When I received this month’s issue of

EBN [Vol. 15, No. 2], with its feature article extolling the virtues of polished concrete floors, I did a double take. Although I am drawn to concrete as a “modernist’s” material of choice, I believe it is of questionable value as an environmentally friendly choice.

It is difficult to... Read more

Thirty plants across the U.S. are now producing Energy Star® manufactured homes, according to the Manufactured Housing Research Alliance. A complete list is available at www.mhrahome.org/pages/es_plant_list.htm. Encouraging further development, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (see

EBN

... Read more

CD-ROM released in 2005 by ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA; 610-832-9585; www.astm.org; $193.

ASTM International has released an updated version of its “Sustainability in Buildings” CD-ROM (see

EBN

Vol. 12, No. 7 for a review of the first version). Sponsored by ASTM’s Subcommittee on Sustainability, the CD... Read more

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has approved tighter standards for dishwashers that carry the Energy Star® label. The new standard, which requires Energy Star dishwashers to be 41% more efficient than minimum federal standards, will take effect January 1, 2007. Current standards require Energy Star dishwashers to be 25% more efficient than... Read more

A study sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found no safe level of ground-level ozone, a component of smog linked to respiratory problems. The study, carried out by researchers at Yale and Johns Hopkins universities and published by

Environmental Health... Read more

Global Green USA, the U.S. affiliate of Green Cross International, has awarded two of its annual Millennium Awards to green building champions: William McDonough, FAIA, founding principal of William McDonough+Partners and cofounder of McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, and Thomas C. Leppert, chair and CEO of Turner Construction. Also... Read more

A Rhode Island court found Sherwin Williams Co., Millennium Holdings, and NL Industries liable in February 2006 for creating a public nuisance by making lead-based paint before it was banned in 1978. Although the judge dismissed punitive damage claims, the jury ordered the companies to abate lead-based paint on an estimated 240,000 Rhode Island... Read more

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) has developed the Zero-Energy Building Award program to recognize energy-efficient projects designed for the Northeast climate. To be eligible, buildings must be located in the Northeast (including New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland), be occupied, and... Read more

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) plans to air a new television series called Building Green, beginning in spring 2006. Billed as a “home improvement program about building gorgeous homes that are healthier, more energy efficient, and better for the environment,” the show’s first season documents the creation of a 4,500 ft2 (420 m2)... Read more

Most scratch-removal systems use a series of increasingly fine-grit abrasives to grind... Read more

Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR) has been a long-term supporter of

Environmental Building News (EBN) but was disappointed in your story on Wal-Mart’s environmental progress [Vol. 15, No. 1]. The article fails to examine the full breadth of the deleterious impact the company has on our country. You argue... Read more

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed an executive order in January 2006 requiring all executive branch state agencies, including the Higher Education Department, to adopt the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Rating System. New buildings 15,000 ft2 (1,400 m2) or larger and those with over 50 kW of peak electricity demand are required to... Read more

New York City’s Skyscraper Museum will be showing the exhibit “Green Towers for New York: From Visionary to Vernacular,” featuring the city’s existing green high-rises as well as some in design and construction, through May 2006. The Museum is online at www.skyscraper.org.

In December 2005, the governors of seven Northeast states agreed to the country’s first cap-and-trade program to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the chief contributor to global climate change. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, or “Reggie”) commits Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont to... Read more

Ecotone Publishing, LLC, based in Kansas City, Missouri, announced in February 2006 that it will offset all carbon dioxide emissions related to its business operations. Ecotone, which publishes books about green design and construction, purchased 50 tons (45 tonnes) of carbon offsets to cover emissions caused by its travel, waste production,... Read more