The Rainforest Alliance, an accredited certifier of compliance with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards, has published the SmartGuide to Green Building Wood Sources, a comprehensive listing of all FSC-certified suppliers in North America, including those certified by organizations other than the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program.... Read more

Air Quality Sciences, Inc., has developed a series of techniques to test product

assemblies, as opposed to individual products, in controlled environmental chambers. Examples of these assemblies include paint and wallboard; carpet, adhesive, and subfloor; and laminate, adhesive, and particleboard. “Sometimes emissions may be reduced,”... Read more

Texas was among the first states to adopt a renewable portfolio standard (RPS), calling in 1999 for 2,000 megawatts (MW) of new renewable energy generation by 2009. Announcing that the state is on track to meet that target by the end of 2005, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed Senate Bill 20, strengthening the RPS, in August 2005. According to... Read more

The U.S. Department of Energy, together with the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, and the University of Wisconsin in Madison, has released a report titled

Contrasting the Capabilities of Building Energy Performance Simulation Programs. The report discusses 20 energy-modeling computer programs: BLAST, BSim, DeST, DOE-2.1E... Read more

New York Governor George Pataki signed two bills in August 2005 designed to encourage the use of solar energy. The first (S.4962-a) exempts the sale and installation of solar energy systems from state sales and compensating-use taxes and gives municipalities the option of extending the exemption to city taxes. The second bill (S.5252) expands... Read more

As of September 1, 2005, all of Potlatch Corporation’s 1.5 million acres (600,00 ha) of forestland, located in Idaho, Arkansas, Oregon, and Minnesota, has earned certification according to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. The certification of 319,000 acres (130,000 ha) in Minnesota, along with chain-of-custody certification of a... Read more

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has been awarded the fourth annual Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology. Named after the founder of Turner Construction Company, a corporate sponsor of USGBC’s LEED® Rating System, the Turner Prize each year recognizes an invention, an innovative methodology, or exceptional... Read more

Johnson Controls, Inc., an industry leader in control systems for heating, cooling, and ventilation equipment, and York International Corporation, a leading manufacturer of heating and cooling equipment, announced in August 2005 that Johnson Controls would acquire York. “The transaction will enable us to become a single source of integrated... Read more

Green engineering firm Keen Engineering has signed a letter of intent to join the professional design and consulting firm Stantec. “Joining Stantec will accelerate our vision of being a top-tier integrated building design firm promoting sustainable development,” says Keen president and CEO Kevin Hydes. According to Stantec president and CEO... Read more

In July 2005 the Illinois Commerce Commission adopted Governor Rod Blagojevich’s sustainable energy plan, including a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requiring the state’s electric utilities to meet 2% of their electricity needs with renewable sources by the end of 2006. The requirement will increase by 1% each year until it reaches 8% in... Read more

ASTM International has published the

Standard Guide for the General Principles of Sustainability Relative to Building (E2432). “It is expected that the Guide will be referenced and used by federal, state, and local governments, architects, and others seeking to solidify and/or justify the tripartite—environmental, economic, and social—... Read more

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signed a bill in September 2005 that expands tax credits for solar energy systems. The bill, which takes effect November 4 and expires in 2016, allows for tax credits of $3.00 per watt of installed solar electric output capacity. The credit is capped at half the cost of the installed system, up to $6,000.... Read more

California’s Million Solar Roofs bill, which would have led to the addition of 3,000 megawatts of solar panels on one million roofs, including half of all new homes, died in assembly in September 2005. The bill would have made California the world’s third largest solar energy producer, behind Japan and Germany. After passing the Senate by a... Read more

Jane Silverstein Ries, FASLA, the ASLA Medal, the highest honor the organization bestows upon individuals, “for her lifetime achievements and contributions to the profession, the welfare of the public, and the environment.” Ries began her 56-year career in 1933 as the first female... Read more

Nyle Special Products, LLC, has suspended production of the Cold-Climate Heat Pump™ (CCHP) amid skirmishing between the manufacturer, its former general manager, and the developer of the technology. Duane Hallowell resigned as general manager of Nyle in February to form Hallowell International, LLC, which acquired the manufacturing rights to a... Read more

Green Built Home™, a voluntary green building program of the Wisconsin Environmental Initiative, in partnership with the Madison Area Builders Association, has been partnering with Habitat for Humanity of Dane County to certify all new Habitat homes as Green Built Homes. For 2005, all new Habitat homes will earn at least 112 points in the Green... Read more