Your recent “Electric Lighting” article (Vol. 11, No. 6, June 2002) did an accurate and thorough job of summarizing the complex technical and environmental issues regarding lamps. As a professional lighting designer and LEED™-accredited consultant, I appreciated your valuable point that while the article focused on technology and not design, “... Read more

by Timothy Beatley. Island Press, Washington, DC, 2000. Paperback, 491 pages, $30.

A professor of Urban and Environmental Planning at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Timothy Beatley has a lot to say about cities. Green Urbanism was born of his hope that European urban development might inspire Americans and guide our... Read more

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has completed a survey in which

straw-bale houses were found to use an average of 21% less space-heating energy than conventional houses. Because comparable conventional homes were not available, the study compared eleven straw-bale homes of various sizes and bale wall types to... Read more

The Portland, Oregon Office of Sustainable Development announced in July the release ofPortland LEED, the first locally tailored version of the LEED™ Rating System to be approved by the U.S. Green Building Council. The new version incorporates Portland’s stringent Stormwater Management and Erosion Control Manuals as well as the State of Oregon’... Read more

Please reference the letter from me that was published in the May 2002 issue of

Environmental Building News (

Vol. 11, No. 5). We would appreciate your publication of the following retraction/apology.

United Solar, a joint venture between Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. and N. V. Bekaert, opened a

30-megawatt solar cell manufacturing facility in its hometown of Auburn Hills, Michigan on July 1. The largest of its kind, the plant will turn out thin-film amorphous photovoltaic cells in a continuous roll-to-roll process similar to that... Read more

All fifteen European Union member nations ceremoniously ratified the Kyoto protocol on May 31 at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Japan joined the EU in ratification on June 5. By ratifying the protocol, industrialized nations commit to lowering greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5% between 2008 and 2012 in the hopes of... Read more

A great deal has happened since we addressed “rigid foam insulation and the environment” ten years ago this month (

EBN

Vol. 1, No. 1). The big issue then was ozone depletion, and... Read more

has been introduced in the U.S. Senate. In 1989, the U.S. EPA proposed a limited ban on asbestos, but a federal appeals court overturned the regulations in 1991. Risks of asbestos exposure were brought back into focus by Libby, Montana, however, where 200 people have died from asbestos-related illness and thousands more... Read more

In July 1999 (

Vol. 8, No. 7/8), we reported that Agriboard Industries, headquartered in Fairfield, Iowa, had ceased production following a failure to secure needed financing. The company is now back in business as a subsidiary of the Ryan Development Company, an investor in the earlier venture. Agriboard is in limited production with 4... Read more

has stepped down after two and a half years as publisher and editor of

Environmental Design and Construction (ED&C) magazine. She will remain active in the green building field, working as an independent consultant out of her office in San Francisco. She can be reached at 415/863-2614 or by e-mail at... Read more

The

Biobased Manufacturers Association (BMA) was launched on June 12 in Phoenix, Arizona to assist in the marketing and promotion of a wide range of biobased products—everything from alternative fuels and solvents to construction composites, paints, and bioplastics. “We see our mission as selling biobased instead of petroleum or... Read more

EBN, but it has. That one was dated July/August 1992.

Ten years ago, the U.S. Green Building Council was just a gleam in the eyes of its visionary founders. The Forest Stewardship Council had yet to... Read more

a two-week straw-bale “blitz build”to erect two public buildings and demonstrate the potential of straw-bale construction for cheap, durable, energy-efficient housing. Beginning July 14... Read more

by David Pearson. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, 2001. 223 pages, paperback $35, hardcover $60

New Organic Architecturehonors its subject through a dazzling tribute to its leading current practitioners. David Pearson’s book centers around eight key themes that define organic architecture: “building... Read more

I enjoyed your review of green building programs throughout the U.S. (“State and Local Green Building Programs,”

EBN

Vol. 11, No. 6). However, ours wasn’t on it! Of course, it is difficult to keep up with all the amazing things happening in the field of green building.

The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) has fulfilled its promise to identify green energy providers who meet CRS Green-e environmental and consumer protection standards. Following their March 2002 establishment of

Green-e tradable renewable certificates (TRCs) for qualifying wind, solar electric, geothermal, biomass, and low-impact... Read more

Denying all charges of wrongdoing or liability, James Hardie Building Products has reached a settlement in a class-action lawsuit regarding cement-fiber roof shakes including “HardiShakes” and “HardiSlate.” Owners of homes or other structures in the U.S. roofed with James Hardie roof shakes may recover the cost of replacement if the product... Read more

Hunter Lovinsannounced on June 10 her resignation from the institute she cofounded with then-husband Amory Lovins. “I’ve been thinking about going out on my own for some time,” Lovins said. “The day-to-day running of RMI has prohibited me from focusing on what I really want to do: taking Natural Capitalism to a... Read more