Championing the
Changemakers

I am going to go out on a limb here, but I would bet that sometime in the last 24 hours you have received a marketing message centered around how "green," how "environmentally friendly," or (if it's really serious), how "sustainable... Read more

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

I hate shopping. I'll do the grocery shopping, but when it comes to new appliances, home improvement, clothes--really anything else--I tell the shopper in the household what it is we need and he then spends the hours wading through specs, Consumer Reports,... Read more

What do you do when a green product doesn't live up to expectations? Here at BuildingGreen, we really want to see green building products succeed in the marketplace, and make it easy for professionals to find the best of the best.

But when we see something substandard, we feel it's important to point it out. To win the... Read more

Showers use up a lot of water, accounting for about 17% of all indoor residential water use, and old, inefficient... Read more

[Editor's note: Robert... Read more

As I've said before, windows are a silent but very high-tech part of our buildings. The advances in glazing in the last 30 years have been phenomenal. Will windows keep getting better and better with no end in sight?

In recent years, an increasing number of window manufacturers have been combining and refining the features... Read more

In a recent webcast on green building product certifications, I gave a counterintuitive example of greenwashing: a "recycled steel cabinet." Based on the number of questions I got about this, I... Read more

[Editor's note: Robert Riversong, a Vermont builder, continues his 10-part series of articles taking design and construction to what he sees as radical or... Read more

Have you ever found yourself picking a sticker off a building product or material from the store, and wondering, why did they put the sticker here? I have often had this thought with everything from stovepipe to plumbing fittings, but the classic example in the building world is probably windows.

The glass part of the window... Read more

If you build... Read more

[Editor's note: Robert Riversong, a Vermont builder, continues his 10-part series of articles taking design and construction to what he sees as radical or "... Read more

A new clear floor coating for the commercial and industrial market is being touted as not containing isocyanates, potentially toxic chemicals used in uncured spray polyurethane foams (SPF), clear furniture and floor coatings, and adhesives such as those found in no-added-formaldehyde wood panel products. But it does contain epoxy, made from... Read more

It has been a great spring so far for spotting wildlife. A neighbor told me he was shooing a black bear away from his garbage the other day when he saw that he had also frightened off a moose that was also in the neighborhood. Perhaps the moose and bear are rehearsing for a new wildlife buddy movie?

I spotted a porcupine crossing the... Read more

We just finished our first webinar on Green Building Product Certifications, and I promised people on the call that I'd create a blog post to continue the discussion – so here it is.... Read more

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

I'm not sure if it was the topic or the all-star panel that drew a crowd to a session entitled "Beyond the Red List" at the recent Living Future conference in Vancouver. Along with other great panelists, Tom Lent of the Healthy Building Network teamed up with Robin Guenther from Perkins+Will to share a strong call to action on toxicity in... Read more