iiSBE Isn’t Out to Compete

I appreciated the good coverage you provided on the SB2000 conference and the GBC process (

EBN

Vol. 10, No. 1). You also quoted David Gottfried as expressing a concern that iiSBE’s organizers were “...actively undermining his efforts to promote the World Green Building Council. “ I think a little... Read more

On December 5,

the nation’s smallest commuter rail system began operation in Burlington, Vermont. The Champlain Flyer carries passengers just 13 miles (21 km)—between downtown Burlington and Charlotte. The rail service is initially free, but a charge will be imposed by April, when frequency of train trips is expected to increase to 10... Read more

Industry-wide Takeback Program for Carpet

One of the most dramatic transformations in the world of building products appears to be under way in the carpet industry. On January 18, the Midwestern Workgroup on Carpet Recycling announced that all stakeholders have agreed on a national carpet takeback program. Under this plan, manufacturers would... Read more

Recycled-content EPS Insulation from Polar Industries

Polar Insulation Foam Panel Products

Polar Industries of Prospect, Connecticut, manufactures a line of rigid foam insulation building products using recycled expanded polystyrene (EPS). EPS scrap from Polar building product and packaging plant operations, as well as waste... Read more

The

Earth Day Top Ten design competition that we announced last November (

EBN

Vol. 9, No. 11) has been recast due to last-minute intervention by The American Institute of Architects’ top brass. It is now named the “

AIA Top Ten,” with a new submission deadline of March 31, 2001. Details should be online by the... Read more

Ray Anderson

has announced that he is stepping down as CEO of Interface, Inc., effective July 1, 2001. He will stay on as Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board. Succeeding Anderson as CEO will be

Daniel T. Hendrix, presently Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

In an unrelated... Read more

Appliance Energy Standards Announced

Hailed as one of the biggest environmental achievements of the Clinton Administration, the Department of Energy issued four new Final Rules on minimum standards for the energy efficiency of appliances and HVAC equipment shortly before the changing of the guard on January 20. The new rules go into effect... Read more

The Real Goods Solar Living Center in Hopland, California covers 12 acres (4.9 ha) with carefully restored wetlands, oak-savanna habitat, organic gardens, and edible landscaping. Where once there were flash-flood-prone gullies almost devoid of soil, today visitors to the demonstration center can listen to songbirds as they walk along the paths or... Read more

The

Cusano Environmental Education Center at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, billed as Philadelphia’s first green building, opened on January 20, 2001. Designed by Susan Maxman & Partners, the project incorporates many green strategies and technologies, including geothermal heating and cooling, daylighting, certified and... Read more

Armstrong World Industries

and

Owens Corning have joined more than 20 other companies in filing for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code because of financial pressures resulting from asbestos-related liability. There currently are approximately 173,000 and 460,000 personal claims against Armstrong and Owens... Read more

A new car-sharing program was launched last November in San Francisco. Joining similar programs in Portland and Seattle,

City CarShare began with 30 members, a handful of vehicles, and 12 parking spaces set aside at four city-owned parking garages. Members pay a one-time refundable fee of $300 to join, a $10 monthly administrative fee,... Read more

Austin Promotes Smart Growth

Austin, Texas now has two-plus years of experience with its innovative incentive program to encourage smart growth. With this point-based system, a developer can earn enough points to waive some or all of the city’s development fees and increase the ceiling on city-paid infrastructure improvements needed for the... Read more

In January 2000 (

Vol. 9, No. 1), we reported on the just-released

National Resources Inventory (NRI) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, which tracks land uses every five years. The 1997 USDA figures, it turns out, were incorrect due to a software error. The reported rate at which open... Read more

The

National Conference on Building Commissioning is now accepting nominations for the third annual Benner Award, a prize for excellence in efforts to make commissioning business as usual. Nominations are due March 1, 2001. Criteria and instructions are available at:

www.peci.org/ncbc/2001/benner.html.

Green Building on the Move

EBN has received notice of quite a few new green builder programs, prompting us to take stock of this indicator of growth in the green building market. The list below includes local and state programs for rating private-sector buildings, primarily homes. There are many more programs—alliances, networks,... Read more

Perspective:

Hospice Ecology

Reading dozens of environmental publications and hundreds of e-mailed news stories each month gives one a pretty tough skin. There’s a lot of depressing stuff going on—from mushrooming sprawl, to increasing incidence of asthma in children, to almost-daily new evidence of global warming. Somehow I manage... Read more

On January 15, 2001 Maharaj Muthoo took over as the new Executive Director of the

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Dr. Muthoo has a doctorate from the University of Oxford and has devoted the past 30 years to issues of social and economic development and environmental management. For 15 years, he was the Director of Forestry Operations... Read more

In 1984, renowned “sound tracker” Gordon Hempton ferreted out 21 locations in Washington State that were free of all human-generated sound for 15 consecutive minutes. Last year, he found that just three remained. In Minneapolis, $164 million has been spent since 1992 soundproofing homes in the vicinity of the airport, with retrofitting costs this... Read more

Steve Nadel

has been appointed the new Executive Director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Nadel follows Howard Geller, who led ACEEE for 20 highly productive years. Since 1993, Nadel has been deputy director of the organization; before that he had worked as an energy analyst for New England Electric and director... Read more

The Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act

, signed into law by President Clinton in late October, includes a $65 million (20%) increase in DOE funding for research in renewable energy technologies. Funding for these activities in Fiscal Year 2001 will be $375 million. EPA also received a $123 million (19%) increase in funding for its... Read more