The area of green roofs in the U.S. grew by 80%—from 27 acres (11 ha) to 49 acres (20 ha)—from 2004 to 2005, according to the nonprofit Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC). The area of green roofs in all of North America grew 72%—from 30 acres (12 ha) to 57 acres (23 ha). Chicago is leading the pack with a total of 183,000 ft2 (17,000 m2) of... Read more

The average new, single-family home built in the U.S. in 2004 came in at 2,349 ft2 (218 m2)—13% larger than the average in 1990 and 2.4 times as big as the average in 1950—according to the National Association of Home Builders’ newest “Housing Facts, Figures, and Trends” report, released in March 2006. Of new homes in 2004, 95% had two full... Read more

January 2006. CD-ROM, $499, $429 for ASHRAE members, with an annual updating fee of $290 for nonmembers and $220 for members. A network version also is available. Runs only on Microsoft Windows® operating systems. To order, call 800-527-4723 or 404-636-8400, or visit www.ashrae.org/bookstore.

In January 2006 the American Society of... Read more

“By 2050 new buildings will consume zero net energy from external power supplies and produce zero net carbon dioxide emissions while being economically viable to construct and operate.” That is the goal of an effort led by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), United Technologies Corporation, and Lafarge Group. The... Read more

net increase in wetlands, due to the fact that it... Read more

Ten years ago, we expressed concern over the increase in sales of unvented gas heaters (see

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Vol. 5, No. 3). At that time, sales totaled about 520,000 units per year. In the intervening decade, sales have risen to over one million units per year.

As the name suggests, these heaters do not require chimneys or other... Read more

In December 2005 an editorial in Environmental Building News introduced the concept of “passive survivability,” or a building’s ability to maintain critical life-support conditions if services such as power, heating fuel, or water are lost, and suggested that it should become a standard design criterion for houses, apartment buildings, schools... Read more

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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Vol. 11, No. 1) and our recognition of that product as a 2002 Top-10 Green Building Product helped draw the green... 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

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... 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

CD-ROM released in 2005 by ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA; 610-832-9585; www.astm.org; $193.

ASTM International has released an updated version of its “Sustainability in Buildings” CD-ROM (see

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Vol. 12, No. 7 for a review of the first version). Sponsored by ASTM’s Subcommittee on Sustainability, the CD... Read more