BuildingGreen Report

News Brief

November 1, 2001

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority released two

Program Opportunity Notices announcing nearly $2 million in funding for high efficiency lighting products and demonstrations (PON 629-01, $1.2 million) and heating and cooling (PON 649-01, $750,000). Proposals for both are due in late November. Details are... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2001

by Dan Imhoff, forewords by Randy Hayes and Sim Van der Ryn, 2001. Watershed Media, Healdsburg, CA; 707/895-3490,

www.watershedmedia.org. Paperback, 136 pages, $22 plus shipping.

Building With Vision is a rare mix of philosophy, practical information on building materials and practices, and superb visual presentation. Following... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2001

David L. Crawford is a recipient of the

2001 Presidential Award from the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), for his work in creating awareness of sky brightness and light pollution, and leadership in promoting outdoor lighting to reduce sky brightness. The award was presented at the August 6, 2001 Honors Luncheon... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2001

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation headquarters, previously cited in

EBN as the first (so far, the only) building to earn a LEED™ Platinum rating, now has more high-profile kudos. The building is one of 11 winners of the

5th Annual Business Week

/Architectural Record Awards, selected from among 192 applicants and 19 finalists... Read more

Product Review

November 1, 2001

While green roofs can be created using a wide range of components and configurations, nearly all involve an integral relationship between the roof membrane and the growing medium—typically through an intermediate drainage layer. Often, green roof systems are sold as part of a new roofing package. Introduced in August, GreenGrid™ takes a... Read more

News Analysis

November 1, 2001

EcoTimber, of Berkeley, California, one of the nation’s oldest and most respected distributors of FSC-certified wood products, was sold in October to Hayward Lumber, headquartered in Monterey. Actually, at the time of closing, EcoTimber represented only the flooring and decking division of the original company; the company’s hardwood lumber... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2001

On June 1

commercial clothes washers with volumes of 3.5 ft

3 (100 l) or less were added to the list of Energy Star®-qualified products. Until then, the program was limited to residential washers. To qualify, a washer must have a Modified Energy Factor (MEF) of 1.26 or higher—the same as the standard for residential washers. This... Read more

Feature

These roofs are not just green, they're alive.

November 1, 2001

 

Mayor Richard Daley saw his first planted roofs several years ago while visiting Chicago’s sister city of Hamburg, Germany. At the same time, he was learning about urban heat islands (in which our urban areas maintain temperatures considerably higher than surrounding suburban and rural areas). He was particularly attuned to the urban... Read more

News Brief

October 1, 2001

CD-ROM of 46 technical papers, 2001. Send a check (made out to “Tides Center/Ecological Building Network”) to: Bruce King, Ecological Building Network, 209 Caledonia Street, Sausalito, CA 94965. Price: $70 + $10 shipping

The First International Conference on Ecological Building Structure, held July 5-9, 2001 in San Rafael, California,... Read more

News Analysis

October 1, 2001
Just about 20 years ago, a young, innovative Chicago-area home builder named Perry Bigelow came up with the idea of really putting his money where his mouth was: he

guaranteed that every one of his homes would have annual heating costs less than $100. “My competitors just tore us up over this, claiming it must be bogus because it just could not... Read more

Product Review

October 1, 2001
We recently reported in an article on autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) that there appeared to be just two such manufacturers in the U.S. (EBN

Vol. 10, No. 6). We are pleased to report that we were off by at least one! E-Crete, whose plant is located in Casa Grande, Arizona (near Phoenix), has been producing AAC blocks since December 2000. The... Read more

News Analysis

October 1, 2001

At the August 2001 National Hardware Show in Chicago the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced the latest Energy Star®-labeled product: residential ceiling fans. Working closely with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Ecos Consulting, and the residential fan industry, EPA developed airflow efficiency, controls, and... Read more

News Brief

October 1, 2001

Edited by Lynne Elizabeth and Cassandra

Adams, 2000. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

New York. Hardcover, 392 pages, $70.

Alternative Construction provides a

terrific overview of various methods

for building with earth, straw, and

bamboo. With writings from over 30

authors—many of them experts or

... Read more

News Analysis

October 1, 2001

Evergreen Nylon Recycling, the joint venture between Honeywell and DSM Chemicals (see

EBN

Vol. 8, No. 9), has ceased operations indefinitely. The facility was slated to process 200 million pounds (90 million kg) of used carpet annually, producing 100 million pounds (45 million kg) of caprolactam, the building block of nylon 6.... Read more

Op-Ed

October 1, 2001

The tragedies of September 11th are almost too horrible to comprehend. We were fortunate at

EBN that no close friends or family members were killed or injured at the World Trade Center or the Pentagon. Our staff joins the millions around this country and the world in mourning the loss of life that occurred that day. We hope and pray... Read more

News Brief

October 1, 2001

A $150,000 grant from the U.S. EPA is funding research by the New Buildings Institute (NBI) of White Salmon, Washington, to

assess actual energy use of newly constructed buildings. NBI will work with subcontractors Eley Associates of San Francisco and Architectural Energy Corporation of Boulder, Colorado on the project. Using the Energy... Read more

Op-Ed

October 1, 2001

Kudos for tackling the heavy issue of life-cycle analysis in plastic building materials in your article “Plastics in Construction” (Vol. 10, No. 7/8). Although we agree that a “full discussion of LCA” and other comparative analysis would require far more than a nine-page article, it concerns us nonetheless that your readers may interpret some... Read more

News Brief

October 1, 2001

The Devens Enterprise Commission, the permitting authority for redevelopment of the former Fort Devens army base in north central Massachusetts, has created

a green building incentive program tied to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED™ rating system. The program offers a 15% reduction in development permit fees, up to $10,000 per... Read more

News Analysis

October 1, 2001
The benefits of gypsum (CaSO4 · 2H2O) as a soil amendment are well established: gypsum improves soil tilth, particularly in clayey soils, and effectively displaces the sodium in soils that have high salt content. Research has shown that applying ground-up scrap gypsum board gives the same benefits as agricultural-grade gypsum at rates of up to 22... Read more

News Brief

October 1, 2001

by Guy Dauncey with Patrick Mazza, 2001. New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, British Columbia. Paperback, 270 pages, $19.95.

For anyone interested in nuts-and-bolts strategies for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, this is a must-read.

Stormy Weather begins with an introduction providing clear and engaging explanations of global... Read more