The first issue of

EnvironmentalBuilding News was mailed out one year ago to a few hundred subscribers. Six issues later, we have a respectable circulation of well over 1,000. Judging from feedback received, we’re succeeding in what we set out to do: provide useful, unbiased information on how to make buildings... Read more

The Drawing-Room Graphic Services, Ltd., Box 86627, North Vancouver, B.C. V7L 4L2, Canada. $40.66/year in Canada (includes GST), U.S. $46 in the U.S.

Sol Plan Review is the thinking builder’s guide to advanced Canadian home­building. Considering how much governmental support there has been for... Read more

The NAHB’s “Builder of the Year,” Realen Homes of Philadelphia, has hired award-winning architect and landscape architect Leslie Gallery to develop a green plan for the company. Early efforts are focusing on protecting vegetation during sitework, but eventually all aspects of the process are to be addressed.

Dear Mr. MacArthur,

I thought your article in EBN (Vol. 2, No. 3) on “Water-based Poly­urethanes” was useful and timely. We now routinely recommend a water-based finish for health reasons, especially if it is applied in cold weather when adequate ventilation is difficult. Did you try a product called “... Read more

Steve Loken. 1993. Center for Resourceful Building Technology, PO Box 3866, Missoula, MT 59806; 406/549-7678. 56 pages. $12.50 postpaid.

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) is planning a demonstration building project that will exhibit energy- and resource-efficient technologies and provide office and meeting space for NESEA and affiliated organizations. The “Northeast Sustainability Center” is slated to be built in 1994 in the five-college area of western... Read more

Architecture Schools?

Dear Editor,

I am an architecture student in the first year of a Master of Architecture program. The school which I now attend, despite having an excellent program, places little emphasis on energy efficiency and environmental consciousness in design. I am looking for a school with such a... Read more

An excellent workshop entitled “Sustainable Design Solutions” was given by engineer Marc Rosenbaum at the American Solar Energy Society conference and several other locations. Four- or six-hour versions of his workshop can be arranged for interested groups across the country. Contact him at Energysmiths, PO Box 194, Meriden, NH 03770; 603/469-... Read more

Independently certified softwood lumber from North American forests is being market-tested for the first time this summer by Home Depot, Inc. White spruce 2x4s will be sold in Arizona and ponderosa pine shelving in southern California, both sporting labels with Collins Pine’s sustainable... Read more

Two bills in Congress, one in each chamber, would promote resource efficiency in building construction. The Federal Resource Efficient Building Materials Act of 1993 (S. 817), was introduced by Senator John Glenn of Ohio, and the Federal Environmentally Efficient Building Materials Act of 1993 (H.R. 1819), was introduced in the House by... Read more

In a settlement reached with the EPA in May, Louisiana-Pacific has agreed to pay $11.1 million for failure to comply with permitting procedures at 14 oriented strand board (OSB) and medium-density fiberboard (MDF) plants. L-P will also install state-of-the-art pollution control... Read more

Amory Lovins, the visionary “energy guru” and founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, is among the recipients of this year’s MacArthur Foundation “genius grants.” Lovins is quoted saying he will use the $280,000 award to further RMI’s work.

David W. Bearg. Lewis Publishers, 1992. C/O CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL 33431; 407/994-0555. 220 pages, hardcover; $59.95.

David Bearg’s new book is a terrific overview of a very complicated subject. Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems for commercial buildings have become increasingly... Read more

Building With Value: Resource-Efficient Construction, a two-day regional conference on sustainable construction issues to be held November 12th and 13th, 1993 in Seattle, Washington. See Calendar for details.

McDonald’s is showcasing dozens of recycled materials—from feldspar floor tiles to a recycled copper roof—in a new restaurant in Kent, Washington. It is the most recent of four such restaurants recently built around the country; the others being in New York, Arizona, and Tennessee. According to McDonald’s... Read more