News Analysis
News Brief
The
Denver Metro Home Builders Association recognized five members of its Built Green program in October for their achievements in green building:
•Russel Burton won an Award of Excellence and a variety of judges awards for Miller Burton’s “Roaring Fork” home, which demonstrated a residential-scale fuel cell during this year’s... Read more
Product Review
News Brief
Fifty schools throughout the state of New York will receive photovoltaic panels, thanks to a grant through the
Energy Smart Schools Program of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The PV arrays, each with a peak capacity of 2 kW, will be accompanied by curricular materials to help teachers explain the... Read more
News Analysis
EBN editors, along with longtime educator, author, and green architect Bill Bobenhausen, FAIA, attended many sessions and summarized a few highlights below. Presentation materials, including PowerPoint files, abstracts, and papers, are available online at... Read more
News Brief
The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) is seeking applications for its
2003 Northeast Green Building Awards. The awards are open to new construction or renovations completed after January 1, 1998 in the northeastern United States. Submissions are due February 11. Details are online at www.nesea.org/buildings/2003design... Read more
News Brief
“Does the presence of
lead pigment in paint and in coatings in homes, schools, hospitals, and other public and private buildings throughout the state of Rhode Island constitute a public nuisance?” A mistrial was declared in October when a six-member jury could not agree on the answer. Following seven weeks of testimony and four days of... Read more
News Brief
U.S. Green Building Council, Washington, DC 20036; 202/828-7422, www.usgbc.org. 2002. Spiral-bound, 64 pages, pricing not set by EBN press time.
Across the country, state and local governments have implemented legislation, building codes, tax breaks, and other incentives for green building in the public as well as the private sector (see... Read moreNews Brief
Sacred Tree Leadership Awardsin Austin for outstanding contributions to green building. Ray Anderson, founder and chairman of Interface, Inc. won the
Green Business Award. The
USGBC Leadership Award went to Rob Watson, director of the Natural Resource Defense Council’s... Read more
News Brief
Americans may want to “live larger” but not necessarily in larger homes. Over 1,000 Americans were recently asked by Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch, on behalf of the industry trade group The Hardwood Information Center, to
describe the perfect house. Americans dream of an average 2,500 ft2 (230 m2) house, according to the survey—not... Read more
News Brief
U.S. Green Building Council, Washington, DC 20036; 202/828-7422, www.usgbc.org. Brochure, 14 pages, single copies available free from USGBC Marketing Department.
At the Austin conference, the U.S. Green Building Council unveiled an attractive new brochure, “Making the Business Case for High Performance Green Buildings.” The concise, clear... Read moreNews Brief
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is seeking applicants for its 2003 National Green Building Awards, to be announced at the National Green Building Conference March 30 through April 1, 2003 in Baltimore, Maryland. Applications are due December 31. For more information, call 888-602-HOME or visit www.nahbrc.org.
News Brief
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $1.5 million in grants to 30 entities in 19 states as part of the
Million Solar Roofs Initiative. The new partnerships will combine grant money with private funds to support solar energy through education, the development of financing options and building codes, and construction. Details can be... Read more
News Analysis
The Energy Star™ Commercial Buildings program recognizes buildings that perform in the top 25% of their class in terms of energy use. As part of that program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set up a Web-based tool called
Portfolio Manager. Users enter information from their energy bills into Portfolio Manager, which... Read more
News Brief
Researchers at Smart Growth America and Rutgers and Cornell Universities have announced the results of the most
comprehensive study on sprawl ever undertaken. The research team created a sprawl index based on 22 measurable factors relating to residential density; neighborhood mix of homes, jobs, and services; strength of activity... Read more
News Brief
When The American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment first convened, it immediately identified as a top priority the need for information about the environmental impacts of building materials. With funding from the U.S. EPA and the technical expertise of Joel Ann Todd’s Scientific Consulting Group, AIA produced a series of... Read more
News Brief
Capital E is seeking
case studies documenting specific benefits of green buildings, as part of a contract with California’s Department of General Services and other agencies to analyze the full costs and benefits of green buildings. Documented examples of benefits that are not always recognized, such as enhanced occupant health,... Read more
News Brief
Sewerage Commission-Oroville Region (SC-OR) wastewater treatment plant in Oroville, California, will begin operating on solar energy this month. A 3-acre (1.2 ha) field adjacent to the plant is home to a
520 kW solar power array, installed by Sun Power and Geothermal Energy of San Rafael, that will supply 80% of the plant’s energy... Read more
News Brief
The
Santa Fe Public Utilities Committee believes it has found a way to stretch the city’s limited water supply to satisfy an ever-growing population. If the committee’s controversial “
toilet tax” is accepted by the City Council, builders will have to replace 8–12 toilets in existing Santa Fe buildings with low-flow models to... Read more
News Brief
California, to the East Coast. Visitors to select Delaware, New Jersey, and New York Home Depot stores can now choose between AstroPower’s SunUPS® and SunLine™ Solar Electric Home Power Systems. Home Depot is selling, installing, and servicing the systems under its “At-Home... Read more



