Championing the
Changemakers

The U.S. insurance industry remains in denial about global climate change, according to a new report from the advocacy group Ceres. Because the insurance industry is crucial to the overall U.S. economy, the report argues, it is increasingly important for insurers to plan for their future viability—and for regulators to ensure that... Read more

The results of a decade-long study bear out the common-sense idea that walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods with recreational destinations encourage residents to walk more.

The study, beginning in 2003, surveyed more than 1,400 people who planned to move into new developments in Perth, Western Australia. Respondents self-reported their... Read more

Fear of Agenda 21 fuels a bill to ban sustainability planning in the state of Kansas The Konza Prairie in northeastern Kansas.Photo Credit: Bill Johnson

I love many things about Kansas—from the tall-grass prairies in the Flint Hills where I’ve hiked through rolling hills overlooking grazing bison to the dramatic... Read more

New architectural panels and roof tiles break down smog, but the real reason to install them is that they stay clean.

It turns out there is solid science behind these products, but their benefits don’t really have much to do with smog and outdoor air quality. Many building owners will find the self-cleaning properties of these products are what... Read more

Builders are turning to an insulating sheathing imported from Europe to make walls that won’t rot. Agepan (pronounced “AH-ge-pahn”) Functional Wood is a line of vapor-permeable, insulating, wood-fiber wall, roof, and floor panels. Manufactured in Germany since 1996 by Glunz AG and imported to the U.S. by several dealers specializing in products... Read more

Many people assume that an onsite renewable-energy system will give you power during a utility outage. That’s not necessarily the case.

The vast majority of PV systems today are grid-connected. If the grid goes down, these systems not only leave houses dark at night but also won’t deliver electricity when the sun is shining. This is in... Read more

Stone was one of our first building materials. It has been used to construct everything from humble dwellings to our most iconic structures. As a building material, stone requires virtually no manufacturing and is so durable that stone structures built thousands of years ago are still used today—characteristics few contemporary “green... Read more

Using currently available building strategies and renewable-energy technology, the city could cut CO2 90% by 2050, authors argue.

According to the study, 90 by 50, buildings are responsible for 75% of the city’s CO2 emissions, with transportation producing another 21%. Based on modeling eight major types of residential and commercial buildings... Read more

Climbing the learning curve in working with a new insulation material Sliding a slab of precisely cut cork insulation against a door jamb. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

What do you do if you’re a builder and your client (that would be me) hands you a material that no one’s ever heard of, let alone... Read more

Hot, humid conditions could make heavy labor such as construction unsafe to maintain for a full workday. Global labor capacity in hot summer months has declined 10% since the mid–twentieth century—a decline that could double by 2050, according to a new report released by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and... Read more

A government facility conducting renewable-energy research will capture and use its new data center’s waste heat.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will soon complete its new high-performance computing (HPC) data center and Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) offices and laboratories in Golden,... Read more

New guidance helps local governments “zone in” sustainability measures like narrower streets, mixed use, and walkability.

Traditional zoning codes have created low-density sprawl, which has resulted in habitat loss, high fuel use for transportation, and other issues.

Now the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Land Use Law... Read more

Occupational chemicals may carry more asthma risk than smoking, a new study finds.

Although many conventional cleaning products contain VOCs and other airborne hazards known to cause respiratory problems and other illnesses, this is the first time medical research has directly linked cleaning jobs with asthma risk. Occupations already known to... Read more

The Presidio, a former army base and an urban national park site located at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, is home to the world’s first community certified under LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND 2009) since LEED-ND left its pilot phase, as recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The Public... Read more

Seattle office is the first commercial building to score the designation in the U.S., with 100% FSC wood in the core and shell.

Seattle’s Bullitt Center has become the first commercial building in the U.S. to achieve project certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The certification verifies that 100% of the wood in the core... Read more

Among the innovative—some might say weird—products we’re trying out at our Dummerston, Vermont farmhouse, none is more unusual than the expanded cork insulation we’re currently installing as a layer of exterior rigid insulation. As I mentioned in a blog last summer, cork insulation has a great story behind it.

Cork? You’ve... Read more

A study shows health drives the school construction market—but many buildings lag far behind, another report laments.

The connection between sustainable school buildings and student performance can be difficult to quantify—but the idea that children learn more readily when they can see, hear, and breathe clearly isn’t exactly controversial.... Read more

By Erin WeaverAs houses are built to more stringent energy codes and appliances increase in efficiency, the average U.S. home might be expected to see reduced energy use. Ever-increasing square footage and the accompanying glut of appliances, electronics, and lighting, however, mean that the average home built in the 2000s actually uses 2% more... Read more

By Erin WeaverAlong with a projected population of nine billion people to feed—two-thirds of them living in water-stressed locations—the coming decades could see a doubling of the fresh water devoted to energy production. The International Energy Agency (IEA), in its “World Energy Outlook 2012,” attributes much of that rise to a continuing global... Read more

Building complex window surrounds for a deep-energy retrofit Insulated, splayed window surrounds that will frame the exterior wall insulation. The Pro Clima housewrap on the window surrounds will be taped to the wall housewrap after insulating. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

A few weeks ago I reported on... Read more