Recycling leftover paint is an idea whose time has come. Paint disposal is one of the biggest headaches facing contractors and municipalities nationwide, and improper disposal can cause extensive environmental harm. Several municipalities and counties have run paint collection and re-use programs, often mixing together... Read more

Resource Guide

Victoria Schomer, ASID, editor. PO Box 2386, Mill Valley, CA 94942. Spiral-bound, 230 pages. $40.

If you’ve ever wanted to look through the notebooks of an experienced “green” interior designer, this is your chance. Victoria Schomer has been compiling information on healthy building materials for... Read more

A competition for designs that elegantly integrate photovoltaics into individual buildings and into the urban environment is being cosponsored by the International Energy Agency and the Netherlands Agency for Energy and the Environment. Prizes will be awarded in three categories: large-scale application in an urban area; single... Read more

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a serious threat in many homes. Approximately 300 deaths per year from non-fire-related CO poisoning make it the leading cause of death by poisoning in the U.S. In addition to death from acute exposure, many people suffer the symptoms of low-level carbon monoxide poisoning—headaches, fatigue,... Read more

The Vinyl Institute’s letter on PVC (EBN

Vol. 2, No. 5) is without substance or merit. The Institute ignores the economic benefits of product substitution and the significant environmental problems of PVC. In truth, PVC is a cheap, chlorinated product that rarely lives up to its claims of durability and threatens... Read more

Energy use is arguably the most significant environmental impact of buildings. Residential and commercial buildings in the U.S. use about 29 quads (quadrillion Btus) of energy each year, 35% of total energy consumption. That energy used for space heating and cooling in residential buildings (just over 7 quads per year) produces 420 million tons... Read more

As reported in a Congressional hearing in June, the EPA has so far been unable to duplicate the results of carpet toxicity studies done by Anderson Labs of Dedham, Massachusetts (see EBN

Vol. 2, No. 2, “Mouse-Killing Carpets”). For reasons that remain unclear, the EPA used different test procedures that included percolating the exposed... Read more

I recently received a copy of the May/June issue of

Environmental Building News and wanted to respond to the article “Problems with PVC” that covered Greenpeace’s campaign to eliminate chlorine-based compounds, and vinyl in particular.

Although Greenpeace has alleged that vinyl presents a threat to human health... Read more

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched IAQ INFO, the Indoor Air Quality Information Clearinghouse. IAQ INFO has specialists who can provide information on a wide range of issues relating to indoor air quality: pollutant sources, health effects, testing, control measures, and relevant standards/guidelines. Along with answering... Read more

I read your editorial in the recent issue [July/August ‘93] with great interest, since we too are constantly struggling to provide good information at reasonable cost, yet keep the whole operation afloat financially. It’s not easy.

The Forest Information Resource System (FORIS), a database on the world’s timber resources, will be released by Tree Talk in November 1993. FORIS is intended to provide wood users with detailed information that will encourage the use of lesser-known and environmentally friendly species. Physical properties of each species, appropriate uses,... Read more

On August 24 the Clinton Administration announced a policy for the nation’s wetlands that aims to end years of confusion and infighting among various federal agencies with overlapping jurisdictions. Initial reaction to the plan from all sides was mixed, although most people are waiting to see how things... Read more

The world's most productive geothermal electrical generation site, Geysers geothermal field in Lake County, California, has been running out of steam. And Lake County Sanitation officials were facing expensive options for disposing of their partially treated wastewater. Now it appears that they have solved both... Read more

A study done at the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, concluded that ground drywall applied to soils in test plots increased crop yield by 25% over untreated soil. This result was similar to the benefits of applying limestone or agricultural gypsum to the soil in equivalent quantities (11... Read more

by Kim Leclair and David Rousseau. 1992, Hartley & Marks, Inc., 79 Tyee Dr., Point Roberts, WA 98281. $19.95 U.S.; $24.95 Canada.

Environmental by Design, the field of environmentally sustainable design and construction took a significant step forward.... Read more

Lumber Certification

My compliments to you for an excellent publication. I just received my first issue and am glad I subscribed.

I’m not sure how you interpreted my comments from the Sustainable Forest Products Conference, but The Home Depot is not for, but against, a simple stamp or seal. We fully support the SCS... Read more