In the Old World, humans and animals have been adapting to each other for a long time, so it should come as no surprise that the owl habitat protected by new local regulations in Britain is of human construction. According to the Autumn 1996 issue of

Building for a Future, the North Cornwall and Derbyshire Dales District Councils now... Read more

by John Carmody, Stephen Selkowitz, and Lisa Heschong.

W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1996. Softcover, 214 pages, $22.

Simply put, this is one of the best books on energy to come out in recent years. The authors have done a superb job of clearly and accurately describing the complex developments in window... Read more

Some 500 million tons (450 million tonnes) of concrete are used each year in the United States. Most of that is poured into forms or molds, which are removed to expose the hardened concrete. To help get the forms off, they are usually coated with a petroleum-based form-release agent. Light-bodied, low-... Read more

Not a Bright Idea

Submission deadline for the 1997

Quality Building Conference Design Competition is February 15, 1997. Prizes will be awarded to projects that incorporate cost-effective energy and resource conservation systems into their buildings. A range of categories will be judged, including both built and unbuilt projects. Awards will be presented... Read more

Among the recipients of the first

Building Innovation in Home-ownership Awards was the Super-Insulated Straw Bale Affordable Housing Project of Tucson, Arizona. Project organizers receiving the award included Judy Knox and Matts Mhyrmann of Out On Bale, (un)Ltd., David Eisenberg of the Development Center for... Read more

Choosing the right materials for a building is no easy task under any circumstances. Just meeting the conventional criteria, such as performance, cost, and aesthetics, can be a challenge; the addition of an environmental agenda further complicates the picture. The good news is that more tools and resources are becoming available to help... Read more

The environmental labeling organization Green Seal is calling for comments on its proposed standards for environmentally preferable chillers. Among the criteria in the standard are choice of refrigerant, measures to limit refrigerant releases, and energy efficiency. Copies are available by calling Green Seal at 202/331-7337; the deadline for... Read more

Owens Corning announced on August 11 that its Fiberglas® insulation has been certified by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) as having at least 30% recycled glass content. Tim Grether, Manager of Building Materials Technical Services at the company, gave

EBN a more detailed breakdown of the recycled content: 26% is post-industrial... Read more

Interior Concerns Environmental Resources, Inc., 131 W. Blithedale Avenue, Mill Valley, California 94941; 415/389-8049, vschomer@interiorconcerns.org (e-mail). 40 pages, paperback, $10 postpaid.

by Alex Wilson and John Morrill. ACEEE, Washington, DC, 1996. Paperback, 267 pages. $7.95 in stores ($11.95 postpaid from ACEEE, 2140 Shattuck Avenue, #202, Berkeley, CA 94704; 510/549-9914).

Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings,... Read more

has learned that Sierra Pine, Ltd. of Rocklin, California, is negotiating to purchase the U.S. operations of Medite Corporation, a manufacturer of formaldehyde-free medium-density fiberboard (MDF). It has been rumored for months that Medite was on the block, and

Panel World reported in their November 1996 issue that Medite’s... Read more

Building products giant Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (L-P) is purchasing GreenStone Industries, Inc., the top producer of cellulose insulation in the country. GreenStone was virtually unknown in the industry until several years ago, when it went public and began purchasing cellulose manufacturers. GreenStone now operates seven manufacturing... Read more

Mobil Corp. has sold its Composite Products Division to Trex Company, LLC, a corporation formed by four company managers. One of the new owners, Andrew Ferrari, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, told

EBN that the company direction will not change. A fifth production line at the company’s Winchester, Virginia, plant operates around... Read more

Redwood lumber that has been independently certified as coming from “well-managed” forests is now available. The family-owned Big Creek Lumber Company in Davenport, California, which completed certification of its forestry operations this past April (see

EBN

Vol. 5, No. 4), has now completed “chain-of-custody” certification of... Read more

Due to high demand, the Real Goods Institute for Solar Living in Hopland, California, has expanded its educational program offerings to year-round. A number of the offerings are related specifically to sustainable building, though the emphasis is on owner-builders. Programs include “Sustainable Building and Eco Design,” “Solar Electric Systems... Read more

The search is on for an American home. The goal is a home with the look and feel of a traditional suburban house, which the buying public demands, yet one that is at least twice as efficient in its use of energy and other resources. And, it must cost no more than the competition—less, if possible.

We’ve generally argued that for a good green design, it is necessary to get the environmental agenda on the table as early as possible in the design process. Every decision that is made along the way represents a commitment to a particular path and the closing out of other options. If too many decisions are made before bringing an environmental... Read more

The September 2, 1996 issue of

Plastics News reports that the Center for Plastics Recycling Research at Rutgers University is shutting down due to budget cuts. This center has been instrumental in much of the research behind applications for recycled plastic lumber and recycled plastic marine pilings. The article describes the closing... Read more