Championing the
Changemakers

This is part of an ongoing series. Read all the Sticky Business posts here.

Their location means that they cannot be inspected, repaired, or replaced; we need to know that they will maintain their integrity and function for the full service life of the assembly.While liquid sealants most often are used on... Read more

Take our quiz to find out how much you really know about VOCs, lead, toxic flame retardants, and other common hazards in building materials. Sometimes you feel like you should wear a hazmat suit to the office—but it can be difficult to find a tie to match.Photo Credit: Reena Rose Sibayan, NJ.com

Food, toys, furniture, building products—just... Read more

A look at the fascinating history and operation of refrigerant-cycle air conditioners. Fedders room air 5,000 Btu/hour room conditioner. Click on image to enlarge.

Photo Credit: Fedders

My wife and I did the outside work early, while the weather was still bearable. Since mid-day we’ve been holed up in the house. It’... Read more

Passive solar design features have helped define what energy-efficient buildings look like. Have newer design practices left them behind? A home in St. Peter, Minnnesota, designed by Sarah Nettleton Architects features south-facing glass with exterior shade panels and lots of interior thermal mass. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Don Wong... Read more

Simple strategies to keep cool without the use of mechanical air conditioning.

A simple exterior window shade in Florida that doesn't interfere with window operation. Click on image to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

Welcome to summer. Burlington, Vermont hit a record 97°F the other day, and my place in West Dummerston... Read more

Furniture constantly touches our skin and can emit VOCs directly into our breathing zones. These five steps will help you make safer, greener choices. Steelcase's lightweight Think chair is one of a handful of products that have achieved level 3 certification through BIFMA.Photo Credit: Steelcase

We already have plenty to think about when it... Read more

My quest for a greener lawn mowing option. Black & Deckers 36-volt battery-powered electric mower. Click on image to enlarge.Photo Credit: Black & Decker

I’ve never liked mowing the lawn. And it’s not just because of the gasoline used in the process.

Lawns carry huge environmental... Read more

Blower-door testing of the nearly complete Brattleboro Food Co-op building shows it to be remarkably tight. Andy Shapiro (standing) and Terry Brennan set up a two-fan blower door for air tightness testing at the Brattleboro Co-op. Click on image to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

The new Brattleboro Food Co-op... Read more

This is part of an ongoing series. Read all the Sticky Business posts here.

Photo: DAP

When selecting a sealant, these properties are typically the most important:

movement tolerance (rated by Class per ASTM C920, with 25 meaning joint movement of 25% of the linear width... Read more

Chemical and plastics trade groups claim the federal government should stop using LEED. BuildingGreen separates the facts from the fabrications. The FOX Architects-designed American Chemistry Council headquarters in Washington, D.C.Photo Credit: receptiondeskworld.com

 

 

A developing focus on chemicals of concern in the... Read more

Recognizing that GDP has significant limitations, Vermont has become the first state to formally embrace a "genuine progress indicator" as a metric of well-being. With the tracking of a GPI, there may be more incentive to protect beautiful places like May Pond in northern Vermont.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

 

The... Read more

Although exterior paints have moved beyond lead and the most toxic solvents, new coatings contain biocides that may pose a different set of concerns. Biocides play an important role in a paint's durability by protecting it from mildew, but biocides cannot make up for poor application practices.Photo: Bob Cusumano, Coatings Consultants, Inc.

... Read more

Innovative energy-savings products from the AIA National Convention this month. The energy-saving Haiku ceiling fan in bamboo. Click to enlarge.

Photo Credit: Big Ass Fans

 

Last week, I wrote about a number of innovative window and glazing products I came across at the AIA Convention in Washington, DC... Read more

Glazing and window manufacturers showed off some highly innovative products at the 2012 AIA Convention in Washington, DC Pythagoras Solar's new BIPV glass was one of two innovative glazing products on display at the Guardian booth at the AIA Convention. Click on image to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

I just spent... Read more

New EPD summaries give a snapshot view of LCA data, but are limited by their document-centric paradigm. This two-page summary of an EPD is a new format that seeks to make life-cycle assessment-based information easier to use.Image Credit: UL Environment

Environmental product declarations (EPDs) are, in theory, the answer to our... Read more

The opening keynote at AIA 2012 dishes up a surprisingly politicized main event but transitions smoothly to end on a high note. Welcome to AIA 2012 in Washington, D.C.Photo Credit: Paula Melton

A lot of things come to mind when I think about the annual AIA Convention; electoral politics isn't one of them. But today's opening keynote... Read more

BuildingGreen goes to town! On our way to D.C. for this year's AIA Convention, we stopped in NYC for a tour of the Bank of America tower that took us from the subterranean depths to the highest heights.

For a number of reasons, the Cook+Fox-designed Bank of America tower at One Bryant Park is an object lesson in how difficult it can be to... Read more

As the small wind turbine market feels the pain of temporary holds on state incentive programs, turbine certification could bring the stability and improve the market’s reputation. New Jersey placed a rebate incentive program on hold due to catastrophic mechanical failures of multiple small wind turbines.Photo Credit: World Future Energy Summit... Read more

BikeSharing in Toronto. There are dozens of storage areas like this where members of Toronto's bikesharing organization can check out a bike.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

While challenging, it is possible to get away from our dependence on fossil fuels when it comes to our transportation needs

Last week I laid out some... Read more

Now in its seventh year, the annual gathering of Living Building Challenge project teams and their kin—known as Living Future—has really hit its stride. Reinventing the materials supply chain is not for the faint-of-heart!Photo Credit: Eden Brukman, ILFI

The annual Living Future event rotates between Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland... Read more