... 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

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

Recognizing the role of construction in the global economy and planetary ecology, in February 2006 the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) launched the Sustainable Building and Construction Initiative (SBCI). Part of UNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry, and Economics (DTIE), SBCI will establish global baselines for green building,... 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 City of Chicago is giving 600 Solargenix Energy, LLC, solar-thermal water heaters to health clubs, laundromats, affordable housing units, and other entities that use a lot of hot water. Recipients will be responsible for installation and maintenance costs. “High gas prices are not going away anytime soon, and we want to make businesses and... Read more

Thirty plants across the U.S. are now producing Energy Star® manufactured homes, according to the Manufactured Housing Research Alliance. A complete list is available at www.mhrahome.org/pages/es_plant_list.htm. Encouraging further development, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (see

EBN

... 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

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

Following its acquisition of Bonded Insulation in July 2005 (see

EBN Vol. 14, No. 11), U.S. GreenFiber, LLC, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has expanded further by acquiring two additional cellulose insulation companies: Blue Sky Manufacturing, Inc., based in East St. Louis, Illinois, and Redi-Therm Insulation, Inc., based in Salt... Read more

Six former administrators of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including five Republicans, called on the Bush administration to impose limits on greenhouse gas emissions, which are contributing to global climate change. “This is a major disaster for the world,” said Russell Train, who served under Presidents Nixon and Ford from... Read more

A Community Approach to Independent Living—The Handbookby Charles Durrett. Published by Habitat Press, Berkeley, California; distributed by Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, California; 2005. Softcover, 249 pages, $29.95.

Sustainable Community

Learning from the Cohousing Modelby Graham Meltzer, Ph.D. Trafford Publishing,... Read more

Continuing the industry-specific discussions held during its November 2006 Greenbuild conference, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has created Member Circle listservs representing ten industry sectors: contractors and builders, product manufacturers, educators, government professionals, architects, engineers, site designers and planners... Read more