Championing the
Changemakers

Eminent green architect

William McDonough announced in late August that he will not seek reappointment as dean of the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture when his five-year term expires next June. McDonough will continue to teach at the University, and to direct the Institute for Sustainable Design, which he... Read more

Green Seal, 1400 Sixteenth Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036-2215; 202/588-8400 x21;

www.greenseal.org. Distributed to Green Seal Environmental Partners. Ongoing reports, 7 to 8 pages ea.

The Choose Green Report from the nonprofit environmental standards organization Green Seal is designed to help users make... Read more

Natural linoleum is widely promoted and specified in the green building community. As an all-natural alternative to resilient flooring made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC)—including sheet vinyl and VCT (vinyl composition tile)—linoleum has a lot going for it.

Imports of linoleum are on the increase, with the product being used on projects... Read more

As described in “New Life for Old Carpets” (EBN

Vol. 6, No. 6), the Earth Square program takes used carpet tile from buildings and renews it... Read more

The National Association of Home Builders, based in Washington, D.C., will host the

National Green Building Conference next April in Denver. With the sponsorship of this event, NAHB appears to be breaking from its long-held reluctance to embrace green building—if so, this is a very significant development for the green building industry... Read more

From a style standpoint, they have... Read more

Ostrowski’s Alberta Sustainable Home/Office incorporates a whole laundry list of everything one could do to reduce the environmental impact of a home—energy... Read more

The New Jersey Dept. of Community Affairs (DCA) has announced a

Sustainable Development/Affordable Housing Pilot Program to promote sustainable development in the context of energy-efficient, affordable housing. This fall, DCA will solicit proposals from housing development teams to design and construct housing that meets a strict set... Read more

Although Interface, Inc.’s CEO Ray Anderson has been a leading spokesman for corporate sustainability for several years, the company has so far publicized more about its overall manufacturing improvements than about specific green products (see review of Interface’s

Sustainability Report in

EBN

Vol. 7, No. 1). That is... Read more

Winners of the

Architecture + Energy 1998 Design Awards from AIA Portland were announced on June 26. This year’s jurors (including two

EBN Advisory Board members, Gail Lindsey and Ray Cole) took a novel approach by designing awards to highlight the strengths of the best projects, rather than assigning catch-all “grand prize” or... Read more

A detailed article in the March 1998 issue of

Scientific American challenges conventional wisdom that world oil production will not peak until well into the 21st Century. Instead, claim co-authors Dr. Colin Campbell and Jean Laherrère—both petroleum geologists who have worked in the oil industry for more than 40 years—world production... Read more

Researchers with NASA, EPA, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have been working with three U.S. cities this summer to study how strategically placed

“urban forests” and the use of reflective surfaces may help cool cities, save energy, and reduce pollution. The research is examining the bubble-like accumulations of hot air known... Read more

by Bruce K. Ferguson, 1998. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. Hardcover, 260 pages, $59.95

Stormwater management is a vitally important component of almost any green building project (see EBN Vol. 3, No. 5). Environmentally responsible stormwater management can even be an economic driver of a broader green building agenda: using... Read more

When I began thinking about an article on light pollution, three very different experiences came to mind. The first was 25 years ago, sleeping under the stars in Alberta, Canada. I can still picture that night sky: resplendent with tens of thousands of sparkling stars on a solid black background and the Milky Way’s broad band stretching from... Read more

by Art Ludwig, 1997. Published by Oasis Design, 5 San Marcos Trout Club, Santa Barbara, CA 93105; 805/967-9956; 805/967-3229 (fax); http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/odesign. Paperback, 48 pages each; Create an Oasis with Greywater, $9.95; Builder’s Greywater Guide, $14.95 (plus $2 shipping for either or both)

These two manuals, updated... Read more

While we’re talking solar . . . the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in New York City is featuring

a special exhibit of solar designs and technologies entitled “Under the Sun: An Outdoor Exhibition of Light.” Architectural highlights include a glass pavilion made of clear and PV glass panels designed... Read more

First discovered in Florida in 1997,

Asian swamp eels, or rice eels as they are sometimes known, are becoming firmly established in ditches, canals, and streams near Tampa and Miami, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. This highly adaptable tropical species—it can breathe air, survive in just a few inches of water, even migrate... Read more

Five reports from the Portland Cement Association, 5420 Old Orchard Road, Skokie, IL 60077; 847-966-6200, 847-966-9781 (fax). Available at no charge for one year by contacting Natalie Holz at PCA.

As a general rule, all materials have environmental burdens, so using less of a material is always better and choosing the best material is really about choosing the lesser of evils. There are a few exceptions to this principle, however—at least in theory. For example, products made from problematic waste... Read more

by Margaret Suozzo and others, 1997. American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), in cooperation with New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Paperback, approximately 200 pages, $25 plus shipping. Order from ACEEE, 1001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 801, Washington, DC 20036; 202/429-0063, www.aceee.org... Read more