Niagara Conservation has introduced a new toilet that's unlike anything on the market. It uses passive "vacuum-assist" technology to deliver a very quiet, effective flush that consumes just 0.8 gallons (3.0 liters)--making it, I believe, the most water-conserving of any flush toilet on the market.

Who knew there would be so many ways to flush a toilet!

Today's op-ed piece in the New York Times presents a remarkably balanced viewpoint on LEED and green building issues. Unfortunately it also has a major blindspot.

First, the good points about the article, "Don't LEED Us Astray" (I love it that even the esteemed Times can't help but get in on not-very-subtle LEED punning). The author, Alec Appelbaum, is perceptive enough to see that LEED may not be to blame for the imperfections of LEED-certified buildings and their performance:

The high-profile roll-out of the highly secretive Bloom Box fuel cell, on CBS's 60 Minutes in February, ushered in a new round of excitement about fuel cells. Fuel cells have been around for over 50 years. They are, in essence, chemical batteries that churn out electricity as long as a fuel, such as hydrogen or natural gas, is fed in at the other end. They have been a mainstay of power generation in NASA's space program for decades and have slowly been making inroads for more earthly applications.