We've promoted the Forest Stewardship Council's wood certification program in the pages of Environmental Building News since FSC was formed back in 1994. We've always looked for companies offering FSC-certified wood products to highlight in EBN and GreenSpec.
While we continue to feel great about small companies embracing FSC, we also find it exciting when larger players enter the FSC world--because these companies will help FSC become more accepted by the mainstream timber and building-products industries.
The PV system on this Lafayette, Colorado home, providing 100% of the power requirements, was installed with no money down through Boulder County's ClimateSmart program. The cost will be repaid through the homeowners' tax bill.
Here at BuildingGreen.com, we recently announced our picks for the Top-10 green building products of 2009. The list is a pretty cool selection of newer products that could come in handy on your 2010 green projects. But what were your picks?
Every time I turn around, it seems, I'm finding out about some new, really cool green building product. It's time to start sharing this information. Starting this week, I'll be writing a weekly "product of the week" blog. I'll be skipping around from category to category. Not every product will be brand new, but I'm guessing that most will be unfamiliar to most readers. I welcome suggestions of products I should cover. Contact me by email ([email protected]) or use the comment field at the end of the blog to submit suggestions.
This deep-energy retrofit on Betsy Pettit's 100-year-old house makes sense whether or not climate change is happening. Photo: Betsy Pettit, FAIA.
How to build a stronger country and a cleaner planet
If the jobsite for a green building isn't any safer than the jobsite for a conventional building, is something missing from our definition of "green"? That is the question raised by a new study, "Impact of Green Building Design and Construction on Worker Safety and Health," published in October in the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management.
It could be worse.
Happy New Year from BuildingGreen.com, and from our credit-by-credit guide to getting LEED done, LEEDuser. (Which, I want to add, is available for only $9.95/month!)
Global warming deniers have garnered a lot of attention in recent years. From opinion columns and letters in our local newspaper to heated reporting on Fox News (whose trademarked slogan "Fair & Balanced" is often anything but), those who doubt the underlying science of global warming are receiving unprecedented access to the American public and to policymakers.
Editor's Note: Erica Godun, AIA, LEED AP, an associate with FXFOWLE Architects shared the following account with us. I've included links throughout to specific credit guidance (including the official credit language) on our LEEDuser website (available by subscription). By the way, LEED projects can upgrade to 2009 anytime.
Residents of Lund, Sweden, have dramatically reduced their driving over the past decade. They now walk or bike for most needs.
10 Ways to save energy in 2010
Folding Frame Sno Wovel, designed to reduce the physical strain of shoveling and the related risks of back and heart injuries.
You're down to the last few days before Christmas. You're looking for that meaningful, special gift for a family member, special friend, or co-worker. Buy a gift that keeps on giving--by saving energy! Below, is my top-10 list of energy-saving holiday gifts.
Interesting how it's at once forward-looking and backward.
link to video
If you look closely at a low viewing angle, you can see the tiny pillars in this prototype Guardian VIG panel.
Last week we took at look at one way to achieve very-high-performance windows: adding additional layers of glazing and multiple low-emissivity (low-e) coatings. This week, we'll look at another option that's even higher-tech: vacuum-insulated glass.
Reglazing the Rocky Mountain Institute in 2007 with R-20 center-of-glass Alpen Windows (now Serious Windows).
It won't surprise many of my readers to learn that I'm a fanatic about energy conservation and efficiency. That goes back more than 30 years to the mid-70s. During those years I've paid a lot of attention to windows--and seen dramatic improvement in window performance.
