As more federal buildings target zero energy, leading designers tell us that day-to-day choices make all the difference

If you build it, they will plug. They will plug in drip coffee makers, halogen lamps, personal DVD players, aquariums, space heaters, and maybe even hair dryers.

A new clear floor coating for the commercial and industrial market is being touted as not containing isocyanates, potentially toxic chemicals used in uncured spray polyurethane foams (SPF), clear furniture and floor coatings, and adhesives such as those found in no-added-formaldehyde wood panel products. But it does contain epoxy, made from bisphenol-A. Can an epoxy-based polyurethane truly be "green" as its name attests?

Almost every technological "solution" has created a new set of problems which it was assumed would be solved by further advances in technology. How is green building different?

[Editor's note: Robert Riversong, a Vermont builder, continues his 10-part series of articles taking design and construction to what he sees as radical or "root" concerns. Enjoy--and please share your thoughts. – Tristan Roberts]

It has been a great spring so far for spotting wildlife. A neighbor told me he was shooing a black bear away from his garbage the other day when he saw that he had also frightened off a moose that was also in the neighborhood. Perhaps the moose and bear are rehearsing for a new wildlife buddy movie?

A tour of rebuilding in the Ninth Ward of NOLA, with green homes designed by some of the world's leading architects

The IGCC is designed to implement green building on a massive scale--not to replace LEED.

It's pretty exciting that local and state governments throughout the U.S.

How to tell green from greenwash? Our free recorded webinar is available below, and we're also using this space to answer questions from the live webcast. Enjoy!

We just finished our first webinar on Green Building Product Certifications, and I promised people on the call that I'd create a blog post to continue the discussion – so here it is. To get us started, I've answered a few of the questions that we didn't get to in the webinar Q&A.

What used to be called the "bricks and mortar," or the material building blocks, of our homes are the ingredients we use to assemble a structure which we intend (or should) to be sound, healthy and durable. But what, precisely, do we mean by those descriptors?

[Editor's note: Robert Riversong, a Vermont builder, continues his 10-part series of articles taking design and construction to what he sees as radical or "root" concerns. Enjoy--and please share your thoughts. – Tristan Roberts]

Originally published May 16, 2011. Updated by Paula Melton June 1, 2018.

A friend of mine used to be a long-haul truck driver. At one point he even became a trainer working with new drivers.

Over dinner recently, I asked what was one key lesson that he would want to impart to any new driver. While he was thinking about it, his wife lit up and offered this advice (which I'm sure is not from the company manual): make sure your seatbelt is removed before you begin a hot swap.

I'm not sure if it was the topic or the all-star panel that drew a crowd to a session entitled "Beyond the Red List" at the recent Living Future conference in Vancouver. Along with other great panelists, Tom Lent of the Healthy Building Network teamed up with Robin Guenther from Perkins+Will to share a strong call to action on toxicity in building materials.

Thomas Friedman argues that sustainable design is patriotic. Will non-choir members be convinced?

Posted the next day.

As Bourbon Street throbs beneath my hotel room window, it is a little hard to focus on anything else--and in my exhausted state it's all starting to get mixed up with Thomas Friedman's talk this morning.

With an intense focus on regional design and other green building issues, AIA 2011 looks to the future.

I've just arrived in the press room at the AIA National Convention in New Orleans, and am really looking forward to learning a lot, finding some exciting new products to share with you, and perhaps even meeting some of you in person. If you couldn't make it this year--or if you're here and we're at different sessions-- watch this space for updates for the next few days.

By HB Lozito

Ideas worth spreading have a way of crossing disciplines. At a recent TED event, HB Lozito found links to green building that may surprise you.

Like many other people, I have been lusting after attending a TED talk for the last several years. I tend to eat them up while on my lunch break. Or better still, if I can relate them directly to my work (which I often can) I even occasionally watch while actually at my desk. I am a person obsessed.

Attending Decon '11

Reusing building materials is an increasingly pressing topic as the global recession continues and people begin to notice greenhouse gas emissions caused by the production of new building materials (see “A 2030 Challenge for Building Product Manufacturers,” EBN March 2011). Next week, I will attend the Building Materials Reuse Association’s annual DECON Conference—a national conference on deconstruction, reuse, and recycling.

Conserval's SolarWall was the pioneer in the transpired solar collector market, but innovations abound.