The

Environmental Resource Guide from the American Institute of Architects (reviewed in EBN

Vol. 1, No. 3) is now available at a lower subscription rate. The new price for one year of quarterly installments is $98 for AIA members and $165 for non-members. Call 800/365-ARCH to order.

In 1992 The Glidden Company surprised the interior paint world by offering a latex paint without any volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs in paints have been implicated in indoor air quality (IAQ) problems and environmental illness cases. There has been a strong trend toward lower VOC formulations, spurred in part... Read more

Cellulose Article

The reviews are in on the cellulose story in the September/October issue of EBN. The consensus of the cellulose industry: Quite possibly the best article ever written about cellulose insulation. Of course, everyone doesn’t agree with every word in the piece, but overall the industry seems to think it’s... Read more

Extruded polystyrene (XPS) is the insulation material of choice for many builders when it comes to below-grade applications and is used in many other ways as well. Commonly referred to by Dow Chemical Company’s tradename Styrofoam®, standard XPS insulation is manufactured in the U.S. by four... Read more

The recycled plastic and wood fiber composite lumber product (reviewed in EBN

Vol. 2, No. 2) that began as Rivenite and later became Timbrex has a new name yet again. Mobil Chemical Company’s Composite Products Division, maker of the material, is now calling it “Trex™”. The change results from a trademark conflict over the... Read more

This just in from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory: A gas oven consumes more electricity to bake a potato than a microwave oven. That’s right, more

electricity. The glow bar ignitor, which draws 350 to 400 watts during oven start-up, continues to draw power the whole time the oven is on. To bake a moderately sized potato, LBL researcher... Read more

As an architect I see an interesting relationship between the issue of sustainability in architecture, which has the potential to help our planet, and the issue of contextualism, which, if expanded to include “nature,” has the potential to cause enormous growth in the art of architecture.

Contextualism, which... Read more

for Treating Wastewater

by Gerald Steiner, P. E. and James Watson, P. E.; 42 pages, free. Tennessee Valley Authority, May 1993. TVA, 1101 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402. Fax orders: 615/751-7479.

Despite its cumbersome title, this publication will prove invaluable to anyone considering a constructed... Read more

•urethane-reinforced... Read more

A group of chemicals in the class known as fluoroiodocarbons (FICs) has been identified by researchers as potential replacements for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons in a wide range of industrial uses. Unlike HCFCs—the first group of CFC-alternatives to be identified—FICs’... Read more

American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment, 1735 New York Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20006; 800/365-ARCH, 202/626-7300.

Last winter and spring the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment organized a series of three video teleconferences entitled “Building Connections.” The... Read more

I enjoyed your article on cellulose insulation in the September/October ‘93 issue of EBN. In general, I thought the article was very well done, but felt that your recommendations on the health concerns left a bit to be desired. First of all, your recommendation not to eat it is obvious, yet by stating it, you seem to... Read more

Trimax plastic lumber, which was featured in the EBN article “Recycled Plastic Lumber,” (Vol. 2, No. 4) will soon be manufactured in two additional locations. Trimax’s parent company, Polymerix, Inc., has licensed Environmental Recovery Systems of Somerset Inc. to make the fiberglass-reinforced lumber in Massachusetts. In a separate deal, John... Read more

The Canadian R-2000 energy-efficient homes program is revising and broadening its standards. The Technical Research Committee of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association has made its recommendations to Energy, Mines and Resources Canada (EMR), the government body that administers R-2000. The... Read more

Winter Emissions from Major Sources, State of Washington—1984

Source: “Wood Smoke: Emissions, Impacts, and Reduction Strategies,” Washington State Department of Ecology, December 1986

The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Green Building Council have jointly announced a Green Building Conference for February 1994 in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The conference will cover assessment methodologies and performance criteria for rating buildings, case studies, activities of various government and independent... Read more

by National Park Service. September 1993. 118 pages. Limited copies available from the Denver Service Center, National Park Service, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225; 303/969-2100. (No charge while initial printing lasts; then copies will be available from the Government Printing Office.)

Recycling leftover paint is an idea whose time has come. Paint disposal is one of the biggest headaches facing contractors and municipalities nationwide, and improper disposal can cause extensive environmental harm. Several municipalities and counties have run paint collection and re-use programs, often mixing together... Read more

Resource Guide

Victoria Schomer, ASID, editor. PO Box 2386, Mill Valley, CA 94942. Spiral-bound, 230 pages. $40.

If you’ve ever wanted to look through the notebooks of an experienced “green” interior designer, this is your chance. Victoria Schomer has been compiling information on healthy building materials for... Read more

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a serious threat in many homes. Approximately 300 deaths per year from non-fire-related CO poisoning make it the leading cause of death by poisoning in the U.S. In addition to death from acute exposure, many people suffer the symptoms of low-level carbon monoxide poisoning—headaches, fatigue,... Read more