As of September 1, 2005, Green Building Services will no longer be a division of Portland General Electric (which, in turn, is owned by the bankrupt Enron 
Corporation), but will be an independent, employee-owned company. The new company will continue with its current work, including consulting on LEED projects, reviewing LEED submissions for... Read more

green buildings, significantly more money may be spent... Read more

King County, Washington, home to Seattle, is encouraging builders and developers to incorporate green strategies into their projects. Administered by the King County Department of Development and Environmental Services and the Department of Natural Resources and Parks, the new incentives include assistance during the permit review process,... Read more

Office furniture manufacturer Steelcase, Inc., has committed to halting its use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in time for its 100th anniversary in 2012. The company credits its collaboration with McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) for the decision. Eliminating PVC from edge banding is the first step along that path, according to a... Read more

The U.S. electric power grid reached a new record for power demand during the week ending July 23, 2005, according to a press release from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the association of U.S. shareholder-owned electric companies, international affiliates, and industry associates worldwide. Overtaking the previous record, set in August... Read more

Jessica Boehland, who has been with BuildingGreen since the fall of 2001—she joined us as an intern fresh out of Oberlin College and then moved through the ranks of associate editor and senior editor—has just been promoted to managing editor. In this role, along with continuing her research and writing for

EBN, she will manage the... Read more

New labels demarcating “FSC Pure,” “FSC Mixed Sources,” and “FSC Recycled” products (see

EBN Vol. 14, No. 2) took effect for all FSC certificate holders on July 1, 2005. The labels are available in several languages to serve different markets. For more information, visit www.fsc.org or e-mail trademark@fsc.org.

“The study indicates there is no threshold for the adverse consequences of children’s exposure to lead,” says Bruce Lanphear, M.D., director of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and lead author of a study on the effects of lead on children. Published in the July 2005 issue of... Read more

After leading the building industry in the pursuit of sustainable design in the early 1990s, The American Institute of Architects (AIA) turned its attention elsewhere and stood by as the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), with its LEED� Rating System, became the movement's dominant voice. But interest in green building keeps growing, and AIA... Read more

Through the new Massachusetts Green Communities™ initiative, MassHousing and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) are working with the nonprofit Enterprise Foundation to build 1,000 green affordable homes throughout the state. The Enterprise Foundation will provide up to $75 million in private equity to developers, from the sale of... Read more

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced a call for projects to pilot-test the LEED® for New Construction Application Guide for Retail, developed to tailor LEED credit language to retail projects and to define alternative compliance paths in some areas. The LEED for Retail Committee is seeking 25 to 50 retail projects—preferably... Read more

On August 9, 2005, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced that it has amended its bylaws to accept trade associations as full members. This decision reverses an action taken in the spring of 2004 (see EBN Vol. 13, No. 6), when the board of directors voted to retain the exclusion of trade associations. It opens the door for the... Read more

Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn signed a bill in June 2005 requiring all state-funded projects to achieve LEED® Certification, or equivalent, and requiring that every two years at least two public buildings whose construction will be sponsored by the State of Nevada achieve LEED Silver certification, or equivalent. The law also provides some tax... Read more

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire has signed a bill that calls for paying individuals, businesses, and local governments 15 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity produced by off-grid solar panels, wind turbines, and anaerobic digesters. The incentive rises to up to 54 cents per kWh if certain components are manufactured in Washington. The... Read more