The American Institute of Architects/Portland (AIA/Portland) now has entry packets available for the 1997 Architecture + Energy Awards: Building Excellence in the Northwest. Any new construction and renovation projects in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, or Washington that are completed at the time of entry are eligible. Jurors for this fifth annual... Read more

This fabric, called

Play it Again Sam, is woven from Fortrel® Ecospun™... Read more

by Bill Lawson. Published by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, P.O. Box 3373, Manuka, ACT 2603, Australia; +61-6-273-1548, +61-6-273-1953 (fax). 135 pages, paperback, AUS$39.95 +$10 for overseas shipping.

This environmental overview of building materials is—quite appropriately—... Read more

Your recent article (

EBN, March 1997), calling for the phase-out of CCA-pressure-treated wood because of the potential disposal problems associated with CCA-treated wood coming out-of-service, is a well written survey of the issue. While we disagree with several points made in the article, it is a... Read more

Cross Creek Initiative (formerly Sus-tainable Development & Construction Initiative), 117 NW 16th Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32601; 352/371-3718, 352/378-6008 (fax). Approx. 150 pages, spiral-bound, $50.

Green Building Materials ’96 provided a forum for building material manufacturers and their... Read more

On January 1st, the Council of American Building Officials (CABO) approved steel framing for residential construction. The CABO listing provides prescriptive requirements for framing houses with light-gauge steel framing (span tables, etc.). Builders not in high-wind areas and high-risk seismic areas will no longer have to get steel framing... Read more

by 1000 Friends of Oregon, 534 SW Third, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97204; 503/497-1000; LUTRAQ@friends.org (e-mail). February 1997, 40-page booklet, $12.

In 1988, the public interest group 1000... Read more

According to the February issue of

Planning, Governor Parris Glen-dening has proposed legislation for Maryland that would combat sprawl by providing economic incentives for businesses that move into abandoned industrial areas and paying for repair of existing roads and sewers instead of creating new ones. The measure would also... Read more

Since the Energy Policy Act of 1992 mandated open access to electric transmission lines, deregulation of the electric utility industry has been like a freight train gathering steam. Although only a handful of states have enacted legislation or executive rules concerning deregulation, the changes are being felt all across the country. Electric... Read more

Environmentalists and other advocates of energy efficiency are justifiably nervous about a deregulated electric utility industry. Under the existing (regulated) system, we as a society have the right, at least in principle, to require that electric power providers act in our common interest. The free-market... Read more

by Wenche Dramstad, James Olson, and Richard Forman. Harvard University Press and Island Press (Island Press, 1718 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20009), 1996. Paperback, 80 pages, $17.95.

This little book is a real treat. With rare brevity, authors Dramstad, Olson, and Forman present key principles of landscape... Read more

Applications are now available for the 1998 EnergyValue Housing Award, which recognizes the successful integration of energy efficiency into new home construction. The Award is administered by the NAHB Research Center, together with the National Association of Home Builders Energy Subcommittee,  Professional Builder... Read more

The Alameda County Waste Management Authority in California has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the creation of a portable

Resourceful Building Showcase. The Showcase, to be displayed at conferences and trade shows, must be made with recycled-content, reused, recyclable, and nontoxic building materials.... Read more

by Peter Yost and Eric Lund (1997).

NAHB Research Center, 400 Prince George’s Blvd., Upper Marlboro, MD 20774; 301/249-4000, www.nahbrc.com. Paperback, 30 pages, free of charge.

by Wesley A. Groesbeck and Jan Striefel, ASLA. Environmental Resources, Inc., 2041 E. Hollywood Avenue, Salt Lake City, UT 84108-3148; 801/485-0280. Paperback, 486 pages, $35 postpaid.

Forintek Canada Corp.’s Sustainable Materials Pro-ject, a leading source of life-cycle information on building materials, has just been incorporated as the not-for-profit

Athena Sustainable Materials Institute (ASMI). The Institute should help address perceptions that the life-cycle data from the project is biased by its... Read more

EBN

Vol. 2, No. 5, the company has been expanding, both in market share and vertical integration within their product area.... Read more

EBN had an opportunity to try out the new straw-based particleboard made by PrimeBoard, Inc. in Wahpeton, North Dakota. We hired a local cabinetry firm to shop-fabricate and install a wall of modular shelving from several 5’ x 10’ (1.5 x 3 m) sheets of 3⁄4”-thick (19 mm) WheatBoard™. We wanted to find out from professional... Read more