Quick: what’s the worst design mistake you’ve ever made?

Chances are it had something to do with heat and moisture transfer: cavity insulation that molded because it couldn’t dry; a roof damaged by moisture-laden air leakage; a cold steel stud on which water condensed, wicking into surrounding materials.

Heat and... Read more

A new study supporting the encapsulated use of fly ash in building products is a strong clue as to how EPA might shape pending regulation.

Although concentrations of these potentially toxic elements are in most cases higher in cement with fly ash than in portland cement, EPA has determined there is little risk of... Read more

Use of hazardous materials and lack of third-party certification doomed sixth-grader Brittany Stanford’s chances at the Daytona Daze Sandcastle Contest.

April 1, 2014

Red-listed materials were removed from the mermaid sandcastle (top) and destroyed by the ILFI hazmat crew (bottom).

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NanoAir uses a proprietary blend of “beyond nano” ingredients that might just change people’s perceptions of insulation.

by Herb Chertnil

April 1, 2014

NanoAir is impressing green materials experts with its light weight, high insulating value, and low toxicity.

Photo: Lard Anemone... Read more

Global Weirding Wonders Why No One Listens To It With global warming being declared dead as a result of the polar vortex, Global Weirding feels strangely vindicated but also lonesome.

April 1, 2014

Now a pariah, Global Weirding previously had a career as a baseball mascot and was happily... Read more

BuildingGreen and Environmental Building News founder Alex Wilson crisscrosses the globe to spread his climate-change preparedness gospel.

April 1, 2014

The exhaust system on the BuildingGreen corporate jet was modified to write an important message over Sydney, Australia

Photo:... Read more

Saying it “just couldn’t choose a favorite,” the U.S. General Services Administration has picked all the major green rating systems to certify its buildings.

 

April 1, 2014

This adorable hound, dubbed Olive Green by her handlers, is the very first Weimaraner hired to sniff out... Read more

Shifting focus toward fully insulated forms, Passive House advocates urge designers to “trash that unvernünftig spreadsheet already.”

April 1, 2014

PHI founder and destroyer Wolfgang Feist wants “inefficient monstrosities” like this Vermont passive house, with its “unforgivably drafty”... Read more

The “GUID-gate” scandal that has rocked the green building world and brought the construction industry to a virtual standstill may be winding down.

 

April 1, 2014

In an emotional interview with Barbara Walters, Pyke maintained he had done nothing wrong and was only teary-eyed because he... Read more

“You’ve got LEED” is the welcoming motto of the new LEED Online (LOL) interface, which has recently been optimized for more World Wide Web browsers, including Netscape Navigator.

“This is an exciting step forward in LEED project documentation to enhance the rollout of LEED v4,” Sarah Alexander, director of LEED certification for the U.S... Read more

A California company, Blue Planet, is reinventing concrete and envisions a world in which the 8 billion tons of concrete used each year sequester billions of tons of carbon dioxide. Pouring the foundation for our Dummerston Home; someday soon, concrete may be able to sequester huge quantities of carbon.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

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Our house cost a lot more than I would have liked, but many of the ideas used in it could be implemented more affordably. We picked up these two salvaged garage doors for $500 total—while new they would have cost $3,500 apiece. Using salvaged materials can save a lot of money.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

My wife and I... Read more

An Integrative Process expert shows how to unlock first cost and operational savings

What does integrative process mean in practice? A new BuildingGreen webcast—Building as an Organism: Understanding the Integrative Process Credit in LEED v4—features expert John Boecker, AIA, LEED Fellow, who was intimately involved in writing LEED v4’s... Read more

Induction cooktops respond quickly, avoid gas combustion, are tops in energy efficiency, and limit risk of burns. Our induction cooktop blends in well with our matt-black Richlite countertop. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

One of our early decisions in the planning for our farmhouse renovation/re-build was... Read more

Submission entries are now open for the EBie Awards, which recognize those who make existing buildings more sustainable.

Organized by Urban Green Council, this year’s EBie Awards celebration will be held June 9, 2014 at the Hard Rock Café Theater in New York City. It’s a night that Urban Green likens to the Oscars, with a twist: guests pause... Read more

We chose a heat pump water heater for our new house, and as I've recently discussed here, there are a lot of reasons why you might be doing the same.

Using an air-source heat pump, heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) extract heat out of the air where they are located to heat the water.

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Perennial Wood, preserved through acetylation, which avoids common toxic chemicals, has been discontinued by Eastman Chemical. In a sign of weakness in the market for treated wood alternatives, the manufacturer of Perennial Wood, Eastman Chemical Company, has announced that the product will be discontinued.

Perennial Wood met its demise due to... Read more

Energy reporting in the Emerald City reveals 41% of large buildings are Energy Stars, while the most wasteful buildings could save millions on energy bills. Owners of the worst-performing buildings in Seattle could save $55 million a year by reducing their energy use 25%, according to a report released by the City. Seattle is one of a handful of... Read more

Input from practitioners is needed, says Architecture 2030, to develop a more readable format for life-cycle data and environmental product declarations.

The promise of a “nutrition label for building products” has seemed within reach for some time now (see “The Product Transparency Movement: Peeking Behind the Corporate Veil”). But it’s not... Read more

The New City Energy Project brings mayors from ten U.S. cities together to make their cities’ large buildings more energy efficient. Ten major U.S. cities will receive funding to get their energy-efficiency programs for large buildings off the ground through a new initiative launched by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the... Read more