NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines. Austin, Texas, homebuilder Ray Tonjes, chair of NAHB’s Green Building Subcommittee, presented the Guidelines as “a milestone in our efforts to provide safe,... Read more

The member nations of the European Union (EU) have begun trading the right to emit carbon dioxide (CO

2), a global-warming gas and the chief culprit in climate change. The Emissions Trading Directive, begun in a pilot phase on January 1, 2005, was planned as a keystone in the EU’s bid to comply with the Kyoto Protocol. Industry critics... Read more

In December 2004, the nonprofit Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability approved version 2.0 of the Unified Sustainable Textile Standard, designed “to provide a market-based definition for sustainable textile, establish performance requirements for public health and environment, and address the triple bottom line (economic,... Read more

Electric-ignition, gas-fired demand, or tankless, water heaters were well represented at the 2005 International Builders’ Show in Orlando. The leading Japanese manufacturers, Rinnai Corporation, Takagi Industrial Company, Ltd., and Noritz Corporation, had active booths at the huge trade show, and Rheem

® USA rolled out its new Pronto™... Read more

The U.S. Green Building Council has announced a call for session proposals for the next Greenbuild conference, set for Atlanta in November 2005. Outside reviewers will rate all proposals using a 100-point scale designed around the theme of stewardship. Proposals must be submitted electronically by February 11, 2005. Details are online at www.... Read more

Following its July 2004 declaration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy (see EBN

Vol. 13, No. 9), U.S. Plastic Lumber (USPL) has announced that it will discontinue its composite lumber product lines and focus exclusively on 100%-plastic products as part of its restructuring plan. The decision means that USPL will discontinue composite decking and... Read more

Following the recommendations of the green building task force formed in 2003, Boston mayor Thomas Menino has announced that all new and renovated city-owned buildings must achieve a Silver or higher rating in the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED

® Rating System. Furthermore, the city will amend Article 80 of the Boston Zoning Code to... Read more

by Robert H. Falk and G. Bradley Guy, 2004. General Technical Report FPL-GTR-150, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin. 113 pages, softcover.

Developed by the USDA Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in cooperation with the Powell Center for Construction and Environment at the University of Florida,... Read more

Voters in 111 communities in 25 states approved $11 billion in new public funding for conservation in the November 2004 elections, representing a 76% passage rate. “American voters are remarkably consistent in approving three out of every four funding measures for land conservation, both before 9/11 and after, whether in recession or recovery... Read more

A CD-ROM promoting the recycling of lamps containing mercury is available at no charge from the Lamp Recycling Outreach Project, a cooperative agreement between the Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers (ALMR) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. According to Paul Abernathy, executive director of ALMR, the recycling rate for... Read more

by Jerry Yudelson, 2004. Green Building Marketing, 4727 S.W. Vesta Street, Portland, OR 97219, 503-246-4111. Three-ring binder, 206 pages, $79.95.

The Insider’s Guide to Marketing Green Buildings is a no-frills book that delivers. Author Jerry Yudelson, a professional engineer with a master’s degree in business administration and... Read more

Shaw Industries, Inc. and Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. have announced a plan to generate steam energy from carpet and wood waste resulting from Shaw’s manufacturing processes. The plan will save energy while lowering Shaw’s plant emissions and reducing the amount of waste it sends to landfills. Siemens will build and service a conversion... Read more

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Green Building Initiative in December 2004, mandating that all new and renovated state-owned facilities achieve a LEED

® Silver or higher rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. The Initiative, part of executive order S-20-04, was made in recognition that state-owned buildings... Read more

Habitat for Humanity and the Charlottesville Community Design Center have announced a competition to redesign an existing trailer park in Charlottesville, Virginia to provide environmentally responsible, affordable, multifamily housing. Other project goals include providing community green space and commercial space for service providers while... Read more

The U.S. Green Building Council’s Technical and Scientific Advisory Committee (TSAC) has released a public comment draft of its long-awaited report on polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Commissioned to determine “the availability and quality of the evidence as a basis for a reasoned decision about the inclusion of a PVC-related credit in the LEED Rating... Read more

The American Public Health Association, representing more than 50,000 researchers, health-service providers, administrators, teachers, and other health workers, has called for a phaseout of all polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants, including the widely used deca-BDE. The organization made its recommendation in light of “... Read more

Revere Copper Products, Inc. ceased production of lead-coated copper roofing at the end of September 2004, according to Anne Schade of Revere.

EBN believes that Revere was the last producer of lead-coated, or terne-coated, copper roofing. Terne is an alloy of 70% lead and 30% tin that produces an attractive, gray roofing surface. Revere... Read more