clearsustainable.com

table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fdjcoregon.com%2Fnews%2F2010%2F03%2F25%2Foregon-reaches-with-new-code-but-carefully%2Famp;usg=AFQjCNG6OIUMpAcjIiZ-EyMCA0U4AJ_E7Qimg src=http://nt3.ggpht.com/news/tbn/9xgNDqI3jJHUMM/6.jpg alt= border=1 width=80 height=80 /br /font size=-2Daily Journal of Commerce/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fdjcoregon.com%2Fnews%2F2010%2F03%2F25%2Foregon-reaches-with-new-code-but-carefully%2Famp;usg=AFQjCNG6OIUMpAcjIiZ-EyMCA0U4AJ_E7QbOregon reaches with new code/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fDaily Journal of Commerce/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1The 2012 International bGreen Construction/b Code Version 1.0 will be used as the model document for the Reach Code, but the BCD wants the public to suggest b.../b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=dAmtthNBUXWviUMnobrb/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu%2F2010%2F03%2F22%2Fallbritton-center-honored-with-gold-certification-for-sustainable-building-practices%2Famp;usg=AFQjCNEBNpbSMPng3oCCkrQNaFswsDeAPgimg src=http://nt0.ggpht.com/news/tbn/FM597qvLOhX4fM/6.jpg alt= border=1 width=80 height=80 /br /font size=-2Wesleyan Connection (blog)/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jaxairnews.com%2Fstories%2F032510%2Fmil_JA4.shtmlamp;usg=AFQjCNEyl0HyM3G4QT32hIgtfbPWla0kmgbLEED Silver Certification awarded to NAVFAC Southeast/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fJax Air News/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1quot;This certification was based on a number of bgreen/b design and bconstruction/b features that positively impact the project and the community in which we live,quot; b.../b/fontbr /font size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.columbuslocalnews.com%2Farticles%2F2010%2F03%2F24%2Fmultiple_papers%2Fschools%2Fallwhleed%2520_20100324_0443pm_5.txtamp;usg=AFQjCNGEXyBVQGE9k4qg4oBFAVS4paZEnQArchitects of Whitehall schools think bgreen/b/afont size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrColumbus Local News (registration)/nobr/font/fontbr /font size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bizjournals.com%2Ftriangle%2Fstories%2F2010%2F03%2F22%2Fdaily50.htmlamp;usg=AFQjCNFv4sKEHxKG70BrZlJYV4QhALaIqgGenworth Building earns LEED Gold/afont size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBizjournals.com/nobr/font/fontbr /font size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.metronews.ca%2Ftoronto%2Flearn%2Farticle%2F484508--learn-to-keep-construction-projects-earth-friendlyamp;usg=AFQjCNFUS7RmUm4i1znrlnFMH3iYsSklvQLearn to keep bconstruction/b projects Earth-friendly/afont size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMetro Canada - Toronto/nobr/font/fontbr /font size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kenoshanews.com%2Fnews%2Friley_knows_how_to_leed_7615326.htmlamp;usg=AFQjCNE1mTh4NdJMGvQOFDKLDpnyfjlzVAnobrKenosha News.com/nobr/anbsp;-a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.environmental-expert.com%2FresultEachPressRelease.aspx%3Fcid%3D28518%26codi%3D158767amp;usg=AFQjCNFmUG0rfYk4RXGMQNFl_VtBpBIHYgnobrEnvironmental Expert (press release)/nobr/anbsp;-a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.ufl.edu%2F2010%2F03%2F24%2Fleed-buildings%2Famp;usg=AFQjCNHGHWy616JKJmuFlhDiBtdCIx7TbwnobrUniversity of Florida/nobr/a/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=d_N3wBCTy3Cr0gM6tBUFpwaGsc4mMnobrball 56 news articlesnbsp;raquo;/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2010%2F03%2F26%2Farts%2Fdesign%2F26rising.htmlamp;usg=AFQjCNFw1Vl-Hl5At2BMQqgc-dlNvNo2Fwimg src=http://nt1.ggpht.com/news/tbn/5W_0OxBpVhxXoM/6.jpg alt= border=1 width=80 height=80 /br /font size=-2New York Times/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2010%2F03%2F26%2Farts%2Fdesign%2F26rising.htmlamp;usg=AFQjCNFw1Vl-Hl5At2BMQqgc-dlNvNo2FwbImagining a More Watery New York/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fNew York Times/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1Many of Battery Park City#39;s towers, which were built on landfill produced by the bconstruction/b of the original World Trade Center, are gone. A swath of bgreen/b b.../b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=dEf7yaZ_CsoDOVMnobrband morenbsp;raquo;/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fthegauntlet.ca%2Fstory%2F14385amp;usg=AFQjCNF2UV9iqwJvuFZ80LggjwnM6NAYOwbQuadrangle bgreen/b space bconstruction/b begins this summer/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fGauntlet/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1Alongside the Digital Library, students will have a new central bgreen/b space to look forward to next fall semester. The Taylor Quadrangle is currently b.../b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=dud7yaZ-ArE94-Mnobrb/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fhouston.bizjournals.com%2Fhouston%2Fstories%2F2010%2F03%2F22%2Fdaily46.htmlamp;usg=AFQjCNG140efD8TGC5Oc8__b-io7-brPvAbHarris County-Sports Authority gives bgreen/b light to Dynamo East End stadium/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fHouston Business Journal/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1Now that the sports authority has agreed to its role as a landlord/property manager for the 22000-seat stadium, the remaining two dominos could fall at the b.../b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=dn0pkPFSYen7VEMnobrband morenbsp;raquo;/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

