BuildingGreen Report

Feature

October 27, 2006
Exit signs are an important safety component in public buildings. Required by code to clearly identify exits at all times, day or night, these signs can use a lot of energy. Different technologies to reduce that consumption represent a fascinating nexus of environmental building considerations.

For starters, tens of millions of exit signs in... Read more

News Brief

October 27, 2006

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), with support from national land developer Newland Communities, has announced a commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an organization dedicated to addressing global issues through the commitments of individuals and organizations. USGBC has committed to creating a one-year consumer-education... Read more

News Brief

October 27, 2006
by David Macaulay and Jason McLennan. Ecotone Publishing, LLC, Kansas City, Missouri, 2006. Paperback, 240 pages, $42.95.

The Ecological Engineer tells the story of one firm—Keen Engineering Co., Ltd.—and how it came to be one of North America’s leading providers of green engineering services. It is a compelling story that teaches the... Read more

News Analysis

October 27, 2006
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which is responsible for a large percentage of federal workplaces, has required since 2003 that all of its new construction projects and major renovations be certified through the LEED® Rating System of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC; see

EBN

Vol. 11, No. 7). Congress asked GSA... Read more

News Brief

October 27, 2006

What do you do if you find yourself the custodian of a number of permanent sports stadiums that cost hundreds of millions of euros to build and are now—many of them unused—generating hefty maintenance bills? If you’re Greece, the host of the 2004 Olympic Games, you tear them down. According to

Der Spiegel, that’s what the government is... Read more

Product Review

October 27, 2006
For years, the standard urinal in the U.S. has used 1.0 gallons of water per flush (gpf; 4 lpf), as per the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Although a few urinals that use 0.5 gpf (2 lpf) or less are available, many green building teams have preferred to specify non-flushing, or waterless, urinals to conserve water. A new product, the Z5798 EcoVantage... Read more

News Analysis

October 27, 2006
A new rule announced by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) will codify the responsibility of local and state governments to disclose their financial liabilities associated with polluted properties. GASB is a private nonprofit that sets the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for most state and local governments; rules... Read more

News Brief

October 27, 2006

California bill AB 2496, which would have mandated toilets using no more than 1.3 gallons (4.9 l) of water per flush (see

EBN

Vol. 15, No. 6), was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in September 2006. The bill, which had passed through the State Assembly in May 2006, was held up in the Senate by concerns over the addition... Read more

News Brief

October 27, 2006
Collins Pine Company, owner of Collins Almanor Forest in Chester, California, has joined the California Climate Action Registry (CCAR). Established by a state governmental statute in 2000, CCAR works with companies in California to register greenhouse gas emissions and create a baseline for future reduction requirements. Collins Pine, which owns... Read more

News Analysis

October 27, 2006

Back in 2003, two of the nation’s largest manufacturers of cabinets and shelving for schools, hospitals, and labs switched over to agrifiber panels as their standard core material, citing both environmental and performance benefits (see

EBN

Vol. 12, No. 11, and

Vol. 12, No. 12). Now, with the supply of panels made from... Read more

News Brief

October 27, 2006

The nonprofit Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) awarded Mark Ginsberg its first-ever lifetime achievement award. Ginsberg, currently a senior executive board member for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, has also served as state energy director in Arizona, director of DOE’s Federal Energy... Read more

News Brief

October 27, 2006
The Gulf Islands National Park Reserve Operations Centre in Sidney, British Columbia, is the first building to earn a Platinum rating in the Canada Green Building Council’s LEED® Rating System. Designed by Larry McFarland Architects, Ltd., of Vancouver, British Columbia, the building features an innovative heating system that feeds ocean water... Read more

News Brief

October 27, 2006

The Hines CalPERS Green Development Fund has been capitalized with over $120 million in equity and leverage that will allow investments of up to $500 million. Houston-based Hines Interests, LP, one of the world’s largest developers, recently announced that the fund had already begun deploying capital toward the fund’s investment goal,... Read more

Product Review

October 27, 2006
Wall assemblies face many challenges from moisture. Wind-driven rain can directly penetrate certain wood and fiber-cement sidings. When porous claddings, such as wood, brick, fiber-cement, and stucco, are soaked by rain, the sun’s heat can drive water vapor farther into the wall assembly. Water vapor generated inside a building can migrate outward... Read more

News Analysis

October 27, 2006
As the performance characteristics of strawbale construction are more critically defined through accredited laboratory facilities, it is becoming increasingly viable in mainstream contexts. New tests of two strawbale wall assemblies under ASTM E119-05a to establish firewall ratings continue that trend: separate one- and two-hour ratings were... Read more

News Brief

October 27, 2006

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has published a list of companies across the U.S. and Canada that recycle construction and demolition (C&D) waste. C&D waste amounts to roughly 136 million tons (123 million tonnes) each year in the U.S., or 25% to 45% of the total waste stream, depending on the region, according to the U.S... Read more

News Brief

October 27, 2006
The Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts–Lowell recently launched the CleanerSolutions Database, a free, online tool for evaluating surface-cleaning products. According to TURI’s laboratory testing manager, Jason Marshall, TURI has performed thousands of trials since 1993 to evaluate the effectiveness of... Read more

News Analysis

October 27, 2006

The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) has released a report detailing the connections between a range of public health concerns and the built environment. According to CNU, this report is the first to summarize the effects of the built environment on public health while also discussing potential improvements.

The 132-page report, “... Read more

News Brief

October 27, 2006

Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, a major provider of property and casualty insurance, announced new green building coverage plans in October 2006. The plans are available for owners of certified green buildings, or property owners who want to not just rebuild to preexisting standards following a fire but also add green features. For buildings... Read more

News Brief

October 27, 2006

Oregon’s Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLSTM) has announced that it will include energy-efficient and green features in its home listings starting in the spring of 2007. RMLS, which covers Oregon and southern Washington, will include information on homes that are certified by Energy Star®, LEED® for Homes, and several other programs, as... Read more