The organizers of the Rethinking Sustainable Construction 2006 (RSC06) conference, set for Sarasota, Florida, in September, are calling for “creative content” proposals, ranging from research papers to problem-solving workshops. The international conference is intended to “produce an agenda for the future of green buildings,” as described in... Read more

Lewis Mumford Award winners. The award for Peace went to Architecture for Humanity for its “passion and dedication connecting architects and designers with communities in need around the world.” The award for Development went to United Indian Health... Read more

The U.S. distributor of the Uridan® nonflushing urinal, USA-GDK International, has abandoned the product, citing the relatively high price point (exacerbated by the recent drop of the dollar against the euro) and the unavailability of a vitreous china model as reasons for the slow sales. Uridan is seeking a new U.S. distributor. For more on... Read more

EBN Vol. 10, No. 2) to require that all new municipal facilities achieve LEED® Gold certification (joining only Scottsdale, Arizona, and Vancouver, British Columbia, in calling for Gold). Major retrofits and existing occupied buildings will... Read more

The Council of the District of Columbia has enacted a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) that applies to all retail electricity sales in Washington, D.C. The two-tiered system establishes yearly benchmarks for tier-one and tier-two resources. By 2022, all utilities must generate 11% of their electricity from tier-one resources, including solar... Read more

The U.S. Department of Energy has released version 1.2.2 of its EnergyPlus modeling software, compatible with Windows and Linux operating systems. The new version features more weather files and the ability to model more complex ventilation designs, among other enhancements. Details are at www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus/.

Stains and sealants can reduce the cancer risk posed by decks and playground equipment treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA), according to preliminary results from a study being undertaken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. “Oil- or water-based stains that can penetrate wood... Read more

What we do to our environment, we do to ourselves, the saying goes. Nowhere is this principle played out more dramatically than in our hospitals, where doctors and nurses work the front lines against environmental illness, treating patients for cancers caused by exposure to toxic materials, asthma triggered by breathing dirty air, and heat... Read more

EBN. “These are things that the average Joe can connect with: ‘Hey, my neighbor’s lights are blazing into my window,’ or ‘I’d like to go out... Read more

Vista Award for excellence in the design and construction of environmentally sustainable healthcare facilities from the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE). The Boulder Community Foothills Hospital became the... Read more

Consumer Reports® launched a new, free website on Earth Day, April 22, 2005, to help consumers make environmentally responsible purchases. Greenerchoices.org began with a dozen products in several categories and plans to expand in the future. An additional “green ratings” feature details Consumer Reports’ findings on the energy-efficiency and... Read more

EBN ran a chart titled “Some Existing and Forthcoming Straw Panel Products.” It included a dozen listings—ten were domestic, two were from overseas. At the time, eight of the ten domestic manufacturers weren’t yet in production; the other two had suspended production, but anticipated getting rolling again. A decade... Read more

The Northern California chapter of Architects, Designers, and Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR) has announced a new scholarship to promote “solutions to problems of poor indoor air quality, electromagnetic fields, mold, and other environmental toxins,” in the hopes of preventing environmental illness including multiple chemical... Read more