img style=float: right; margin: 10px; max-width: 250px src=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/images//CornerGuard_MedRes.jpg / a href=http://www.inprocorp.comInPro Corporation/a was founded in 1979 as Institutional Products Corporation (IPC). Originally a distributor of high-impact door and wall-protection products for the healthcare industry, IPC began its own manufacturing in 1986, changed its name to InPro Corporation in 1995 (cleverly retaining IPC), and today is one of the leading producers of a wide range of wall and corner-protection components, plastic surfacing products, handrails, and signage used in commercial and institutional buildings. br / br /InPros products, like others in this industry, have been dominated by vinyl (polyvinyl chloride, PVC) since the 1970s. The company gained the attention of BuildingGreen in 2003 when it introduced a non-PVC resin, EnviroGT, as a greener alternative to their own (and other) PVC products. We named the EnviroGT product line one of our 2003 Top-10 Green Building Products. br / br /What has been really impressive about InPro since then is how thorough Matt Bennett (now vice president for product development) has been in pursuing greener products. For the past ten years, Bennett has been active with the U.S. Green Building Council, closely following green building trends, attending conferences, and asking lots and lots of questions. I most recently saw him at a fairly high-level retreat on low-impact building materials in San Francisco: the a href=http://www.ecobuildnetwork.org/symposium/Build Well Symposium/a. Through those efforts, Bennett and InPro have been able to be green leaders in their particular segment of the building products industry. [More]

