a 20% discount on GridPoint systems—similar to discounts offered for conventional fossil-fuel systems. The program is currently available to customers in twelve states. Fireman’s Fund also plans to announce a similar program for homeowners who install leak-detection systems—another product that combines reduced risk for claims with environmental benefits.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) announced in March 2007 that four firms have achieved accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to perform chain-of-custody certification audits for SFI and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) sustainable forestry certification systems. PEFC is an international certification group, with SFI as its designated U.S. affiliate. The four accredited firms are Bureau Veritas Certification North America, KPMG Performance Registrar, NSF International, and the Quality Management Institute. By separating its standards-writing body from the certification process, SFI, which has been closely linked with the forest products industry, has added a new facet of independence. SFI’s website is at www.sfiprogram.org.

The American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment has so far signed on 145 presidents, including those of the nation’s largest universities. The commitment endorses a goal of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by mid-century and commits signatory institutions to pursuing climate neutrality. Universities have two years to come up with a plan for achieving that goal. The commitment, which is principally organized by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), recommends, among other things, committing all new campus construction to achieving Silver certification or better in the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Rating System. The website is www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org.

New Resource Bank, a San Francisco bank founded by a group of green entrepreneurs, is offering financial incentives for green building projects. The bank will offer a higher loan-to-value ratio and a 1⁄8% discount on rates for loans to commercial or multiunit residential green projects. Open since November 2006, the bank has financed several green projects in the San Francisco Bay area. Among the founding organizers of the bank are green building professionals Gregory Kats of Capital E and Malcolm Lewis, Ph.D., P.E., of CTG Energetics. The bank’s website is www.newresourcebank.com.

Disposal of unused drugs in toilets, as well as human and livestock excretion of drugs, has polluted surface water and groundwater with traces of pharmaceuticals. In coordination with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently addressed this problem for the first time with a policy. The new guidelines are also aimed at reducing unlawful access to drugs. According to EPA’s policy, people disposing of unused drugs in households should remove them from their containers, mix them with an inedible substance like cat litter or coffee grounds, reseal them in a bag or can, and dispose of them in the trash. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the American Pharmacists Association have released similar guidelines. The EPA guidelines are available at www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/factsht/proper_disposal.html.

The Bank of America (BOA) has announced significant additions to its environmental initiatives, unveiling $20 billion in loan programs, market encouragement, and consumer products. For its commercial customers, BOA will launch a carbon emissions trading system and offer favorable consideration to loans for companies focusing on environmentally responsible products and services. For consumers, the company will launch an “eco-friendly” credit card, donating to an organization involved in greenhouse gas reduction projects for every dollar spent on the card. BOA also has plans to offer mortgages with reduced interest rates or cash rebates for homeowners who purchase homes that meets Energy Star standards. Finally, BOA will focus on its own buildings, committing $1.4 billion to achieving LEED certification for all of its new buildings; the company hopes its new headquarters in New York City will achieve LEED Platinum. For more on these and other environmental initiatives, visit www.bankofamerica.com/environment/.

Three architects are promoting a form of housing combining new and old technologies. They propose to grow a house from trees and vines in a botanical technique called pleaching while guiding the process computationally. Dubbed the Fab Green Hab, and created by architects Mitchell Joachim, Ph.D., Javier Arbona, and Lara Greden, Ph.D., the house would take several years to grow. It would rely on weaving inosculate trees—those that graft to each other—into a weathertight structure and finishing it on the inside with plaster, creating a fairly conventional, if non-rectilinear, interior. A prototype, the Matscape, mixing plant panels with more conventional materials, is planned for Los Angeles. More information is at www.archinode.com.