BuildingGreen Report

Product Review

December 1, 2004
Update: (March 22, 2011)

To the best of our knowledge, Humabuilt no longer exists, and the products it previously produced are unavailable.

Update: (July 27, 2006)

To the best of our knowledge, Humabuilt no longer offers FSC-certified veneers.

The Lake Oswego, Oregon company Humabuilt™ is marketing Wheatboard™-core... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2004

The City of San Francisco has adopted a Green Building Ordinance, requiring all new city construction projects, renovations, and additions to achieve a LEED® Silver or higher rating. “This ordinance will translate into millions in savings on future operational costs,” said Jared Blumenfeld, director of the San Francisco Department of the... Read more

News Analysis

December 1, 2004
Following a strong show of support in the member balloting process, LEED® for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) was formally launched at Greenbuild as the second LEED “product.” The first official version of LEED-EB is being called version 2.0—a move that follows the pattern set when the original LEED Rating System was launched and the pilot program... Read more

Product Review

This high-design, lightweight, formaldehyde-free panel is made of waste fiber left over after processing sorghum.

December 1, 2004

Kirei™ is a lightweight, formaldehyde-free panel made from waste fiber left over after processing sorghum, a grain crop grown widely in many parts of the world. The product was developed in Japan in the mid-1990s and introduced to the U.S. market in 2003. Kirei is a Japanese character meaning both clean and beautiful, according to Kirei USA... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2004

The Emerging Green Builders (EGB) chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council announced during Greenbuild the winners of the third annual USGBC Design Competition, intended to recognize students and young professionals in the building industry. More than 130 teams, including more than 270 individuals from 16 countries, competed to design a... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

The egg of a Forster’s tern, a fish-eating seabird common in the San Francisco Bay, has been found to have 63 parts per million (ppm) of toxic PBDE flame retardants (see

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Vol. 13, No. 6), the highest concentration ever found in any animal, according to a September 10, 2004

Los Angeles Times article. According to... Read more

News Analysis

November 1, 2004

The Noisette Company, LLC announced in August 2004 the formation of the Noisette Urban Alliance, a network of 15 manufacturers organized to aid in the redevelopment of the 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) Noisette District of North Charleston, South Carolina (see

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Vol. 10, No. 5). The Alliance includes Herman Miller, Inc., Interface,... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

The FedEx Corporation and the city of Oakland have announced plans to build California’s largest corporate solar electric system atop the FedEx hub at Oakland International Airport. The 904 kilowatt system will be made up of nearly 6,000 photovoltaic modules comprised of more than 300,000 solar cells from the Sharp Electronics Corporation and... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004
Ecoshack has selected three winners from among 101 entries in its

green tent design competition (see

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Vol. 13, No. 7): “Thermal Wing,” designed by Thicket from London, U.K.; “Cocoon,” designed by Robert Schwermer and Dietmar Koering from Cologne, Germany; and “Endemic Synthetic,” designed by Strawn/Sierralta(2) from Chicago,... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

The attorneys general of ten states and the U.S. Virgin Islands have filed a lawsuit charging that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development relies too heavily on chemical pesticides in public housing developments. According to the Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, passed in 1996, federal agencies are required to use... Read more

News Analysis

November 1, 2004

Caulking installed during the 1960s and ’70s threatens public health, according to a study published in the July 2004 issue of

Environmental Health Perspectives. The warning was spurred by the discovery of high polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels in Boston-area buildings. The U.S. government banned the production of these chemicals in... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

The New York State Public Service Commission has adopted Governor Pataki’s proposal that 25% of the state’s electricity come from renewable energy sources by the end of 2013. “Our decision today is based on a detailed examination of the costs, benefits, and potential impacts on system reliability of implementing an efficient and forward-... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

The National Hydrogen Association and the U.S. Department of Energy have opened project registration for the

2005 H2U Design Contest. Teams of graduate and undergraduate students are encouraged to submit designs for hydrogen power parks. Team entries are due January 14, 2005. (For information on the 2004 winner, see

EBN

... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

Just two years after New York City scrapped its recycling plan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced in September 2004 a 20-year contract with the Hugo Neu Corporation, one of the country’s leading recycling companies. Under the contract, Hugo Neu, which is based in Manhattan, will build a $25 million, state-of-the-art recycling facility on city-... Read more

News Analysis

November 1, 2004
After one gets over the surprise that not all urinals need to be flushed with water, nonflushing urinals seem like a no-brainer. What’s not to like about a system that eliminates a large use of potable water in buildings? Well, it turns out that there are indeed some issues, and early adopters of nonflushing urinals are reporting mixed results.... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004
by Jim Augustyn, with illustrations by Hildy Paige Burns. Patty Paw Press, Berkeley, California, 2003; 88 pages, softcover, $14.95. Distributed by Chelsea Green Publishing Company, White River Junction, Vermont. For more information or to order, visit www.solarcat.com.

This lighthearted tribute to cats and the sun was inspired by the... Read more

Product Review

November 1, 2004
There is great appeal to the idea of combining solar power generation with such building-component functions as glazing and roofing. Building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) glazing systems, available from several manufacturers, provide the combined functions of daylight transmission and power generation. (For more on BIPV applications, see

EBN... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

Following endorsement by both houses of parliament, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Kyoto Protocol on November 4, 2004, allowing the 1997 agreement, which aims to limit greenhouse-gas emissions and slow climate change, to take effect for signatories around the world. In order to be set in motion, the agreement required ratification... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004
Kimpton Hotels has teamed up with eco-fashion authority Danny Seo to design “Eco Rooms” on dedicated “Eco Floors” at all of their 38 boutique hotels around the U.S. The Eco Rooms will conserve energy and water while playfully educating their occupants about environmental issues; a portion of room charges will be donated to environmental... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

The Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Chicago) has announced its first-ever Sustainable Design Awards as part of its annual Design Excellence Awards program, which honors the construction and renovation work of local architects. “Sustainable design represents a movement, not a trend,” said Susan King, chair of AIA... Read more