News Brief
The Good Wood Alliance, 289 College Street, Burlington, VT 05401; 802/862-4448, 802/658-4443 (fax); warp@together.net (e-mail), www.goodwood.org. 30 pages, $15 postpaid (free to Alliance members).
Since its founding in 1989, the Woodworkers Alliance for Rainforest Protection (WARP) has established itself as a... Read more
Op-Ed
With this first issue of 1997 we’re excited to announce a number of changes that will, we hope, provide you with more of what you like in
EBN, and in a more accessible format. Most important, you will now receive
EBN ten times each year instead of six. That’s right, we’ll be publishing monthly, except for... Read more
News Brief
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News Analysis
A plan including photovoltaics, extensive energy conservation measures, and reduced environmental impacts helped a team led by Lend Lease Corp. Ltd. and Mirvac Ltd. win the contract to build the Olympic Village for the year 2000 Games. The Village, which will likely support the largest residential PV system... Read more
News Brief
The
United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) is now working on promoting the use of environmentally sustainable practices, products, and technologies in building systems within the U.N. Among other initiatives, a pilot demonstration project involving the greening of UNEP’s Regional Office for North America is now underway. A... Read more
Product Review
Some 500 million tons (450 million tonnes) of concrete are used each year in the United States. Most of that is poured into forms or molds, which are removed to expose the hardened concrete. To help get the forms off, they are usually coated with a petroleum-based form-release agent. Light-bodied, low-... Read more
News Brief
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Feature
Choosing the right materials for a building is no easy task under any circumstances. Just meeting the conventional criteria, such as performance, cost, and aesthetics, can be a challenge; the addition of an environmental agenda further complicates the picture. The good news is that more tools and resources are becoming available to help... Read more
News Brief
by The Results Center, IRT Environment, Inc. Paperback, 28 pages, $75.
Editor’s note: IRT Environment, Inc. has unfortunately discontinued operations since this review was written. This report is now available at the bargain rate of $15 from Ted Flanigan at P.O. Box 2239, Basalt, CO 82621; 970/927-3155.One recent report in IRT... Read more
Op-Ed
We’ve generally argued that for a good green design, it is necessary to get the environmental agenda on the table as early as possible in the design process. Every decision that is made along the way represents a commitment to a particular path and the closing out of other options. If too many decisions are made before bringing an environmental... Read more
News Brief
Whirlpool Corporation has suspended nationwide sales of its super-efficient “Energy-Wise” refrigerators, according to the 23 August issue of Global Environmental Change Report. This refrigerator was introduced in 1995 and is virtually identical to the “golden carrot” refrigerator developed through the utility-funded Super Efficient Refrigerator... Read more
Op-Ed
The article on the Sustainable Technology Center (Vol. 5, No. 5) missed the true performance of this market-rate commercial complex in its first year. The two buildings at the Center saved 82% on utility costs for water, sewage, electricity, and heating compared to the performance of the Center if built conventionally in Friday Harbor. Using... Read more
News Brief
by Theo Colborn, Dianne Dumanoski, and John Peterson Myers. Dutton, 1996. Hardcover, 306 pages, $24.95.
We knew that this was an important book when, not long after we got a copy, a report from the right-wing Competitive Enterprise Institute attempting to discredit it arrived in theEBN mailbox. The basic thesis of
Our Stolen... Read more
News Brief
A new report by the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy quantifies the potential for energy savings in residential lighting. By replacing those incandescent lights that are used four hours per day or more with compact fluorescent lights, total annual savings in the U.S. would be 31.7 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh),... Read more
News Analysis
Designers of the high-profile Audubon Headquarters in New York City, together with National Audubon Society scientists, took great pains to minimize the use of toxic and environmentally damaging building materials. Among the choices they made in renovating the 100-year-old building was to use undyed, 100% wool carpet throughout the space... Read more
Product Review
News Brief
by The American Institute of Architects (AIA), the U.S. Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Produced by the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology (CREST) and View By View, Inc., San Francisco. Available from the AIA for $24.95 ($17.45 to members) plus $5 S&... Read more
News Brief
The environmental labeling organization Green Seal is calling for comments on its proposed standards for environmentally preferable chillers. Among the criteria in the standard are choice of refrigerant, measures to limit refrigerant releases, and energy efficiency. Copies are available by calling Green Seal at 202/331-7337; the deadline for... Read more
News Analysis
An “emergency” amendment to the Ontario Building Code, which took effect on August 20, 1996, eliminates the requirement for full-height foundation insulation. The measure rolls back the code to what it was from 1990 to 1993—requiring foundation insulation only to a depth of two feet (0.6 m) below grade—the same as other building codes in Canada... Read more
News Analysis
Redwood lumber that has been independently certified as coming from “well-managed” forests is now available. The family-owned Big Creek Lumber Company in Davenport, California, which completed certification of its forestry operations this past April (see
EBN
Vol. 5, No. 4), has now completed “chain-of-custody” certification of... Read more

