New, improved guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about how to deal with a broken compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) are intended to take some of the mystery out of the purchase and use of CFLs. But by suggesting a response that borders on Hazmat lockdown, the guidelines may potentially add to consumers' uncertainties.
It's certainly a convenience to turn the water on and off without using your hands. But it also saves water.
For the past eight years we've been able to turn our kitchen faucet on and off using a knee- and foot-control valve from the Canadian company Tapmaster. This may seem like a convenience-only product designed for lazy people. I can't argue with all of that--and admit that I probably wouldn't have installed one if I hadn't received it for testing from the manufacturer after we had reviewed a competing product in Environmental Building News. But I gotta say, I love it, and I'm convinced that it does result in significant water and energy savings.
Among the key changes coming down the road for LEED, as I recently wrote about (Your Guide to the New Draft of LEED), is a change to the LEED AP credit, formerly IDc2, now dubbed IPc2 (that's "Integrated Process" credit 2).
UPDATE: This blog post and the GreenSpec product entry have been updated to reflect that BrightShelf is now manufactured by Hunter Douglas Contract.
By way of background, LED lighting (LED for "light-emitting diode") is the future of electric lighting.
I'm just back from Chicago, where I was attending the Greenbuild Conference of the U.S. Green Building Council. Despite the weak economy, some 27,000 architects, builders, developers, and manufacturers gathered for this 9th annual conference.
While EnGuard building insulation is new, Vita Nonwovens is not.
Update (2013): EnGuard is no longer on the market following the manufacturer's decision to discontinue the product line.
Some of the best things about Greenbuild—and there are many—are the educational programs. Covering topics from energy labeling and building innovation to removing embodied carbon from the water supply—there really is something for everyone. The opening plenary which took place this morning, featured General Colin Powell and the closing Plenary on Friday will feature the Honorable Shaun Donovan and Paul Hawken.
