BuildingGreen Report

News Analysis

January 1, 1999
Owens Corning Miraflex Now Available for Walls

Owens Corning’s breakthrough binder-free fiberglass insulation, Miraflex® (see

EBN

Vol. 4, No. 1) is now available with a stapling flange for use in 2x4 and 2x6 stud walls. The new wall products were introduced in August 1998 and became available nationally in the fall. Miraflex was... Read more

News Brief

January 1, 1999
Newsbriefs

Maureen McIntyre, longtime editor of the acclaimed

Solar Today magazine (the publication of the

American Solar Energy Society—ASES), has been hired by the Society to organize renewable energy policy activities at the state level. As coordinator of ASES’s “Empowering the States” program, McIntyre will help renewable... Read more

Feature

January 1, 1999
Since 1950, the average house size in the United States has more than doubled, even while the average family size has steadily shrunk. We’re providing more square footage per family member than ever before, and projections are that the trend will continue.

As house size increases, resource use in buildings goes up, more land is occupied, there... Read more

News Brief

January 1, 1999

Organizers of the annual H.O.P.E.S. Eco-Design Arts Conference (see Calendar) are sponsoring a “Design Challenge” on the theme of this year’s conference: Equity and Ecology. Entries in the form of display boards and written explanations must be received by March 26. For details, contact H.O.P.E.S. at 541/346-0719, hopes@laz.uoregon.edu, or on... Read more

News Analysis

January 1, 1999
Only One Wood-Fiber Ceiling Panel Remains

Heraklith-Fiber Rock Canada, manufacturer of wood-fiber-based acoustical ceiling panels, has pulled out of North America, according to the importer, Fiber Rock Canada. This move leaves Tectum as the only wood-fiber-based ceiling panel distributed on the continent. See

EBN

Vol. 7, No. 4... Read more

News Analysis

January 1, 1999
1998 Warmest Year on Record

Preliminary results are in, and 1998 looks like the warmest ever. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced on December 17 that global temperatures in 1998 would be the warmest since recordkeeping began in 1860. The global mean surface temperature for 1998 is estimated to be 1.4°F (0.58°C) above the... Read more

News Brief

January 1, 1999
Mid-Course Correction

by Ray C. Anderson. The Peregrin-zilla Press, Atlanta, 1998 (distributed by Chelsea Green Publishing Co.). Paperback, 200 pages, $17.95

Mid-Course Correction is a very important book. Author Ray Anderson, CEO of the carpet company Interface, Inc., has for several years been inspiring audiences with his personal... Read more

Op-Ed

January 1, 1999
Time to Act on Global Warming

The evidence on global warming has become increasingly hard to dispute: 20 consecutive years with above-average global temperatures, 18 consecutive months that set new all-time monthly temperature records, 1998 temperatures almost three-tenths of a degree Fahrenheit higher than the previous record (page 3). Most... Read more

News Analysis

January 1, 1999
River Salvage Legalized in Florida

The practice of salvaging sinker logs from river bottoms in Florida is legal again—for the first time since 1974. Governor Childs of Florida and his cabinet approved an interim policy that allows and regulates this form of salvage on December 7, 1998. After one year, the program will be carefully... Read more

News Brief

January 1, 1999
The Not So Big House

by Sarah Susanka. Taunton Press, Newtown, Connecticut, 1998. Hardcover, 200 pages, $30

The Not So Big House is a gorgeous book, full of inspiring photographs and imaginative floor plans, that conveys both the how’s and the why’s of designing smaller, more compact houses. Author Sarah Susanka is principal of a 35-... Read more

News Brief

January 1, 1999
Awards & Competitions

Fred Keller of the Carrier Corporation was a recipient of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s

1998 Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award for his leadership in the use of ozone-friendly refrigerants in residential products. Keller, vice president of engineering for Carrier’s Residential and Light... Read more

News Analysis

January 1, 1999
Wood-Plastic Composite Lumber Expands

Trex Co. LLC is building a manufacturing facility in Fernley, Nevada to serve customers in the West with its recycled wood-plastic composite decking. The company plans to begin operations in the Fall of 1999, according to

Plastics News (December 14, 1998), with two around-the-clock production lines... Read more

News Brief

October 1, 1998

Architect and specifier

Dru Meadows has left her position as leader of the Green Team at BSW Architects. In that capacity she worked on the design of several high-profile eco-stores for Wal-Mart. Meadows has also been a leader in efforts to have green building practices recognized appropriately by standards organizations such as the... Read more

Op-Ed

October 1, 1998
Correction:

Our news story in

EBN

Vol. 7, No. 9 (October 1998) on Oakes Hall at the Vermont Law School incorrectly stated the estimated cooling load benefits of the enthalpy wheel. While the article described a two-ton reduction in peak cooling load from the enthalpy wheel, engineer Marc Rosenbaum estimates the actual peak load... Read more

News Analysis

October 1, 1998
EMF May Be Carcinogenic After All

While a number of studies in recent years have downplayed concerns about electromagnetic fields (EMF)—including a report from the American Physical Society (see

EBN

Vol. 4, No. 4)—a working group of experts assembled by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) concluded in... Read more

Product Review

October 1, 1998
A New Chlorine-free Competitor to Vinyl Flooring

If linoleum represents the “back-to-nature” alternative to vinyl flooring, then Stratica is the

Brave New World option.

This new resilient flooring product from the U.K. uses high-tech engineering polymer resins to provide a durable surface and sophisticated patterns similar to... Read more

News Analysis

October 1, 1998
Armstrong Launches Ceiling Tile Recycling Program

Armstrong World Industries, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania has launched an innovative and much-needed program to recycle acoustic ceiling tiles.

The program will defray some of the costs of ceiling tile disposal, while helping to reduce pressure on landfills. On a large commercial building... Read more

News Brief

October 1, 1998

In recognition of the large energy penalty associated with leaky ducts, the

California Energy Commission (CEC) has voted to provide a credit for high-quality ducts in the State’s residential energy code. To qualify for the credit, the home’s duct system must be certified by the installer, and the builder must have an independent party... Read more

Op-Ed

October 1, 1998
New Staff at EBN

We are very excited to announce the recent addition of two outstanding people to our staff.

Dan Woodbury has joined us as our first full-time marketing director, and

Dwight Holmes is our new research associate. With their help we hope to continue serving you as the leading source of reliable green building... Read more

News Brief

October 1, 1998

The

Rocky Mountain Institute is seeking a consultant to join its influential Green Development Services research group. The position requires extensive client interaction, management of multiple projects, and travel. Contact Jen Uncapher at 970/927-3807 or jenu@rmi.org for details.