On-site photovoltaic panels supply much of the electricity, heating loads are met in part with... Read more

Stratospheric levels of chlorine should peak by the year 2000, according to the 14 June issue of

Global Environmental Change Report. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colorado, have been measuring levels of various CFCs and HCFCs in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) since 1991 and... Read more

Amoco Foam Products, makers of the only extruded polystyrene insulation with significant recycled content, is being purchased by Tenneco Packaging, a division of Tenneco, Inc. of Greenwich, Connecticut. Even before the purchase, through a $310 million stock acquisition, Tenneco was the largest producer of... Read more

Environment Design Guide, The Royal Australian Institute of Architects. Australian$126 for four quarterly installments (approximately US$100). Order from RAIA-Environment; The Royal Australian Institute of Architects, P.O. Box 3373, Manuka ACT 263, Australia; +61 6 273 1953 (fax). Full set of 24 previously... Read more

Closing off streets to cars to create pedestrian malls doesn’t always work.

Land Use Digest, published by the Urban Land Institute, reported in its May 1996 issue that Chicago is joining such cities as Eugene, Little Rock, and Norfolk in reverting pedestrian malls back into regular streets. Merchants have complained in these cities that... Read more

The Georgia Pacific Corporation (G-P) agreed on 18 July to a costly settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency following a long wrangle with regulators and lawmakers. The company will pay a $6 million fine and spend at least $26 million on environmental improvements under the agreement, according... Read more

The Natural House Catalog: Everything You Need to Create an Environmentally Friendly Home, by David Pearson. Simon & Schuster, 1996. Paperback, 286 pages, $23.

The Natural House Book uses a similar format—beautiful, high-quality photos and clear, concise text—... Read more

An innovative section of highway near Los Angeles with “congestion pricing” is considered successful after six months of operation, and it could be the wave of things to come. The July issue of

Planning described a 10-mile segment of Route 91 with two lanes in either direction, known as FasTrak, in which tolls vary from $0.25 during the... Read more

The April 1996 issue of the well-regarded British publication

Green Building Digest reports that Malaysia—one of the world’s largest plywood exporters—now stamps all of its plywood with the label “Sustainable Timber” even though, according to the Malaysian government, the country will be a net timber importer by the end of the century... Read more

A newly formed organization is now developing standardized testing protocols for indoor air quality related products and materials. The Product Emissions Testing Lab (PETL) Network is bringing together representatives of academia, government, and industry to achieve consensus-based procedures and to certify laboratories to test products... Read more

castellated I-beams—essentially, regular I-beams with much... Read more

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1996. 445 pages, hardcover, $34.95.

Near the top of that list is Ian McHarg, a Scottish war hero who went on to found the landscape architecture program... Read more

A one-square-foot sample of low-e glazing, representing the one billionth square foot produced, was recently presented to Christine Ervin, Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy by Mike Koenig of Andersen Windows and Jim Larsen of Cardinal IG. The presentation was in recognition of ongoing support provided by DOE of window... Read more

Schuller Corporation, a publicly traded manufacturer of fiberglass insulation based in Denver, Colorado, announced on May 17 that it is acquiring NRG Barriers of Portland, Maine, one of the nation’s leading producers of polyisocyanurate foam insulation. Both Schuller and NRG have been leaders in improving the environmental characteristics of... Read more

Nuclear proponents have often pointed to the low electricity prices in France as evidence that high reliance on nuclear power keeps electricity prices low. But by comparing

pre-tax electricity rates, that claim is dispelled. According to the May/June issue of

World Watch Magazine, the three European countries with the lowest pre... Read more

A primary weakness of light-gauge steel framing for houses has been its severely compromised thermal integrity. In general, the simplest way to get a steel-framed wall to perform like a 2x6 wood-stud wall is to use 2x4 steel studs and add 2” (50 mm) of insulating foam sheathing. Now, researchers at Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) are seeking a... Read more

Congratulations on an excellent May/June 1996 issue! Very seldom do I read any magazine and find fewer things to pick at than this particular issue of

EBN. But I do have two. As we have discussed in the past, the name of CMHC, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, would seem to make more sense as the Canadian Mortgage and Housing... Read more

by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 700 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0P7, Canada. 235 pages, paperback, $29.99.