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Changemakers
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Product Review
The company's promotional material is the epitome of environmentally friendly packaging—like a Ben & Jerry's annual report. The article reprints sent were even bound in a jacket made from corrugated cardboard. So we were quite intrigued by the product. Syndecrete™ is a lightweight, pre-cast,... Read more
News 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
News Brief
At first glance,
An Environmental Handbook for Florida Contractors looks like it deals only with the environmental regulations that Florida contractors must contend with. And, indeed, the Handbook describes in detail the requirements for complying with regulations at the federal, state, and local levels. But the book goes much further,... 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
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
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
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
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
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Stone, The Original Green Building Material.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Explain how stone is natural and durable, emits no VOCs, requires almost no maintenance, and provides a connection to the earth and our history.
2.... Read more
Forum topic
Hello Sustainable Advising Leaders!
We have another call coming up next Tuesday, March 17th at 1pm Eastern Time. Here is an agenda, Zoom call information is below.
We'll dive into getting to know each other better and also talk about the best path forward for this group.
Hope you can join us!
Jen
Join Zoom... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all,
Thank you to those of you who attended the Greenbuild Show & Tell! We had an incredible time and learned so much from the presenters -- thanks so much to each of you for sharing.
I am including the slides for some of the presentations below. Please be aware that we have permission from all of the following presenters... Read more
Forum topic
Ali Flynn and Alejandra Arce Gomez are planning a breakout meeting for the Waste Managment Group for all interested.
Please fill out the doodle poll below so that we can find a good time:
https://doodle.com/poll/qxd4zxrw9xzrxwc6
Ali and Alejandra have drafted an updated version of the Commitment for Waste (attached) after... Read more
Forum topic
I'm loving the winning projects this year--congratulations to everyone who participated in making them so great!
(In case you missed the announcement, here's our slideshow on BuildingGreen, and here are the winners with all the details on AIA.org)
Nadav
Forum topic
Gurus -
I'm looking for (or to build) a set of US district energy projects for developer-led mixed-use/residential neighborhoods/districts. Does anyone have a resource for this or have started something similar?
I am not a member of IDEA but utilize their site quite often. Any other resources come to mind? I'd be happy to... Read more

