BuildingGreen Report

News Brief

December 1, 2002

by Kathryn Houser and Michael Myers, 2002. Published by Sustainable Living Alliance, PO Box 33368, Austin, TX 78764, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The manual and CD-ROM are available free of charge while supplies last. E-mail your request with contact information to rainfall@swbell.net or call 512-326-4636.

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News Brief

December 1, 2002
At a November 13 reception in Austin, the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) presented their

2002 Best Practice Sustainability Awards. Awards were made in five categories—details at www.sbicouncil.org:

Sustainable Policy Initiatives:

The Cool Metal Roofing Coalition, a nonprofit organization founded last year... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2002

BuildingGreen, Inc. and the editors of

Environmental Building News announced at the USGBC conference in Austin our pick of the ten best new green building products. The first-ever award recognizes the most exciting products added to the

GreenSpec Directory during the past year (though some products may have been on the market... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2002

In September, Global Green USA presented the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Rating System with a

2002 Building Design Award for Designing a Sustainable and Secure World. Global Green USA is online at www.globalgreen.org.

Product Review

December 1, 2002
Workstation partitioning systems are ubiquitous in commercial office buildings today. These systems typically consist of a lightweight, rigid core (often compressed mineral fiber) supported by a structural frame or panel system and a fabric coating. Channels for wiring are often included, along with integral lighting and other features. While... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2002

The cement industry has announced the merging of two major organizations. The

American Portland Cement Alliance (APCA) will continue its work in government affairs as a division of the newly expanded trade group, the

Portland Cement Association (PCA). In conjunction with its reorganization, the PCA is launching a new logo and... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2002

The Oregon chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has recognized Portland-based

Walker Macy landscape architects and planners with their first

Honor Award for Environmental and Sustainable Design. The firm was chosen for its work on Lewis & Clark College’s new Center for Social Sciences, which is... Read more

Op-Ed

December 1, 2002

For years, advocates of sustainable design have argued that interest in green building will take off when it stops being just about values and starts making good business sense. Thanks to LEED™ and the astounding success of the U.S. Green Building Council, that day seems to have arrived. The Council’s Austin conference was flooded by a wave of... Read more

News Analysis

December 1, 2002
The U.S. Green Building Council has shown remarkable growth since its establishment in 1993; and the past three years yielded a 600% growth in membership! The current member tally is over 2,000 companies, and organizations, including building and design professionals, manufacturers, nonprofit groups, colleges and universities, and all levels of... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2002

Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability, software from the Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Free download from www.bfrl.nist.gov/oae/bees.html or order from the U.S. EPA’s Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse, 202/566-0799, ppic@epamail.epa.gov. For further... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2002

Over 80% of Earth’s land surface feels direct influence from humans, according to a comprehensive report from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Columbia University’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network. Only parts of the boreal forests of Canada and Russia, the deserts of Africa and Australia, the Arctic tundra, and... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2002
Environmental Building News

is proud to join the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE), the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and Kaiser Permanente in receipt of

Leadership Awards from the Healthy Building Network. Winners were selected for their “actions that have accelerated the transition to... Read more

News Analysis

December 1, 2002
While far too much was presented at the conference to permit a comprehensive overview, the

EBN editors, along with longtime educator, author, and green architect Bill Bobenhausen, FAIA, attended many sessions and summarized a few highlights below. Presentation materials, including PowerPoint files, abstracts, and papers, are available online at... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2002

Big & Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century,” the National Building Museum’s newest exhibition, will open in Washington, D.C. on January 17. Big & Green will explore green architecture from design, historical, and technical perspectives and profile roughly 50 green projects from around the world. The... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2002

“Evaluation of LEED™ Using Life Cycle Assessment Methods” by Chris W. Scheuer and Gregory A. Keoleian, Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan. Report prepared for Barbara Lippiatt, Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology. Document #NIST GCR 02-836, 157 pages, 1.8 MB file available... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2002

The

Denver Metro Home Builders Association recognized five members of its Built Green program in October for their achievements in green building:

Russel Burton won an Award of Excellence and a variety of judges awards for Miller Burton’s “Roaring Fork” home, which demonstrated a residential-scale fuel cell during this year’s... Read more

Feature

December 1, 2002
Likely to be remembered as a watershed in the sustainable building movement, the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) first annual International Conference and Exposition, held in Austin, Texas last month, was a resounding success. While the Council hoped for about 2,000 attendees, the final tally, including exhibitors, was 4,189 registrants. The... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2002

Fifty schools throughout the state of New York will receive photovoltaic panels, thanks to a grant through the

Energy Smart Schools Program of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The PV arrays, each with a peak capacity of 2 kW, will be accompanied by curricular materials to help teachers explain the... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2002

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) is seeking applications for its

2003 Northeast Green Building Awards. The awards are open to new construction or renovations completed after January 1, 1998 in the northeastern United States. Submissions are due February 11. Details are online at www.nesea.org/buildings/2003design... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2002

U.S. Green Building Council, Washington, DC 20036; 202/828-7422, www.usgbc.org. 2002. Spiral-bound, 64 pages, pricing not set by EBN press time.

Across the country, state and local governments have implemented legislation, building codes, tax breaks, and other incentives for green building in the public as well as the private sector (see... Read more