I enjoyed your review of green building programs throughout the U.S. (“State and Local Green Building Programs,”

EBN

Vol. 11, No. 6). However, ours wasn’t on it! Of course, it is difficult to keep up with all the amazing things happening in the field of green building.

The

Biobased Manufacturers Association (BMA) was launched on June 12 in Phoenix, Arizona to assist in the marketing and promotion of a wide range of biobased products—everything from alternative fuels and solvents to construction composites, paints, and bioplastics. “We see our mission as selling biobased instead of petroleum or... Read more

a two-week straw-bale “blitz build”to erect two public buildings and demonstrate the potential of straw-bale construction for cheap, durable, energy-efficient housing. Beginning July 14... Read more

by David Pearson. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, 2001. 223 pages, paperback $35, hardcover $60

New Organic Architecturehonors its subject through a dazzling tribute to its leading current practitioners. David Pearson’s book centers around eight key themes that define organic architecture: “building... Read more

At a recent conference, I was in the uncomfortable position of listening from the front row while a speaker criticized the

Guideline Specifications that we publish as part of our

GreenSpec Directory. While acknowledging that they include a lot of useful information, the speaker pointed out example after example of passages that... Read more

Beginning with the 2003 fiscal year, all new U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) facilities will be designed and built to achieve at least basic LEED™ certification; higher-level certification (Silver, Gold, Platinum) is encouraged. The GSA’s Federal Building Fund includes $276 million in appropriations for 2003 and is responsible for... Read more

The Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies at Oberlin College in Ohio opened its doors in January 2000. Designed by William McDonough + Partners with Kevin Burke as project architect and a dream team of consultants, the project was guided by uncompromising goals that emerged from courses and public meetings led by Professor David... Read more

Portland, Oregon voters have spoken out against modifications to an

Oregon state law restricting urban sprawl. A ballot measure brought by Portland developers called for stripping the local governing body, Metro, of its ability to mandate land-use patterns within Portland. According to the state law, Oregon urban areas must define... Read more

the nation’s largest rooftop solar electric system—located atop the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California.

The 1.18 MW photovoltaic (PV) system is an expansion of a 640 kW PV system that was completed in the summer of 2001. The PowerGuard® system, which covers... Read more

I have been reading your article in the April 2002 issue of

Environmental Building News (

Vol. 11, No. 4) and generally agree with your take on the recent developments with SCS. However, as a Board member of the Silva Forest Foundation I must point out your error in describing SCS as “one of two organizations in North America... Read more

Beginning with the 2002-2003 academic year, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will offer a

Master of Science degree program in Sustainable Design. The two-year program is intended for graduates and young professionals with degrees related to the built environment, including architecture, landscape architecture,... Read more

Two champions of high-performance buildings and sustainable design in academia,

Dr. Vivian Loftness and Dr. Hofu Wu, have been inducted into the College of Fellows of The American Institute of Architects. Dr. Loftness is a professor and Head of the School of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon. She is also a building performance and... Read more

during 2001, accounting for 59.3% of petroleum consumption during the year, according to EIA. The fraction of imports coming from OPEC countries in 2001 averaged 46.1%. By comparison, during the 1970s, our peak dependence on foreign petroleum reached 47.8%, but the fraction of this oil... Read more

New York’s Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) has released its “

Commercial/Institutional Environmental Guidelines 1.0,” outlining the requirements for future construction in its jurisdiction on the west side of Lower Manhattan. The Guidelines are based on the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED™ 2.0 rating system, with... Read more

The City of Lubbock, Texas is replacing substandard and deteriorating

low-income housing with homes constructed of insulated concrete forms (ICFs). The city’s Energy Savings Reconstruction Program is partially funded through state, federal, and private partnerships, including support from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban... Read more

Generally not known for regulatory zeal, New Hampshire has become the

first state to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. On May 9, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen signed into law House Bill 284 (the “Clean Power Act”), establishing limits for carbon dioxide—along with sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury—emitted by existing... Read more

Thanks for the piece on

Sun, Wind and Light in the “From the Library” section of the April

EBN issue (

Vol. 11, No. 4). There is a companion Web site at

www.sunwindlight.net. It has, among other things, climate data keyed to

SWL tools that expands the book’s usefulness to many more climates, thus removing... Read more

, according to the results of a recent survey by

Metropolis magazine. Fifty-four percent of 500 Web site respondents agree that within 5 years, to be considered “good,” any design will have to address sustainability, and a whopping 93% of practicing design professionals... Read more