New Energy Efficiency Bill Is Performance-Based

On June 13, Senator Bob Smith (Republican–NH) introduced the Energy Efficient Buildings Incentives Act (S. 2718) to Congress. The bill would provide tax deductions for the following residential and commercial energy efficiency improvements: whole-building performance, PV systems, certified solar... Read more

Lighter AAC from Matrix

Matrix PAAC, LP (formerly Hebel Southeast), makers of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) block, have introduced the AAC-2.5LT. The AAC-2.5LT has the same dimensions as the standard 2.5, but is 23% less dense. Even though the block is light enough to reduce shipping costs on a full load, it is still suitable for structural... Read more

More on Recycled Synthetic Roof Shingles

I am an architect interested in environmental issues.

EBN is always my first source in searching for information about environmental products because of its clear summaries and comparisons. Your “Recycled Synthetic Roofing Shingles” product review (

Vol. 9, No. 5 – May 2000) raises two... Read more

Jim Quinn

, President and CEO of Collins Companies, has announced plans to retire this fall. Under Quinn’s leadership, Collins became national leaders in Forest Stewardship Council-accredited certification of their forest lands, which include areas in northern California, southern Oregon, and (as Kane Hardwood) Pennsylvania. Quinn will be... Read more

Adapting to a Greenhouse World

Now that any lingering doubts about the reality of human-generated global climate change are disappearing (see news story, page 5), I’m faced with a sobering reality check.

I’ve been harboring this illusion that once the doubts were adequately addressed, the world would wake up and take real action to... Read more

There is a compelling elegance in using the earth’s relatively constant temperatures as a source and sink for heat. Indeed, ground-source heat pumps can be a highly efficient space conditioning option and, although their overall market share is very low, they are increasingly popular in the many dozens of model green homes and light commercial... Read more

Plum Creek Timber Company

, based in Seattle, announced on July 18 an agreement to acquire

The Timber Company—the division of Georgia-Pacific that has owned and managed all 4.4 million acres (1.8 million ha) of G-P’s timberland. The combined company, with 7.9 million acres (3.2 million ha), will be the second-largest private timberland... Read more

Draft Report Predicts Climate Change Impacts for U.S. by Region

On June 12, 2000 the National Science Foundation released its

National Assessment Synthesis Report for a 60-day comment period. This report is the culmination of a research program initiated in 1990 by the Global Change Research Act. Included in it are the results of... Read more

Product Briefs

The

Innvironments® series from Innovations® in Wallcoverings picked up Best of Show at the recent NeoCon® event. Three products make up the series. Eco-Alchemy is a scrubbable Type II (general use in areas of average traffic and scuffing) covering made of recyclable nylon on a polyester and wood pulp backing, which allows... Read more

Honeywell TranStar Transformer Offers Significant Savings

“Exciting transformers” might seem like an oxymoron, but Honeywell has one for you—the new dry-type, ultra-low-loss TranStar™. The iron or steel core in conventional transformers has been replaced in the TranStar by a highly efficient MetGlas® amorphous metal core.

The TranStar... Read more

LEED in Seattle, and an Eleventh-Hour Change

I’d like to thank you for publishing such an excellent article on the LEED™ Rating System (EBN

Vol. 9, No. 6). Not only does it provide a helpful snapshot of the system’s content, but it also pointed out some of the history, challenges, and unresolved issues in the system. I need to provide a... Read more

Re-Evaluating Stormwater:

by Bruce Ferguson, Richard Pinkham, and Timothy Collins, 1999. Rocky Mountain Institute, Snowmass, Colorado; 970/927-3851, www.rmi.org. Oversize spiral-bound, 32 pages, $24.95 (plus $5.50 shipping)

Re-Evaluating Stormwater presents the results of an intensive three-day “charrette” in 1998 by 60 local and... Read more

Erie-Ellington Homes: Affordable + Green

A new affordable housing development in the Dorchester area of Boston demonstrates that affordability and green can go hand-in-hand with publicly funded housing projects.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 50-unit Erie-Ellington Homes housing project was held on June 22. The triplex units cost $94... Read more

Christopher Gribbs

has left his longtime post as The American Institute of Architects’ staff member responsible for the Committee on the Environment (COTE), for a position with broader authority and more growth potential as Director of Convention Programs for the Institute. At a time when many AIA Professional Interest Areas struggled to get... Read more

Recycling Asphalt Roofing Shingles

Each year, about 11 million tons (11.2 tonnes) of asphalt roofing shingle waste is generated in the U.S.—7 to 10 million tons (7.1 to 10.2 tonnes) in tear-off and 1 million in manufacturer scrap.

Nearly two-thirds of all roofs, both new and existing, are clad in asphalt shingles. The potential uses of... Read more

Maryland has adopted a Consumer Benefits Act in May that offers tax credits to employers who provide staff with

incentives not to commute by car—such as subsidizing public transit or providing a cash benefit instead of free parking.

Dioxin: Down and Up

An EPA assessment scheduled for release in June will conclude that dioxin is a human carcinogen, according to a May 16 article in the

Washington Post. While dioxin emissions are way down from peak levels in the 1970s, reflecting the impact of a series of regulations on dioxin-emitting industries such as incinerators... Read more

Following discovery of trace amounts of

perfluorooctanyl-based chemicals in water supplies and in humans, 3M Company announced that it is phasing out products that use these chemicals, including its Scotchguard™ anti-soil coating for carpets and other materials. These products represent about 2% of the company’s $16 billion in annual... Read more

The Hayward Truss

Hayward Lumber Company of Pacific Grove, California continues its leadership role in the green building materials industry (see EBN

Vol. 7, No. 1) with introduction of 100% certified-wood trusses.

William E. Hayward, President and CEO of the company, called this is a “landmark event in the construction industry... Read more

The Seattle City Council

unanimously adopted a proposal in April to meet all future electricity needs with no net emissions of greenhouse gases. The city’s municipal utility, Seattle City Light, will employ a combination of energy conservation, existing hydropower, and new renewables, including solar, wind, geothermal, and landfill gas. If... Read more