News Analysis
News Brief
Certification Resource Center by the
Certified Forest Products Council
www.certifiedwood.org
ForestWorldwww.forestworld.com
The Certified Forest Products Council (CFPC) is a nonprofit organization working to increase awareness of, and develop markets for, products from environmentally sound forest operations. Although... Read moreOp-Ed
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.
Tackling any project, whether designing and building a structure or publishing a 368-page... Read moreNews Brief
Ross Spiegel, president of Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and a board member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), has established a new
Environmental Task Team within CSI. The team aims to incorporate environmental considerations into CSI’s operations and format documents. Among its tasks are:
• developing a... Read moreProduct Review
News Analysis
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
News Brief
Design Sense 2001 award of £40,000 for their work on Sainsbury’s supermarket on the Greenwich Peninsula. The Studio eg Ecowork furniture line (see
EBN
Vol. 9, No. 9) was recognized in the same September 26, 2001 program with the
Corporate Prize for Sustainable Design.... Read more
News Brief
Entries are due by December 1 for the
National Green Building Awards to be given at the 2002 National Green Building Conference, March 24–26 in Seattle. Award categories include: Green Advocate; Green Project of the Year—New Home; Green Marketing; Green Building Program of the Year; and Outstanding Green Product. For details, contact... Read more
Feature
These roofs are not just green, they're alive.
Mayor Richard Daley saw his first planted roofs several years ago while visiting Chicago’s sister city of Hamburg, Germany. At the same time, he was learning about urban heat islands (in which our urban areas maintain temperatures considerably higher than surrounding suburban and rural areas). He was particularly attuned to the urban... Read more
News Analysis
At its August 19, 2001 meeting the Board of the U.S. Green Building Council voted unanimously to set a new course for updates to the LEED™ Rating System. “What we realized is that we’re overwhelmed by LEED’s popularity,” said LEED co-chair Rob Watson of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “We wanted to ensure that LEED has a really solid... Read more
News Brief
The Devens Enterprise Commission, the permitting authority for redevelopment of the former Fort Devens army base in north central Massachusetts, has created
a green building incentive program tied to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED™ rating system. The program offers a 15% reduction in development permit fees, up to $10,000 per... Read more
Op-Ed
mourns the loss of friend and green building champion David Kibbey, of Berkeley, California, who died on August 9, 2001 after a long battle with cancer. A native of Vermont, Kibbey was an artist, craftsman, scientist, and counselor. He designed and built beautiful spaces, edited the
Architectural Resource Guide product directory,... Read more
Product Review
News Analysis
When we reported in
EBN
Vol. 10, No. 4 that annual energy use in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s recently constructed Cambria office building was coming in at 62,300 kWh, or $0.18/ft2 ($1.94/m2), we noted that this seemed too good to be true. Alas, this suspicion has been borne out. The incorrect energy... Read more
News Brief
by Guy Dauncey with Patrick Mazza, 2001. New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, British Columbia. Paperback, 270 pages, $19.95.
For anyone interested in nuts-and-bolts strategies for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, this is a must-read.Stormy Weather begins with an introduction providing clear and engaging explanations of global... Read more
Product Review
Arsenic has taken a big hit recently—from studies showing elevated levels in school playgrounds in Florida to public outcry about President Bush’s decision to relax drinking water standards for the element. Not surprisingly, product manufacturers are getting the message. In the July/August issue of
EBN (
Vol. 10, No. 7/8) we... Read more
News Analysis
guaranteed that every one of his homes would have annual heating costs less than $100. “My competitors just tore us up over this, claiming it must be bogus because it just could not... Read more
News Brief
Through a new partnership with the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), Home Depot stores across the U.S. will now contain
recycling stations for used portable rechargeable batteries. This partnership should provide a significant boost to the efforts of nonprofit RBRC to keep cadmium, lead, and nickel out of the... Read more
News Analysis
At the August 2001 National Hardware Show in Chicago the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced the latest Energy Star®-labeled product: residential ceiling fans. Working closely with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Ecos Consulting, and the residential fan industry, EPA developed airflow efficiency, controls, and... Read more
News Brief
Kompan, Inc., the nation’s largest manufacturer of commercial wooden playground equipment, is
the latest manufacturer to abandon CCA-treated wood. Citing concern on behalf of customers, the company completed the switch to nonarsenic, nonchromium pressure-treated wood on September 15. Kompan is using Natural Select™ wood treated with... Read more





