Energy and sustainability consultant CTG Energetics, Inc., has announced the opening of its northeast regional office in Providence, Rhode Island. The office is led by Stephen Turner, P.E., a consulting engineer who specializes in mechanical, electrical, and energy systems for buildings and campuses. The northeast office will focus on... Read more

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Broad Knowledge Committee seeks proposals for research projects. AIA will award $7,000 each to ten winning projects “that advance professional knowledge and practice” in a range of areas, including sustainability. Entries are due May 15, 2006. For more information, contact Barbara Sido at bsido@aia.org... Read more

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle signed an executive order in April 2006 supporting green building. The order calls for new State facilities to be 30% more efficient than required by commercial code, and it calls for a 10% reduction of energy usage in all State buildings by fiscal year 2008 and a 20% reduction by fiscal year 2010. The order also... Read more

The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) has released version 1.8 of its Energy-10™ modeling software, compatible with PC computers. The new version features the ability to model the performance of stand-alone or building-integrated photovoltaic systems as well as solar domestic or service water heaters. For more information, visit... Read more

The area of green roofs in the U.S. grew by 80%—from 27 acres (11 ha) to 49 acres (20 ha)—from 2004 to 2005, according to the nonprofit Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC). The area of green roofs in all of North America grew 72%—from 30 acres (12 ha) to 57 acres (23 ha). Chicago is leading the pack with a total of 183,000 ft2 (17,000 m2) of... Read more

In December 2005 an editorial in Environmental Building News introduced the concept of “passive survivability,” or a building’s ability to maintain critical life-support conditions if services such as power, heating fuel, or water are lost, and suggested that it should become a standard design criterion for houses, apartment buildings, schools... Read more

The Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF) is inviting applications to its 21st World Habitat Awards, designed to recognize “practical, innovative, and sustainable solutions to current housing issues faced by countries of the global South as well as the North,” according to BSHF. “Projects are sought that view the term ‘habitat’ from a... Read more

The International Code Council (ICC) has developed Coastal Construction Flood Plain Inspector certification, which indicates “knowledge of general construction provisions, special high wind and load path continuity, special flood hazard areas, detached and accessory structures, and governmental regulations.” Certified individuals will be able... Read more

Lost Mountain, which describes mountaintop-removal... Read more

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New Mexico has become the first state in the U.S. to join the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the nation’s only market-based cap-and-trade system designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The state hopes to reduce its emissions to 2000 levels by 2012, 10% below 2000 levels by 2020, and 75% below 2000 levels by 2050. CCX membership is legally... Read more

When I received this month’s issue of

EBN [Vol. 15, No. 2], with its feature article extolling the virtues of polished concrete floors, I did a double take. Although I am drawn to concrete as a “modernist’s” material of choice, I believe it is of questionable value as an environmentally friendly choice.

It is difficult to... Read more

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced the 2006 inductees into its College of Fellows, among the highest honors bestowed upon members. Several of this year’s Fellows have contributed to green design:

•G. Z. (Charlie) Brown, professor of architecture at the University of Oregon, founder and director of the school’s... Read more

A federal appeals court has overturned a policy that would have allowed power plants, refineries, and other industrial facilities to upgrade without also updating their pollution-control equipment. While the New Source Review program of the Clean Air Act ensured that older plants would clean up emissions whenever they performed upgrades beyond... Read more

Recognizing the role of construction in the global economy and planetary ecology, in February 2006 the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) launched the Sustainable Building and Construction Initiative (SBCI). Part of UNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry, and Economics (DTIE), SBCI will establish global baselines for green building,... Read more

New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to turn over information about the levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in paints and similar products. Because VOCs contribute to smog and respiratory problems, EPA has limited the amount of VOCs that paints... Read more

Disturbing old farmland can release pesticides applied more than 100 years ago, contaminating surface water, according to Dartmouth researchers. The researchers found that lead and arsenic, widely applied as lead arsenate pesticide on orchards in the late 1800s and well into the 1900s, have become part of the fine silt and organic matter in the... Read more

The City of Chicago is giving 600 Solargenix Energy, LLC, solar-thermal water heaters to health clubs, laundromats, affordable housing units, and other entities that use a lot of hot water. Recipients will be responsible for installation and maintenance costs. “High gas prices are not going away anytime soon, and we want to make businesses and... Read more