Dr. Jack Ward Thomas, well known for advocating forest management practices that protect wildlife habitat, was named the 13th chief of the U.S. Forest Service on November 17, 1993. Thomas, a wildlife biologist as well as forester who has been with the Service for 27 years, is a leading advocate of “... Read more

Green Builder Program, City of Austin, Environmental & Conservation Services Dept., 206 E. 9th Street, Suite 17.102, Austin, TX 78701; 512/499-3500; 512/499-2859 (fax). Three-ring binder format, 440 pages, $25 postpaid.

The Sustainable Building Sourcebook was written to provide background information for... Read more

Washing Machine

Number one is... Read more

The CNN Environment Unit is preparing a half-hour show on environmental home renovation featuring EBN Advisory Board members Steve Loken and Marc Rosenbaum. EBN subscribers are invited to suggest renovation ideas, materials, or techniques (for either contractors or do-it- yourselfers) for inclusion in the show, which will air in late May or... Read more

for Treating Wastewater

by Gerald Steiner, P. E. and James Watson, P. E.; 42 pages, free. Tennessee Valley Authority, May 1993. TVA, 1101 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402. Fax orders: 615/751-7479.

Despite its cumbersome title, this publication will prove invaluable to anyone considering a constructed... Read more

Green Seal, a nonprofit environmental labeling organization, certifies products that cause significantly less harm to the environment... Read more

American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment, 1735 New York Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20006; 800/365-ARCH, 202/626-7300.

Last winter and spring the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment organized a series of three video teleconferences entitled “Building Connections.” The... Read more

Trimax plastic lumber, which was featured in the EBN article “Recycled Plastic Lumber,” (Vol. 2, No. 4) will soon be manufactured in two additional locations. Trimax’s parent company, Polymerix, Inc., has licensed Environmental Recovery Systems of Somerset Inc. to make the fiberglass-reinforced lumber in Massachusetts. In a separate deal, John... Read more

The Good Cents® energy-efficient homes program used by nearly 300 utilities nationwide has announced the availability of new environmental rating features. The Good Cents Sustainable Homes™ program expands on existing energy efficiency criteria to rate new homes on a sustainability scale.

... Read more

Recycling leftover paint is an idea whose time has come. Paint disposal is one of the biggest headaches facing contractors and municipalities nationwide, and improper disposal can cause extensive environmental harm. Several municipalities and counties have run paint collection and re-use programs, often mixing together... Read more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Green Building Council have jointly announced a Green Building Conference for February 1994 in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The conference will cover assessment methodologies and performance criteria for rating buildings, case studies, activities of various government and independent... Read more

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a serious threat in many homes. Approximately 300 deaths per year from non-fire-related CO poisoning make it the leading cause of death by poisoning in the U.S. In addition to death from acute exposure, many people suffer the symptoms of low-level carbon monoxide poisoning—headaches, fatigue,... Read more

by National Park Service. September 1993. 118 pages. Limited copies available from the Denver Service Center, National Park Service, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225; 303/969-2100. (No charge while initial printing lasts; then copies will be available from the Government Printing Office.)

I enjoyed your article on cellulose insulation in the September/October ‘93 issue of EBN. In general, I thought the article was very well done, but felt that your recommendations on the health concerns left a bit to be desired. First of all, your recommendation not to eat it is obvious, yet by stating it, you seem to... Read more

A group of chemicals in the class known as fluoroiodocarbons (FICs) has been identified by researchers as potential replacements for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons in a wide range of industrial uses. Unlike HCFCs—the first group of CFC-alternatives to be identified—FICs’... Read more

Resource Guide

Victoria Schomer, ASID, editor. PO Box 2386, Mill Valley, CA 94942. Spiral-bound, 230 pages. $40.

If you’ve ever wanted to look through the notebooks of an experienced “green” interior designer, this is your chance. Victoria Schomer has been compiling information on healthy building materials for... Read more

A competition for designs that elegantly integrate photovoltaics into individual buildings and into the urban environment is being cosponsored by the International Energy Agency and the Netherlands Agency for Energy and the Environment. Prizes will be awarded in three categories: large-scale application in an urban area; single... Read more

The Canadian R-2000 energy-efficient homes program is revising and broadening its standards. The Technical Research Committee of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association has made its recommendations to Energy, Mines and Resources Canada (EMR), the government body that administers R-2000. The... Read more

The Cycle II™ line from the Major Paint Company (the manufacturing arm of Standard Brands Paint Co.) contains at least 12% recycled paint collected from consumers and 38% in-house waste from washing machinery. The remaining 50% is virgin material. Cycle II is available in flat, semi-gloss, and primer formulations in about a dozen colors ranging... Read more

Markets for recycled plastic lumber are surprisingly uneven across North America. While some manufacturers report having trouble keeping up with the demand for their products, others are struggling. Green Tree Plastics Technology Inc. of Victorville, California is shutting down its manufacturing operations for lack of income. “The sales are... Read more