by Theodore Osmundson, FASLA, 1999. W. W. Norton & Co., New York. Hardcover, 318 pages, $75.

Roof Gardens is a valuable resource for anyone involved with the creation of green spaces on top of buildings or above underground parking garages.

Author Theodore Osmundson, a leader in the landscape architecture field for the last... Read more

by Malcolm Wells, 1999. Available from the author, 673 Satucket Road, Brewster, Cape Cod, MA 02631; 508/896-6850, 508/896-5116 (fax). Hardback, 144 pages, $5 plus $2 postage & handling.

This little book, by architect and underground building pioneer Malcolm Wells, reads like a children’s book, but is more for adult children.

I am writing in response to your article in the November 1999 issue of

Environmental Building News (Vol. 8, No. 11) regarding BEES 2.0. As you may know, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has played a major role in the development of BEES from its conception in the early ’90s to the present. From the beginning, our ambitious... Read more

Fiberock Aqua-Tough Sheathing, a new product from gypsum products giant USG, has significant environmental and performance advantages. Strength, durability, and integral water resistance are selling points for this unfaced gypsum sheathing.

A design competition has been announced for a household electricity meter that resides prominently

inside the home and provides “accurate, compelling, and artistically fascinating feedback to homeowners about their current energy use.” The

Viridian Electricity Meter should reward users aesthetically for reducing their purchased... Read more

On January 21 the State of New York gained SmartWood certification for all of its “multiple-use” public forest lands. These are state forest lands outside of the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserves that are managed for timber, wildlife, water quality, and recreation—a total of more than 700,000 acres (283,000 ha). In so doing, the state... Read more

Your highly readable introduction to the Road Oyl emulsion (

EBN

Vol. 8, No. 11, November 1999) shows your reputation for evenhanded reviews is well deserved. I do, however, want to point out a factual error. In reviewing the EPA lab results of runoff for a newly installed Road Oyl pavement, you stated, “Total petroleum... Read more

In connection with its 2000 Eco-Design Arts Conference (see Calendar) the University of Oregon’s HOPES is sponsoring The Ecology of Home Design Challenge. The very broad guidelines indicate only that entries must present a solution to a universal ecological problem and be presented on no more than two presentation boards. Contact Maren Zieba at... Read more

I read with particular interest the article entitled “Alternative Forestry Certifications Challenge the FSC” in your January issue of

Environmental Building News (EBN

Vol. 9, No. 1), and I would like to clarify some items related to the American Forest & Paper Association’s (AF&PA) Sustainable Forestry InitiativeSM (SFI... Read more

I’d like to thank you for reviewing our new book and video series in your January 2000 issue (EBN

Vol. 9, No. 1). However, I don’t want your readers to be misled, so I would like to clarify one point.

Healthy House Building for the New Millennium is not a book version of

The Healthy House Video Series. While they both go... Read more

First, it is designed for exterior mounting, which keeps all combustion outdoors, eliminating... Read more

Leading green architect Sandra

Mendler has left her position as director

of HOK’s Sustainable Design

Group to become design principal of

the Washington office of Princetonbased

CUH2A, Inc. Mendler is chair

of The American Institute of Architects

Committee on the Environment,

a board member... Read more

by Joseph Jenkins, 1999. Chelsea Green, White River Junction, VT. Softcover, 302 pages, $19.

Recycled plastic lumber is commonly available for decking applications, but the supporting structures have continued to be constructed with preservative-treated lumber. U.S. Plastic Lumber (USPL) now offers a complete deck system made of recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) under the Carefree brand. The brand consists of recently code-... Read more

On February 24, 2000 the City of Oakland,

California is opening a new

Green Building Resource Center next to the planning and building counter

in the City Administration Building.

The Center will offer a library of

printed materials, a computer and

video kiosk, and other resources to

facilitate... Read more

, CEO of Interface, Inc. and recent co-chair of the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, received the first annual

Argon Award of Excellence­ in Sustainability on February 7, during the Greenprints 2000 conference in Atlanta. The Argon Award recognizes significant personal and professional contributions to the... Read more

It was heartening to see your publication address the issue of alternatives to vinyl wallcovering in your January issue (EBN

Vol. 9, No. 1). Although the problems with vinyl are well known in the environmental building community, its extensive use for wallcovering is often overlooked. Soft vinyls that are used for walls and upholstery... Read more

for Environmental Innovation, a

new facility that will house the

company’s carpet reclamation and

pelletizing operations, along with

research and design laboratories for

environmental technologies. The

Center is directed by vice... Read more