by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. North Point Press, New York, 2002. Plasticback, 194 pages, $24.95.

After seven months of making herself invaluable as an intern,

Jessica Boehland (pronounced “BEE-lend”) has agreed to accept a permanent position as

EBN’s

Associate Editor. Originally from Duluth, Minnesota, Boehland graduated in 2001 from Oberlin College, where she was a student in Dr. David Orr’s Environmental Studies... Read more

The

DOE office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is going through a major restructuring by Assistant Secretary for EERE David Garman. Announced in mid-March and to take effect on May 1, the changes will streamline operations of the office, reducing the number of layers in the EERE hierarchy from as many as eight currently... Read more

Energy Star™, a program managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with assistance from the Department of Energy, recently announced its 2002 award winners for businesses and organizations that have taken decisive action to protect the environment through energy efficiency. Included among the 36... Read more

United Kingdom’s first cardboard building.

Buro Happold Engineers collaborated with Cottrell & Vermeulen Architecture to create the single-story, 20- by 50-foot (6 x 15 m) structure, which will serve as a meeting space and teaching tool for the town’s... Read more

At the fourth annual National Green Building Conference in Seattle, the NAHB Research Center announced the following winners of the

2002 National Green Building Awards:

Wesley Miller of Tucson, Arizona, president of John Wesley Miller Companies, the developer of Armory Park del Sol.

•... Read more

A risky experiment is about to unfold in the forest certification community. As explained in SCS Launching Its Own Forest Certification System, Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) is planning to launch a forest certification scheme (Cross and Globe) that will compete with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. While it’s far too... Read more

On March 21, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) announced the beginning of their

$14.6 million “Green Buildings Program” that will provide grants for projects throughout the state. The two components of the program are the Green Schools Initiative (in cooperation with the Department of Education) and the Green Buildings... Read more

by E. S. Stevens. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2002. Hardcover, 248 pages, $29.95.

Green Plastics is deceptive; this book covers much more than biodegradable plastics. Readers with interest in plastics or polymer chemistry will find a wealth of information on conventional—petroleum-based—plastics as well.... Read more

In our March issue (

EBN

Vol. 11, No. 3), we mistakenly stated that the AIA’s

Environmental Resource Guide (ERG) is out of print. The 1996 print ERG (ISBN: 0-471-14043-0) is still available for $250.00. Print ERG supplements from 1997 (0-471-17982-5) and 1998 (0-471-18376-8) cost $150.00 each. Finally, the 1999 ERG CD-ROM... Read more

The mammoth

Larson B Ice Shelf in Antarctica has disintegrated, possibly due to global warming, say scientists. According to a Planet Ark story on March 20, scientists at the British Antarctic Survey predicted four years ago that the ice shelf would eventually disintegrate, but they were “astounded by the speed of the breakup.” The 1,... Read more

The

Northeast Green Building Awards, sponsored by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, were announced at the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association’s (NESEA) Building Energy 2002 conference on March 21 in Medford, Massachusetts. The winners are:

Such was the case with the California College of Arts & Crafts renovation project in San Francisco. The approach taken with heating defies conventional wisdom.

In the renovation of this 1951 Skidmore, Owings & Merrill... Read more

MRT E-Z Joint... Read more

Forest and wood-product certification may never be the same. In a dramatic development, Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) of Oakland, California, one of two organizations in North America that certify timberlands according to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) guidelines, is launching its own forest certification brand. At this month’s... Read more

Quite often in the greenbuilding arena we come across strategies or ideas that offer multiple levels of benefit. For example, some of the best stormwater management practices improve aquifer recharge while reducing flooding and nutrient loading downstream. Or, consider straw-based particleboard, which is made from a waste agricultural material... Read more

The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), have begun

a multimillion-dollar “green” renovation of their 1930s Motherhouse in Monroe, Michigan. The building serves as a retirement and healthcare facility for 250 of their senior members. The completed renovation, expected in 2003, will feature increased daylighting, a... Read more

Studies conducted by Al Nichols Engineering, Inc., an independent engineering firm, show that

energy and water use in houses at the Community of Civano (see

EBN

Vol. 9, No. 7) is significantly lower than that of typical area homes. Energy use in houses at Civano for the 12-month period ending August 31, 2001 is 50% lower... Read more

G. Z. Brown and Mark DeKay. John Wiley & Sons, 2001. Paperback, 382 pages, $54.95.

Unlike some titles, in which I can read selections, skim the rest, and get the gist in a couple of hours, this book takes work! Each time I’ve... Read more