The Livos line of German nontoxic paints, finishes, and other products has a new North American distributor. Livos Phytochemistry of America, Inc. (LPA) has just been formed in Mashpee, Massachusetts. Established over 25 years ago, Livos produces more than 1,200 environmentally responsible products, though LPA plans to focus... Read more

The California Integrated Waste Management Board has announced its fifth annual Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP), designed to recognize California businesses making outstanding efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste, and to use recycled materials. Winners receive a certificate and statewide publicity for... Read more

I read with interest

EBN’s April article on our campaign to end the use of old-growth redwood. I think your analysis of the situation is very valuable, especially your discussion of how to identify “old-growth” on the shelf at your local building materials store. There are several points in your article I... Read more

Canadian expertise on ventilation system design and equipment installation is becoming available in the United States. The Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) has begun offering residential ventilation training workshops for contractors, builders, and engineers in the northeastern U.S. Upcoming... Read more

by Reid Ewing with MaryBeth DeAnna, Christine C. Heflin, and Douglas R. Porter; published by Planners Press, American Planning Association, 122 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60603. 1996, paperback, 178 pages, $42.95 + $8 S&H.

The U.S. Department of Energy has finalized new energy efficiency standards for refrigerators and freezers that will take effect on July 1, 2001. The new standards will mandate approximately a 30% reduction in energy consumption for the most common types of refrigerators compared to the 1993 standards that are... Read more

by Andrew N. Davis, Ph.D., Esq. and Paul E. Schaffman, P.E.; pub-lished by Owl Books, Henry Holt and Company, New York. 1996, paperback, 372 pages, $19.95.

I saw a copy of

EBN

Vol. 6, No. 3 which focused on disposal of CCA-treated wood as a problem, but implied that there are no problems associated with this product in use. I am enclosing an article that reviews work we have done demonstrating problems caused by the wood when used in aquatic environments.... Read more

Advanced Houses

Green Home. Since that time, this exciting project has been open to the public, sold to a family, and carefully monitored throughout. This extensive monitoring and conversations with... Read more

Bimonthly Newsletter Covering Traditional Town Planning and Development. Robert Steuteville, Editor and Publisher, P.O. Box 157, Emmaus, PA 18049; 610/965-4623; 610/966-3434 (fax); newurban@aol.com (e-mail). $59 per year.

U.S. Energy consumption in 1996 reached an all-time high of 89.9 quads or 94.8 x 1018 J, according to the DOE Energy Information Administration. This is an increase of 3.1% over consumption in 1995, which had also set a record. Since the 1973 energy crisis, U.S. energy consumption has increased 21%. Energy production from coal in 1996 was 22.6... Read more

There is a new kid on the block in the spray-in foam insulation business. Demilec, Inc., Canada’s largest manufacturer of polyurethane, is going head-to-head with Icynene (see EBN Vol. 4, No. 5) in the low-density, open-cell polyurethane foam industry. The company introduced its Sealection 500 product in the Spring of 1996 in Canada and quickly... Read more

The idea of collecting and storing rainwater for use is hardly new. It has been relied upon for centuries—even millennia—in many parts of the world. Rainwater is used extensively today in Australia, Bermuda, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Hawaii. Even skyscrapers in Hong Kong are collecting and using rainwater. Is this practice a good idea? Is it... Read more

The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is leading a boycott of old-growth redwood in an effort to secure protection of the nation’s remaining old-growth redwood forests. To launch the campaign, RAN, along with the Sierra Club and Greenpeace U.S.A., held a star-studded press conference in Los Angeles and ran a full-page... Read more

This fabric, called

Play it Again Sam, is woven from Fortrel® Ecospun™... Read more

I have read your article in the March 1997 issue of Environmental Building News, concerning CCA-treated wood and its disposal at the end of its service life. I have also read the letter to you written by Mr. Gene S. Bartlow, President and CEO of American Wood Preservers Institute (AWPI).

The U.S. team entered in the Green Building Challenge ’98 (GBC ’98), an international project to develop assessment methods for environmentally responsible buildings, is looking for buildings in the United States to assess for energy and environmental performance. Nominated projects must be elementary schools, medium to large office buildings,... Read more

The American Institute of Architects/Portland (AIA/Portland) now has entry packets available for the 1997 Architecture + Energy Awards: Building Excellence in the Northwest. Any new construction and renovation projects in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, or Washington that are completed at the time of entry are eligible. Jurors for this fifth annual... Read more

by Bill Lawson. Published by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, P.O. Box 3373, Manuka, ACT 2603, Australia; +61-6-273-1548, +61-6-273-1953 (fax). 135 pages, paperback, AUS$39.95 +$10 for overseas shipping.

This environmental overview of building materials is—quite appropriately—... Read more