As Greenstone Industries and Louisiana-Pacific did in the cellulose insulation industry, U.S. Plastic Lumber (USPL) is now buying up local manufacturers and creating the first truly national brand in recycled plastic lumber. Since acquiring Earth Care Global Holdings, Inc. in March 1996, USPL has been... Read more

The U.S. Department of Energy has issued new

energy performance standards for room air conditioners, boosting minimum performance by about 10%. For the most common size model, the minimum Energy Efficiency Rating (EER)—the ratio of cooling output per unit of cooling input—will increase from 9.0 to 9.8. The new standards,... Read more

The Royal Dutch/Shell Group, one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, announced recently that it would invest $500 million over the next five years in renewable energy technology. The company is setting up a fifth core business,

Shell International Renewables, to broaden its involvement in renewable energy technology, including... Read more

As we note in our feature article, certification of well-managed forests and the products made from them has gone a long way towards raising the level of debate about forest management practices around the world. In terms of changes to on-the-ground practices, however, the impact of this movement is still... Read more

, former editor-in-chief of

Professional Builder magazine, reportedly lost his job after writing an editorial taking issue with the National Association of Homebuilder’s (NAHB) anti-environment stance. Healthy homes builder and author John Bower, writing on the Green-building e-mail discussion group, notes that Carper was... Read more

About the time you receive this, the

EBN staff will be settling into our new Brattleboro digs. We’ve outgrown the space above Alex’s garage and are moving to one of several renovated industrial buildings that once housed the world-renowned Estey Organ Company. Our corporate name has also been changed from West River... Read more

Social awareness and recognition of efforts to reduce car-dependence are evident in the

1997 Builder’s Choice Design and Planning Awards, sponsored by Buildermagazine and the American Institute of Architects' Housing Committee. The "Project of the

Year" is a community of mixed housing types in downtown Foster City, California,... Read more

Interface, Inc.’s subsidiary

Interface Architectural Resources and Herman Miller are forming a joint venture to produce integrated office interiors. The carpet company and the furniture manufacturer will design products to work together, offering more design and layout options for users. Both companies have been leaders in green... Read more

3rd edition, by John Bower. 1997, The Healthy House Institute, 430 N. Sewall Rd., Bloomington, IN 47408. Paperback, 650 pages, $23.95.

by John and Lynn Marie Bower. 1997, The... Read more

The halogen torchiere light fixtures that have been sweeping the lighting world over the past few years are bad news. Not only do they have about the lowest usable-light efficacy (lumens per watt) of any common lighting source—their widespread use in recent years has erased all of the energy savings achieved to date through the use of compact... Read more

Building products database on CD-ROM for Windows™. The Associa-tion for Environment Conscious Build-ing, Nant-y-Garreg, Saron, Llandysul, Carmarthenshire, SA44 5EJ, UK; 01559 370908 (phone), buildgreen@ aol.com (e-mail). Requires Windows 3.1 or later, 8 MB RAM. £31.50 postpaid (about $19.50).

The

Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance has grants available for projects that will advance environmentally sound practices within construction and demolition activities. Maximum grant amount is $75,000. Projects must take place in Minnesota, but applicants need not be based in the State. Application... Read more

As this issue’s feature article points out, some fluorescent lighting equipment can pose a significant risk to both human health and the environment. Lamps contain mercury, one of our most toxic metals. More significantly, as many as half of the ballasts in use in the U.S.—those made before 1979—contain highly toxic... Read more

The

1997 Architecture + Energy Awards from the American Institute of Architecture/Portland Chapter have gone to:

•Pacific Gas Transmission Building in Portland, for energy efficiency;

•Widmer Bros. Brewing Co. Expansion 2, for reuse and renewal;

•... Read more

For over six years, a committee of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has been working to revise the society’s Standard 62-1989, “Ventilation for Acceptable Air Quality.” While the public review draft of the revision was widely felt by practicing engineers to be a big... Read more

A new North American organization,

The Cohousing Network, was officially established on September 21 at the third North American Cohousing Conference in Seattle. The Cohousing Network will take over many of the activities of regional associations, such as the Rocky Mountain CoHousing Association. It will produce

CoHousing: The... Read more