... Read more

The recent EPA standard on VOC limits in architectural coatings includes a provision that may represent the wave of the future in environmental policy and regulation. Although limits are established on allowable levels of VOCs in various coatings, the agency has chosen to allow manufacturers to exceed these limits by... Read more

Following States Industries in 1997 (the first manufacturer to offer certified hardwood plywood—see... Read more

The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE) is soliciting comments on six Independent Substantive Changes to its

Standard 90.1-1989R: “Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.” The most extensive sections being modified are those on building... Read more

There’s good news and bad news in the demand water heater field. . . .

The good news is that the

AquaStar 125-EI (now referred to as the 125-X) demand water heater that we reviewed in the April 1998 issue of

EBN (

Vol. 7, No. 4) is finally being shipped—months after its scheduled debut.... Read more

A

Nursing and Biomedical Sciences classroom building being designed for the

University of Texas at Houston by Vancouver-based Patkau Architects received a 1998 Award of Excellence from

Canadian Architect magazine. Juror Peter Busby lauded the project’s “integration of an environmental design approach with an excellent... Read more

The concerns about safe disposal of chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated wood coming out of service (see

EBN

Vol. 6, No. 3, March 1997) may be far more immediate than previously believed. A technical paper in the November-December issue of

Forest Products Journal by... Read more

by Ann Edminster and Sami Yassa, 1998. Natural Resources Defense Council, 40 W. 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211; 212/727-2700, www.nrdc.org. Paperback, 112 pages, $15 + $3 shipping

Too often forest conservation activists promote the use of non-wood construction systems without... Read more

Buchloe dactyloides), but there have been few off-the-shelf options for more northern, less sunny regions. The Prairie Nursery Corporation of Westfield, Wisconsin introduced the No Mow mix of fescue... Read more

EBN is aware of to offer third-party-certified engineered wood products.

This past July, the company gained chain-of-custody certification from Smart Wood for glulam beams and is nearly there with... Read more

I read your Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) coverage in

EBN

Vol. 7, No. 10 [November 1998]. My information tells me that LEED won’t work with a self-assessment model. The Colorado self-assessment tool in the residential sector has done a good job at building market share, but the... Read more

The company received... Read more

Psychologists have long known that the colors with which we surround ourselves can affect our energy and our moods. Unfortunately, too few professionals of any type realize how the medium we use to create those colors can affect our health and the health of the planet. This article looks at new developments with interior paints and explores the... Read more

With its fourth annual cycle, the EnergyValue Housing Award administered by the National Association of Home Builders Research Center appears to be gaining steam.

Quite a few winners were announced at the January 14 ceremony in Dallas, with some outstanding projects. A number of the winning entries... Read more

Preliminary results are in, and 1998 looks like the warmest ever. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced on December 17 that global temperatures in 1998 would be the warmest since recordkeeping began in 1860. The global mean surface temperature for 1998 is estimated to be 1.4°F (0.58°C) above the... Read more

Maureen McIntyre, longtime editor of the acclaimed

Solar Today magazine (the publication of the

American Solar Energy Society—ASES), has been hired by the Society to organize renewable energy policy activities at the state level. As coordinator of ASES’s “Empowering the States” program, McIntyre will help renewable... Read more

As house size increases, resource use in buildings goes up, more land is occupied, there... Read more

We read your article entitled “Low Slope Roofing: Prospects Looking Up” (EBN

Vol. 7, No. 10 – November 1998) with interest. We would like to bring some items to your attention.

•Fire resistant EPDM (needed to obtain Factory Mutual and U.L. fire ratings for adhered and mechanically fastened systems) contains... Read more

Organizers of the annual H.O.P.E.S. Eco-Design Arts Conference (see Calendar) are sponsoring a “Design Challenge” on the theme of this year’s conference: Equity and Ecology. Entries in the form of display boards and written explanations must be received by March 26. For details, contact H.O.P.E.S. at 541/346-0719, hopes@laz.uoregon.edu, or on... Read more