We're into those hot days of summer--really hot--with temperatures predicted in the mid- to upper-90s, even in Vermont, this week.

The July 2010 issue of Environmental Building News asks whether we should end our love affair with all-glass buildings. The short answer is "yes." With most large commercial buildings there is an energy penalty associated with increasing the glazing area beyond 20 to 30 percent.

One of Vermont's longest and most treasured covered bridges now has the newest, most environmentally responsible lighting.

Pursuing SSc4.4: Alternative Transportation—Parking Capacity in the LEED 2009 NC, CS, and Schools rating systems just got a little more expensive for some projects—$118.75 more to be exact.

North America's largest water heater manufacturer, A.O. Smith, is shaking up the water heating industry with its NEXT Hybrid gas-fired water heater that combines key features of both tankless and storage water heating technology.

About storage water heaters

While our homes and cars get most of the attention relative to energy savings, our materials stream also has a huge impact on energy use. Nationally, the U.S. generates about 236 million tons of municipal solid waste each year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That works out to about 4 pounds of waste for every American every day. Recycling our waste saves a lot of energy. Just how much depends on the material.

GlassX, a new high-tech glazing from Europe with heat-storing phase-change material (PCM) has just been introduced in North America. This remarkable glazing was developed by the Swiss company GlassX AG over the past 15 years and is licensed to the international building products company Saint-Gobain (parent company to CertainTeed), which is manufacturing the product in Austria and Germany.

This summer is a great time to get a good deal on a solar water heating or solar-electric (photovoltaic) system for your home. While I argued a few months ago in this column that the 30% federal solar tax credit has some flaws--key among them being that it's based on the dollar value rather than performance and that there's no cap on the cost of the system (and credit you can earn)--these aren't reasons not to take advantage of it.