Championing the
Changemakers

The Concept SL-100 32 LED Solar Security Light with Motion Detector. Photo: Amazon.com. Click on image to enlarge.

With Black Friday behind us, it's time for my annual Christmas shopping list--ideas for energy-saving and green living gifts this holiday season. Most of these products can be purchased locally--benefiting the local economy.... Read more

I have gathered through sessions and conversations at Greenbuild that the educational sector is the next big sustainable design push. On the last day of Greenbuild I discovered a session about greening college campuses, with a unique panel—a student, an architecture professor, and a facilities manager, all from different universities.... Read more

I'm just back from Chicago, where I was attending the Greenbuild Conference of the U.S. Green Building Council. Despite the weak economy, some 27,000 architects, builders, developers, and manufacturers gathered for this 9th annual conference.

At Greenbuild, I moderated an interactive session looking at "hype vs. reality" with... Read more

Update (2013): EnGuard is no longer on the market following the manufacturer's decision to discontinue the product line.

I didn't get to spend as much time at the Greenbuild tradeshow as I would have liked last week, but I did spend three or four hours on 179,000 square-foot exhibit hall floor--that's four acres, by the way--Thursday afternoon... Read more

Throughout all of the educational sessions I have attended so far—all on different topics—there has been one overarching theme: community; building communities that really work is the way of the future. One large tie to this is connectivity, pun intended. I have heard many case studies from airports to infill developments about... Read more

Some of the best things about Greenbuild—and there are many—are the educational programs. Covering topics from energy labeling and building innovation to removing embodied carbon from the water supply—there really is something for everyone. The opening plenary which took place this morning, featured General Colin Powell and the closing... Read more

This is my first time visiting Chicago, so I wanted to take a little time, away from Greenbuild and explore a bit. On the suggestion of a friend I chose to visit the Field Museum, my friend thought I would be able to make my way through the museum in about two hours; unfortunately I only had a little over an hour. Luckily the museum—... Read more

Alex Wilson, the founder of our company and our current executive editor (i.e., my boss), is being named the 2010 Hanley Award winner in a special event here at Greenbuild 2010 tomorrow. In recognition of this achievement, and to better understand how this innovative, always-curious visionary looks at the world, I recently asked him 10... Read more

Air pollution over Denver. Most of this pollution is from fossil fuel combustion. Photo: Warren Gretz, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Click on image to enlarge.

Number-one on my top-10 list of green building priorities is to reduce our consumption of energy.

Energy consumption carries with it numerous environment impacts. Most... Read more

Southwall's pioneering suspended low-e Heat Mirror film can now be used with structural glazing systems in large commercial buildings. Graphic: Southwall Technologies. Click on image to enlarge.

I've been following the evolution of Southwall Technologies for years--well, decades. The company invented the low-emissivity coating in the 1970s,... Read more

Drought map, updated weekly, from the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska. Click on image to enlarge.

Number 2 on my list of the top-10 green building priorities is to reduce water use.

Reducing water consumption should be a high priority not only in the parched Southwest but throughout the country. Some... Read more

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released a draft of the next version of the LEED rating systems, and has opened the first public comment period for that draft. The comment period will run from Nov. 8, 2010, to Jan. 14, 2011 (lengthened from the original period which was set to end Dec. 31). According to USGBC's website, a... Read more

Use low- or zero-VOC paints and finishes, such as this zero-VOC Natura paint, to help maintain a healthy indoor environment. Photo: Benjamin Moore. Click on image to enlarge.

Number 3 on my list of the top-10 green building priorities is to ensure that the houses we build or renovate are healthy.

A green home should be a healthy home... Read more

The first installation of Ornilux glass was in 2006 on the facade of an indoor swimming pool building in Plauen, Germany. Photo: Arnold Glas. Click on image to enlarge.

The German company Arnold Glas produces glazing with UV-reflective striping that is highly visible to birds yet nearly invisible to humans.

We've written 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

Lund, Sweden, is the least car-dependent place I've been. You rarely see a car on the streets, but bicycles and pedestrians are everywhere. Photo: Alex Wilson. Click on image to enlarge.

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

CC Expanding Sealer comes tightly compressed in 5-meter rolls, and it expands 15-fold once it is unrolled. Photo: CC Production AB, Sweden. Click on image to enlarge.

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

These houses at Jenny Way on Martha's Vineyard range in size from 1,080 to 1,400 square feet. Designed and built by South Mountain Company, these were the first LEED Platinum, single-family, affordable housing units in the country. Photo: Randi Baird. Click on image to enlarge.

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