BuildingGreen Report

Product Review

May 1, 2004
Solargenix Energy, LLC is moving full-steam ahead on several exciting fronts in the solar-thermal industry. Solargenix began as Solar Roof International in 1987 with a number of partners including the architecture firm Innovative Design of Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1997, with the Israeli company Solel Solar Systems as a partner, the company... Read more

News Brief

May 1, 2004

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) announced the winners of the

2004 National Green Building Awards in March during their Green Building Conference in Austin, Texas.

Tom Hoyt, co-owner of McStain Enterprises in Boulder, Colorado, was named

Green Advocate of the Year. Hoyt has built more than 8,000... Read more

News Brief

May 1, 2004
EarthCraft House Communities is now in its pilot phase. Building on their successful EarthCraft House program (see

EBN

Vol. 8, No. 10), Southface Energy Institute designed the Communities program to address the environmental performance of individual homes as well as neighborhood design, site modification, and community education. Four... Read more

Feature

May 1, 2004
We have almost a heaven and hell,” says Pauline Souza, of Chong Partners Architecture in San Francisco, describing her firm’s successes and frustrations at greening their work. Mid-sized and large design firms carry a lot of cachet, and clients tend to follow their advice more readily than they follow the suggestions of sole practitioners or small... Read more

News Brief

May 1, 2004
Karl Bren has left the Virginia Housing Development Authority to form his own consulting firm,

GreenVisions Consulting. Bren has been a leading advocate of green building and sustainable development in Virginia since the early 1990s, when he founded the Virginia Housing and the Environment Network (VaHEN). In his new role, he will consult and... Read more

News Brief

May 1, 2004

Emerging Green Builders has announced its second annual

USGBC Design Competition, intended to engage and recognize environmentally conscious students and professionals new to the building industry. In order to compete, current students and professionals with less than three years of experience in the building industry are invited to... Read more

News Brief

May 1, 2004

When the

Bush Administration attempted to lower energy-efficiency standards set by the Clinton White House (from SEER 13 to SEER 12), a coalition of consumer organizations and attorneys general challenged the move. The Second Court of Appeals in New York City rejected the Bush plans (see

EBN

Vol. 13, No. 2), but air-... Read more

Op-Ed

May 1, 2004
Energy and Environmental Policies of the Bush AdministrationTo say that I’m discouraged with energy and environmental policy trends is an understatement. As someone with a generally optimistic outlook, I keep assuming that the policies of the current Administration can’t get any worse. But then I open the morning paper or turn on the radio and... Read more

News Analysis

May 1, 2004
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced on April 15 that president and CEO

Christine Ervin is stepping down from her leadership role.

Rick Fedrizzi, founder and president of Green-Think, Inc., and founding chairman of USGBC, has been selected to fill her position in an acting capacity. According to the Council, “The change is... Read more

News Brief

May 1, 2004

Scientific Certification Systems, Inc.has released an

Indoor Air Quality Performance certification program for interior products. The program is designed to demonstrate product conformance with the indoor emissions limits associated with California’s Section 01350 specification, as well as emission criteria in the LEED

® Rating... Read more

Op-Ed

May 1, 2004

In

EBN’s March feature article, “Wire and Cable” (

Vol. 13, No. 3), the sidebar “Is Fluorine Worse than Chlorine?” may have needlessly alarmed readers in its attempt to summarize the large amount of available information on perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in a short amount of text. The key point is that consumer and industrial... Read more

News Brief

April 1, 2004
Oscar J. Boldt Construction recently completed work on a 720 ft

2 (67 m

2)

green construction trailer, stationed at the construction site of an office building outside Green Bay for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (designed to achieve LEED Silver certification). The Boldt team used improved insulation; energy-... Read more

News Brief

April 1, 2004

The Roanoke Regional Housing Network is busy planning

C2C Home, an international housing design and construction competition based on the principles described in

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way we Make Things by William McDonough, FAIA, and Michael Braungart (see book review in

EBN

Vol. 11, No. 5).... Read more

Product Review

April 1, 2004
A unique outdoor light fixture from MoonCell, Inc. provides off-grid illumination using both solar and wind power. The Enviro-Lum™ luminaire is mounted on a pole between 12 and 15 feet (3.5 to 4.5 m) high, and is recommended for use in remote or environmentally sensitive locations. Each Enviro-Lum uses 12 one-watt Luxeon® LEDs (light-emitting... Read more

News Brief

April 1, 2004

Stakeholder meetings for the two Task Groups working under the auspices of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Technical and Scientific Advisory Committee (TSAC) were held on February 17 and 18, 2004 in Washington, D.C. (see

EBN

Vol. 12, No. 12 for background). The two issues being examined are

the use of HCFC... Read more

News Analysis

April 1, 2004

An October 2003 report titled “An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security” has generated a flurry of media attention. The study was prepared by the Global Business Network for the U.S. Department of Defense’s internal think tank, the Office of Net Assessment. The report defines a worst-case global... Read more

News Brief

April 1, 2004

A new ad campaign is targeting kids between the ages of 8 and 13 in an effort to reduce energy use in homes. The three-year campaign, funded by the Ad Council, Energy Outreach Colorado, and a number of other partners, uses television, radio, and Internet public-service announcements to

teach children to become

“Energy Hog... Read more

Op-Ed

April 1, 2004

After reading about results published in the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) study as they pertain to linoleum emissions (as described in “California Releases Data on Indoor Emissions,”

EBN Vol. 13, No. 2), many of our customers have contacted us with questions.

Forbo Linoleum, Inc. was an active volunteer in... Read more

News Analysis

April 1, 2004

Philips Lighting, Forbo Flooring, The Invironmentalists, Johnson Controls, Johnson Diversey, and Milliken Carpets have teamed up to create the Alliance for Sustainable Built Environments. This loosely woven network of like-minded companies aims to promote awareness of sustainability while enhancing business opportunities for its members. “Our... Read more

News Brief

April 1, 2004

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the NAHB Research Center have announced the names of the people who will work to develop the voluntary

Model Green Home Building Guidelines. The 59 stakeholders represent homebuilders, environmentalists, government agencies, and a number of trade organizations. Each stakeholder is... Read more