Championing the
Changemakers

A new voluntary commitment from National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) reduces the maximum mercury content in U.S. residential compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) by a milligram (mg) more than a 2007 commitment. The move became effective in October 2010 and allows 4 mg of mercury per lamp in CFLs of less than 25 watts and 5 mg in... Read more

A new kind of solar cell, inspired by the process of photosynthesis in plants, has been developed by scientists at North Carolina State University. Hyung-Jun Koo, Orlin Velev, and others have impregnated a water-based gel with photosensitive molecules that produce electricity when exposed to sunlight. The gel is enclosed within two electrodes... Read more

We’re awash in standards and certifications that help set credible definitions for “green.” Helping to govern the world of standards and certifications is the International Organization for Standardization (known as “ISO,” from the Greek word for “equal”). ISO, an international, nongovernmental standard-setting body, was founded in... Read more

Rarely can we do everything we want with a green building project—particularly in today’s constrained economy. When we are forced to choose, where will our efforts make the most difference in improving the environmental and health performance of our built environments?

We last took a comprehensive look at these questions in... Read more

The weather is turning cold here in southern Vermont. A friend just got chased off the Long Trail (which she was hiking from the Massachusetts to the Canadian borders) by 18 inches of snow on Killington. While the leaves are still turning here in the Connecticut River valley, it's time to start huddling up by the fire and thinking cozy... Read more

Number 4 on my list of the top-10 green building priorities is to reduce the need for driving.

For very good reasons, we focus a great deal of effort... Read more

In the years that I've been reporting for Environmental Building News, I can't think of another news story that has drawn as much immediate and widespread interest as our recent coverage of the filing of a $100 million class-action suit against USGBC for allegedly defrauding the building industry based on misrepresentations of the... Read more

Since I've been writing this weekly column on innovative green building products, the most interesting products have been brought to my attention. CC Expanding Sealer is the... Read more

Number 5 in my list of the top-10 green building priorities is to... Read more

The Capital Markets Partnership (CMP) is convening a November 12 organizational meeting to continue its work on a National Consensus Sustainable Manufacturing Underwriting Standard, or “Green Value Score.” The meeting will take place at Allianz Global Investors in New York City.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and its founders have been named as defendants in a class action lawsuit filed in federal court. Filed on behalf of mechanical systems designer Henry Gifford, owner of Gifford Fuel Saving, the lawsuit was stamped on October 8, 2010 at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York... Read more

While in California two weeks ago, I visited the headquarters of Xicato, one of the most exciting companies in the burgeoning LED (light-emitting diode) lighting industry. CEO Menko DeRoos explained the company's modular approach to LED lighting and demonstrated the exceptional light quality that is achieved with their system.

To date... Read more

On September 22, 2010, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lisa Jackson, along with the chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Nancy Sutley, reconvened the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice for the first time in more than a decade. The group, which includes five cabinet members, was... Read more

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A new report published by the World Green Building Council (WGBC) asserts that the building sector presents the biggest opportunity to reduce carbon... Read more

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External power adaptors—the little black plug-in cubes used for everything from cell phones to laptop computers—will no longer be eligible for Energy... Read more

As of October 2010, Rhode Island is the first state in the U.S. to recognize the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) as an option for the design and construction of all major public facilities. In 2009 the state passed the Green Buildings Act, which requires all new public projects to be built to LEED Certified standards—with some... Read more

Number 6 in my list of the top-10 green building priorities is to ensure that the home is durably built or renovated, and to reuse existing buildings when... Read more

The wait is over: the first projects have been certified as meeting the stringent terms of the Living Building Challenge (LBC; for background, see “The Living Building Challenge: Can It Really Change the World?” EBN June 2009). Two buildings have achieved full certification after their first year of operation, and a third has earned... Read more