Championing the
Changemakers

The

Earth Day Top Ten design competition that we announced last November (

EBN

Vol. 9, No. 11) has been recast due to last-minute intervention by The American Institute of Architects’ top brass. It is now named the “

AIA Top Ten,” with a new submission deadline of March 31, 2001. Details should be online by the... Read more

iiSBE Isn’t Out to Compete

I appreciated the good coverage you provided on the SB2000 conference and the GBC process (

EBN

Vol. 10, No. 1). You also quoted David Gottfried as expressing a concern that iiSBE’s organizers were “...actively undermining his efforts to promote the World Green Building Council. “ I think a little... Read more

Recycled-content EPS Insulation from Polar Industries

Polar Insulation Foam Panel Products

Polar Industries of Prospect, Connecticut, manufactures a line of rigid foam insulation building products using recycled expanded polystyrene (EPS). EPS scrap from Polar building product and packaging plant operations, as well as waste... Read more

Ray Anderson

has announced that he is stepping down as CEO of Interface, Inc., effective July 1, 2001. He will stay on as Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board. Succeeding Anderson as CEO will be

Daniel T. Hendrix, presently Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

In an unrelated... Read more

Appliance Energy Standards Announced

Hailed as one of the biggest environmental achievements of the Clinton Administration, the Department of Energy issued four new Final Rules on minimum standards for the energy efficiency of appliances and HVAC equipment shortly before the changing of the guard on January 20. The new rules go into effect... Read more

The

Cusano Environmental Education Center at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, billed as Philadelphia’s first green building, opened on January 20, 2001. Designed by Susan Maxman & Partners, the project incorporates many green strategies and technologies, including geothermal heating and cooling, daylighting, certified and... Read more

Armstrong World Industries

and

Owens Corning have joined more than 20 other companies in filing for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code because of financial pressures resulting from asbestos-related liability. There currently are approximately 173,000 and 460,000 personal claims against Armstrong and Owens... Read more

A new car-sharing program was launched last November in San Francisco. Joining similar programs in Portland and Seattle,

City CarShare began with 30 members, a handful of vehicles, and 12 parking spaces set aside at four city-owned parking garages. Members pay a one-time refundable fee of $300 to join, a $10 monthly administrative fee,... Read more

Austin Promotes Smart Growth

Austin, Texas now has two-plus years of experience with its innovative incentive program to encourage smart growth. With this point-based system, a developer can earn enough points to waive some or all of the city’s development fees and increase the ceiling on city-paid infrastructure improvements needed for the... Read more

In January 2000 (

Vol. 9, No. 1), we reported on the just-released

National Resources Inventory (NRI) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, which tracks land uses every five years. The 1997 USDA figures, it turns out, were incorrect due to a software error. The reported rate at which open... Read more

Green Building on the Move

EBN has received notice of quite a few new green builder programs, prompting us to take stock of this indicator of growth in the green building market. The list below includes local and state programs for rating private-sector buildings, primarily homes. There are many more programs—alliances, networks,... Read more

The

National Conference on Building Commissioning is now accepting nominations for the third annual Benner Award, a prize for excellence in efforts to make commissioning business as usual. Nominations are due March 1, 2001. Criteria and instructions are available at:

www.peci.org/ncbc/2001/benner.html.

On January 15, 2001 Maharaj Muthoo took over as the new Executive Director of the

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Dr. Muthoo has a doctorate from the University of Oxford and has devoted the past 30 years to issues of social and economic development and environmental management. For 15 years, he was the Director of Forestry Operations... Read more

The City of Portland, Oregon’s new Office of Sustainable Development has formulated a series of initiatives aimed at greening both municipal and private-sector buildings. The new office was created in September 2000 by combining the City’s Energy Office with the Solid Waste and Recycling Division and adding a Green Building Division. The City’s... Read more

Newsbriefs

Berkebile Nelson Immenschuh McDowell Architects (BNIM), a leader in the sustainable design movement, has moved its downtown Kansas City headquarters to the landmark Power & Light Building. BNIM will occupy the first three stories of the building. With its renovation of the space and signing of a ten-year lease, the firm hopes to... Read more

The Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act

, signed into law by President Clinton in late October, includes a $65 million (20%) increase in DOE funding for research in renewable energy technologies. Funding for these activities in Fiscal Year 2001 will be $375 million. EPA also received a $123 million (19%) increase in funding for its... Read more

Awards & Competitions

Entries are due by March 15 for this year’s

Northeast Green Building Awards, a competition sponsored by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust and organized by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA). Prizes will be awarded in four categories for built projects in the Northeast, and for built or... Read more

International News from Sustainable Buildings 2000

Held from October 22 to 25, 2000 in Maastricht, The Netherlands, the Sustainable Buildings 2000 conference had a capacity crowd of 750 attendees, including many from Western Europe, North America, Japan, and Australia. Conference venues included concurrent presentations on various technical and... Read more

Total greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

increased 0.8% in 1999, according to a new report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of DOE. Total emissions in 1999 were 1,833 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MMTCe), up from 1,818 MMTCe in 1998. Emissions of greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide (CO

2) decreased or... Read more

The

Society of Plastics Engineers honored three building product manufacturers at its annual conference, held November 7–10 in Dearborn, Michigan. Evergreen Nylon Recycling, a joint venture of Honeywell International, Inc. and DSM Chemicals North America (see

EBN

Vol. 8, No. 9) was declared “Recycler of the Year” in the... Read more