BuildingGreen Report

Blog Post

June 19, 2008
Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, swings and swings and swings and misses the point entirely. As do most of the comments — over 2,200 of them so far. So much darkness.

Blog Post

June 18, 2008
In the process of looking into carbon calculators for buildings as a behind-the-scenes assistant for the EBN feature article "Counting Carbon: Understanding Carbon Footprints of Buildings," I took a short detour into the wider carbon calculator world. While construction calculators may still be rare, the Web offers a multitude of general carbon... Read more

Blog Post

June 18, 2008

A graphic from The Oil Drum — Gigatons per Year of Cement Produced:

Quoting from the website: Remember, in China, oil isn't used in cement production. In the "clinker" stage, it's all coal. In the blending stage it's electricity (which is generated 80% from coal in China). And cement production in China is inefficient. There are... Read more

Blog Post

June 18, 2008

USGBC is distributing the following email:

The USGBC public comment period for LEED 2009 will be open until this Sunday, June 22, 2008 at 5 PM PST. Any member of the public may comment on the proposed changes to LEED. USGBC will respond to all comments and post the comments and responses (without commenter names or organizations) to the... Read more

Blog Post

June 17, 2008

Twice each month, BuildingGreen publishes an email news bulletin with current news and product information briefs. Sign up here — it's free. We will never share or sell your email address, and you may unsubscribe at any time.

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Explainer

The family of greenhouse gases extends beyond CO2, with each gas contributing to global warming to some degree.

June 17, 2008

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most important of many human-generated “greenhouse gases”—gases that are contributing to a gradual warming of the planet. These gases, many of which have always existed in the atmosphere, contribute to a balance of heat flows that has given us a relatively stable climate. Since the beginning of the Industrial... Read more

Blog Post

June 12, 2008
7/1/09 Update: If you are looking to learn about the LEED 2009 rating systems, there's no better tool out there than our own LEEDuser.com, which was launched since this post was made. LEEDuser makes the LEED credit language available online, which is a great step up, in my book! In studying for the LEED-AP exam, the best advice I received was to... Read more

Blog Post

June 10, 2008
A friend of mine near Barcelona wrote me that truckers in Spain are on strike and are blocking roads. They demand the government set a 35% haulage tariff, which would be in proportion to the increase in fuel costs in the past year. Anticipating the stores will soon be empty, my friend made a trip into town, by train, to get a 50-pound bag of rice... Read more

Blog Post

June 6, 2008
French climber Alain Robert, who has taken to climbing skyscrapers instead of cliffs -- so far he has made more than 70 urban ascents -- scaled the New York Times building June 5. Before being arrested, Robert unfurled a banner reading, "Global warming kills more people than 9/11 each week." Robert targeted the Times building as the perch from... Read more

Blog Post

June 5, 2008
I bought some Ultratouch cotton fiber insulation a few months ago thinking that it would be a great natural product for the cabin I am building. This is the stuff that comes in blue unfaced batts, and is often said to use recycled blue jeans, although it uses pre-consumer denim from factory waste. I bought it from a (great) Brattleboro, Vermont... Read more

Blog Post

June 5, 2008

Greasy Socks and Certifications Recently I was doing research for a brief item about green education for "real estate professionals," that is, real estate agents, appraisers, house inspectors, and loan officers. I read about a new course being offered, covering global climate issues, green building, indoor and outdoor air quality, and, last... Read more

Blog Post

June 3, 2008

So says the Urban Land Institute. The following grabs are from a couple slides in A Plan for Tomorrow: Creating Stronger and Healthier Communities Today and the nearly identical A Plan for Tomorrow: Creating Stronger and Healthier Cities Today, companion PowerPoint presentations to Higher Density Development: Myth and Fact.

"About... Read more

Blog Post

May 30, 2008

Jennifer Atlee has posted notes from the session she co-presented at USGBC Cascadia chapter's Living Future 'Unconference'. See them here.

Blog Post

May 30, 2008

Twice each month, BuildingGreen publishes an email news bulletin with current news and product information briefs. Sign up here — it's free. We will never share or sell your email address, and you may unsubscribe at any time.

Read the current bulletin

News Brief

May 29, 2008
Since 2006, the WaterSense program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has labeled water-efficient lavatory faucets, toilets, and weather- and sensor-based irrigation systems (see

EBN

Vol. 15, No. 7). EPA now plans to extend the label to whole houses using specifications that will be finalized by the end of 2008. Draft... Read more

News Analysis

May 29, 2008
Every five years, the U.S. chapter of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC–US) revises the standards it uses to certify forests. The current revision process promises a change from regional standards to a national one friendlier to small forests, including many owned and managed by families.

Forests in the U.S. are currently certified using one... Read more

News Brief

May 29, 2008

In November 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued guidance for a washing machine that uses nanoparticles of silver, regulating the machine as a pesticide (see

EBN

Vol. 16, No. 1). At that time, EPA decided not to create broader rules governing nanosilver in general.

In response to what it sees as a... Read more

News Brief

May 29, 2008

Recognizing the durability benefits of green buildings, insurance company Fireman’s Fund began offering green rebuilding policies for commercial properties in 2006. These policies cover the cost premium for adding green features when a building is repaired or replaced. Covered upgrades include efficient lighting and plumbing, vegetated roofs,... Read more

Product Review

May 29, 2008
Pellet stoves provide a clean, relatively easy way to burn a biofuel that is often derived from wood-milling waste. Two manufacturers are the current technology leaders in North America: Quadra-Fire from Colville, Washington, and Harman Stove Company from Halifax, Pennsylvania. Both companies are now part of Hearth & Home Technologies, though... Read more

News Brief

May 29, 2008
Both Los Angeles and Dallas passed legislation in April 2008 requiring privately owned buildings to meet green building standards. The Los Angeles legislation requires commercial and residential buildings larger than 50,000 ft2 (4,600 m2) to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Certified standards (with expedited permitting for higher... Read more