The Council of the District of Columbia has enacted a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) that applies to all retail electricity sales in Washington, D.C. The two-tiered system establishes yearly benchmarks for tier-one and tier-two resources. By 2022, all utilities must generate 11% of their electricity from tier-one resources, including solar... Read more

The U.S. Department of Energy has released version 1.2.2 of its EnergyPlus modeling software, compatible with Windows and Linux operating systems. The new version features more weather files and the ability to model more complex ventilation designs, among other enhancements. Details are at www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus/.

Stains and sealants can reduce the cancer risk posed by decks and playground equipment treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA), according to preliminary results from a study being undertaken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. “Oil- or water-based stains that can penetrate wood... Read more

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm issued an executive directive in April 2005 requiring that all new buildings for state agencies, universities, and community colleges be certified according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Rating System. The directive also requires that all buildings owned or operated by the state reduce their... Read more

Twenty Middlebury College students have teamed up with the nonprofit Green House Network to create the

Flat Earth Award, designed to publicly expose well-known climate-change naysayers “for their denial of the facts on global warming.” This year’s nominees were Michael Crichton, whose 2004 novel,

State of Fear, portrays climate... Read more

The Enterprise Foundation has released a report that summarizes how different states are using federal low-income housing tax credits to support green building. “The report finds that many states encourage developers to meet some standard of energy and/or water efficiency; utilize sustainable, durable materials; and ensure proximity to services... Read more

EBN

Vol. 13, No. 7). “The design utilizes the natural asset of earth to create terraces that emulate the gentle flow of the area’s... Read more

What we do to our environment, we do to ourselves, the saying goes. Nowhere is this principle played out more dramatically than in our hospitals, where doctors and nurses work the front lines against environmental illness, treating patients for cancers caused by exposure to toxic materials, asthma triggered by breathing dirty air, and heat... Read more

EBN ran a chart titled “Some Existing and Forthcoming Straw Panel Products.” It included a dozen listings—ten were domestic, two were from overseas. At the time, eight of the ten domestic manufacturers weren’t yet in production; the other two had suspended production, but anticipated getting rolling again. A decade... Read more

U.S. net imports of petroleum reached a record level in 2004, coming in at 57.8% of all petroleum used, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), a statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Energy. Just over 19% of those imports came from the Persian Gulf countries. EIA is online at www.eia.doe.gov.

The North Carolina State Energy Office named Raleigh-based Innovative Design, Inc.,

North Carolina’s Energy Champion in March 2005. Led by Michael Nicklas, FAIA, Innovative Design has been incorporating active and passive solar design, energy efficiency, and other green features into its buildings since its beginnings in 1977. More... Read more

Vista Award for excellence in the design and construction of environmentally sustainable healthcare facilities from the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE). The Boulder Community Foothills Hospital became the... Read more