At a time when many universities are struggling to fund advanced degree programs, the University of Southern California (USC) School of Architecture has established a doctoral program in architecture that emphasizes architectural technology. The school seeks candidates interested in studying all aspects of the building envelope, including... Read more

President Obama set federal agencies on a path to sustainability by signing an executive order on October 5, 2009. The order breaks new ground in federal climate action by requiring agencies to set 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets by the end of 2009 and meet a number of other environmental goals. It also requires agencies to... Read more

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced new procedures for minimizing the risk of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in buildings.

According to EPA, between the years of 1950 and 1978 (when PCBs were phased out of use in the United States) the oily chemical was often added to caulking—used to seal gaps in... Read more

When you can and when you cannot count one material as contributing to more than one credit in the Materials and Resources category of LEED has confused me for years. Even the LEED Reference Guide doesn't lay it out clearly. So, after sorting it out for LEEDuser, I thought laying it out in a table might help.

There's a revolution underway with electric water heating. It could be just as significant as the shift from top-loaders to horizontal-axis front-loaders that we've seen in the laundry appliance industry.

For years, electric water heaters were simply insulated tanks with a... Read more

I'm writing this from San Francisco, where I've been at the West Coast Green Conference. This is the fourth year of... Read more

The membership of the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) has approved the current version of the LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) rating system. The system must be approved by all three participating organizations—CNU, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)—before it can be launched for... Read more

Mechanical systems need to be tuned up periodically to keep them operating smoothly and efficiently. That's true with our cars, and it's true with our heating systems. If you haven't done so already, now is the time... Read more

Dining out just got greener, thanks to Green Seal’s new GS-46 Environmental Standard for Restaurants and Foodservices, the first standard of its kind. The first Green Seal specification to be approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), GS-46 addresses the environmental impacts of food, energy and water use, and supplies in the... Read more

Your recent article “Polystyrene Insulation: Does It Belong in a Green Building?” (see

EBN Aug. 2009) misleads readers on several important facts regarding polystyrene foam insulation. Particularly troublesome was the absence of prevailing scientific viewpoints on the safety and environmental attributes of these products.

Thanks for the excellent investigative reporting on the hidden chemical hazards in the life cycle of polystyrene and the persistent halogenated flame retardant HBCD that comes along with it (see EBN Aug. 2009). Just as we ignored carbon dioxide’s persistence and accumulation in our atmosphere and caused ourselves major climate change... Read more

EBN advisory board member, was the founding chairman of The American... Read more

I just finished reading your excellent article "Designing for Adaptation" (see EBN Sept. 2009) and I want you to know that I think it is one of the best articles on the rationale for green building practices I have ever read. Thank you for this valuable resource. I have benefited from EBN immensely over the past few years and want you to know... Read more