Adapting to a Greenhouse World

Now that any lingering doubts about the reality of human-generated global climate change are disappearing (see news story, page 5), I’m faced with a sobering reality check.

I’ve been harboring this illusion that once the doubts were adequately addressed, the world would wake up and take real action to... Read more

On June 30, 2000 two dozen representatives of various design-related organizations (joined by deans from some of the nation’s leading architecture schools via video teleconference) met at the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C. to discuss

sustainability in architectural education. The event was organized by The American... Read more

LEED in Seattle, and an Eleventh-Hour Change

I’d like to thank you for publishing such an excellent article on the LEED™ Rating System (EBN

Vol. 9, No. 6). Not only does it provide a helpful snapshot of the system’s content, but it also pointed out some of the history, challenges, and unresolved issues in the system. I need to provide a... Read more

The Green Skyscraper:

by Ken Yeang, 1999. Prestel Verlag, Munich. Paperback, 304 pages, $29.95

The challenges presented by Ken Yeang in

The Green Skyscraper start right with the cover shot—an arresting model of the Tokyo Nara Building revealing several floors of skyscraper devoted to gardens and a soft, sculptured form—and... Read more

Lighter AAC from Matrix

Matrix PAAC, LP (formerly Hebel Southeast), makers of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) block, have introduced the AAC-2.5LT. The AAC-2.5LT has the same dimensions as the standard 2.5, but is 23% less dense. Even though the block is light enough to reduce shipping costs on a full load, it is still suitable for structural... Read more

Sydney Olympics Walk the Talk

The Olympic Games being held later this summer in Sydney, Australia have gone further than any other modern Olympics in addressing environmental considerations—due largely to a unique collaboration.

In the early 1990s, Greenpeace International head Paul Gilding participated with environmental consulting... Read more

Draft Report Predicts Climate Change Impacts for U.S. by Region

On June 12, 2000 the National Science Foundation released its

National Assessment Synthesis Report for a 60-day comment period. This report is the culmination of a research program initiated in 1990 by the Global Change Research Act. Included in it are the results of... Read more

New Energy Efficiency Bill Is Performance-Based

On June 13, Senator Bob Smith (Republican–NH) introduced the Energy Efficient Buildings Incentives Act (S. 2718) to Congress. The bill would provide tax deductions for the following residential and commercial energy efficiency improvements: whole-building performance, PV systems, certified solar... Read more

Jim Quinn

, President and CEO of Collins Companies, has announced plans to retire this fall. Under Quinn’s leadership, Collins became national leaders in Forest Stewardship Council-accredited certification of their forest lands, which include areas in northern California, southern Oregon, and (as Kane Hardwood) Pennsylvania. Quinn will be... Read more

Not All Tax Credits Are Bad

With reference to your June 2000 (EBN Vol. 9, No. 6) editorial entitled “Perspective: Green Building Tax Credits? No, Thanks!” you are entirely correct—the last time the federal government offered tax credits for solar energy applications, they made a monumental mistake, one that almost destroyed the solar industry... Read more

Plum Creek Timber Company

, based in Seattle, announced on July 18 an agreement to acquire

The Timber Company—the division of Georgia-Pacific that has owned and managed all 4.4 million acres (1.8 million ha) of G-P’s timberland. The combined company, with 7.9 million acres (3.2 million ha), will be the second-largest private timberland... Read more

Civano: Is the Debate Over This Project Sustainable?

It’s not surprising that a project with such comprehensive and intensive sustainability goals as Civano would draw as much fire as interest. It’s hard to find anyone familiar with the project who doesn’t have a pretty strong opinion about it. In our review of Civano,

EBN conducted an... Read more

Honeywell TranStar Transformer Offers Significant Savings

“Exciting transformers” might seem like an oxymoron, but Honeywell has one for you—the new dry-type, ultra-low-loss TranStar™. The iron or steel core in conventional transformers has been replaced in the TranStar by a highly efficient MetGlas® amorphous metal core.

The TranStar... Read more

More on Recycled Synthetic Roof Shingles

I am an architect interested in environmental issues.

EBN is always my first source in searching for information about environmental products because of its clear summaries and comparisons. Your “Recycled Synthetic Roofing Shingles” product review (

Vol. 9, No. 5 – May 2000) raises two... Read more

Christopher Gribbs

has left his longtime post as The American Institute of Architects’ staff member responsible for the Committee on the Environment (COTE), for a position with broader authority and more growth potential as Director of Convention Programs for the Institute. At a time when many AIA Professional Interest Areas struggled to get... Read more

The Hayward Truss

Hayward Lumber Company of Pacific Grove, California continues its leadership role in the green building materials industry (see EBN

Vol. 7, No. 1) with introduction of 100% certified-wood trusses.

William E. Hayward, President and CEO of the company, called this is a “landmark event in the construction industry... Read more

Maryland has adopted a Consumer Benefits Act in May that offers tax credits to employers who provide staff with

incentives not to commute by car—such as subsidizing public transit or providing a cash benefit instead of free parking.

FTC Revises EnergyGuide Labels for Clothes Washers

As of July 14, the spurious distinction made by the Federal Trade Commission between horizontal axis (front-loading) and vertical axis (top-loading) clothes washers with respect to energy consumption will end.

Previously, the FTC maintained two categories for measuring energy... Read more

Following discovery of trace amounts of

perfluorooctanyl-based chemicals in water supplies and in humans, 3M Company announced that it is phasing out products that use these chemicals, including its Scotchguard™ anti-soil coating for carpets and other materials. These products represent about 2% of the company’s $16 billion in annual... Read more

DOE Clothes Washer Standards Raised

Federal minimum standards for the energy efficiency of domestic clothes washers are to increase by 35%. The two-step process requires manufacturers to meet new modified energy factor (MEF) standards. MEF calculates energy used while accounting for remaining moisture content in the clothes—the drier the... Read more