Cholesterol 0g

Sodium 22mg

Dichlormethane

Carbon Tetrachloride

Chloroform

0%

1%

-400%

-200,000%... Read more

Standard residential construction in much of the country is 2x4 framing with fiberglass insulation, achieving a paltry R-10 or so in the walls. If insulation is installed at all on the foundation walls, it's rarely more than an inch thick, and insulation is almost never put under slabs. In Vermont, we typically do a lot better. Act 250,... Read more

With the April 27, 2009, release of the LEED 2009 family of rating systems, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) introduced a new element to its LEED package: minimum project requirements (MPRs). They vary slightly by rating system, but in general they aim to exclude structures from LEED that are too small, unoccupied, or mobile.... Read more

Amid a fiscal meltdown, Massachusetts has eliminated funding for the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. Established in 1989, TURI provides research and training as well as technical, laboratory, and funding programs and services for reducing the use of toxic chemicals in manufacturing processes.

By Sarah Amelar

Though just a few miles west of Silicon Valley’s urban hardscape, Portola Valley, California, has steadfastly retained its rural character, with forested hillsides, country roads and trails, walnut orchards, and meadows of wildflowers. Decades before “sustainable” became a household term, this well-to-do township of 9.2... Read more

With buildings producing over 40% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., making existing buildings more energy-efficient is a high priority. Motivating inventive solutions to the problem of existing buildings is the goal behind Zerofootprint’s international Building Re-skinning Competition. The organization hopes to promote its idea of re... Read more

At a May 2009 ceremony it billed as “the most sustainable commencement in [its] history,” the University of New Hampshire (UNH) announced the launch of EcoLine, a landfill gas-to-energy project. The project is expected to meet up to 85% of the 5 million ft2 (464,515 m2) campus’ electricity and heating needs, making UNH the only university in... Read more

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) announced the launch of its new building energy labeling program with the release of a prototype of the label at its 2009 annual conference in June.

The labeling program, called Building Energy Quotient or “Building EQ,” was developed in... Read more

But summer has hardly started!

As we fire up the grill and hope that the rain will let up enough for us to enjoy summer, we should also remember that the days are now getting shorter, and in just a few months we'll be firing up our heating systems again.

Now's the time to think about how we can keep our heating costs down next... Read more

ICFs (Insulating Concrete Forms) are permanent, stay-in-place forms for making insulated poured-concrete walls, floors, and roof decks. Most of them are made with expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam produced with a non-ozone-depleting blowing agent (unlike XPS, an option to avoid from some manufacturers), while others are made with EPS beads (... Read more

Tikkun olam means “repairing the world” in Hebrew. Most often used to refer to doing something for the public good, it became the inspiration for the design of the synagogue for both the congregation and the project team, led by Ross Barney Architects, as they designed the LEED-Platinum building. The result, according to AIA Top Ten jury member... Read more