BuildingGreen Report

News Brief

September 1, 1993

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched IAQ INFO, the Indoor Air Quality Information Clearinghouse. IAQ INFO has specialists who can provide information on a wide range of issues relating to indoor air quality: pollutant sources, health effects, testing, control measures, and relevant standards/guidelines. Along with answering... Read more

News Analysis

September 1, 1993
Electricity from Wastewater

The world's most productive geothermal electrical generation site, Geysers geothermal field in Lake County, California, has been running out of steam. And Lake County Sanitation officials were facing expensive options for disposing of their partially treated wastewater. Now it appears that they have solved both... Read more

Feature

September 1, 1993
In the wake of this summer’s devastating floods in the Midwest, more and more people are recog-nizing that levees and dams may not be the only way—or even the best way—to deal with floods. Regardless of the measures taken, most floodplains will ultimately flood, and we might do better to work with this natural cycle—and minimize damages—than to... Read more

News Brief

September 1, 1993

The Forest Information Resource System (FORIS), a database on the world’s timber resources, will be released by Tree Talk in November 1993. FORIS is intended to provide wood users with detailed information that will encourage the use of lesser-known and environmentally friendly species. Physical properties of each species, appropriate uses,... Read more

Op-Ed

September 1, 1993
Home Depot on

Lumber Certification

My compliments to you for an excellent publication. I just received my first issue and am glad I subscribed.

I’m not sure how you interpreted my comments from the Sustainable Forest Products Conference, but The Home Depot is not for, but against, a simple stamp or seal. We fully support the SCS... Read more

News Brief

September 1, 1993
News Briefs

A study done at the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, concluded that ground drywall applied to soils in test plots increased crop yield by 25% over untreated soil. This result was similar to the benefits of applying limestone or agricultural gypsum to the soil in equivalent quantities (11... Read more

Op-Ed

September 1, 1993
A Building Expert's Comments

Some thoughts on the May/June ‘93 issue:

On More Efficient Wood Use (p. 18):

We must conduct a massive educational campaign to wean the majority of builders and building inspectors (architects, too) away from their obsession with what I label 11th commandment framing. A recent poll by the NAHB shows 67... Read more

Feature

Should we be recommending cellulose to our clients? If so, on what basis? If not, why—what are its drawbacks?

September 1, 1993

Cellulose insulation has been the darling of the green building movement because of its recycled content, low embodied energy, low-tech processing, and excellent energy conservation performance. But concerns are also raised about health risks for cellulose installers and occupants of cellulose-insulated buildings. In fact, some healthy home... Read more

News Brief

September 1, 1993
The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community, and the American Dream

by Peter Calthorpe. Princeton Architectural Press, 1993. Paperback. 175 pages. $24.95.

 

Peter Calthorpe’s latest book is a guide for planners and designers of communities. It begins with a series of essays outlining all the problems with neighborhoods and... Read more

News Brief

July 1, 1993
High-Tech Homebuilding for Cold Climates

The Drawing-Room Graphic Services, Ltd., Box 86627, North Vancouver, B.C. V7L 4L2, Canada. $40.66/year in Canada (includes GST), U.S. $46 in the U.S.

Sol Plan Review is the thinking builder’s guide to advanced Canadian home­building. Considering how much governmental support there has been for... Read more

Feature

July 1, 1993
As the finish carpenters pack up their tools and the last coat of paint dries, the new lawn is emerging outside. On what had been a barren construction site only weeks before, grass seedlings are poking up through a layer of carefully spread topsoil, fortified with fertilizer and protected with straw. Around the house are round balls of the most... Read more

News Analysis

July 1, 1993
Clinton’s Timber Policy Announced

The Clinton Administration has announced its plan for dealing with the timber controversy in the Pacific Northwest. The plan was severely criticized by advocates on both sides of the debate even before it was publicly announced. Environmentalists are concerned that it may take away the power courts have had to... Read more

News Brief

July 1, 1993

The NAHB’s “Builder of the Year,” Realen Homes of Philadelphia, has hired award-winning architect and landscape architect Leslie Gallery to develop a green plan for the company. Early efforts are focusing on protecting vegetation during sitework, but eventually all aspects of the process are to be addressed.

News Brief

July 1, 1993
Building Better with Less

Steve Loken. 1993. Center for Resourceful Building Technology, PO Box 3866, Missoula, MT 59806; 406/549-7678. 56 pages. $12.50 postpaid.

The ReCraft 90 house was the first in what has become a flurry of environmentally sound demonstration houses. Built in ’90 and ’91 by Steve Loken at the Center for... Read more

News Analysis

July 1, 1993
New Green Buildings Trade Association

A group of product manufacturers and other building professionals has just founded the U.S. Green Building Council, with the goal of promoting environmentally sound and energy-efficient buildings worldwide. The Council was officially established at a May 27 meeting in Washington and already has over thirty... Read more

News Brief

July 1, 1993

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) is planning a demonstration building project that will exhibit energy- and resource-efficient technologies and provide office and meeting space for NESEA and affiliated organizations. The “Northeast Sustainability Center” is slated to be built in 1994 in the five-college area of western... Read more

Op-Ed

July 1, 1993
Perspective: A Year Later

The first issue of

EnvironmentalBuilding News was mailed out one year ago to a few hundred subscribers. Six issues later, we have a respectable circulation of well over 1,000. Judging from feedback received, we’re succeeding in what we set out to do: provide useful, unbiased information on how to make buildings... Read more

News Analysis

July 1, 1993
An Unexpected Source of Well-Managed Domestic Hardwoods

The Anderson-Tully Company has come forward with detailed infor­mation about its timber management and harvesting practices, and environmentally oriented forest observers are amazed at how sustainable its practices are. One of the largest producers of hardwoods in North America, A-T... Read more

Op-Ed

July 1, 1993
Sustainability in

Architecture Schools?

Dear Editor,

I am an architecture student in the first year of a Master of Architecture program. The school which I now attend, despite having an excellent program, places little emphasis on energy efficiency and environmental consciousness in design. I am looking for a school with such a... Read more

News Brief

July 1, 1993

An excellent workshop entitled “Sustainable Design Solutions” was given by engineer Marc Rosenbaum at the American Solar Energy Society conference and several other locations. Four- or six-hour versions of his workshop can be arranged for interested groups across the country. Contact him at Energysmiths, PO Box 194, Meriden, NH 03770; 603/469-... Read more