"Community is the hidden dimension of sustainability.” Jim Leach, president of the Wonderland Hill Development Company, is convinced of the power of community. A paradigm of automobile-based land use, and with it suburban independence, has dominated American development patterns over the past 50 years. Although it still appeals to many American... Read more

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

I found your recent feature article (“Getting from Design to Construction,”

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Vol. 11, No. 7/8) one of the most intriguing yet. I participate in many seminars and events surrounding green building, and the same attitudes and comments from the design community come up at each event—[about how] architects in a learning curve for... 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

Vol. 1, No. 2) on an obscure ASTM green building subcommittee, that the work of that group would soon become the most significant driving force in the U.S. green building movement. A lot has happened in the ten years since developer David Gottfried founded that subcommittee, E-50.06,... Read more

conferences to advance the effective integration of building design, construction, and operation. The conference will include over two dozen topics, ranging from specifics such as illumination, design for the aging, and the LEED™ Rating System to broader... Read more

The

U.S. Green Building Council has announced a new awards program to honor leaders who are helping transform the building market. Awards will be given in three categories:

The Green Business Award to honor an individual or company that has demonstrated leadership in advancing the green building market... Read more

Another recent study funded by CMHC examined

wood use in straw-bale homes. In the study, wood use in the envelope of a load-bearing straw-bale home in southern Ontario was carefully tracked by the builder and compared with modeled wood use for the exterior envelope of a comparably sized wood-frame home with 2x6 walls. Wood for interior... Read more

On July 23, Governor Jane Swift of Massachusetts signed Executive Order 438 creating a multi-agency

State Sustainability Council. The initiative is aimed at ensuring that state agencies consider environmental consequences of their actions and establishing sound environmental practices for state agencies. “We in state government must... Read more

BioBalance is now available in all polyurethane noncushioned and cushioned backings manufactured by Universal Textile Technologies... Read more

Produced by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, and Berkeley Solar Group, with financial support from the U.S. Department of Energy. Distribution, training, and technical support provided by Sustainable Buildings Industry Council, 1331 H Street NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005; 202-628-7400 ext. 210;... Read more

According to a California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) Charitable Trust report,

energy produced from renewable sources is cheaper over the long term and creates far more jobs than energy from natural gas power plants. The report

, Renewables Work: Job Growth from Renewable Energy Development in California, combines... Read more

Wouldn’t it be nice, in shopping for a dishwasher, if you could go down to your appliance store, review the EnergyGuide labels or Energy Star™ designations, and be confident that you were really getting an energy-efficient dishwasher? It would be nice, but it’s not the case. Due to a glitch in the DOE efficiency test procedure for dishwashers,... Read more

Urban Ecology magazine, beginning with the Summer 2002 issue. The organization will focus its resources on strengthening its Community Design Program and land-use planning policy advocacy... Read more

Natureplus label for building materials. Products displaying the Natureplus seal are guaranteed to be “manufactured in an environmentally friendly manner, harmless to health, and of a high functional standard,” according to WWF. The seal, representing... Read more

The American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) of the American Hospital Association has developed a guidance statement for

healthcare design that encourages the incorporation of health principles into green design. In conjunction, ASHE and The American Institute of Architects are seeking applications for their first Sustainable... Read more

Following the example of Denmark, France, Sweden, and the Netherlands, the

United Kingdom recently enacted a tax on commercial use of aggregate. The tax affects U.K.-extracted as well as imported sand, gravel, and rock, with some exceptions. To ensure international competitiveness, exported aggregate is exempt from the tax. The U.K.... Read more

The province of Quebec announced in early July that it will ban the use of most

nonfarm pesticides by 2005. In a phased introduction of restrictions, Quebec will quickly ban the use of 30 specific pesticides on public lands, including parks, schools, day-care centers, and hospitals. By the beginning of 2005, the ban will extend to... Read more

Interface Fabrics Group (IFG), an Interface, Inc. company, recently announced the results of its Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) study exploring the environmental impacts of polyester’s creation, useful life, and disposal. (For more information on LCA, see

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Vol. 11, No. 3.) IFG undertook LCAs for one linear yard (0.9 m) of both... Read more

by Timothy Beatley. Island Press, Washington, DC, 2000. Paperback, 491 pages, $30.

A professor of Urban and Environmental Planning at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Timothy Beatley has a lot to say about cities. Green Urbanism was born of his hope that European urban development might inspire Americans and guide our... Read more