Phase I Underway

This effort was instigated last year after President Clinton’s Earth Day address (see EBN

Vol. 2, No. 4). A group of... Read more

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is offering research funding for projects that improve the energy efficiency or environmental performance of buildings. A total of $750,000 is expected to be awarded under the program for such technologies as building products manufactured with recycled materials, recovery... Read more

The new Wampanoag Tribal Headquarters has implemented a remarkable array of environmentally sound features. The building requires very little operating energy, treats all human waste and wastewater as a resource, utilizes many recycled-content and resource-efficient materials, minimizes site impact and offers a comfortable and healthy indoor... Read more

Cooling our homes and commercial buildings is becoming a more and more significant environmental concern. Both the total amount of energy we expend for cooling and the fraction of peak electricity use for cooling are on the rise. At the same time, our ability to reduce cooling loads in buildings is improving. We have new materials and... Read more

The National Appropriate Technology Assistance Service (NATAS), operated by the National Center for Appropriate Technology since 1984, has ceased operations. NATAS had offered toll-free technical assistance on issues relating to renewable energy and energy efficiency. Most information services provided by NATAS will now be available from... Read more

Your article titled “Should We Phase Out PVC?” was a breath of fresh air. You assumed an impartial role and presented the available information without misrepresentation, innuendo or distortion. The fact that PVC can be hazardous during its manufacture and disposal should be of concern to your readers.

... Read more

Building Materials

The Forest Products Laboratory (FPL), largest research lab of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, has announced a plan to promote increased use of recycled wood fiber in a broad range of housing applications. The project’s stated goal is to develop technologies... Read more

Foamed insulation from coal fly-ash, being developed by Henry Sperber of Abiff Manufacturing, recently got a boost in the form of a DOE grant. Sperber is the inventor of the Blow-in-Blanket and Fiberiffic insulation systems. The product has interesting possibilities as a low-cost, foamed-in-place insulation made from industrial waste. It is... Read more

The nonprofit group Urban Ecology Australia has been working to convert a city block in Adelaide, Australia into a progressive ecological community. The plan got the green light from city council members on February 7. The only remaining legal hurdle for the AUS$60 million project is to prove its... Read more

from The Stafford Architects, 1916 Pike Place #705, Seattle, WA 98101-1056; 206/682-4042, 206/447-1670 (fax). Runs on common spreadsheet or database software on Mac or DOS-based PCs. $45, $69 with semi-annual update. Multi-user licenses slightly higher.

There’s a lot of information on this... Read more

Dow Plastics has just introduced three new plastic resins, one of which is being offered as an alternative to flexible PVC. The Affinity SM 1250 resin is reportedly a response to pressure to eliminate PVC from medical applications in Europe, and may also be used to make wire and cable sheathing for construction.

with Architects

by John Connell. 1993, Warner Books, New York. 400 pages, hardcover, $35.00.

With

Homing Instinct, Connell has contributed the latest in a tradition of how-to books for owner-builders. Following in the footsteps of old classics like

From the Ground Up and

Building... Read more

Adobe/Solar Associates, purveyor of top-notch workshops on passive solar and adobe construction since 1991, has just introduced a free newsletter,

The Mudslinger. ASA’s three-day 1994 workshops are scheduled for May and October in Santa Fe, and April and October in Phoenix. For information, contact Adobe/Solar Associates, 847 E. Palace... Read more

The article “Should We Phase Out PVC?” [EBN

Vol. 3, No. 1] provided one of the most complete summaries of the various environmental, health, and safety aspects of PVC manufacture and use in buildings I’ve seen. If your readers want to get even more details about plastics in building fires, they may want to read my... Read more

Preliminary results of side-by-side energy testing of a foam-core panel house and a conventional stick-built house are in. The foam-core panel house won, according to the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA). The foam-core house was found to have 40% less heat loss than the conventional house, and its effective leakage area (a measure... Read more

Our lead article in this issue takes a look at on-site wastewater treatment. Several alternative approaches that provide better groundwater protection are discussed. But our quest for improved wastewater treatment, especially on sites with poor soils, raises an important concern. If we can design self-contained wastewater treatment... Read more

After years of development, the Building Environmental Performance Assessment Criteria (BEPAC) program is up and running. The system is designed as a voluntary rating program for commercial and institutional buildings, in which building owners can choose to have their property... Read more

Lever Bros. Co. of New York, a long-time promoter of recycled plastic lumber as an end-use for the plastic packaging of its products, has announced a donation to buy plastic lumber for use in national parks. Up to $100,000 will be used to purchase park benches, picnic tables, and boardwalks for 10 national parks, according to a report in

from Batt Scraps

These issues... Read more