An Austrian court has overturned a lower court's ruling and allowed billboards describing PVC as “an environmental poison” to stand. The industry is appealing the case to the Austrian supreme court.

Solarex Corporation has been selected by Misawa Homes Co. Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan to supply photovoltaic (PV) panels for new homes. The custom-made PV modules will be integrated into the south-facing roof of the houses, replacing the usual roofing tiles. Each house will generate a peak level of four kilowatts of... Read more

Cooling our homes and commercial buildings is becoming a more and more significant environmental concern. Both the total amount of energy we expend for cooling and the fraction of peak electricity use for cooling are on the rise. At the same time, our ability to reduce cooling loads in buildings is improving. We have new materials and... Read more

The new Wampanoag Tribal Headquarters has implemented a remarkable array of environmentally sound features. The building requires very little operating energy, treats all human waste and wastewater as a resource, utilizes many recycled-content and resource-efficient materials, minimizes site impact and offers a comfortable and healthy indoor... Read more

After years of development, the Building Environmental Performance Assessment Criteria (BEPAC) program is up and running. The system is designed as a voluntary rating program for commercial and institutional buildings, in which building owners can choose to have their property... Read more

from The Stafford Architects, 1916 Pike Place #705, Seattle, WA 98101-1056; 206/682-4042, 206/447-1670 (fax). Runs on common spreadsheet or database software on Mac or DOS-based PCs. $45, $69 with semi-annual update. Multi-user licenses slightly higher.

There’s a lot of information on this... Read more

1. Total Harmonic Distortion

2. Osram and Sylvania merged in 1993

3. Reflector style

4. Panasonic lamps have single tube with double fold and are enclosed in white glass bulb. Lamps available in... Read more

Dow Plastics has just introduced three new plastic resins, one of which is being offered as an alternative to flexible PVC. The Affinity SM 1250 resin is reportedly a response to pressure to eliminate PVC from medical applications in Europe, and may also be used to make wire and cable sheathing for construction.

We spend more than $1 billion per year in the United States protecting our buildings from termites and repairing termite damage. Until a few years ago, the highly toxic chlordane was the chemical of choice for termite protection. It was effective at killing termites and maintained its potency for several decades.... Read more

with Architects

by John Connell. 1993, Warner Books, New York. 400 pages, hardcover, $35.00.

With

Homing Instinct, Connell has contributed the latest in a tradition of how-to books for owner-builders. Following in the footsteps of old classics like

From the Ground Up and

Building... Read more

Adobe/Solar Associates, purveyor of top-notch workshops on passive solar and adobe construction since 1991, has just introduced a free newsletter,

The Mudslinger. ASA’s three-day 1994 workshops are scheduled for May and October in Santa Fe, and April and October in Phoenix. For information, contact Adobe/Solar Associates, 847 E. Palace... Read more

Your article titled “Should We Phase Out PVC?” was a breath of fresh air. You assumed an impartial role and presented the available information without misrepresentation, innuendo or distortion. The fact that PVC can be hazardous during its manufacture and disposal should be of concern to your readers.

... Read more

Preliminary results of side-by-side energy testing of a foam-core panel house and a conventional stick-built house are in. The foam-core panel house won, according to the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA). The foam-core house was found to have 40% less heat loss than the conventional house, and its effective leakage area (a measure... Read more

Building Materials

The Forest Products Laboratory (FPL), largest research lab of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, has announced a plan to promote increased use of recycled wood fiber in a broad range of housing applications. The project’s stated goal is to develop technologies... Read more

Lever Bros. Co. of New York, a long-time promoter of recycled plastic lumber as an end-use for the plastic packaging of its products, has announced a donation to buy plastic lumber for use in national parks. Up to $100,000 will be used to purchase park benches, picnic tables, and boardwalks for 10 national parks, according to a report in

The nonprofit group Urban Ecology Australia has been working to convert a city block in Adelaide, Australia into a progressive ecological community. The plan got the green light from city council members on February 7. The only remaining legal hurdle for the AUS$60 million project is to prove its... Read more

from Batt Scraps

These issues... Read more

InsulCot™ was a recycled cotton and polyester insulation product that was available on a limited basis since 1991. It has been temporarily discontinued but should be available much more widely this May. A major textile manufacturer is now gearing up for large-scale production. The new product (as yet unnamed) is being positioned to... Read more

Building Materials in the Context of Sustainable Development, nine research reports available from Forintek Canada Corp., 800 Montreal Road, Ottawa, ON K1G 3Z5, Canada; 613/744-0963, 613/744-0903 (fax). Complete sets: CDN$600 for universities and nonprofits, CDN$900 for... Read more