U.S. emissions of greenhouse gasses, which cause global warming, rose 1.7% between 2003 and 2004, to the highest level on record, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Citing reductions in methane and nitrous oxide emissions, EPA claimed progress. “While the U.S. economy expanded by 51% from 1990 to 2004, emissions have... Read more

A water conservation bill currently moving through the California Legislature would set the maximum water consumption for toilets at 1.3 gallons per flush (gpf; 4.9 lpf). The legislation, Assembly Bill 2496, was authored by John Laird (D–Santa Cruz) and passed the State Assembly on May 15, 2006. If approved by the Senate and signed into law,... Read more

Ten states, two cities, and three environmental organizations have sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for not regulating carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. While the Clean Air Act requires EPA to regulate air pollutants, the Bush administration claims carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses do not qualify as... Read more

Detective James Zadroga’s January 5, 2006, death of respiratory failure is the first to be officially blamed on exposure to dust from the September 11, 2001, collapse of the World Trade Center. “It is felt with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the cause of death in this case was directly related to the 9/11 incident,” according to... Read more

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for heavy industries in the state, such as power plants, refineries, and factories, to report emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are contributing to global warming. Making the announcement at a San Francisco global warming summit in April 2006, the governor pledged to... Read more

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) will accept presentation proposals for its 2007 national convention and design exposition, themed “Growing Beyond Green,” through July 1, 2006. The conference will be held May 3-5, 2007, in San Antonio. Details are online at www.aia.org/conted_convention/. For more on AIA’s commitment to green design... Read more

When LEED® for New Construction (LEED-NC) version 2.2 was released in November 2005, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) dictated that project teams that had registered projects under previous versions of LEED-NC were free to migrate to the new version, but that such a migration was an all-or-nothing proposition. A project must be submitted... Read more

At its May 2006 board meeting in New Orleans, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) board of directors endorsed a series of recommendations for modifying the two credits in the LEED® Rating System that relate to biobased materials. (Full disclosure: I was asked by USGBC to lead this effort, and I wrote the recommendations.) As described... Read more

A new initiative from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) board of directors hopes to bring resolution to the prickly subject of wood in the LEED® Rating System. The timber industry has used its leverage to slow the adoption of LEED by state governments and federal agencies and has sponsored the introduction of a competing rating... Read more

Sizing and placing of windows has always required balancing the need to provide daylight and views with the need to manage solar heat gain and limit heat loss. “Fundamentally, a static window with fixed properties is almost always a poor compromise between night and day, summer and winter, sunny and overcast,” says Stephen Selkowitz, who heads... Read more

Andy Shapiro noticed something funny when he examined the energy use of the new manufacturing facility for NRG Systems, Inc., in Hinesburg, Vermont: lights were turning on at night when nobody was using the space. The LEED® Gold building’s sophisticated measurement and verification (M&V) system, which records when and where the building... Read more

Jonathan Rose Companies, LLC, has announced the formation of the Rose Smart Growth Investment Fund I, LP, the first national real estate investment fund that acquires buildings exclusively in Smart Growth locations and improves them to enhance the quality of life for tenants and the livability of the communities. The company announced its first... Read more

Rodman Industries, manufacturer of ResinCore1™—an FSC-certified, recycled-content particleboard made with phenolic resin—has announced that it will shut its doors by the end of May 2006. Rodman has been producing particleboard since 1965. The shutdown comes on the heels of last November’s unexpected folding of Dow BioProducts, which... Read more

The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) has announced plans to install a 5 MW solar photovoltaic system (the largest system in North America). NJMC plans to harness space atop roofs, parking lots, and remediated landfills to accommodate the system, which will require 1.3 million ft2, or approximately 30 acres (121,000 m2; 12 ha) of space.... Read more

Jason McLennon, founder and director of Elements, BNIM Architects’ sustainable design and consulting division, was named among

Building Design & Construction’s first annual “40 Under 40” architects, engineers, contractors, designers, and AEC business developers. The full list is at www.bdcnetwork.com/article/CA6316252.html.