The current

“safe” level of lead exposure, endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, is not actually safe, according to a study recently published in the

New England Journal of Medicine. The study found that any level of blood lead concentration negatively affects children’s IQ... Read more

... Read more

The Path of Painted Potties.” After gracing the streets of Santa Fe during June and July, 75 creatively decorated toilets vied for honors in various categories, including TP Cruisers (for mobile entries) and Best Use of... Read more

Maine made history in June, when, by passing “An Act to Provide Leadership in Addressing the Threat of Climate Change,” it became the nation’s

first state to legislate a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. Maine plans to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2010, 10% below 1990 levels by 2020, and 75–80% below 1990 levels over the long... Read more

Thank you for your coverage of Vermont Built Green in July 2003 (

Vol. 12, No. 7). I would like to correct the sentence that reads “Efficiency Vermont, a utility-funded demand-side management program in the state, currently covers all of the costs for Vermont Energy Star® compliance.” The Vermont Energy Star Homes service is jointly... Read more

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) has announced the

2003 Innovation and Special Recognition Award winners. IREC gave Innovation Awards to the

Sustainable Natural Alternative Power (SNAP) Program in Chelan County, Washington; the

Chicago Solar Partnership; and the

Utah Wind Power Campaign. IREC also... Read more

The

California Energy Commission (CEC) may no longer collect information about the energy efficiency of air conditioners, heat pumps, water heaters, and furnaces, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California ruled in June. The case was filed by the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute, the Association of Home... Read more

Over the past year, three companies have begun marketing a low-density, open-cell polyurethane foam insulation made, in part, from soybeans. By far the best organized and established of these is BioBased Systems of Spring Valley, Illinois. Experienced users tell EBN that BioBase 501 works just as well as its petrochemical-based competitors, and... Read more

The Environmental Council of Concrete Organizations is crisscrossing North America this August with a

“Road Show” on the role of concrete in sustainable design. The faculty includes two lecturers from the U.K. and one American, representing expertise in urban planning, architecture, engineering, and materials research. The speakers,... Read more

On May 29, 2003, the Resilient Floor Coverings Institute (RFCI) withdrew a lawsuit challenging New York State’s Green Building Tax Credit regulations (see

EBN

Vol. 9, No. 5) for excluding vinyl as an approved flooring material. The lawsuit, which was initiated in October 2000, was withdrawn just days before hearings were... Read more

The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Foundation has established a

Sustainable Design Education Fund to reimburse members of the interior-design community for taking classes, attending conferences, undergoing LEED™ accreditation, and participating in other activities related to sustainable design. The fund is made... Read more

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Vol. 11, No. 10 and

Vol. 6, No. 8). We recently discovered another such product—made by Bricor Analytical, Inc. in Colorado Springs, Colorado. While quite different from the ETL products technologically, Bricor... Read more

The American Solar Energy Society has named

Ralph Knowles a “Passive Solar Pioneer.” Distinguished Professor Emeritus Knowles has spent the past 40 years at the University of Southern California’s School of Architecture. Among Knowles’ contributions to passive design is the “solar envelope,” a zoning concept that ensures city buildings... Read more

EBN

Vol. 10, No. 10), Environments... Read more

Applications are now being accepted for the first

Sustainable Design Leadership Awards, sponsored by the International Interior Design Association, the American Institute of Architects Interiors Committee, CoreNet Global, and Tandus™. The Operational Leadership Award is open to any business or organization and the Design Leadership... Read more

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The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) awarded this year’s

Environmental Sensitivity Awards to two architecture firms that specialize in... Read more

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by Leonard R. Bachman; John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, 2003. Hardcover, 479 pages, $75.

A manufacturing facility built with great green hopes is now spending most of its time making a more conventional product. Great Lakes MDF, LLC has purchased the Lackawanna, New York medium-density fiberboard (MDF) plant formerly owned by The CanFibre Group, Ltd. The plant initially relied on phenol-formaldehyde binders in place of conventional... Read more

The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) has developed a voluntary

certification program for installers of photovoltaic (PV) systems. NABCEP plans to hold its first exam on October 25; in order to participate, candidates must complete their applications by July 31. For details or to apply for certification,... Read more

, executive director of Red Feather Development Group, has been named

Greatest American Hometown Hero in the first

Volvo for Life Awards. Struck by reports of poverty on America’s Indian reservations, Young founded the Red Feather Development Group in 1995 to teach Native American communities to construct energy-... Read more