Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) has begun the aged-testing component of its product rating program. CRRC has been providing third-party verification of both initial solar reflectance and initial thermal emittance of roofing products since September 2002 (see

EBN

Vol. 12, No. 7), and this aged-testing component adds another... Read more

A recent study that compared development patterns to the health of over 200,000 people in 448 counties in major metropolitan areas around the U.S. found that

car-dependent suburbanites suffer from obesity and high blood pressure at a greater rate than city-dwellers. The report, “Relationship between Urban Sprawl and Physical Activity,... Read more

The Boston Society of Architects has approved the Institution Recycling Network (IRN) to offer American Institute of Architects

Learning Units in construction waste management. IRN, based in Concord, New Hampshire, is a cooperative organization that works to improve the financial and operating performance of recycling programs at... Read more

Global climate change will prompt

widespread extinction within decades, according to an international group of 19 scientists. The group studied more than 1,000 species representing roughly 20% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface and found that, if current warming trends continue, 15–37% of them will be “committed to extinction” by 2050.... Read more

David L. Grumman, editor. American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc., 2004, paperback, 170 pages, $99 ($79 for ASHRAE members). Contact ASHRAE Customer Service at 1-800-527-4723 or 404-636-8400, or visit the ASHRAE.org Bookstore.

Engineers can be a literal bunch. A chapter in the

ASHRAE... Read more

Thank you for continuing to be the most informative green building publication available today! Your October feature article, “Air Filtration in Buildings” (

Vol. 12, No. 10), was a wealth of information.

Proper use of ozone generators for cleaning indoor air is misunderstood and misrepresented in too many articles. As a healthy... Read more

Traces of fluoxetine hydrochloride, the active ingredient in the drug

Prozac, have been found in fish in central Texas, according to a Baylor University study led by toxicologist Dr. Bryan Brooks. “Maybe it makes you a happy fish and you’re kind of hanging out,” said Brooks, but he questions the drug’s effect on the ability of fish to... Read more

The California Division of the State Architect (DSA) has issued an “Acceptance Criteria Document” for zero-water consumption urinal fixtures that is helping to clear the way for nonflushing urinals in California schools and state-owned buildings. With this document, “DSA addresses those sections of the code that were controversial, and says... Read more

Governor James E. McGreevey of New Jersey announced the adoption of

new stormwater-control regulations in January that are being hailed as the most comprehensive in the nation. The new rules establish a 300-foot (90 m) buffer around more than 6,000 stream miles (9,650 km) along high-quality waterways. They also establish a goal of... Read more

“Renewable energy sources could provide the equivalent to today’s production of both thermal and nuclear power combined.” While such a claim might be expected from environmentalists, this conclusion came from the

Clean Air Renewable Energy Coalition, a unique alliance of Canadian corporations (including energy producers Shell Canada, BP... Read more

EBN... Read more

The Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC), representing 155,000 Inuit people in Russia, Canada, Greenland, and Alaska, is planning a human-rights legal case against Arctic states—particularly the United States—for their

complicity in global climate change. “What is at stake here is the cultural survival of Inuit as a people,” said ICC... Read more

In an appendix to the draft environmental impact statement for the

World Trade Center reconstruction project in lower Manhattan is a set of sustainable development guidelines that should help green the huge 16-acre (6.5 ha) development. Already, construction equipment on the site is using low-sulfur diesel fuel and high-performance... Read more

The Audubon Center at Debs Park outside Los Angeles has earned a Platinum rating under version 2 of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Rating System. When the certification was announced in December 2003, the Audubon Center became the first building in the U.S.—and the second in the world (see EBN Vol. 12, No. 12)—to achieve this... Read more

President George Bush signed the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 into law on December 3. “We have a responsibility to be good stewards of our forests,” Bush remarked at the signing ceremony, describing the legislation as “a major step forward in protecting America’s forests.” Disagreement, however, surrounds the ecological soundness of... Read more

Building on the success of its EcoWorx® backing system, in early December Shaw president Julian Saul... Read more

The company premiered its new Axis™ underfloor HVAC system at the 2003 Greenbuild... Read more

Holcim, Ltd. one of the world’s largest suppliers of cement, aggregates, concrete, and construction-related services, has established a

Foundation for Sustainable Construction, based in Zurich, Switzerland, to promote environmental quality and social responsibility while encouraging economic growth. A competition to recognize... Read more