Vol. 13, No. 1), quite a bit has happened in the area of standardized testing of toilet performance. The Maximum Performance (MaP™) testing that we reported on has been progressing at a rapid pace. Veritec Consulting, Inc., has now tested well over 200 toilet models, and the... Read more

The Passive Solar Energy Book and a leading advocate for energy efficiency in buildings, has created an organization to amplify his call to action. Architecture 2030 aims to “conduct research and provide information and innovative solutions in the fields of architecture and planning, in an effort to address global... Read more

Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Warren, Vermont, together with ReCycle North of Burlington, Vermont, and Habitat for Humanity, will offer two five-day training courses in April 2006 on building deconstruction and the use of reclaimed building materials in new residential construction. The courses are intended for nonprofit organizations... Read more

On January 4, 2006, the Executive Committee of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) board of directors approved the charter of a Research Committee and appointed its initial five members. This is a core

organizational committee of the Council (as opposed to being a LEED® committee) that focuses on one of the USGBC’s six key goals in... Read more

Tarkett AG, the world’s largest manufacturer of resilient flooring, has acquired Johnsonite, a producer of specialty flooring and flooring accessories. Johnsonite, based in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, makes flooring adhesives with low emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), entryway track-off systems, and flooring produced from recycled tires... Read more

Are you an experienced writer/editor with green building knowledge and excellent research skills? Do you have a knack for distinguishing meaningful information from hype? If so, you might consider joining the editorial team at BuildingGreen, Inc. We need to add a writer to our staff to keep up with our publishing schedule and commitments. The... Read more

The Zody™ chair from Haworth, Inc., was granted a 2005 Good Design™ Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. The international program recognizes “designers and manufacturers for advancing new and innovative product concepts and originality and for stretching the envelope beyond what is considered standard product and... Read more

Centennial College, a community college based in Toronto, Canada, has launched a full-time program in architectural technology that emphasizes green building design and construction. “The three-year program prepares students to work as technologists alongside architects, engineers, builders, contractors, and municipal building departments,”... Read more

The Swedish government has set the aggressive goal of eliminating its dependence on fossil fuels by 2020, according to Mona Sahlin, minister for sustainable development. Sweden plans to harness tax credits, research, and large-scale investment in district heating, among other strategies, to wean the country off fossil fuels. Transportation,... Read more

In an effort to capitalize on the brand value of one of its many acquisitions, the financially troubled U.S. Plastic Lumber (USPL) company has been renamed Trimax Building Products, Inc. The rechristening follows the purchase of the company by a private equity firm, American Pacific Financial Corp., according to a January 16, 2006,

... Read more

A Report for the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative by Gregory Kats, Capital E. Available free at www.cap-e.com. December 2005, 66 pages.

EBN

Vol. 12, No. 11), Greg Kats and his team at Capital E... Read more

The American Institute of Architects Committees on Design and the Environment (COD and COTE) are cosponsoring a conference called “The Architecture of Sustainability” and a design competition called “A House for an Ecologist” (formerly known as eco:dwell) to explore sustainability as an architectural agenda. Judges for the competition are Peter... Read more

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has set tougher standards for clothes washers to qualify for the Energy Star® label, beginning January 1, 2007. The new standards increase the modified energy factor (MEF), the capacity of the clothes container divided by the total energy consumption per cycle, from 1.42 to 1.72 ft3/kWh per cycle. The new... Read more

Beginning March 1, 2006, builders in California’s Central Valley will be forced to either reduce the smog and particulate matter their projects generate or help finance projects that improve the region’s air quality. The program, believed to be the first of its kind, applies to the eight, largely agricultural, counties regulated by the San... Read more

Environmental Building News (EBN) reported on the first building codes for strawbale construction (see

EBN

Vol. 5, No. 1). The State of Nevada had recently passed a mandate requiring local jurisdictions to permit strawbale buildings, and California had approved voluntary guidelines that could be adopted at the... Read more

• The sports-apparel company

Patagonia was given the Corporate... Read more

The Department of Architecture at the University of Minnesota has begun a new Sustainable Design program in its Department of Architecture. For more information, visit www.cala.umn.edu/architecture/.

In December 2005 the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the election of six new members to its board of directors. They are:

Michael Deane of Turner Construction in the contractor category;

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Lisa Shpritz of Bank of America in the finance category;

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Bettina von Hagen of Ecotrust in the... Read more

Bentley Prince Street, a sister company to Interface Flooring Systems, has expanded its options for customers seeking greener carpeting. The company’s Kings Road and New Stratford lines of commercial carpeting are now available with 100% post-industrial 6,6 nylon yarn recovered from automotive-part scrap waste. The products, called Kings RoadRC... Read more