Sunlight gives us light at no charge, which we can harness in our buildings to reduce our reliance on electrical lighting, while providing a more enjoyable indoor environment. Leave it to an engineer to tell us how much that sunlight actually costs us. Lumens per watt (lpw) is the measure of lighting efficacy, telling us how much light (lumens... Read more

"I kinda liked the expo this year. There seemed to be a lot of stuff." —a guy to another guy

Now, having made that snarky comment about white guys in a previous post (for the record, I'm a white guy), I should say that the conference itself has a very nicely diverse attendance. Walking the trade show floor, you're surrounded by a range of ages, what seems like an almost even mix of sexes, and a good variety of ancestries. And not... Read more

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The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced that starting in January 2009 it will require its members to complete four hours per year of continuing education focused on sustainable design, constituting half of the eight hours required for topics in health, safety, and welfare. The requirement will remain in place until 2012, when... Read more

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced new lead paint rules for contractors who renovate or repair housing, child-care facilities, or schools built before 1978. The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1992 required EPA to regulate renovation activities by 1996, but EPA had delayed writing the rules until pressed by a 2005... Read more

compensatory mitigation, were recently consolidated and updated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers. The update favors use of

mitigation banks,... Read more