News Analysis
It isn’t just environmental zealots who are up in arms about the U.S. Forest Service’s policies on managing the nation’s timber resources. The Association of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics has jumped into the fray—from the inside. Jeff DeBonis, the Association’s founder and executive director,... Read more
News Analysis
The recent ruling to allow logging on several thousand acres of old-growth forest in western Oregon was portrayed in the national media as a blow to environmentalists, but the action may not prove so damaging in the end. While the ruling permits logging on 13 of the 44 sites that were under consideration by the so-... Read more
News Analysis
A study published in the June 5, 1992, issue of
Science by researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Arizona suggests that smoke emitted into the atmosphere from human activities may be having a significant effect in counteracting... Read more
Product Review
The company's promotional material is the epitome of environmentally friendly packaging—like a Ben & Jerry's annual report. The article reprints sent were even bound in a jacket made from corrugated cardboard. So we were quite intrigued by the product. Syndecrete™ is a lightweight, pre-cast,... Read more
Feature
Carefully stake the building site and driveway, remove trees that are within the excavation area or too close, then erect a fence to keep heavy equipment off fragile soils and away from nearby trees.
Protecting trees and the local ecosystem when building on previously unbuilt land is a vitally important—yet often overlooked—part of environmentally responsible construction. Healthy trees and shrubs can reduce a home’s environmental impact and directly benefit homeowners in a number of ways:
•Enhancing comfort by shielding the house... Read more
Feature
Ozone depletion and global warming are two of our most serious environmental problems—and foam insulation materials containing CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) contribute significantly to both of these problems. The environmentally concerned builder or designer should make it a highest priority to avoid them. Even many of the non-CFC alternatives... Read more
Op-Ed
Introducing the first issue of our newsletter.
Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment. In North America, buildings and the building industry account for about 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, 35-40% of ozone depletion, 20-30% of municipal solid waste, vast quantities of natural resource consumption, and dramatic loss of open space each... Read more
Feature
Susan Maxman is the first AIA president to make sustainable design a priority.
Q.Where would you say architects as a group stand on environmental issues?
A.Architects tend to be reactive rather than proactive. It is important that we take the lead on these environmental issues. The architecture schools in particular tend to be conservative. They just aren’t... Read more
News Brief
The American Institute of Architects convention in Boston this past June was the setting for a changing of the guard in the American architectural establishment. The Institute’s first woman president took the reins, the Committee on the Environment became its largest and fastest growing committee, and the first installments of the Environmental... Read more
Product Guide
Untreated rainwater leaving a developed site is effectively a chemical spill, laden with pollutants that include oil, sediment, heavy metals, nitrogen, and phosphorous. The heat carried by stormwater is also harmful to fish and other aquatic organisms.
BuildingGreen-Approved Systems
We approve systems that:
are designed to... Read moreQuiz
This summit was pre-approved for 3.5 AIA LUs and 3.5 GBCI CE hours.
Please complete the survey questions to confirm your attendance and receive your CEUs.
By providing your credential numbers in your profile, you will enable us to automatically report these CEUs to the organization. Please check your profile to be sure your... Read more
Forum topic
Hey Sages, Just lobbing this over the transome - not sure if anyone else cares :) but this would be a great group to dig in if anyone IS interested.
For the past few years, I've been working on melding two completely separate worlds - our world (with typical project delivery) and the world of Agile (not just software development process... Read more
Forum topic
Hello everyone,
Here's a reminder that our next monthly call will be taking place next Tuesday, September 10th at 2:00pm EST.
Please feel free to join us!
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/661110941
Dial by your location
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)... Read more
Forum topic
Hello friends in the construction group!
I am advising an owner on a huge redevelopment project and - we are of course looking at carbon/embodied carbon from a design perspective - but I remember hearing some of you talking about how you are addressing emissions during construction (including both recommendations related to specific... Read more
Forum topic
Hello Green Gurus!
Quick introduction as this is my first time posting - Louis Koehl, AIA, CPHD, Director of Sustainable Design at Handel Architects, based in NY. I recently joined the SDL Forum and met some of you at the regional summit and Greenbuild. I'm excited to continue to connect with such an influential group!
My... Read more
Forum topic
Hello all,
My name is Stephen Messinger. Thanks for including me in the group. I am excited to get involved. Glad to see some familiar and amazing names on this list.
A little about me: I am born and raised in Massachusetts. I live in Jamaica Plain (Boston) with my wife Lauren and two amazing daughters (Penelope, 4.... Read more
Quiz
Thank you for joining us for this webcast! Please complete the following survey to provide us with feedback and to record the information we need to report your CEUs.
By providing the information in this survey you will enable us to automatically report these CEUs to the appropriate organizations. Everyone attending and seeking CEUs must... Read more
Forum topic
What sorts of boilerplate and legalese will we need on the BIT User site? For example:
Privacy policy Terms & conditions DisclaimerI'm not saying you need any or all of those, but I'm just giving a heads-up in case you need to check with your legal advisor.
I can link to those documents from the site footer.

