BuildingGreen Report

News Analysis

October 1, 1998
EMF May Be Carcinogenic After All

While a number of studies in recent years have downplayed concerns about electromagnetic fields (EMF)—including a report from the American Physical Society (see

EBN

Vol. 4, No. 4)—a working group of experts assembled by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) concluded in... Read more

News Brief

October 1, 1998

The

Rocky Mountain Institute is seeking a consultant to join its influential Green Development Services research group. The position requires extensive client interaction, management of multiple projects, and travel. Contact Jen Uncapher at 970/927-3807 or jenu@rmi.org for details.

Op-Ed

October 1, 1998
New Staff at EBN

We are very excited to announce the recent addition of two outstanding people to our staff.

Dan Woodbury has joined us as our first full-time marketing director, and

Dwight Holmes is our new research associate. With their help we hope to continue serving you as the leading source of reliable green building... Read more

News Analysis

October 1, 1998
Armstrong Launches Ceiling Tile Recycling Program

Armstrong World Industries, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania has launched an innovative and much-needed program to recycle acoustic ceiling tiles.

The program will defray some of the costs of ceiling tile disposal, while helping to reduce pressure on landfills. On a large commercial building... Read more

Op-Ed

October 1, 1998
More on Linoleum & IAQ

Dear Editor:

I read your recent article about linoleum (October 1998) and was particularly interested in the section dealing with indoor air quality, which I felt you covered well. However, I was very disappointed with your conclusion to “recommend it widely.”

You seem to be fostering an attitude that,... Read more

Product Review

October 1, 1998
A New Chlorine-free Competitor to Vinyl Flooring

If linoleum represents the “back-to-nature” alternative to vinyl flooring, then Stratica is the

Brave New World option.

This new resilient flooring product from the U.K. uses high-tech engineering polymer resins to provide a durable surface and sophisticated patterns similar to... Read more

News Brief

October 1, 1998

In recognition of the large energy penalty associated with leaky ducts, the

California Energy Commission (CEC) has voted to provide a credit for high-quality ducts in the State’s residential energy code. To qualify for the credit, the home’s duct system must be certified by the installer, and the builder must have an independent party... Read more

News Brief

October 1, 1998

by Baruch Givoni, 1998. John Wiley & Sons, New York. Hardcover, 496 pages, $64.95

 

Baruch Givoni has long been a champion of passive approaches to climate control in buildings. In Climate Considerations in Building and Urban Design he documents the theory and practice of low-tech comfort in buildings and the relationships... Read more

News Analysis

For a consensus-based program LEED is surprisingly demanding.

October 1, 1998

The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) rating system for buildings, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), is not yet officially released but is already making waves. LEED was developed through a consensus process among the diverse USGBC membership, which includes product manufacturers, architects, environmental and government... Read more

News Analysis

September 1, 1998
Web Service Offers Localized Building Materials Exchanges

The Energy Outreach Center, a nonprofit organization based in Washington State, has established an Internet-based building materials exchange system that is available for use by local governments anywhere. The Reusable Building Materials Exchange operates as a bulletin board where users... Read more

News Brief

September 1, 1998
Two model sustainable schools are being designed in Texas

—one in Austin, the other in McKinney (north of Dallas). Grant funding from the State Energy Conservation Office of the General Services Commission is providing sustainability teams to work with the architects and engineers. The Austin sustainability team is led by Bob Berkebile of BNIM... Read more

News Brief

September 1, 1998
Awards & Competitions

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) recently announced the 1998 winners of its

biannual

Champion of Energy Efficiency Awards:

Marilyn Brown, Eric Petersen, and Joseph Romm, for their leadership in influencing U.S. climate change policy and other contributions to... Read more

Product Review

September 1, 1998
Whirlpool Introduces Energy Star Washer

In mid-September, the Whirlpool Corporation, which produces more than 50% of the country’s washing machines, introduced its first high-efficiency, Energy Star™-listed product.

The Whirlpool Resource Saver™ is the first Energy Star washer with a conventional

vertical-axis configuration; all... Read more

News Analysis

September 1, 1998
Second Generation CFL Torchieres On the Way

When

EBN last covered torchiere-style standing lamps with energy-saving compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) instead of halogen lamps, we tested two very different products (

EBN

Vol. 6, No. 10).

One used three 26-watt CFLs (each with its own ballast), providing three light... Read more

News Brief

September 1, 1998

Published on CD-ROM by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, 1001 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 801, Washington, DC 20036; 202/429-8873, 202/429-2248 (fax), aceee@ix.netcom.com (e-mail),

www.aceee.org (Web site). $100, plus $5 shipping and handling.

Like ACEEE’s previous CD-ROM of Summer Study proceedings, which... Read more

News Analysis

September 1, 1998
Law School Inaugurates Cutting-Edge Green Building

A small law school in rural New England with a strong environmental law program is now walking its talk with a new classroom building. The James L. and Evelena S. Oakes Hall at the Vermont Law School is a 24,000 ft2 (2,200 m2) classroom building designed by Truex Cullins and Partners... Read more

News Brief

September 1, 1998
Newsbriefs

Eminent green architect

William McDonough announced in late August that he will not seek reappointment as dean of the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture when his five-year term expires next June. McDonough will continue to teach at the University, and to direct the Institute for Sustainable Design, which he... Read more

News Brief

September 1, 1998

The

Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota is considering affiliation with

Habitat for Humanity to develop affordable housing on the reservation. The problem, according to Marty Kooistra of Habitat, is that while a typical Habitat house ends up costing $41,000 to $45,000, the realistic cost ceiling on the Rosebud Reservation... Read more

News Analysis

September 1, 1998
Armstrong Reenters Linoleum Market

After years of fighting linoleum as a competitor to its vinyl flooring products, Armstrong World Industries, Inc. has now purchased DLW Aktien-gesellschaft of Germany, the world’s second largest linoleum manufacturer. Publicly, Armstrong is playing up other DLW assets, including a strong distribution network... Read more

News Brief

September 1, 1998
The Green Home Product Guide

by Dru Meadows and Charles Bell, 1998. TheGreenTeam, 5822 South New Haven, Tulsa, OK 74153; 918/742-7593;arcvet@earthlink.net. Softcover, about 90 pages, $35.

Dru Meadows, well known for her pioneering green design work with BSW Architects in Tulsa, and Charles Bell set a very challenging course for... Read more