table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2010%2F03%2F26%2Fnyregion%2F26parking.htmlamp;usg=AFQjCNHAr_Q2Q8Kr-nQnSLdsEXOxZ9ApNAbSqueezing In Housing, City Squeezes Out Some Perks/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fNew York Times/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1Big bgreen/b spaces and a patch of land at the Soundview Houses in the Bronx will be replaced by four apartment buildings. A new community center is under b.../b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=dhGw-kqj6bBV-kMnobrband morenbsp;raquo;/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.starnewsonline.com%2Farticle%2F20100325%2FARTICLES%2F100329817%3FTitle%3DDespite-construction-street-fair-has-green-lightamp;usg=AFQjCNGAW0h10vJSIsBzuwv6BGna04F_ewbDespite bconstruction/b, street fair has bgreen/b light/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fStarNewsOnline.com/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1Because of bconstruction/b on the Front Street Improvement Project, the main stage for the festival#39;s entertainment has been moved to Second and Market streets b.../b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=dlyk5ejZCW53DDMnobrb/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.xconomy.com%2Fsan-diego%2F2010%2F03%2F25%2Fgenomatica-raises-15m-to-build-demo-plant-for-sustainable-chemical-production%2Famp;usg=AFQjCNFl05mCpy4IHIGQ9nPm9I0H_1v_GwbGenomatica Raises $15M to Build Demo Plant For Sustainable Chemical Production/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fXconomy/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1b.../b Schilling told me that achievement had cleared the way for bconstruction/b of a small-scale industrial BDO demonstration plant. Now, after nine months, b.../b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=djM0fEB-bIjKu9Mnobrband morenbsp;raquo;/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clarionledger.com%2Farticle%2F20100325%2FNEWS%2F3250348%2F1001%2FOld-Capitol-Green-project-construction-grows-neareramp;usg=AFQjCNHr1TiLkvJsrNkgjKP2dAsHrrWsIQbOld Capitol bGreen/b project bconstruction/b grows nearer/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fJackson Clarion Ledger/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1bConstruction/b on the first phase of the Old Capitol bGreen/b project in downtown Jackson could start this year if legislation allowing the sale of state-owned b.../b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=dDrAuLfoiqi9wEMnobrband morenbsp;raquo;/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfgate.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Farticle.cgi%3Ff%3D%2Fc%2Fa%2F2010%2F03%2F23%2FBAS81CJOD6.DTL%26type%3Dautosamp;usg=AFQjCNHA09gUdXunL9JShUgqpc4VMtr0ywbMore than half of taxis now bgreen/b, Newsom says/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fSan Francisco Chronicle/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1The Big Apple is not the bgreen/b apple yet.quot; Stimulating ideas: Restructuring how and when development fees are paid in San Francisco can lower bconstruction/b b.../b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=dD2KWT6IlS2Zw7Mnobrband morenbsp;raquo;/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

img style=float: right; margin: 10px; max-width: 250px src=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/images//PPG_PurePerformance.jpg / pThe last few weeks Ive written about common myths of green building: that a href=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2010/3/4/Does-Green-Building-Have-to-Cost-Moreit has to cost more to build green/a, that a href=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2010/3/10/Green-Building-Myth-Its-All-About-Materialsgreen building is mostly about materials/a, and that a href=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2010/3/16/Green-Building-Myth-3-Green-Products-Dont-Work-as-Well-as-Standard-Productsgreen products dont work as well as conventional products/a. This week Ill cover the myth that green building products are hard to find./p pWhen I first started writing about green building products twenty years ago (a couple years before launching a href=https://www.buildinggreen.com/ecommerce/ebn.cfmEnvironmental Building News/a), they were few and far between. There was only one company I knew about that made paints, adhesives, and sealers that were formulated specifically to minimize harmful emissions: AFM (a href=http://www.afmsafecoat.com/American Formulating and Manufacturing/a) in California. There wasnt yet a certification for wood products produced in an environmentally responsible manner. Decking made from recycled plastic wasnt on the market yet. And compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) were only available only from specialty distributors./p pTimes have certainly changed. Not only have those start-up companies that offered green products grown and broadened their distribution, but mainstream companies have dramatically greened their product lines. [More]

img style=float: right; margin: 10px; src=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/images//after2.gif / If you thought making substantive change by a href=http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/8/28/AIA-Brings-2030-Targets-Down-to-Earth/?2030/a was a challenge, how about by 2014? A new initiative launched last week and getting spread around the Internet today, a href=http://www.fouryearsgo.org/fouryears.go/a says There is still time to act, but no time to waste. Started by a href=http://www.pachamama.org/Pachamama Alliance/a and a href=http://www.wk.com/Wieden+Kennedy/a--the ad agency behind Nikes just do it (theyre donating their services to do a major communications campaign for this)--its about waking people up to urgency we face in these times and helping each member group meet its most ambitious goals toward a just, thriving, and sustainable world. The video asks--could we spend the next four years growing our cities? and shows green roofs on everything; it asks, in four years, could Manhattan look like this? and shows the street filled with bikes. Its nice to set aside the usual reality concerns and just watch the video and dream. Given how many solutions we really do already have at our fingertips, and how much substantive change really does depend on mustering collective will from a wider spectrum of society, maybe a kick in the pants from left field along with a major ad campaign can help. Cmon, stop and dream for a minute. Pass it on. Ok, coffee break is over. Time to get back to hammering out the hard, pragmatic details of greening our buildings and neighborhoods step by messy step.

