A new study finds that light pollution limits nesting areas for endangered sea turtles. Two species of endangered sea turtles in the Mediterranean were more likely to choose nesting areas under increasingly hard-to-find dark skies, according to new research published in the journal Biological Conservation. Light pollution has long been known to... Read more

New federal rules would mirror California standards and address concerns about third-party testing. In the first significant regulatory move restricting toxic chemicals in years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed two federal rules for regulating formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products—including domestic... Read more

The U.S. Interior Department provides illustrated guidelines on energy retrofitting in historic buildings. The Technical Preservation Services office at the U.S. Department of the Interior has given new weight to sustainability in a recent update to the Illustrated Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings. Published in 1992, the guide’s... Read more

Kinetex is a hybrid: thinner and more durable than carpet tile, this “textile composite flooring” is suited for hard-surface tile applications. J&J Flooring Group, manufacturers of modular and broadloom carpet for commercial applications, recently introduced Kinetex, a soft-surface floor covering that blends attributes of hard surfaces (such... Read more

The agency is promising a much friendlier tool—but some buildings’ Energy Star scores could slip.

Energy Star Portfolio Manager is getting a much-anticipated facelift on July 10, 2013. As the primary tool building owners use to track and benchmark energy and water consumption, Portfolio Manager has recently grown in popularity due to the... Read more

A new program called Declare provides a database of building products with at least 99% of their ingredients fully disclosed. Introduced early in 2013 by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), this free and publicly accessible tool included only about 30 products by late June—but it’s growing rapidly, according to ILFI’s... Read more

If you’ve ever held a Styrofoam cup comfortably in your hand, only to scorch your tongue sipping the piping-hot coffee inside, you know that plastic foam is a really good insulator. It’s also lightweight, generally impervious to moisture, relatively cheap, and strong.

With all that in its favor, it would take some effort to... Read more

Whether it’s a passing train, a rumbling air-handling unit, or a coworker’s takeout order, unwanted sounds can disrupt work and learning; persistent noise can even affect our health. In schools and conference rooms, poor acoustics prevent people from hearing teachers and presenters.

Design strategies can optimize acoustic performance,... Read more

A leading voice on life-cycle assessment offers a call to action for responsible use of LCA for sustainable design.

It was nice to see your recent piece, “Whole-Building Life-Cycle Assessment: Taking the Measure of a Green Building,” and I appreciated the thoughtful quotes from some leading-edge practitioners out there. You rightfully are... Read more

After 20 years of green initiatives, The Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio has seen energy savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars and can boast that its 101-year-old Beaux Arts building recently went off the grid—in a temperate climate.

First steps

Carol Bintz, the building’s chief operating officer, said the projects “started slow,”... Read more

We’ve come a long way from the early Tyvek housewrap; our experience with the German Pro Clima Solitex weather-resistive barrier Pro Clima Solitex weather-resistive barrier installed on our home. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

I remember years ago—I hate to remember how many; it must have been around 1982... Read more

If buildings lose power or heating fuel, how hot is too hot and how cold is too cold? An elderly woman in New York City trying to keep cool without air conditioning—though with an electric fan.

Photo Credit: David Goodman - from the Buildings Resiliency Task Force Report

Over the past five months, the New York City... Read more

The 18-kW photovoltaic array on our barn roof is nearing completion The first PV panels being installed on our barn roof. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

When we started planning the rebuild of our house and the rest of the farm in West Dummerston, Vermont my wife and I knew that we wanted to produce all of... Read more

The latest version of Green Globes for New Construction focuses on novel ways to measure energy performance, but details are hard to come by.

There seems to be a lot to like about the new Green Globes for New Construction, which was apparently launched earlier this week.

I say “seems to” and “apparently” because, despite repeated... Read more

This week’s Slow Living Summit celebrates local food, local economies, sustainability, and resilience. The Slow Living Summit is happening June 5-7 in Brattleboro.Image Credit: Strolling of the Heifers

For the past three years the Slow Living Summit has been an important ancillary event to the Strolling of the Heifers... Read more

EPA gets kudos from Harvard for turning contaminated land into clean energy. Landfills, decommissioned mines, and Superfund sites are being put to good use through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative. Now the program has received top honors from Harvard University’s Ash Center for Democratic... Read more

UL Environment retires the “Children & Schools” label and ups the ante on formaldehyde emissions. The biggest mouthful in indoor emissions standards—Greenguard Children & Schools—has downsized its name while slightly upping its VOC standards.

UL Environment, which purchased Greenguard in 2011, changed the program’s name to Greenguard... Read more

Efficiency could lead to almost-flat energy demand through 2040 despite new construction—but there’s some fine print. The building sector is set to use far less energy in the next three decades than previously thought, according to the 2013 Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Driven... Read more

In-vessel composters can reduce trash bills, food waste, and greenhouse gas emissions in schools, hotels, and office buildings.

A shocking 40% of food produced in the U.S. never gets eaten, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (PDF). That means we’re casually throwing out a quarter of the fresh water we consume and 4% of the oil... Read more

A new study reveals alarming levels of toxic chemicals in firefighters’ blood. If there’s one group you’d expect to be in favor of flame-retardant chemicals, it’s firefighters.

Not so, according to reporter Mario Moretto at the Bangor Daily News. Although danger is part of the job, firefighters didn’t sign up for the long-term risks associated... Read more