EcoTimber, of Berkeley, California, one of the nation’s oldest and most respected distributors of FSC-certified wood products, was sold in October to Hayward Lumber, headquartered in Monterey. Actually, at the time of closing, EcoTimber represented only the flooring and decking division of the original company; the company’s hardwood lumber... Read more

Following 10 years of often-rancorous debate, California Governor Gray Davis on October 9 signed into law a bill that requires builders of large subdivisions to demonstrate that there will be

adequate water supplies for the development. The new law prohibits cities and counties from issuing permits to projects with 500 or more homes... Read more

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority released two

Program Opportunity Notices announcing nearly $2 million in funding for high efficiency lighting products and demonstrations (PON 629-01, $1.2 million) and heating and cooling (PON 649-01, $750,000). Proposals for both are due in late November. Details are... Read more

by Dan Imhoff, forewords by Randy Hayes and Sim Van der Ryn, 2001. Watershed Media, Healdsburg, CA; 707/895-3490,

www.watershedmedia.org. Paperback, 136 pages, $22 plus shipping.

David L. Crawford is a recipient of the

2001 Presidential Award from the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), for his work in creating awareness of sky brightness and light pollution, and leadership in promoting outdoor lighting to reduce sky brightness. The award was presented at the August 6, 2001 Honors Luncheon... Read more

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation headquarters, previously cited in

EBN as the first (so far, the only) building to earn a LEED™ Platinum rating, now has more high-profile kudos. The building is one of 11 winners of the

5th Annual Business Week

/Architectural Record Awards, selected from among 192 applicants and 19 finalists... Read more

Mayor Richard Daley saw his first planted roofs several years ago while visiting Chicago’s sister city of Hamburg, Germany. At the same time, he was learning about urban heat islands (in which our urban areas maintain temperatures considerably higher than surrounding suburban and rural areas). He was particularly attuned to the urban... Read more

Kompan, Inc., the nation’s largest manufacturer of commercial wooden playground equipment, is

the latest manufacturer to abandon CCA-treated wood. Citing concern on behalf of customers, the company completed the switch to nonarsenic, nonchromium pressure-treated wood on September 15. Kompan is using Natural Select™ wood treated with... Read more

CD-ROM of 46 technical papers, 2001. Send a check (made out to “Tides Center/Ecological Building Network”) to: Bruce King, Ecological Building Network, 209 Caledonia Street, Sausalito, CA 94965. Price: $70 + $10 shipping

At its August 19, 2001 meeting the Board of the U.S. Green Building Council voted unanimously to set a new course for updates to the LEED™ Rating System. “What we realized is that we’re overwhelmed by LEED’s popularity,” said LEED co-chair Rob Watson of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “We wanted to ensure that LEED has a really solid... Read more

Edited by Lynne Elizabeth and Cassandra

Adams, 2000. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

New York. Hardcover, 392 pages, $70.

terrific overview of various methods

for building with earth, straw, and

bamboo. With writings from over 30

authors—many of them experts or

... Read more

Arsenic has taken a big hit recently—from studies showing elevated levels in school playgrounds in Florida to public outcry about President Bush’s decision to relax drinking water standards for the element. Not surprisingly, product manufacturers are getting the message. In the July/August issue of

EBN (

Vol. 10, No. 7/8) we... Read more

mourns the loss of friend and green building champion David Kibbey, of Berkeley, California, who died on August 9, 2001 after a long battle with cancer. A native of Vermont, Kibbey was an artist, craftsman, scientist, and counselor. He designed and built beautiful spaces, edited the

Architectural Resource Guide product directory,... Read more

When we reported in

EBN

Vol. 10, No. 4 that annual energy use in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s recently constructed Cambria office building was coming in at 62,300 kWh, or $0.18/ft2 ($1.94/m2), we noted that this seemed too good to be true. Alas, this suspicion has been borne out. The incorrect energy... Read more

A $150,000 grant from the U.S. EPA is funding research by the New Buildings Institute (NBI) of White Salmon, Washington, to

assess actual energy use of newly constructed buildings. NBI will work with subcontractors Eley Associates of San Francisco and Architectural Energy Corporation of Boulder, Colorado on the project. Using the Energy... Read more