The International Code Council (ICC) has developed Coastal Construction Flood Plain Inspector certification, which indicates “knowledge of general construction provisions, special high wind and load path continuity, special flood hazard areas, detached and accessory structures, and governmental regulations.” Certified individuals will be able... Read more

Lost Mountain, which describes mountaintop-removal... Read more

... Read more

New Mexico has become the first state in the U.S. to join the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the nation’s only market-based cap-and-trade system designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The state hopes to reduce its emissions to 2000 levels by 2012, 10% below 2000 levels by 2020, and 75% below 2000 levels by 2050. CCX membership is legally... Read more

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced the 2006 inductees into its College of Fellows, among the highest honors bestowed upon members. Several of this year’s Fellows have contributed to green design:

•G. Z. (Charlie) Brown, professor of architecture at the University of Oregon, founder and director of the school’s... Read more

EBN

Vol. 11, No. 1) and our recognition of that product as a 2002 Top-10 Green Building Product helped draw the green... Read more

A federal appeals court has overturned a policy that would have allowed power plants, refineries, and other industrial facilities to upgrade without also updating their pollution-control equipment. While the New Source Review program of the Clean Air Act ensured that older plants would clean up emissions whenever they performed upgrades beyond... Read more

New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to turn over information about the levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in paints and similar products. Because VOCs contribute to smog and respiratory problems, EPA has limited the amount of VOCs that paints... Read more

When I received this month’s issue of

EBN [Vol. 15, No. 2], with its feature article extolling the virtues of polished concrete floors, I did a double take. Although I am drawn to concrete as a “modernist’s” material of choice, I believe it is of questionable value as an environmentally friendly choice.

It is difficult to... Read more

Disturbing old farmland can release pesticides applied more than 100 years ago, contaminating surface water, according to Dartmouth researchers. The researchers found that lead and arsenic, widely applied as lead arsenate pesticide on orchards in the late 1800s and well into the 1900s, have become part of the fine silt and organic matter in the... Read more

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) has developed the Zero-Energy Building Award program to recognize energy-efficient projects designed for the Northeast climate. To be eligible, buildings must be located in the Northeast (including New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland), be occupied, and... 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

The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) is now accepting entries for its first annual Smart Environments Awards, intended to “honor the best in design solutions over the past five years, those that are environmentally and socially responsible as well as beautiful and functional.” Cosponsored by

Metropolis magazine, the... 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

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has launched a new website designed to “guide building professionals through the green building process, from putting together a business case to design, construction, and marketing.” “Increasingly,” says Rob Watson, director of NRDC’s green building programs, “building professionals are interested... Read more

Most scratch-removal systems use a series of increasingly fine-grit abrasives to grind... Read more