The visibility you gave to BLOOMS ACROSS AMERICA in your May/June 1995 issue is greatly appreciated, however; I do want to clarify a key point in order to prevent any alarm or confusion about the product. While the wildflower seed mix is not made up entirely of North American native wildflowers, it is composed of... Read more

The National Material Exchange Network is now online. In May the materials exchange, which links generators of industrial “waste” with users of those materials (see EBN

Vol. 2, No. 3), became an interactive, free Web page with participation of 51 regional waste exchanges throughout North America. The Web page address is www.earthcycle.... Read more

In recent years, responsible recycling of nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cad) batteries, mercury thermostats and a few other wastes has been hampered... Read more

GreenStone Industries, the nation’s largest producer of cellulose insulation, just announced the acquisition of Pacific Rim Recycling, a curbside recycling business in Benicia, California. Entering the recycling business is an effort to deal with the rapidly rising cost of recycled newspaper. Eric Oganesoff, chairman and CEO of GreenStone... Read more

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) 1995 Honor Awards were presented on May 5 at the Institute’s annual convention in Atlanta. Many of the projects recognized this year exhibited a sensitivity to the environment, suggesting that environmental criteria may have carried more weight with the... Read more

The results of the Boston Society of Architects’ 1995 Sustainable Design Awards were announced on June 17 at the Boston Area Solar Energy Association’s annual Solar Cooker Picnic. The sole award was given to Christopher Grant Kerwan, Bart S. Uchida, and Matthew Urbanski, all of Cambridge, Massachusetts, for the demolition and reconstruction of... Read more

Regarding your article entitled “Steelcase Providing Detailed Emissions Data,” published in the May/June 1995 issue of

Environmental Building News: I first want to commend you on the article and discussion regarding Steelcase’s efforts to reduce emission of VOCs and formaldehyde from its products. I also want to... Read more

In a statement released this April, The American Physical Society argued that the electromagnetic fields (EMF) emanating from power lines and appliances do not show a consistent, significant link with cancer. APS, the world’s largest organization of physicists with over 43,000 members, argues that the... Read more

The May/June issue of

Environmental Building News was of particular interest to us, with its focus on the use of straw in building. We were especially interested, of course, in your comments on Agriboard.

While we were impressed with the article’s clear, accurate and objective overview, the comments on R-... Read more

A new 68,000 ft3 grocery store in Kitsap County, Washington is being used to demonstrate the use of recycled-content building materials that can be used in commercial projects. A key element of the project is public education and increasing awareness within the design and construction community. For information, contact Scott Thomas of the... Read more

This rule recommends minimum recycled content for various materials purchased by the government or purchased for... Read more

With this issue we begin our fourth year of publishing EBN. The milestone gives me an opportunity to reflect back over our short history and tell you about some developments for the future. It has been a good three years—no, make that great. We’ve had our share of ups and downs and financial struggles, to be sure, but positive... Read more

A potential barrier to cellulose insulation use that was described in the last issue of EBN (Vol. 4, No. 3) has apparently been solved. The May 1995 issue of

Energy Design Update reported that the three model code bodies are removing recently adopted provisions that would have required more stringent fire testing for cellulose. Both... Read more

Canada’s Green Building Information Council (GBIC) was inaugurated in July of 1994 in Toronto. Coordinated by University of British Columbia School of Architecture Professor Dr. Raymond Cole, the Council is dedicated to stimulating public and private efforts to “advance the energy and environmental... Read more

David Engwicht. 1993, New Society Publishers, 4527 Springfield Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143; 800/333-9093. 180 pages, paperback, $12.95; cloth, $39.95.

Reclaiming Our Cities & Towns is the sort of book one wishes everyone would read. It is relevant whether you design communities,... Read more

Bruce K. Ferguson. 1994, CRC Press, 2000 Corporate Boulevard, NW, Boca Raton, FL 33431; 407/994-0555. 270 pages, hardcover, $77.45.

This is a technical book—much more than most designers and builders think they need to know about the topic—but it is reviewed here because of the significance of good... Read more

Of all the common materials used in construction, none poses quite the challenges of roofing—particularly from an environmental standpoint.

Roofs provide one of the most fundamental functions of a building: shelter from the elements. Roofs must endure drastic temperature swings, long-term exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, high winds,... Read more

In October 1994 the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) announced its Sustainable Forestry Initiative. The Initiative is based on a set of “Sustainable Forestry Principles and Implementation Guidelines,” which all member companies are expected to adopt. Since October the... Read more

Well, I’ve been putting off subscribing; getting by on other peoples’ back issues, sneaking down to the periodical room at the Conway School to catch up on the latest-breaking motions in the sustainable building world. It’s a bit like listening to Public Radio without ever sending in a contribution, an easy pattern to slide into,... Read more

Total 1994 energy consumption was 85.34 quads (90 EJ) (1 quad = 10

15 Btu), representing a 1.7% increase over 1993 consumption, which had also been a record. Net imports of energy were also at a record level (18.3 quads or... Read more