CD-ROM released in 2005 by ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA; 610-832-9585; www.astm.org; $193.

ASTM International has released an updated version of its “Sustainability in Buildings” CD-ROM (see

EBN

Vol. 12, No. 7 for a review of the first version). Sponsored by ASTM’s Subcommittee on Sustainability, the CD... Read more

When I received this month’s issue of

EBN [Vol. 15, No. 2], with its feature article extolling the virtues of polished concrete floors, I did a double take. Although I am drawn to concrete as a “modernist’s” material of choice, I believe it is of questionable value as an environmentally friendly choice.

It is difficult to... Read more

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has approved tighter standards for dishwashers that carry the Energy Star® label. The new standard, which requires Energy Star dishwashers to be 41% more efficient than minimum federal standards, will take effect January 1, 2007. Current standards require Energy Star dishwashers to be 25% more efficient than... Read more

A study sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found no safe level of ground-level ozone, a component of smog linked to respiratory problems. The study, carried out by researchers at Yale and Johns Hopkins universities and published by

Environmental Health... Read more

Global Green USA, the U.S. affiliate of Green Cross International, has awarded two of its annual Millennium Awards to green building champions: William McDonough, FAIA, founding principal of William McDonough+Partners and cofounder of McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, and Thomas C. Leppert, chair and CEO of Turner Construction. Also... Read more

A Rhode Island court found Sherwin Williams Co., Millennium Holdings, and NL Industries liable in February 2006 for creating a public nuisance by making lead-based paint before it was banned in 1978. Although the judge dismissed punitive damage claims, the jury ordered the companies to abate lead-based paint on an estimated 240,000 Rhode Island... Read more

The Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF) is inviting applications to its 21st World Habitat Awards, designed to recognize “practical, innovative, and sustainable solutions to current housing issues faced by countries of the global South as well as the North,” according to BSHF. “Projects are sought that view the term ‘habitat’ from a... Read more

The International Code Council (ICC) has developed Coastal Construction Flood Plain Inspector certification, which indicates “knowledge of general construction provisions, special high wind and load path continuity, special flood hazard areas, detached and accessory structures, and governmental regulations.” Certified individuals will be able... Read more

Lost Mountain, which describes mountaintop-removal... Read more

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) has developed the Zero-Energy Building Award program to recognize energy-efficient projects designed for the Northeast climate. To be eligible, buildings must be located in the Northeast (including New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland), be occupied, and... Read more

Ecotone Publishing, LLC, based in Kansas City, Missouri, announced in February 2006 that it will offset all carbon dioxide emissions related to its business operations. Ecotone, which publishes books about green design and construction, purchased 50 tons (45 tonnes) of carbon offsets to cover emissions caused by its travel, waste production,... Read more

The Emerging Green Builders chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is encouraging entries to its annual Natural Talent Design Competition. This year’s competition will be administered through USGBC’s regional chapters. “This is an exciting change,” says Joe Snider, chair of the Emerging Green Builders Committee. “Contest entrants... Read more

Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR) has been a long-term supporter of

Environmental Building News (EBN) but was disappointed in your story on Wal-Mart’s environmental progress [Vol. 15, No. 1]. The article fails to examine the full breadth of the deleterious impact the company has on our country. You argue... Read more

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration launched the Green California website, www.green.ca.gov, in February 2006. Rosario Marin, secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency, hopes the site will become “the primary ’go-to’ site—the new, centralized, electronic reference library—for engineers, architects, building... Read more

Whole Foods Market, Inc., a Fortune 500 company based in Austin, Texas, has purchased more than 458,000 megawatt-hours of wind energy credits to offset all of the electricity used in its stores, facilities, bake houses, distribution centers, regional offices and national headquarters in the U.S. and Canada. The two-year contract with Renewable... Read more

Downtown populations in the U.S. grew 10% in the 1990s, according to a Brookings Institution report, following 20 years of overall decline. The study, “Who Lives Downtown,” presents findings related to downtown population, household, and income trends in 44 cities from 1970 to 2000. The study is online at www.brookings.edu (search for “... Read more

The Geography of Nowhere and

Home From Nowhere take a scathing look at suburbia,... Read more