Championing the
Changemakers

A few weeks ago I told a story in this space that was third-hand from Gordon Hayward. Well, a lot changed in the telling, and Gordon got back to me with what really happened.

Three aunts of a young man from Dorchester, Mass., came up to celebrate his graduation from a Vermont boarding school. They asked Gordon how anyone... Read more

Most of us approach poorly performing old windows with a step-by-step exploration from one less-than-optimal fix to the next. Improving existing window performance shouldn't be that way, and it doesn't have to with new online... Read more

Once upon a time in a village there lived a wise old man. Legend had it that he could answer any question posed to him. A village boy hatched a plan to fool him. He caught a small bird, and approaching the wise old man with the bird in his hands, he asked, "Is this bird dead or alive?"  If the man said it was alive, the boy would... Read more

The much-anticipated Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program has been on a long and costly holding pattern in 27 states since July of 2010 (see “Mortgage Policies Threaten PACE Programs,” EBNAug. 2010). A unique financing tool allowing homeowners to install renewable energy systems or make major efficiency upgrades and then pay... Read more

[Editor's note: This the tenth and final piece in a set of reflections by Vermont builder Robert Riversong. Links to the other nine... Read more

A new pilot program that adds a “Most Efficient” designation to Energy Star labels is expected to help raise the bar more quickly for appliance and equipment efficiency. The program, jointly announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in July 2011, identifies top energy-efficiency... Read more

As an insulation product, spray polyurethane foam (SPF) has many great attributes that we've talked about on this website: easy installation in irregular locations, air barrier qualities, and moisture management potential. Our publications and blog have also been active in covering some of the downsides of this product, including toxic... Read more

Poetry used to be memorized, not written down, and handed from bard to bard, memory to memory, down through the generations. Perhaps folks out there have memorized poems back when schools taught such things, or for personal interest.

Not counting things I have written, I know only one poem by memory, written by David McCord. As proof,... Read more

Vinyl flooring is inexpensive, which has made it one of the most popular commercial flooring options, but it contains phthalates and other... Read more

There's already been a lot of excellent debate around the new LEED Pilot Credit 43. I find myself agreeing with both sides! Here's where I stand in what may be the eye of the storm.

On the one hand, LEED is fundamentally supposed to be about designing high-performing... Read more

Large property owners and managers are increasingly turning to LEED to certify not only their new buildings but also their operations, through LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED-EBOM). To meet that need, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) now offers volume LEED-EBOM certification through its LEED Volume... Read more

[Editor's note: Robert Riversong, a Vermont builder, continues his 10-part series of articles taking... Read more

A new report released by Pike Research covers the current state of energy storage in commercial buildings and predicts major growth for this technology. The report... Read more

Environmental Health... Read more

A new standard for commercial fabrics is now final, creating the newest addition to a growing set of category-specific multi-attribute sustainability standards (see “What’s New in Multi-Attribute Product Certifications,” EBN Dec. 2010).

The diverse group of federal entities—which includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Centers for Disease Control, and eight others—aims... Read more

Environmental Health Perspectives suggests that the health benefits of cycling may be compromised in high-pollution areas.

The study reports that short-term... Read more

glymes. Glymes have many commercial uses, including applications in building products such as adhesives, industrial paints and coatings, paint strippers, refrigerant lubricants, and lithium-ion batteries.... Read more

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a $1.4 billion federal loan guarantee for Project Amp, an ambitious undertaking to install 733 MW worth of photovoltaic panels on commercial buildings across 28 states and the District of Columbia. (For comparison, the U.S. installed 878 MW of PV in 2010, according to the... Read more