in Lake Oswego, Oregon brings to three the total number of buildings certified to date under the LEED™ 2.0 Rating System. The other two are the Cambria Office Building in Edensburg, Pennsylvania (see

EBN

Vol. 10, No. 4) and the PNC Firstside Center in Pittsburgh (see

EBN

Henri Fennell, of Foam-Tech, in North Thetford, Vermont (which

EBN first covered in 1993 as the first company to offer non-ozone-depleting rigid polyurethane foam insulation), continues to push for greener products. Using a $10,000 grant from the State of Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, the company recently

... Read more

I would like to clarify some misinformation contained in a letter published in

Vol. 10, No. 11. The letter’s writer asserts that while lead paint has been banned, it has been replaced “with lead from vinyl siding.”

by Amy Vickers, 2001, WaterPlow Press, PO Box 2475, Amherst, MA 01004-2475; 413/253-1520, 413/253-1521 (fax), www.waterplowpress.com. Hardcover, 464 pages, $99.95.

Much more than a “handbook,” this is a veritable encyclopedia of water conservation methods and equipment in buildings, landscapes, and beyond.

Vickers has drawn on... Read more

Both first-place winners of the 2002 ASHRAE Technology Awards utilize lake water for cooling on a large scale. The first project, providing a whopping 86% energy savings for a large campus, was designed and constructed by a team of engineers led by Lanny Joyce of the Cornell University Department of Utilities and Energy Management in Ithaca,... Read more

During judging of the Northeast Green Building Design Competition last spring, I was struck by the number of residential entries with really stellar passive solar design and super-high-performance building envelopes. Clearly, I thought as I began reviewing the features, we’ve come a long way in high-performance residential green building since... Read more

In a December 19, 2001 letter to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Affairs, the U.S. Green Building Council clarified that the lack of any LEED credits for the exclusion of vinyl flooring should not “be taken as reliable evidence that PVC is considered environmentally benign.” The letter was signed by Christine Ervin, President and CEO... Read more

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority released two

Program Opportunity Notices announcing nearly $2 million in funding for high efficiency lighting products and demonstrations (PON 629-01, $1.2 million) and heating and cooling (PON 649-01, $750,000). Proposals for both are due in late November. Details are... Read more

Gypsum Construction Handbook (see page 145 in the 90th anniversary edition), there is a completely impractical detail for depressing and subsequently hiding wallboard butt joints. But in the head and hands of a craftsman, this detail has been transformed into the ButtHanger, an elegant (despite the name) materials and labor-... Read more

Our recent spurt in production at BuildingGreen—new editions of

GreenSpec,

EBN Archives and

Green Building Advisor—has brought home a message that we often convey to others: being environmentally responsible can be a challenge.

by Dan Imhoff, forewords by Randy Hayes and Sim Van der Ryn, 2001. Watershed Media, Healdsburg, CA; 707/895-3490,

www.watershedmedia.org. Paperback, 136 pages, $22 plus shipping.

The Sustainability Subcommittee (E06.71) of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings has released two Standards documents and is preparing others. Under the leadership of subcommittee chair Dru Meadows, Standard E 2114-01, “Standard Terminology for Sustainability Relative to the Performance... Read more

David L. Crawford is a recipient of the

2001 Presidential Award from the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), for his work in creating awareness of sky brightness and light pollution, and leadership in promoting outdoor lighting to reduce sky brightness. The award was presented at the August 6, 2001 Honors Luncheon... Read more

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation headquarters, previously cited in

EBN as the first (so far, the only) building to earn a LEED™ Platinum rating, now has more high-profile kudos. The building is one of 11 winners of the

5th Annual Business Week

/Architectural Record Awards, selected from among 192 applicants and 19 finalists... Read more

On June 1

commercial clothes washers with volumes of 3.5 ft

3 (100 l) or less were added to the list of Energy Star®-qualified products. Until then, the program was limited to residential washers. To qualify, a washer must have a Modified Energy Factor (MEF) of 1.26 or higher—the same as the standard for residential washers. This... Read more

Centex Homes, one of the nation’s largest home builders, announced in October

one of the biggest corporate gifts ever to The Nature Conservancy, which celebrated its 50th anniversary on October 22. Centex will provide $2.25 million over three years to support preserves in the states of Texas, Florida, and California. This pledge amounts... Read more

While green roofs can be created using a wide range of components and configurations, nearly all involve an integral relationship between the roof membrane and the growing medium—typically through an intermediate drainage layer. Often, green roof systems are sold as part of a new roofing package. Introduced in August, GreenGrid™ takes a... Read more

I read with interest and concern your article on Plastics in Construction (

Vol. 10, No. 7/8). As always, EBN goes out of its way to present an even and fair picture of the issues and alternatives. Emphasis in the article was on alternatives and LCA, which are important areas for exploration. I think, however, that in this case, you were... Read more

Certification Resource Center by the

Certified Forest Products Council

www.certifiedwood.org

www.forestworld.com