As I follow the Bush Administration’s policies on energy and its steadfast opposition to the Kyoto Treaty on global climate change, I can’t help wondering what happened to the ‘can-do’ attitude that made America such a great place. Our founding fathers were willing to look beyond their self-interests as they declared their independence from... Read more

If products or materials have memories, what kinds of stories will they tell us? The Design Resource Institute has announced a call for entries that explore this question in their

6th

International Design Resource Awards Competition. Judging criteria will include reused, recycled, or sustainably harvested content as well as... Read more

To the best of our knowledge, this product is no longer available.

Heat waves and high humidity across the eastern states pushed American

electricity demand to an all-time high during the week ending August 3. The record 90,640 gigawatthours (GWh) beat the previous high of 88,120 GWh, set during the week ending August 11, 2001.

Thank you for your thoughtful and thorough article on cohousing in the September issue (

EBN

Vol. 11, No. 9). Cohousing groups have been taking the lead in social and environmental innovation for the past decade, and it is gratifying to see this considered closely by

EBN.

Higher than anticipated industry costs for photovoltaic panels together with funding and budgeting shortfalls have forced the

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) to delay new PV installations under its “PV Pioneer” program. SMUD’s recent allocation of $4.4 million (and potentially $1.9 million more) to the program will allow... Read more

, part of the largest lighting company in the world, recently became the first American lighting manufacturer to be certified for compliance with ISO 14001. To comply with the standard, a company must evaluate the environmental impact of its products and regularly report its findings to the public.

Governor Davis signed a second bill in September requiring that

residential clothes washers meet commercial water-use standards by 2007. AB 1561, the first bill of its kind in the nation, demands that no more than 9.5 gallons (42 l) of water be used to clean one cubic foot (0.03 m3) of laundry. Each machine is expected to use 7,000... Read more

In mid-September, membership of the

U.S. Green Building Council passed the 2,000 mark, up from 950 a year earlier—more than 100% growth!

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which is fitted with 7,000 ft2 (650 m2) of photovoltaic panels. The $600,000 system is expected to generate 66 kilowatts of electricity, offsetting 10 to 15% of the cathedral complex’s energy demand. It is the first of 16 solar systems to be... Read more

The Atlanta International Museum of Art and Design (AIM) is now showing “Ecology, Economy, Equity: The Architecture of

William McDonough + Partners.” The exhibit, open through February 28, features architectural models, text panels, preparatory drawings, site plans, and interactive computer stations describing WM+P projects such as the... Read more

In a year when drought and water-use restrictions are in place in many areas, particularly the Rocky Mountain states, it makes sense to examine an often overlooked aspect of water efficiency—that of power production. It takes water to generate electricity in the United States—a lot of it, according to researchers at the National Renewable... Read more

In the July/August

EBN article about Oberlin College’s Lewis Center (

EBN

Vol. 11, No. 7/8), an offhand comment by me was quoted in the text on page 13. While the quote (“What McDonough has to learn is that a piece of glass is not like an insulated wall ...”) is accurate, it is somewhat out of context and could leave the... Read more

Sustainable San Mateo, together with RecycleWorks and the San Mateo chapter of AIA, is seeking applications for their first annual

Green Building Award. Though all green features and practices will be considered, the award committee will place special emphasis on green building materials and products. All San Mateo County buildings—... Read more

Rarely the focus of much attention, water heating accounts for surprisingly large energy loads and environmental impacts. Water heating is typically the second largest energy expenditure in homes (behind space heating) and the fourth largest in commercial buildings (behind lighting, heating, and cooling). In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, a... Read more

recently stepped down as director of the

Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), a post he has held since 1977. Block has accepted the Co-Principal Investigator position in FSEC’s multimillion-dollar program, funded by NASA, to investigate hydrogen production, storage, safety, and utilization. For more on FSEC, visit... Read more

In an effort to solve the ongoing problem of sourcing raw material for production of photovoltaic (PV) cells,

AstroPower, Inc. has teamed up with the Norwegian company Elkem to develop a cost-effective process for producing

solar-grade silicon directly from quartz. Traditionally, the PV industry has obtained waste silicon from... Read more

The ANSI/ASHRAE/IENSA Energy Standard for Buildings Except... Read more