A class-action lawsuit against DuPont was finalized in February 2005, resulting in a $108 million settlement (see

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Vol. 13, No. 11 for more on the tentative settlement). DuPont was charged with polluting the drinking water of several Ohio and West Virginia communities with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8,... Read more

Green Projects and one

Special Recognition from among more than 60 entries. This year’s jury included Bob Berkebile, FAIA, of Berkebile Nelson Immerschuh McDowell (BNIM) Architects; Daniel Nall, FAIA, of Flack & Kurtz, Inc.; Henry Siegel, FAIA, of Siegel & Strain... Read more

U.S. net imports of petroleum reached a record level in 2004, coming in at 57.8% of all petroleum used, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), a statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Energy. Just over 19% of those imports came from the Persian Gulf countries. EIA is online at www.eia.doe.gov.

The North Carolina State Energy Office named Raleigh-based Innovative Design, Inc.,

North Carolina’s Energy Champion in March 2005. Led by Michael Nicklas, FAIA, Innovative Design has been incorporating active and passive solar design, energy efficiency, and other green features into its buildings since its beginnings in 1977. More... Read more

Environmental Health Perspectives. About 15% of that cost burden can be attributed to the emissions of coal-fired power plants, according to the study, which was performed by... Read more

The third-party certifier Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) confirmed in March 2005 that Owens Corning has increased the average recycled content of its fiberglass insulation from 30% to 35%. The insulation now includes 9% post-consumer and 26% post-industrial recycled content. (For more information about insulation, see

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Vol. 13, No. 3) is seeking presentation proposals for its upcoming conference, Building Materials Reuse and Recycling: Decon ’05. The conference will be held November 7 and 8, 2005, in Atlanta, just before the U.S. Green Building Council’... Read more

At press time, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire was expected within days to sign into law a bill passed on March 30, 2005, by the Washington State legislature requiring Silver-level certification through the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Rating System for all major construction projects built with public funds. Executive orders and... Read more

The Marco Island City Council voted four to two in March 2005 to ban artificial turf, in response to a dispute between homeowner Ed Ehlen and his neighbors (see

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Vol. 14, No. 2). While Ehlen argued that his synthetic lawn’s water savings made it environmentally friendly, the city council countered that the lawn’s rubber... Read more

With the March 2005 approval of Resolution 6644, Scottsdale, Arizona, became the first city in the nation to require that all new city-owned buildings achieve a LEED® Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The resolution applies to buildings of any size, as long as the green features have an anticipated payback period... Read more

•The Association... Read more