News Analysis
A study published in the June 5, 1992, issue of
Science by researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Arizona suggests that smoke emitted into the atmosphere from human activities may be having a significant effect in counteracting... Read more
Product Review
The company's promotional material is the epitome of environmentally friendly packaging—like a Ben & Jerry's annual report. The article reprints sent were even bound in a jacket made from corrugated cardboard. So we were quite intrigued by the product. Syndecrete™ is a lightweight, pre-cast,... Read more
News Brief
The American Institute of Architects convention in Boston this past June was the setting for a changing of the guard in the American architectural establishment. The Institute’s first woman president took the reins, the Committee on the Environment became its largest and fastest growing committee, and the first installments of the Environmental... Read more
Op-Ed
Introducing the first issue of our newsletter.
Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment. In North America, buildings and the building industry account for about 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, 35-40% of ozone depletion, 20-30% of municipal solid waste, vast quantities of natural resource consumption, and dramatic loss of open space each... Read more
Feature
Ozone depletion and global warming are two of our most serious environmental problems—and foam insulation materials containing CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) contribute significantly to both of these problems. The environmentally concerned builder or designer should make it a highest priority to avoid them. Even many of the non-CFC alternatives... Read more
Feature
Susan Maxman is the first AIA president to make sustainable design a priority.
Q.Where would you say architects as a group stand on environmental issues?
A.Architects tend to be reactive rather than proactive. It is important that we take the lead on these environmental issues. The architecture schools in particular tend to be conservative. They just aren’t... Read more
Feature
Carefully stake the building site and driveway, remove trees that are within the excavation area or too close, then erect a fence to keep heavy equipment off fragile soils and away from nearby trees.
Protecting trees and the local ecosystem when building on previously unbuilt land is a vitally important—yet often overlooked—part of environmentally responsible construction. Healthy trees and shrubs can reduce a home’s environmental impact and directly benefit homeowners in a number of ways:
•Enhancing comfort by shielding the house... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of The Value of Variability.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Understand why variability is important to the comfort and well-being of building occupants.
2. Define “alliesthesia” and explain how it relates to the well-being of occupants... Read more
Forum topic
Hi GGs,
We are looking to do a renovation of a very leaky old office space, and we want to get a good snapshot of air quality and effective envelope R values both before and after.
Does anyone have experience with:
1. installing heat flux sensors on windows and walls
2. deploying IAQ measurement devices that can log... Read more
Forum topic
Hi folks,
I hope you're all doing well, despite the heat (thermal, political, social...ugh!).
We've had low turnout on the SAL monthly calls lately; it seems that these aren't a high priority for many of you. That's not necessarily a problem, if you're finding value in being in the network for other reasons, that's fine.
We... Read more
Forum topic
The Getting to Zero Forum is happening next week in Minneapolis, Minnesota (my home state!). Anyone else from this group planning to attend in person? I'm especially curious as the Forum comes so quickly on the heals of the Living Future Conference.
As a proud Minnesotan, I have a hard time imagining how anyone could ignore an... Read more
Forum topic
Happy Friday Everyone!
Hoping to add a bit of excitement to the end of your week:
Here is the Sustainable Design Leaders 2020 Summer Summit Report.
Enjoy!
RoseAnn for Nadav, Candace, and the BuildingGreen team
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Protect Your Spec: 14 Strategies.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
Identify ways to ensure continuity between the environmentally preferable materials in a project specification, and the less-than-ideal materials that end up used in the final... Read more
Forum topic
This are opportunities for us to get involved as design and construction allies with the new administration and the US Department of Energy on more efficient building.
The first link below is for low-carbon projects that will provide the case studies and solutions that the industry can follow. The second is identifying barriers and... Read more
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
THIS WEBINAR PURCHASE AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.
This webinar took place Thursday, January 12th at 2:00pm Eastern (11:00am Pacific)
Free to premium subscribers ($30.00 for non-premium)
Green building product selection is a mess.
With an overwhelming number of green product... Read more

