California diverted 48% of its waste stream from landfills in 2002, according to the California Integrated Waste Management Board. A total of 34 million tons (31 million tonnes) of solid waste were diverted last year, a fourfold increase since 1990, when the Integrated Waste Management Act took effect in the state. This law requires every local... Read more

outdoor air, while most consumer interest in these products has come from those looking to improve

indoor air... Read more

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has named the Energy Center of Wisconsin winner of its

2002 Continuing Education Award for Excellence. The private, nonprofit Energy Center has worked with more than one third of the state’s 1,500 architects through its continuing education programs in an effort to improve the energy... Read more

Environmentalists won an important victory on April 3, when the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted in favor of small-scale renewable-energy production. All net-metered solar and wind systems generating less than 1 MW of electricity, along with some hydrogen fuel cells, are exempt, according to CPUC’s decision, from paying a... Read more

On March 5, the province of Quebec adopted North America’s most stringent restrictions on the use of pesticides. The new Pesticide Management Code immediately prohibits the use of the most harmful insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides on public, semipublic, and municipal green spaces except golf courses. By April 2006, this prohibition will... Read more

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Canadian forest-products giant Tembec has completed FSC certification of its 5-million-acre (2 million ha) Gordon Cosens Boreal Forest in northeastern Ontario. This forest, certified by SmartWood, is now the largest North American forest operation to carry FSC certification. By 2005, Tembec intends to certify all 32 million acres (13 million ha... Read more

Smithfield Foods, Inc.—America’s largest producer of hogs and leading processor and marketer of fresh pork and processed meats—plans to build a $20 million

facility to convert swine waste into biodiesel fuel as part of the BEST BioFuel partnership. The facility will convert manure into biomethanol, which can be used to produce biodiesel... Read more

Meanwhile, American Bio-Fuels, LLC, is doing their part to revolutionize biodiesel production. Bio-Fuels is constructing the

first continuous-flow biodiesel facility in the country. At peak production, the Bakersfield, California plant is expected to produce 35 million gallons (132.5 million liters) of biodiesel per year, making it the... Read more

I was just looking at the February issue of

Environmental Building News (

Vol. 12, No. 2) and couldn’t help but notice the article about paints made from vegetable oil (“American Pride – Paint Made from Vegetable Oil”). I have to say that someone appears to have pulled the wool over someone’s eyes. Making paints from vegetable... Read more

Two leaders in the St. Louis green-design community have joined forces to start their own firm,

Hellmuth & Bicknese Architects, LLC, specializing in sustainable design. The firm is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, and principals Dan Hellmuth, AIA, and Ralph Bicknese, AIA, are among the founders of USGBC’s St. Louis... Read more

BP Solar is directing a new marketing campaign toward California homeowners. To encourage demand for residential photovoltaic systems, BP Solar offers financing options; access to California Energy Commission rebates; a full planning, installation, and commissioning service; and an indoor display screen allowing customers to monitor energy... Read more

American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment. This guide is available free of charge as a series of Web pages and downloadable PDF files. Visit

www.aia.org/cote_rfps.

EBN mourns the death of Jeffrey Cook, Regents Professor of Architecture at Arizona State University in Tempe and a pioneer in low-energy, passive solar design, who died of colon cancer on March 27. He chaired several early Passive Solar Conferences, was the founding editor in 1980 of the

Passive Solar Journal, and was a founder of the... Read more

The federal Energy Star

® program is promoting the use of

energy-efficient, low-voltage transformers in new construction and renovations. Low-voltage transformers, which convert the electricity supplied by a utility or larger transformer to the voltage needed by lights, appliances, and equipment, continuously drain energy, even... Read more

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has announced its annual accolades for green power programs. Over 300 energy utilities in 32 states now sponsor green power programs, through which consumers opt to pay a premium price for electricity to support renewable energy. Relying on statistics provided by the utilities, NREL has developed... Read more

Following five years of litigation, Arizona courts have upheld residents’

right to install solar water heaters and photovoltaic panels. When residents of an Avondale, Arizona master-planned community installed solar panels to heat their swimming pools, Garden Lakes Community Association retaliated by filing a lawsuit requiring removal... Read more

is seeking volunteers and donations as they prepare for a

Middle East refugee crisis stemming from the war in Iraq. Iran, bordering both Iraq and Afghanistan—and already estimated to house more refugees than any other country—is bracing for the possible influx of over one million additional Iraqis in coming... Read more

The Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies, based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, will offer a course in

International Sustainable Building and Urban Design this September. The course, intended for mid-career professionals, will include expert workshops, excursions in Germany and Belgium, and participation in the... Read more