Your feature on water heating in the October 2002 EBN (

Vol. 11, No. 10) included discussion of the GFX wastewater heat recovery unit. The article suggested that this device can reduce water heating energy by 12–15% and that installing one for $500 to $800 is cost-effective. Given small savings and high costs, I wonder if the GFX makes... Read more

Architecture for Humanity (AFH) announced the winning entries in its competition to design a mobile clinic equipped to treat rural African patients infected with HIV or AIDS and to disseminate information about the disease and its prevention. AFH received a staggering 530 entries representing 1,300... Read more

Earth Pledge’s

Green Roofs Initiative, a program dedicated to greening the rooftops of New York City, recently convened representatives from 22 New York City, New York State, District of Columbia, and federal agencies to explain vegetated roofs’ potential for reducing energy consumption, urban heat island effect, and demand on the city’... Read more

Those of us who drive diesel vehicles or heat our homes and businesses with heating oil enjoy the savings this fuel provides—I’ve driven over 800 miles (1,300 km) on a single tank of diesel fuel in my Volkswagen Passat TDI station wagon—but some of us are not so thrilled about the pollutants emitted by that fuel. Diesel fuel and heating oil... Read more

Voter turnout was moderate in the recent U.S. Green Building Council Board elections. With 666 ballots cast (about 28%), six members were returned to the Council Board—including EBN Executive Editor Alex Wilson and EBN Advisory Board member David Eisenberg—and four new members were added. The complete list of newly elected Board members and... Read more

EBN editors, along with longtime educator, author, and green architect Bill Bobenhausen, FAIA, attended many sessions and summarized a few highlights below. Presentation materials, including PowerPoint files, abstracts, and papers, are available online at... Read more

Americans may want to “live larger” but not necessarily in larger homes. Over 1,000 Americans were recently asked by Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch, on behalf of the industry trade group The Hardwood Information Center, to

describe the perfect house. Americans dream of an average 2,500 ft2 (230 m2) house, according to the survey—not... Read more

U.S. Green Building Council, Washington, DC 20036; 202/828-7422, www.usgbc.org. Brochure, 14 pages, single copies available free from USGBC Marketing Department.

, a principal at Boulder, Colorado’s Marshall Design, Inc., was named a Fellow of the

Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) for his contributions to the improved efficiency of outdoor and indoor lighting systems, including research in roadway lighting and lighting control systems.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) signed an agreement in October formalizing their

partnership in the promotion of energy-efficient, environmentally responsive buildings. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) extends and expands on a 1996 MOU that had been allowed to expire. In listing... Read more

by Kathryn Houser and Michael Myers, 2002. Published by Sustainable Living Alliance, PO Box 33368, Austin, TX 78764, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The manual and CD-ROM are available free of charge while supplies last. E-mail your request with contact information to rainfall@swbell.net or call 512-326-4636.

2002 Best Practice Sustainability Awards. Awards were made in five categories—details at www.sbicouncil.org:

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Sustainable Policy Initiatives:

The Cool Metal Roofing Coalition, a nonprofit organization founded last year... Read more

BuildingGreen, Inc. and the editors of

Environmental Building News announced at the USGBC conference in Austin our pick of the ten best new green building products. The first-ever award recognizes the most exciting products added to the

GreenSpec Directory during the past year (though some products may have been on the market... Read more

The cement industry has announced the merging of two major organizations. The

American Portland Cement Alliance (APCA) will continue its work in government affairs as a division of the newly expanded trade group, the

Portland Cement Association (PCA). In conjunction with its reorganization, the PCA is launching a new logo and... Read more

In September, Global Green USA presented the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Rating System with a

2002 Building Design Award for Designing a Sustainable and Secure World. Global Green USA is online at www.globalgreen.org.

The Oregon chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has recognized Portland-based

Walker Macy landscape architects and planners with their first

Honor Award for Environmental and Sustainable Design. The firm was chosen for its work on Lewis & Clark College’s new Center for Social Sciences, which is... Read more

Over 80% of Earth’s land surface feels direct influence from humans, according to a comprehensive report from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Columbia University’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network. Only parts of the boreal forests of Canada and Russia, the deserts of Africa and Australia, the Arctic tundra, and... Read more