After a long and arduous democratic process, the 2012 version of the IgCC is finished. Learn what it's all about and what it means for LEED and other voluntary rating systems.
How do you build a green building? Let me count the ways.
We've got ASHRAE 189.1, a large and growing handful of LEED rating systems, the Living Building Challenge, Passive House, and many others...and now there's also the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) just published by the International Code Council.
Even water is toxic if you have too much. How do we keep a potentially harmful but necessary nutrient like boric acid at safe levels in our buildings and our bodies?
What do you do about a substance that is a biologically necessary trace nutrient, long considered nontoxic, and in a multitude of products--but that is also now listed on a major European Union chemical hazard list due to evidence that it is toxic for reproduction?
From guerilla gardening to commando crosswalk painting, a new breed of urbanists is using illicit means to create livable communities.
Tactical urbanism in action: guerrilla crosswalk painting. Photo: credit Street Plans
The district heating and cooling system will replace coal boilers, cutting the university's carbon footprint in half and saving $2 million a year. It's also a learning opportunity for students.
This energy station for Ball State's ground-source district heating and cooling system is designed so that students and visitors can learn about the system and see how much energy it uses.
If we want to slow global warming, we need to stop being such tree-huggers and start embracing the world's forests. And yes, there's a difference.
This is part three in our "Wood Wars" series.
Part 1: Are FSC and LEED Killing American Jobs? A Look at the Evidence
It's not necessarily greener to source products made in the USA. But it sure does create jobs.
It's natural that we should gravitate toward biobased materials. But many of them are energy-intensive and toxic, so how do we judge what's best?
Life-cycle assessment, environmental product declarations, and corporate social responsibility reporting are a great start. But can we talk about health?
Life-cycle assessment, environmental product declarations, and corporate social responsibility reporting are a great start. But can we talk about health?
By any name--drywall, wallboard, or plasterboard--gypsum products may not be as innocent as we once thought.
Drywall, which makes up 15% of demolition and construction waste, leaches toxins and releases hydrogen sulfide gas in landfills.
Lots of building products offer some help in keeping air, water, and heat in our buildings, but without attention to the joints, you lose critical continuity in your barriers.
This is part of an ongoing series. Read all the Sticky Business posts here.
