Thanks for providing another thought-provoking feature (EBN

Vol. 10, No. 11). As a result, I hope more of your readers will view the roof as a green-design opportunity. Although rooftop PV systems may be the most ecologically productive use of a roof, a well-planned vegetated roof has enormous green building value. A cautious approach... Read more

The Florida Solar Energy Center has become the first U.S. laboratory accredited for testing and certifying the

power rating of photovoltaic (PV) modules. The accreditation audit was done by PowerMark Corporation, which is the sole U.S. agent for the Photovoltaic Global Approval Program. Once manufacturers have put their products through... Read more

On January 28, the U.S. Green Building Council announced a pilot program for LEED™ for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB™). This version of the LEED Rating System is intended to certify low-impact buildings, including buildings that were originally certified under LEED when they were built, as well as those not previously certified (see

EBN... Read more

Our excitement over the 100% post-consumer recycled paper we chose for the January EBN was diminished somewhat by the issue’s show-through and inking inconsistency problems. (Our printers didn’t much care for how it handled on their press either!) We will be trying some other alternatives over the next few issues. Please send us an e-mail with... Read more

The

Sustainable Products Purchasers Coalition (SPPC) is a new organization that seeks to improve the quality of information with which green purchasing decisions are made. The SPPC is encouraging manufacturers to generate and share detailed life-cycle assessment (LCA) information on their products, and is supporting the creation and use... Read more

On January 14, the Bush Administration announced new rules reversing Clinton-era actions to increase protection of wetlands. The new rules expand the number of projects that can be approved under nationwide general permits, which receive much less scrutiny than individual permits. The Administration and the Army Corps of Engineers defended the... Read more

The same microbe that is killing off oak trees in California may also be damaging to Coastal Redwoods, according to researchers at the University of California – Berkeley and UC – Davis. The

“Sudden Oak Death” pathogen has killed tens of thousands of oak trees since 1995. Along with killing three species of coastal oaks, the microbe—a... Read more

Submittals are now being accepted for the annual

Top Ten Green Projects competition from The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE), in partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE). In past years Committee members have selected the winners, but this year an invited jury will be led by Horst Berger... Read more

I’m glad to hear about the new efficient hand dryer ("XLerator – The Electric Hand Dryer Reinvented"

EBN

Vol. 11, No. 1), but how ’bout at least mentioning the option of a little shake and wipe on the pants. It’s worked well for me for years—and looks great on the eco-comparison chart.

, one of five core businesses of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, has acquired that portion of the old

Siemens Solar Industries that they did not already own. In March 2001, Siemens AG sold a portion of their photovoltaic (PV) subsidiary, entering into a joint venture comprised of Siemens, E.ON Energie AG, and Shell. Each of... Read more

globally (with records going back to 1880), according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Only 1998 was warmer. Temperatures in the United States were the sixth warmest since records were first kept in 1895. NOAA believes that conditions are ripe for 2002 to become a record-... Read more

On January 11, President Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (H.R. 2869). He marked the occasion at The Millennium Corporate Center in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, which recently became the 1,000th brownfield revived under the Pennsylvania Land Recycling Program. “With this bill, we are... Read more

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Following two years of preparation, the Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau (TABB) has released a

certification program for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) technicians, supervisors, and contractors. TABB was created by the National Energy Management Institute (NEMI), a not-for-profit corporation sponsored by the... Read more

An agreement being negotiated between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the treated wood industry would phase out most uses of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) within two to three years, according to an article in the January 31 issue of

USA Today. Industry representatives contacted by

EBN were quick to point out that... Read more

EBN rely on this latter... Read more

The Boston Architectural Center is offering a

Certificate in Sustainable Design under its continuing education program (BAC also offers bachelor’s and master’s programs in architecture and interior design). Students must complete five required courses and one elective to earn the new Certificate. Details are available from the BAC at... Read more

Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates(TVS) has received the

2002 AIA Architecture Firm Award—the highest honor that The American Institute of Architects can bestow on an architecture firm for consistently producing distinguished architecture. An important aspect of TVS’ great designs is sustainability, which is... Read more