Stakeholder meetings for the two Task Groups working under the auspices of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Technical and Scientific Advisory Committee (TSAC) were held on February 17 and 18, 2004 in Washington, D.C. (see

EBN

Vol. 12, No. 12 for background). The two issues being examined are

the use of HCFC... Read more

An October 2003 report titled “An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security” has generated a flurry of media attention. The study was prepared by the Global Business Network for the U.S. Department of Defense’s internal think tank, the Office of Net Assessment. The report defines a worst-case global... Read more

A new ad campaign is targeting kids between the ages of 8 and 13 in an effort to reduce energy use in homes. The three-year campaign, funded by the Ad Council, Energy Outreach Colorado, and a number of other partners, uses television, radio, and Internet public-service announcements to

teach children to become

“Energy Hog... Read more

After reading about results published in the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) study as they pertain to linoleum emissions (as described in “California Releases Data on Indoor Emissions,”

EBN Vol. 13, No. 2), many of our customers have contacted us with questions.

Forbo Linoleum, Inc. was an active volunteer in... Read more

Philips Lighting, Forbo Flooring, The Invironmentalists, Johnson Controls, Johnson Diversey, and Milliken Carpets have teamed up to create the Alliance for Sustainable Built Environments. This loosely woven network of like-minded companies aims to promote awareness of sustainability while enhancing business opportunities for its members. “Our... Read more

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the NAHB Research Center have announced the names of the people who will work to develop the voluntary

Model Green Home Building Guidelines. The 59 stakeholders represent homebuilders, environmentalists, government agencies, and a number of trade organizations. Each stakeholder is... Read more

In a move that has surprised many, the U.S. Green Building Council will not issue a call for papers for the November

2004 Greenbuild conference in Portland. Instead, all presentations in the break-out sessions will be invited by the program committee. The Council

will issue a call for posters and has expanded the guidelines,... Read more

Rainwater Collection for the Mechanically Challenged benefits from the authors’ experience installing hundreds more systems... Read more

PV News, to a total of 742 megawatts of generation capacity. But production in the U.S. dropped by 20% due to problems at AstroPower, which fell apart following an accounting scandal, and reduced U.S. production by BP Solar, which is ramping up plants in Australia... Read more

Turf grass is ubiquitous in America, covering roadsides, parks, cemeteries, golf courses, and more than 50 million residential yards. Most experts believe that turf covers more than 30 million acres (12 million ha) of American ground, an area larger than the state of Pennsylvania. Lawns make popular common spaces, encouraging community... Read more

At the beginning of March 2004, the U.S. Green Building Council released a draft of the LEED

® for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) Rating System for review by Council members during a 30-day comment period. LEED-EB is designed to certify the ongoing operations and maintenance of facilities, including upgrades to building systems. It is not... Read more

Kaplan, McLaughlin and Diaz), based in San Francisco, has been awarded the prestigious MIPIM Architectural Review Future Projects Award for the design of the Jie Fang Daily News and Media Group headquarters in Shanghai, China. The project employs numerous green systems, relying heavily on natural ventilation and... Read more

The

Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) was launched in December 2003, initiated by Meeting Strategies Worldwide, of Portland, Oregon. Recognizing that over a million meetings and events, and over 12,000 tradeshows, are held each year, GMIC is committed to “balancing economic, environmental, and community objectives as they relate to... Read more

The

Hayward Corporation, which produces FSC-certified wood products and other green building materials (see

EBN

Vol. 9, No. 6 and

Vol. 10, No. 4), has achieved a LEED

® v2 Gold rating for its Hayward Building Systems plant in Santa Maria, California. The 55,000 ft

2 (5,100 m

2) facility... Read more

In a unique agreement, the leaders of four architectural institutions have committed to sustainable design. The “

Barcelona Declaration on Sustainable Design” was signed at the Construmat Fair in Barcelona, Spain by Jaime Lerner, representing the International Union of Architects (and former mayor of Curitiba, Brazil); Paul Hyett, for... Read more

® landscape timbers, fencing, and pavers made from 100% post-consumer plastics, closed its doors in February. The Stamford, Connecticut company survived perennial capital shortages over its 15 years until an accident last April left owner Celeste Johnson unable to maintain sales streams, which plummeted more... Read more

by Angela Dean. Gibbs Smith Publishers, Layton, Utah, 2003; 136 pages, softcover, $24.95

Homeowners wanting to understand what a green home is and custom home builders wanting to introduce green home ideas to potential clients could benefit... Read more

Continuing a trend of rapid growth, the

U.S. Green Building Council announced in early February that it had accepted its 4,000th member. USGBC membership—which is open only to companies and organizations, not to individuals—hit 2,000 in September of 2002 and 3,000 in May of 2003.