The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) codified new efficiency standards for residential appliances and commercial equipment that were established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (see

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Vol. 14, No. 9). New requirements for small products, such as exit signs, take effect in 2006; requirements for larger appliances, such as... Read more

The Public Utility Commission of Nevada recently approved Solargenix Energy’s amendments to power purchase agreements with Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, clearing the way for Solargenix to complete the development of Nevada Solar One, the third-largest solar power plant in the world and the largest solar-electric power... Read more

Hurricane Katrina and a long list of other natural disasters over the years—from the Northeast’s Blizzard of 1978 that killed 17 people and left tens of thousands of people without heat and water, to the Chicago heat wave that killed more than 700 people during a one-week period in 1995, to the January 1998 ice storm in Eastern Canada that... Read more

In the late 1990s I was part of a team hired to consult on a model green elementary school for McKinney, Texas. The kickoff workshop for this project included the architects (a firm specializing in school design), our team of consultants, and teachers and other staff from the school district. As the workshop began, participants couched all... Read more

The Home Depot Foundation announced the winners of its inaugural

Awards of Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly, “in recognition of exemplary projects providing affordable housing that is efficient, durable, safe, and healthy,” during the U.S. Green Building Council Greenbuild conference. The Home Depot Foundation is... Read more

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) continued its tradition of greening Greenbuild during November’s conference in Atlanta. The convention center donated and composted leftover food, served water from large containers instead of individual bottles, provided 100% recycled paper towels and toilet paper, and reduced lights, power, and HVAC... Read more

Designing & Building with FSC Award to Goldman Sachs, a leading global investment banking, securities, and investment management firm, for its LEED® Certified building at 30 Hudson... Read more

The Emerging Green Builders chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council announced the winners of their

Natural Talent Design Competition at Greenbuild 2005. This year’s competition, a partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, featured two categories: New Construction and Existing Buildings. The first place winners were:... Read more

The Enterprise Foundation, a national nonprofit leading the charge to build green affordable housing (see

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Vol. 14, No. 3), will become Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., as of January 1, 2006. The organization is online at www.enterprisecommunity.org.

In an announcement that sent shockwaves through the green building industry, the Dow Chemical Company announced on November 15, 2005, that Dow BioProducts, a division of Dow Canada, is shutting down. The Dow BioProducts plant in Elie, Manitoba, will stop producing its Woodstalk™ brand of products on December 8, according to Myra Dunn, the... Read more

BuildingGreen, Inc., publisher of the GreenSpec®Directory and Environmental Building News™, announced the fourth annual Top-10 Green Building Products during the U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild Conference and Expo in November. The Top-10 represent the most exciting products added to GreenSpec in the past year. A press release about... Read more

Sustainable Hotel Siting, Design, and Construction

, published by Conservation International and the International Business Leaders Forum, is intended to help the travel and leisure industry build more environmentally friendly hotels. The book was produced with the support of nine of the world’s leading hotel chains, including Hilton,... Read more

The Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS) is preparing to release its Sustainable/EPP Flooring Standard© for all hard-surface flooring, following a public meeting in Dallas, Texas, on November 1. MTS is also holding organizational meetings for two new standards it is seeking to develop: the Integrated Design Process... Read more

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 have announced a call for entries in the second annual New York City Green Building Competition. The competition is open to projects built in or designed for specific sites within the boroughs of New York City. Awards will be... Read more

Cellulose insulation manufacturer U.S. GreenFiber, LLC, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, acquired Bonded Insulation, located in Hagman, New York, in July 2005. The acquisition will allow GreenFiber to expand its manufacturing and distribution presence in the Northeast and in eastern Canada. “GreenFiber has the capacity to turn what has... Read more

In balloting that closed on October 28, 2005, the membership of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) voted overwhelmingly to approve version 2.2 of USGBC’s flagship LEED® for New Construction (LEED-NC) rating system. While other versions of LEED have been released in the interim, this vote endorses the first substantive update of the NC... Read more

The Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, has announced the establishment of the Haworth Chair in Integrated Design, funded by Haworth, Inc., under the “Project

evolve” partnership with Direct Energy Business Services. The announcement did not specify whether the Haworth Chair holder will be... Read more

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Vol. 13, No. 8 for winners of the first competition). All prototypes had to meet... Read more