Looking back at the stories we covered in our March/April 1996 issue (Vol. 5, No. 2), we were disappointed by the slow progress, and even backsliding, in the intervening decade. Here’s where four of those stories stand today. We’ll hope for a happier update in our next Then & Now column.

Windows—Ten years ago this month,

EBN’... Read more

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) plans to air a new television series called Building Green, beginning in spring 2006. Billed as a “home improvement program about building gorgeous homes that are healthier, more energy efficient, and better for the environment,” the show’s first season documents the creation of a 4,500 ft2 (420 m2)... Read more

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed an executive order in January 2006 requiring all executive branch state agencies, including the Higher Education Department, to adopt the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Rating System. New buildings 15,000 ft2 (1,400 m2) or larger and those with over 50 kW of peak electricity demand are required to... Read more

In December 2005, the governors of seven Northeast states agreed to the country’s first cap-and-trade program to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the chief contributor to global climate change. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, or “Reggie”) commits Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont to... Read more

New York City’s Skyscraper Museum will be showing the exhibit “Green Towers for New York: From Visionary to Vernacular,” featuring the city’s existing green high-rises as well as some in design and construction, through May 2006. The Museum is online at www.skyscraper.org.

The Emerging Green Builders chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is encouraging entries to its annual Natural Talent Design Competition. This year’s competition will be administered through USGBC’s regional chapters. “This is an exciting change,” says Joe Snider, chair of the Emerging Green Builders Committee. “Contest entrants... Read more

Ecotone Publishing, LLC, based in Kansas City, Missouri, announced in February 2006 that it will offset all carbon dioxide emissions related to its business operations. Ecotone, which publishes books about green design and construction, purchased 50 tons (45 tonnes) of carbon offsets to cover emissions caused by its travel, waste production,... Read more

Following nearly two years of planning and negotiations, 17 federal agencies and departments signed a landmark memorandum of understanding (MOU) during the White House Summit on Federal Sustainable Buildings in January 2006. Titled “The Federal Leadership Memorandum of Understanding to Adopt Guiding Principles for High Performance and... Read more

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration launched the Green California website, www.green.ca.gov, in February 2006. Rosario Marin, secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency, hopes the site will become “the primary ’go-to’ site—the new, centralized, electronic reference library—for engineers, architects, building... Read more

Whole Foods Market, Inc., a Fortune 500 company based in Austin, Texas, has purchased more than 458,000 megawatt-hours of wind energy credits to offset all of the electricity used in its stores, facilities, bake houses, distribution centers, regional offices and national headquarters in the U.S. and Canada. The two-year contract with Renewable... Read more

Downtown populations in the U.S. grew 10% in the 1990s, according to a Brookings Institution report, following 20 years of overall decline. The study, “Who Lives Downtown,” presents findings related to downtown population, household, and income trends in 44 cities from 1970 to 2000. The study is online at www.brookings.edu (search for “... Read more

The Geography of Nowhere and

Home From Nowhere take a scathing look at suburbia,... Read more

In January 2006, New York City’s New School opened the Tishman Environment and Design Center, which will offer an undergraduate program in environmental studies. “One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Center will be the critical role of design,” says Joel Towers, former director of sustainable design at the Parsons School of Design... Read more

Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR) has been a long-term supporter of

Environmental Building News (EBN) but was disappointed in your story on Wal-Mart’s environmental progress [Vol. 15, No. 1]. The article fails to examine the full breadth of the deleterious impact the company has on our country. You argue... Read more

New federal efficiency standards for residential central air conditioners took effect in January 2006. President Clinton set the 30% jump in efficiency, from SEER 10 to SEER 13; President Bush challenged the move but was overruled by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a lawsuit brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council (see

... Read more

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has given Evergreen Awards to Watson Furniture Group, based in Poulsbo, Washington, and Shaw Industries, based in Dalton, Georgia, in recognition of their efforts in recycling, reducing waste, and offering environmentally preferable products and services. GSA recognized Watson in the furniture... Read more

As early as 2007, there may be a new minimum standard for green buildings. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE), U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) announced in February 2006 that they will cosponsor the development of ASHRAE... Read more

Conservation International (CI) and George Washington University (GWU) are collaborating in the development and implementation of the Ecotourism Learning Program, designed to “provide a set of tools, knowledge, and standards to help communities create ecotourism destinations that successfully attract tourists while protecting the natural... Read more