During the 2004-2005 winter, the ozone layer reached the thinnest level ever recorded, according to a study by Cambridge University and reported April 27 in the

Guardian newspaper. “We thought things would start to get better because of the phasing out of CFCs and other chemicals because of the Montreal protocol,” says Cambridge... Read more

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is seeking proposals to develop, demonstrate, or commercialize innovative building products and systems. Eligible projects must be new technologies or substantial improvements to existing technologies, according to NYSERDA, and must yield energy and environmental benefits in... Read more

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Vol. 11, No. 5). MBDC aims to release... Read more

In partnership with Forest Products Solutions, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has released “Designing and Building with FSC,” a guide designed to help building owners and green building professionals specify, build with, and account for the use of FSC-certified products. It includes background information, case studies, and sample... Read more

Vermont Governor Jim Douglas signed a bill in June 2005 requiring retail electricity providers to meet all growth in demand through new renewable resources or renewable energy credits. The law affects growth through 2011. To read the bill, visit www.leg.state.vt.us (search bill S.52).

Royal Philips Electronics and Novaled GmbH have reached a new record in the efficiency of high-brightness, white, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs, or light-emitting polymers). The companies have achieved 25 lumens per watt at a brightness of 1,000 candela per square meter. “This is an encouraging result that clearly demonstrates the... Read more

Each five-decibel increase in aircraft noise can delay a child’s reading ability by two months, according to a study of children living near airports in Europe, published in the June 4, 2005, issue of

The Lancet. “In practical terms, aircraft noise might have only a small effect on the development of reading, but the effect of long-term... Read more

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order in June 2005 committing the state to reduce its greenhouse gases to 2000 levels by 2010. While this short-term goal is only about half as aggressive as compliance with the Kyoto Protocol would be, the governor’s longer-term goals are ambitious. California will reduce its... Read more

Body & Soul Magazine, the awards honor books “that contribute significantly to conscious living... Read more

Although it may look the same, the

EBN you hold in your hands—unless you are reading this online or printed it out yourself—is printed on a new (well, sort-of new) paper. New Leaf Opaque, the paper we’ve used since February 2002, is now made from 100% post-consumer recycled material. The prior formulation was 60% post-consumer content,... Read more

The nonprofit SustainLane has released the results of a study ranking 25 U.S. cities based on performance in 12 sustainability categories: transportation, air quality, tap-water quality, LEED® buildings, food and agriculture, zoning, land use, solid-waste diversion rate, land-use planning, city innovation, energy and climate, and knowledge base... Read more

Two dozen U.S. and European institutional investors managing more than $3.2 trillion have joined with the United Nations in calling on U.S. companies, Wall Street firms, and the Securities and Exchange Commission to analyze and disclose the financial risks posed by climate change. The investors also pledged to invest $1 billion in clean... Read more

Kudos to

EBN for a superb article on the greening of healthcare [Vol. 14, No. 6]. You did an excellent job of describing how these projects are bringing health concerns into green building in ways that will have important implications for the rest of the building industry.

Members of project design teams who are interested in... Read more

In a June 13, 2005, decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals’ Seventh Circuit upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Construction General Permit (CGP). This permit streamlines the permitting process, allowing property owners and contractors to discharge stormwater runoff from their sites without obtaining individual permits or undergoing... Read more

Fortified by a $375,000 grant from The Home Depot Foundation, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is preparing to launch a pilot test of the LEED® for Homes (LEED-H) rating system. Although the rating system itself is currently undergoing a technical review by USGBC committees, regional “Program Providers” have been selected, and the pilot... Read more

The latest release of Energy-10™, the leading energy-modeling tool for small commercial buildings, provides improved integration with window data from the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) and includes the ability to model some additional HVAC system types. Developed primarily by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Energy... Read more

The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) has bid farewell to Alex Zimmerman, who had served as president of the nonprofit organization since August 2003. “I can’t say enough about Alex’s contributions to the CaGBC,” says Joe Van Belleghem, cofounder of the Council, noting that CaGBC now boasts more than 900 members and 140 registered projects... Read more

EBN

Vol. 12, No. 6), and Steelcase’s Think™ chair from 2004, several chairs were designed based on the Cradle-to-Cradle™ protocol... Read more

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has released a new Guideline 0-2005, “The Commissioning Process,” which describes how to verify that a facility and its systems meet the owner’s project requirements. The guideline will be used by the National Institute for Building Sciences (NIBS) as its... Read more