Championing the
Changemakers

A new membership organization, the

Wisconsin Green Building Alliance, has been formed as an independent program of the Wisconsin Environmental Initiative. The new Milwaukee-based organization aims to promote green building practices.

Matthew Tendler, AIA, of the firm Kahler Slater, is the organization’s first steering committee... Read more

A recently completed survey offers a glimpse into how sustainable design is perceived by mainstream developers, and the news is mixed. The Canadian Consulate General and the British Columbia Trade Development Corporation commissioned the survey, which was written and administered by Mark Smith... Read more

The

Good Wood Alliance, formerly the Woodworkers’ Alliance for Rain-forest Protection (WARP), is merging with the

Forest Products Buyers Group to form a new organization:

The Certified Forest Products Council (CFPC). The CFPC will be based in Beaverton, Oregon, and directed by David Ford. Good Wood Alliance’s executive... Read more

You stated in response to a letter from Structural Board Association President John Lowood in your July/August issue that “while formaldehyde emissions from panels made with PF (phenolic formaldehyde) binder are quite low, they are still problematic for some individuals.” While this could be true for some... Read more

by James Steele. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. Hardcover, 285 pages, $49.95.

I recall quite clearly my first introduction to Amory Lovins. It was 1980, in Abiquiu, New Mexico. Amory was speaking at the annual Life Technics Conference at Ghost Ranch. Amory was then—as he is now—an energy guru, but his message that day was not primarily about energy. He made the point that dealing with our energy woes was relatively easy... Read more

“Advanced” seems to be popular in the new-name department: The Brownsville, Oregon, company formerly known as Oregon Strand Board is now Advanced Wood Resources, Inc. Still a division of Jeld-Wen, Inc., the company no longer makes exterior sheathing or siding products. Its only remaining product is COMPLY Sturd-I-Floor subfloor/underlayment... Read more

I just ran across your Web site during research on oriented-strand board (OSB) mills and was dismayed to see how you’ve succumbed to the green-washing of engineered lumber companies. There is a forest feeding frenzy playing out in the eastern U.S. as industries rush back to remow the native forest after a 70-year... Read more

Atlas Series

from E Source, Inc., 1033 Walnut Street, Boulder, CO 80302; 303/440-8500, 303/440-8502 (fax), esource@esource.com (e-mail), www.esource.com/atlas. Five-volume paper-back set or CD-ROM for Windows or Macintosh. 1,700 pages, $750 for either format, or $950 for both.

It’s not often that we’ll label... Read more

Supporters of tropical forest conservation were optimistic at the recent biennial meeting of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) but were disappointed as delegates failed to restrict mahogany trade for the third consecutive meeting. The 10th... Read more

Vol. 1, No. 1 through

Vol. 6, No. 4. The CD-ROM format allows us to make back issues available at a very reasonable price, and adds the capability of full-text... Read more

AURA vacuum panel insulation, reviewed in EBN

Vol. 4, No. 1, has been mothballed by manufacturer Owens Corning. A press release from the company blames a lack of interest from refrigerator manufacturers, after they succeeded in postponing new energy standards from 1998 to July 2001. The AURA panel was used in the freezer compartment of... Read more

The Alternative Energy Corporation, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, has a new name: Advanced Energy. The nonprofit AEC was established in 1980 by the North Carolina Utilities Commission and has been a valuable resource for technical support and training related to energy efficiency in buildings, among other areas. Advanced Energy can be... Read more

Concerning “More on the Redwood Boycott” in your May issue (EBN

Vol. 6, No. 5), I would like to address several inconsistencies in Mr. Platt’s observations.

The Pacific Lumber Company has been in continuous operation on the same contiguous timberland in Humboldt County, California for the last 128 years... Read more

A new organization entitled the Center for Ecological Building Design (CEBD) has been established in London, Ontario, Canada. CEBD defines as its primary goal: “to seek out people-friendly, earth-friendly and cost-effective residential building methods and designs.” CEBD is

developing a touring display of eco-building techniques and... Read more

I recently was provided with the January 1997 issue of EBN (Vol. 6, No. 1) and found the information

of considerable interest. However, I would like to offer a few comments on “Material Selection” and the use of a simplified life-cycle analysis (LCA).

I can relate to the statement... Read more

David Kibbey, editor, Northern California ADPSR, P.O. Box 9126, Berkeley, CA 94709-0126; 510/273-2428. Paperback or diskette for use with Filemaker Pro, $18 each, $27 for both.

The latest green building product directory to come our way is the work of a handful of dedicated volunteers at the... Read more