News Brief
Five reports from the Portland Cement Association, 5420 Old Orchard Road, Skokie, IL 60077; 847-966-6200, 847-966-9781 (fax). Available at no charge for one year by contacting Natalie Holz at PCA.
The Portland Cement Association has just published five technical reports that address in great detail many of the issues raised in our recent... Read moreNews Brief
by Margaret Suozzo and others, 1997. American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), in cooperation with New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Paperback, approximately 200 pages, $25 plus shipping. Order from ACEEE, 1001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 801, Washington, DC 20036; 202/429-0063, www.aceee.org... Read more
Product Review
To the best of our knowledge, this product is no longer available.
The next generation of recycled-content composite decking has arrived: SmartDeck™ manufactured by Eaglebrook Products of Chicago. Like similar wood composites—Trex and ChoiceDek—SmartDeck is an alternative to wood and... Read moreNews Brief
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have jointly released an
update on the status of ozone depletion, confirming the effectiveness of international measures to restrict the use of ozone-depleting substances. The new report, “Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion... Read more
News Analysis
News Brief
On June 25, the GMAC Mortgage Corporation, a subsidiary of General Motors, announced an initiative with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) to provide
long-term, low-cost financing for solar energy systems. This represents an expansion of the mortgage offerings for energy-efficient housing by GMAC Mortgage. The announcement... Read more
News Brief
Global Green USA is producing a report which, the group claims, identifies
$1 billion in savings from energy- and resource-efficiency benefits in public and assisted housing. The recommendations resulted from an April 28 Policy Roundtable that Global Green USA hosted on Capitol Hill, and were presented to Secretary of Housing and Urban... Read more
News Brief
by Alan Weisman, 1998. Chelsea Green Publishing, Inc., White River Junction, Vermont. Hardcover, 230 pages, $22.95.
Gaviotas is a community in Colombia that exhibits, in many respects, what sustainability might look like. Over the past 30 years, a team led by visionary engineers and artists has developed and implemented appropriate... Read moreNews Brief
Horton Lees Lighting Design, Inc. is the recipient of this year’s Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
Award for Energy Efficient Lighting for Commercial Buildings, in honor of its work on the new terminal at Washington National Airport. This award is one of those included in the International Illumination... Read more
News Brief
by Hanno Beck and others, June 1998. Published by Friends of the Earth, 1025 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20005; 202/783-7400 x 239. Booklet, 60 pages, $15 postpaid.
As Paul Hawken points out in the introduction, we need to stop taxing good things, like income, and start taxing things we would rather have less of, like... Read moreFeature
Though radon is the most serious threat overall, there are many other soil gases that builders of environmentally responsible buildings should be aware of.
Radon has received a great deal of attention over the past fifteen years. Most architects and builders today have at least a general understanding of the radon issue, even if they are not familiar with the details of radon control. Though radon is the most serious threat overall, there are many other soil gases that builders of environmentally... Read more
News Brief
The Last Straw, a quarterly newsletter about strawbale building, has been transferred from its founders, Matts Myhrman and Judy Knox, to Network Productions, Inc. in Kingston, New Mexico, a nonprofit organization devoted to sustainability education. The publication will be maintained on a quarterly basis through the leadership of NPI co-founder... Read more
News Brief
This year’s American Solar Energy
Society (ASES) Passive Pioneer
Award is being presented to Susan
Yanda and her late husband, Bill
Yanda, whose efforts to promote
passive solar design spanned three
decades. During the 1970s the Yandas
began their community-based workshops... Read more
News Brief
U.S. Department of Energy, 1997. 146 pages, softcover. Single copies available free, while supplies last, by calling 800/DOE-EREC. Copies may also be purchased by calling 800/553-NTIS.
What is perhaps most surprising about
Greening Federal Facilities is the book’s readability. We had expected this... Read more
Product Review
sensible heat) and they remove moisture from air, reducing its
latent heat. In some cases the relative balance between these two functions is acceptable, but there are also many applications for which... Read more
Feature
The federal government has had mixed success promoting energy conservation and renewables since the early 1970s. Some efforts have been great, such as appliance efficiency standards and EnergyGuide labels. Others have been less effective or even counter-productive. President Carter’s appeal to the American public to conserve energy by turning... Read more
News Brief
Arizona residents will vote on governor Jane Hull’s proposal to spend $190 million over 10 years to
preserve open space according to the May/June 1998 issue of
Common Ground. The measure would be paid for with corporate income taxes. Another ballot initiative in Arizona, this one requiring cities to adopt urban growth boundaries... Read more
News Analysis
The
Kich’n Komposter, reviewed back in 1993 (EBNVol. 2, No. 3), is now available directly from the manufacturer. This device makes garbage disposals more environmentally friendly by allowing the user to divert organic solids from the drain line into a basket, which spins the water out and stores the waste for composting. Cost is about $... Read more
News Brief
The developers of STAPLES Center sports arena in Los Angeles achieved a remarkable
98% recycling rate for demolition waste when razing the existing North Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. More than 16,000 tons of waste were kept out of area landfills through the effort, which was done in conjunction with the City of Los Angeles... Read more
Op-Ed
Having participated in the original “Access Flooring” article [
EBNVol. 7, No. 1, January 1998] and followed the subsequent commentaries, I found it interesting that the discussion focused on floor-to-floor heights and somewhat overlooked the impact of displacement ventilation.
From our experience, Mr.... Read more