a href=http://www.leeduser.com/credit/CI-2009/RPc1img style=float: right; margin: 10px; max-width: 350px src=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/images//US Regional Priority Map.jpg //a What are the environmental priorities in your region? How can you find out? br / br /As you may know, USGBC responded to the longstanding call for regionalization of LEED by establishing Regional Priority Credit 1 (RPc1) in its LEED 2009 family of rating systems (NC, CS, CI, Schools, EBOM). br / br /Regional priority credits are identified by USGBC Regional Councils for each zipcode within their region, with input from USGBC Chapters. These bonus points are granted for meeting requirements that have been designated as particularly important for your projects specific geographical area. br / h3Not new credits /h3The RP points are for normal LEED credits, not new ones written for your region. To me, this is both good and bad. I would have liked to see more regional innovation around LEED, with credits written for specific regions going after issues near and dear to those regions. That could get pretty unwieldy, though, so the solution of offering bonus points for existing credits makes a certain amount of sense. [More]

img style=float: right; margin: 10px max-width: 250px; padding: 10px src=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/images//venetian-ext-night1.jpg / Years ago a friend and I borrowed my mothers minivan, left our small college, and drove west in search of the Great American Wilderness. For months we steered clear of cities in favor of National Parks and Forests, but as we passed through the Sierras we couldnt help but notice how close Death Valley is to that other American extreme: Las Vegas. We drove out of Death Valley around midnight, and soon the artificial sun of Sin City was glowing on the eastern horizon. Stepping out onto the Strip, all I could see was the waste: the blazing lights, the miles upon miles of climate-controlled real estate, the networks of fountains spewing billions of gallons of water into the dry desert air. With all the maturity and nuanced perspective of my 20 years, I thought: iWere all going to die, and this is what will kill us./i I left Vegas less than 12 hours later and Ive never been back, but I think of it often, especially when Im feeling less hopeful that we will ever un-supersize the American lifestyle, because its so clear from examples like Las Vegas that excess#8212;waste#8212;still sells. But a href=http://www.lvrj.com/business/sands-unveils-green-plan-88260762.html target=_blanksomething I saw/a this week might have me looking for a new scapegoat: the a href=http://www.lasvegassands.com/ target=_blankLas Vegas Sands Corp./a (of the Venetian, Palazzo, and Sands Expo complex) has a a href=http://www.lasvegassands.com/LasVegasSands/LVS_Eco_360/Mission_Statement.aspx target=_blankplan/a to turn the three-casino complex into the worlds greenest building#8212;all 17.9 million square feet of it. [More]

img style=float: right; margin: 10px; max-width: 250px src=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/images//CA350_Vari_Hand2_kombi_klein_Internet.jpg / Our next feature article for a href=http://www.buildinggreen.com/news/index.cfmemEnvironmental Building News/em/a is on the Passive House standard for ultra-low-energy buildings--a standard that originated about 20 years ago in Germany. Excitement about Passive House in North America is resulting in some really cool products being introduced from Europe. One of those is the Zehnder line of heat-recovery ventilators (HRVs) and associated components. br / br /I had a chance to spend some time with Barry Stephens, the national sales and marketing manager for Zehnder America at last weeks a href=http://www.nesea.org/buildingenergy/Building Energy Conference/a, sponsored by the a href=http://www.nesea.org/Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA)/a. Zehnder is a Swiss company that specializes in hydronic heat distribution, heated towel racks, ground-source heat recovery, and advanced heat-recovery ventilation systems. Runtal, a more familiar brand in North America, is a Zehnder company. [More]

