News Brief
Energy Source™ Directory
Life has been a whole lot easier around the office since theEnergy Source Directory arrived. Assembled and published by Iris Communications, this is the most complete and most useful guide to specialized products and materials used in energy-efficient construction that we've seen. The 500-page directory is... Read more
News Analysis
The recent ruling to allow logging on several thousand acres of old-growth forest in western Oregon was portrayed in the national media as a blow to environmentalists, but the action may not prove so damaging in the end. While the ruling permits logging on 13 of the 44 sites that were under consideration by the so-... Read more
News Brief
Carol Venolia, Publisher/Editor
If “progressive construction” can be defined as pushing the tools and techniques of conventional builders in the direction of less environmental destruction, then Building With Nature’s material goes beyond progressive, into the forefront of visionary thinking about construction. This bimonthly newsletter, now... Read moreNews Analysis
A study published in the June 5, 1992, issue of
Science by researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Arizona suggests that smoke emitted into the atmosphere from human activities may be having a significant effect in counteracting... Read more
Explainer
Product Review
Builders concerned about out-gassing of formaldehyde from medium-density fiberboard (MDF) have long used Medex in cabinets. This exterior-grade product, originally developed for highway signs, is considerably more expensive than conventional MDF or particleboard, however. Now Medite II fills the need for a... Read more
News Brief
The American Institute of Architects convention in Boston this past June was the setting for a changing of the guard in the American architectural establishment. The Institute’s first woman president took the reins, the Committee on the Environment became its largest and fastest growing committee, and the first installments of the Environmental... Read more
Feature
Carefully stake the building site and driveway, remove trees that are within the excavation area or too close, then erect a fence to keep heavy equipment off fragile soils and away from nearby trees.
Protecting trees and the local ecosystem when building on previously unbuilt land is a vitally important—yet often overlooked—part of environmentally responsible construction. Healthy trees and shrubs can reduce a home’s environmental impact and directly benefit homeowners in a number of ways:
•Enhancing comfort by shielding the house... Read more
Op-Ed
Introducing the first issue of our newsletter.
Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment. In North America, buildings and the building industry account for about 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, 35-40% of ozone depletion, 20-30% of municipal solid waste, vast quantities of natural resource consumption, and dramatic loss of open space each... Read more
Feature
Ozone depletion and global warming are two of our most serious environmental problems—and foam insulation materials containing CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) contribute significantly to both of these problems. The environmentally concerned builder or designer should make it a highest priority to avoid them. Even many of the non-CFC alternatives... Read more
Feature
Susan Maxman is the first AIA president to make sustainable design a priority.
Q.Where would you say architects as a group stand on environmental issues?
A.Architects tend to be reactive rather than proactive. It is important that we take the lead on these environmental issues. The architecture schools in particular tend to be conservative. They just aren’t... Read more
Forum topic
Hi folks,
USGBC has commissioned this survey of the building industry about Federal tax incentives for building efficiency. They will be sharing results with congressional staff, so this might be a good opportunity to give them feedback from the field!
And it's just 10 minutes.
And, after you do the survey if you want to... Read more
Forum topic
All,
We are collecting examples of buildings that involved electrification initiatives (building does not need to be all electric as long as largely electric). Please share your projects with us through this short survey. It will take 8-10min to complete.
The study will culminate into a report and best practices to advocate for... Read more
News Analysis
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Forum topic
What general forums do you want (in addition to the Best Practice forums)? On LEEDuser we have "Forum quick links" in the left sidebar that cover general topics:
https://leeduser.buildinggreen.com/forums
For example, you could have:
General questions Using BITbuilding.organd any other category that isn't restricted to a... Read more
Product Guide
Green walls provide an important connection to nature in urban settings.
BuildingGreen-Approved Green Walls
We approve green wall systems designed to:
improve the thermal performance of a building by creating shade and an air space between the plants and the building mitigate stormwater runoff (much like green roofs) reduce... Read moreForum topic
Hi everyone -
The State of Oregon just posted this Policy Analyst Job Posting. The position is specifically looking for someone to assist in embodied carbon and other sustainable code items. I have heard directly from Oregon's Building Code Division that even though the position is looking for public policy, an architect or engineer (or... Read more
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
THIS WEBINAR PURCHASE AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.
Tue, Oct 9th, 2018 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT (11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PT)Glazing is by far the most complex single component of our enclosures and it must be climate-tuned to boot. Getting the amount, the location, and the performance attributes of glazing is key to... Read more
Forum topic
Hi folks,
I’m excited to be welcoming Meredith Elbaum and Nellie Reid into this forum! Meredith and Nellie were the duo that originally conceived of the Sustainable Design Leaders network back in 2008, and led the effort (with BuildingGreen’s support) through it’s early years.
They later left their SDL roles, so they haven’t been... Read more


