Governor George Pataki thrilled the environmental community in January with his announcement that within the next ten years, 25% of New York’s electricity will come from renewable sources. Although 17% of the state’s electricity is already renewable (mostly from hydroelectric sources), Pataki’s announcement means financing for the construction... Read more

New York State’s Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) is offering $1 million for development and demonstration of

innovative heating and cooling technologies for residential and commercial buildings in the state. NYSERDA expects to give out multiple awards of up to $250,000 each to support new technologies or... Read more

by Daniel D. Chiras. Chelsea Green Publishing Company, White River Junction, VT, 2002. Softcover, $29.95

The Solar House... Read more

Students, faculty, and practicing architects from across Canada gathered in Montreal last August to discuss

how architecture can address environmental concerns, how sustainable design is integrated into various architecture programs, and how those programs can more effectively collaborate on such issues. To get involved, contact Ray... Read more

Project submittal is now underway for the annual American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten Green Projects competition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. The competition is intended to recognize projects that integrate the best practices of sustainable design into appropriate and beautiful... Read more

Four social-justice organizations recently pooled their efforts to author a report, released in October, titled “Air of Injustice: African Americans & Power Plant Pollution.” The study, a sobering crash course in environmental justice, explains health threats associated with coal-fired power plants, lays out why people of color are... Read more

Environmental Building News has been honored with a Silver Award in a recent competition sponsored by The Newsletter on Newsletters. EBN was recognized for its “overall excellence—superior editorial content enhanced by appropriate design and typography … and photographic and printing quality.”

During the ill-fated January flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia, astronauts tested a

water-mist technology for fighting fires that may prove an effective replacement for ozone-depleting halons. Water droplets 20–40 microns in size encountered a small flame in the gravity-free environment, an essential experiment for learning more... Read more

The Honorable Gaylord A. Nelson was awarded the

American Society of Landscape Architects’ (ASLA) Olmsted Medal in January. Nelson championed environmental legislation as a U.S. Senator (D-WI) from 1963 to 1981, and founded Earth Day in 1970. The Olmsted Medal is the highest award presented annually by the ASLA to an individual outside... Read more

by Storm Cunningham. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., San Francisco, 2002. Hardcover, 341 pages, $29.95

The Restoration Economy,

outlines how industries that focus on restoration—“redeveloping our nations, revitalizing our cities,... Read more

World Architecture magazine’s award for

Green Building of the Year for 2002. The Druk White Lotus School in Ladakh, India (see photo)—designed by Arup and Arup Associates includes the master plan for a small campus, of which parts have been completed. The project uses indigenous materials and passive... Read more

EBN

Vol... Read more

How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built, modern-day philosopher Stewart Brand translated Heraclitus’s insight into the language of design: “A building is not something you finish. A building... Read more

by Avi Friedman. McGraw-Hill, New York, 2002. Hardcover, 271 pages, $45.00

The Adaptable House. Friedman begins with the assertion that “A conflict exists between the dynamic nature of people’s lives and the... Read more

Director of Online Services. Jim has degrees in architecture and business management, ran a small design-build firm for 13 years, and has managed projects for several Internet technology companies. He contributed greatly to the content quality of our Web site when... Read more

Muscoe Martin, AIA, past chair of the The American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment, has left his position as principal at the leading green design firm Susan Maxman Architects to join Wallace Roberts & Todd (WRT) of Philadelphia as a Senior Associate. Founded by Ian McHarg, among others, WRT is a 180-person firm... Read more

In an effort to provide low-cost, locally appropriate housing while improving Cairo’s air quality, U.S.-based Horizon International is cooperating with the Arab Environment Association to

introduce straw bale building to Egypt. Over 90% of Egypt’s rice straw is currently burned in the fields, contributing to a recurring autumnal black... Read more

Johns Manville’s decision to

replace the conventional formaldehyde binder in their building insulation with an acrylic binder (see EBN

Vol. 11, No. 3) is already reaping benefits. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has declared Johns Manville plants exempt from the Clean Air Act hazardous air pollutant regulation generally... Read more