img style=float: right; margin: 10px; src=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/images//peeingsitting1.JPG / If youve been following this blog for a while, you know that I wrote about urine-separating toilets a href=http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/8/28/Urine-Separation-The-Next-Wave-of-Ecological-Wastewater-Treatment/last year/a. Youll also know that Im rather enamored of the image at right. So you can imagine how gleeful I was when I discovered I had another reason to use it! It turns out a href=http://greenerbuildings.com/news/2010/03/12/no-mix-toilets-get-rave-reviews-europeresearchers in Europe have found/a that people are not at all grossed out by the concept of urine-separating toilets. In fact, they like them! 75%-85% of people surveyed found the toilets as easy to use and as clean and hygienic as conventional toilets. And 80% of those surveyed supported the idea of using urine as fertilizer.

img style=float: right; margin: 10px; max-width: 250px src=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/images//peteregreen.jpg / pEver since the premier of USGBCs two-day REGREEN workshop in Phoenix, AZ at Greenbuild last November, Annette, Rob, and I have been gearing up for a slew of green remodeling workshops across the country -- the REGREEN Roadshow. The REGREEN workshops are a lot of fun to teach (and take) for two reasons: one, the blend of builder/remodeler with interior design perspectives is completely refreshing; and two, the substantial and substantive group work woven into the workshop makes for an energetic and invigorating approach./p pNow you might be saying to yourself: What? Interior designers and hard-core building science-builder types making sweet music together? You would be surprised at how well these perspectives can inform each other. Here is just one example:/p pYour clients TELL you they want new replacement windows. But what they actually want is to keep the way their windows currently look, not spend too much, and get real performance improvements (in terms of energy efficiency, thermal comfort, and daylighting -- without overheating during the summer). Whew. So you sit down with an interior designer, and all of the sudden you need to compare about a dozen options -- sash replacements, window films, cellular shades, awnings, shutters -- all with real (but different) advantages. What started as a rather simple choice ends up to be quite a puzzle, based on a weaving of sometimes competing aspects: energy efficiency, lighting, views, privacy, cost, comfort, even noise. Its just as much about interior design as it is hard-core remodeling./p [More]

img style=float: right; margin: 10px; max-width: 250px src=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/images//Drake_II_2-piece_1.28gpf_SaniGloss_cst454_zoom.jpg / The last couple weeks Ive written about two of the common myths of green building: a href=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2010/3/4/Does-Green-Building-Have-to-Cost-Morethat it has to cost more to build green/a and that a href=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2010/3/10/Green-Building-Myth-Its-All-About-Materialsgreen building is mostly about materials/a. This week Ill cover another myth: that green building products dont perform as well as conventional products. br / br /A lot of people still point to products like early water-saving toilets, compact-fluorescent lamps, and recycled-plastic-lumber decking as evidence that new-fangled green products dont work very well. Clearly, there were some poorly performing products out there as manufacturers scrambled to respond to consumer demand and new regulations. But, for the most part, weve climbed up that learning curve, and current-generation products work very well. br / br /Lets take a look at the history of a few of these product categories. [More]

pThe following is a video that we recorded at our booth at the 2009 Greenbuild conference, when we transformed BuildingGreens booth into the Ask LEEDuser experience, including talks on specific credits from LEEDusers guest experts--the top LEED minds on specific LEED credits. /p pHere, Joshua Radoff of a href=http://www.yrgsustainability.comYRG sustainability/a reviews some of the key considerations behind achieving SSc8: Light Pollution Reduction in the 2009 a href=http://www.leeduser.com/credit/NC-2009/SSc8NC/a, a href=http://www.leeduser.com/credit/CS-2009/SSc8CS/a, and a href=http://www.leeduser.com/credit/Schools-2009/SSc8Schools/a rating systems. (Links go to further guidance on the a href=http://www.leeduser.comLEEDuser site/a.) Josh covers what you have to do in terms of interior AND exterior lighting, and what you need from your designer. A highly recommended two minutes and 21 seconds! a href=http://www.leeduser.com/strategy/video-achieving-ssc8-light-pollution-reductionimg style=float: right; margin: 10px; max-width: 500px src=http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/images//Radoff SSc8 video.jpg //a