Grid-tied solar could have a siginificant role in the smart grid--if we can get the lithium ion battery technology right.

People living off the grid using photovoltaics (PV) or other renewable energy to generate power typically depend on maintaining banks of lead-acid batteries and carefully managing the amount of energy they store and use as... Read more

Most of the area I biked through last spring was parched, including this ranch in New Mexico.  

During my six-week bike ride last spring, I covered nearly 2,000 miles, most of it over land that hadn't seen a drop of rain since the previous fall; some of those areas--mostly in Texas--still haven't gotten significant precipitation. Farmers in... Read more

Back by popular demand, BuildingGreen presents a FREE 1-Hour Webcast on Thursday, December 15, 2011 1 p.m. EST

After presenting this webcast this week to a full house, Alex Wilson is bringing it back next week with an encore performance!

To help professionals make the best design and material choices for their specific projects (and... Read more

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced on December 7, 2011 that, for the first time in its history, the cumulative square footage of buildings certified under its LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED-EBOM) program is greater than LEED-certified new construction. LEED-EBOM certification has risen... Read more

The Passive House Institute U.S. (PHIUS) will no longer give its blessing to projects incorporating spray polyurethane foam insulation (SPF) that uses blowing agents with high contribution to global warming, according to executive director Katrin Klingenberg.

“It does not make any sense at all to use them if one of the major... Read more

Drying your hands requires far more water than washing them, according to a surprising new manufacturer study.

Low-flow faucets and other water-saving fixtures have become a standard water-saving feature in public bathrooms. Unfortunately, it turns out that drying your hands uses a lot more water than washing them--anywhere from 18 to 70... Read more

All alone on Route 118, approaching the Davis Mountains in West Texas.

Back in March I reported that I would be taking leave from this blog as I embarked on an eight-month sabbatical. With support from the Hanley Award I received last year, I was able to take an unpaid leave from BuildingGreen, Inc., for some rejuvenation, reflection, research... Read more

Choosing light bulbs can be a baffling ordeal. An award-winning app uses EPA data to make it simple again.

How many apps does it take to change a light bulb?

Apps can't actually do that yet: you still have to climb on a chair and balance precariously while holding a handful of glass. However, the winner of best overall app in the... Read more

Do you really know the difference between FSC and SFI? Has the federal government ended all our greenwashing woes? Find out below!

We invite you to test your knowledge with this quiz that we came up with covering key questions around when our building products are green, and when they're being greenwashed.

Stumped? We work... Read more

A victim of a hepatitis E infection she picked up unknowingly in Brazil, Genevive Bjorn's liver rebelled against her one night in Hawaii. Her body almost shut down on her, but with help from the hospital, a battery of tests, her watchful boyfriend at her side, and a diet of nothing but rice porridge, she squeaked through.

This... Read more

By Paula MeltonThe long-anticipated rollout of Dow Solar’s Powerhouse photovoltaic (PV) shingles has finally begun, with a handful of pilot installations in Michigan and an agreement with Colorado homebuilder D.R. Horton, which will install the systems on new homes in a Denver suburb.

The Powerhouse shingle is designed to be installed by roofers... Read more

Preliminary data from a number of sources suggests a correlation between heavy traffic and cognitive and behavioral health, according to a report in the

Wall Street Journal titled “The Hidden Toll of Traffic Jams.”

While no causative links have been established, breathing elevated levels of vehicle exhaust has been variously... Read more

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) have agreed to create a common platform for benchmarking the energy performance of commercial buildings.

The new platform will expand the EPA Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool already widely used throughout the U.S. to include Canadian weather... Read more

California’s Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is again coming under fire for its use of wireless-equipped smart meters, this time in the form of a class action lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed by Northern California electromagnetic radiation consulting firm Wilner & Associates, lists ten grievances ranging from alleged... Read more

The WaterSense label will soon apply to its first set of outdoor products, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which administers the WaterSense program. Labeling of landscaping products will begin with the most efficient automatic irrigation control devices.

Rather than working on a timer, eligible devices will... Read more

The second Energy Star National Building Competition, titled “Battle of the Buildings,” has released 2011 results, with the top finalist chalking up a 63.2% reduction in energy use.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), sponsor of the contest, the 245 participating teams saved a total of $5.2 million on utility... Read more

In response to growing demand for greenhouse gas (GHG) information across a company’s or product’s value chain, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP)—an international accounting framework for GHG standards worldwide—has launched two new standards.

Both provide requirements and guidance for companies and other organizations to prepare and... Read more

The greenest building is the one you don’t build, and the cleanest, cheapest energy is the energy you don’t burn. These refrains are commonly heard in the green building community, and now, in a new report, “A Profitable and Resource Efficient Future,” the World Economic Forum (WEF) has put them on a broader stage and added a third... Read more

The eastern two-thirds of the U.S. has greater geothermal potential than some areas in the western portion of the country, claims a new study by Google.org and Southern Methodist University (SMU).

The project estimates that the technical potential for the continental U.S. exceeds 2.9 million megawatts—ten times the capacity of all of... Read more

As global industries begin to measure and report their water use, they should keep in mind all the water they consume, says the Netherlands nonprofit Water Footprint Network, which has developed a new metric for calculating water footprint.

Typical reporting only measures

blue water, the amount of fresh surface and groundwater... Read more