Championing the
Changemakers

Lumber Certification

My compliments to you for an excellent publication. I just received my first issue and am glad I subscribed.

I’m not sure how you interpreted my comments from the Sustainable Forest Products Conference, but The Home Depot is not for, but against, a simple stamp or seal. We fully support the SCS... Read more

Pamela Winthrop Lauer, project director. 1993. Free. 36 pages. Order from: Metropolitan Council, Attn: Data Center, Mears Park Center, 230 E. Fifth St., St. Paul, MN 55101; 612/291-8140.

Although designed for use by contractors in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, this guidebook has lots of... Read more

In July the Construction Specifications Institute appointed an Ad Hoc Environmental Issues Committee to promote awareness of environmental matters among CSI members and the construction industry. In its mission statement, CSI includes a commitment to “encourage the use of construction materials that will ensure the health, safety, and welfare... Read more

Some thoughts on the May/June ‘93 issue:

On More Efficient Wood Use (p. 18):

We must conduct a massive educational campaign to wean the majority of builders and building inspectors (architects, too) away from their obsession with what I label 11th commandment framing. A recent poll by the NAHB shows 67... Read more

As reported in a Congressional hearing in June, the EPA has so far been unable to duplicate the results of carpet toxicity studies done by Anderson Labs of Dedham, Massachusetts (see EBN

Vol. 2, No. 2, “Mouse-Killing Carpets”). For reasons that remain unclear, the EPA used different test procedures that included percolating the exposed... Read more

On August 24 the Clinton Administration announced a policy for the nation’s wetlands that aims to end years of confusion and infighting among various federal agencies with overlapping jurisdictions. Initial reaction to the plan from all sides was mixed, although most people are waiting to see how things... Read more

by Peter Calthorpe. Princeton Architectural Press, 1993. Paperback. 175 pages. $24.95.

Peter Calthorpe’s latest book is a guide for planners and designers of communities. It begins with a series of essays outlining all the problems with neighborhoods and... Read more

Cellulose insulation has been the darling of the green building movement because of its recycled content, low embodied energy, low-tech processing, and excellent energy conservation performance. But concerns are also raised about health risks for cellulose installers and occupants of cellulose-insulated buildings. In fact, some healthy home... Read more

Independently certified softwood lumber from North American forests is being market-tested for the first time this summer by Home Depot, Inc. White spruce 2x4s will be sold in Arizona and ponderosa pine shelving in southern California, both sporting labels with Collins Pine’s sustainable... Read more

Foam-Tech, Inc. of North Thetford, VT, this past April became the first company to offer a urethane spray or injection foam with zero ozone-depletion potential. Super Green™ is produced with hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) 134a, which contains no chlorine and thus does not damage the Earth’s protective ozone layer. In 1991,... Read more

Assiniboine Community College has a new year-long vocational training program called “Sustainable Shelter Technology,” which will address all aspects of energy, and resource-efficiency, and health in housing. Contact: Mark Burch or the Admissions Office, Assiniboine Community College, 1430 Victoria Ave. East, Brandon, Manitoba R7A 2A9; 204/726-... Read more

The First North American Conference on Trade in Sustainable Forest Products took place this past May in Washington, D.C. Organized on very short notice by The Forest Partnership of Burlington, Vermont, the conference drew a highly select group of experts in ecologically sound forest practices,... Read more

In a settlement reached with the EPA in May, Louisiana-Pacific has agreed to pay $11.1 million for failure to comply with permitting procedures at 14 oriented strand board (OSB) and medium-density fiberboard (MDF) plants. L-P will also install state-of-the-art pollution control... Read more

The International Council for Building Research Studies and Documentation (CIB), based in France, is forming a new working group entitled “Construction and the Environment.” The new group will focus on recycling, waste reduction, by-products, and related matters. Membership in CIB is not a requirement for participation. Contact: Charles J.... Read more

The first issue of

EnvironmentalBuilding News was mailed out one year ago to a few hundred subscribers. Six issues later, we have a respectable circulation of well over 1,000. Judging from feedback received, we’re succeeding in what we set out to do: provide useful, unbiased information on how to make buildings... Read more

In his Earth Day 1993 address, President Clinton announced plans for an energy-efficiency and environmental retrofit of the White House. The American Institute of Architects is conducting a feasibility study for the project. Results of the study, which addresses indoor air quality, material choices, and energy... Read more

On May 18 EPA Administrator Carol Browner announced a program to control hazardous waste combustion that may eliminate the burning of hazardous waste in cement kilns. Effective immediately, all new permits now require comprehensive risk assessment, and existing permits will be reviewed over the next 18 months, according to an EPA press release... Read more

Dear Mr. MacArthur,

I thought your article in EBN (Vol. 2, No. 3) on “Water-based Poly­urethanes” was useful and timely. We now routinely recommend a water-based finish for health reasons, especially if it is applied in cold weather when adequate ventilation is difficult. Did you try a product called “... Read more