GreenClips.228 11.19.03 SWOLLEN WITH TAX BREAKS, ENERGY BILL MOVES FROM HOUSE TO SENATE Easily approved by a House vote and now before the Senate, the energy bill is the first major energy legislation in a decade. It seeks to encourage greater domestic oil and gas production, promotes the construction of new coal and nuclear power plants, provides tax breaks for fuel efficiency and takes steps to encourage stability in the electric grid. The cost of the tax breaks has swollen to an estimated $25.7 billion, more than three times what the Bush administration initially advocated. Policy analysts across the political spectrum denounced the bill, saying it represented micromanagement of the economy. The measure would give individuals tax breaks for buying energy-efficient appliances. But it specifies, for example, that refrigerator-freezers would have to be frost-free models with at least 16.5 cubic feet of space for food storage. Energy companies would receive three-fourths of the incentives, or $17 billion. Some Democratic and Republican senators are threatening to filibuster the measure over the provision protecting producers of the gasoline additive MTBE from product defect lawsuits. Whether the critics can muster the 40 votes needed to block the legislation is unclear. The filibuster would most likely need the support of the Senate Democratic leader, Tom Daschle of South Dakota. But he is a main advocate of the plan to increase the use of ethanol, one of the many controversial components of the bill. The New York Times, 19 Nov 2003, p A14, by Carl Hulse, and The New York Times, 19 Nov 2003, p A14, by David Cay Johnston. CASEWORK MANUFACTURER SWITCHES ALL PRODUCTS TO WHEATBOARD Case Systems, Inc., one of the nation's largest manufacturers of commercial casework for schools, laboratories and healthcare facilities, has completed the switch to straw-based particleboard for all its products. The transition began in 2002 when Environmental Resource Associates of Denver began planning for a new building to house their headquarters, laboratory and production facility. The company, which develops chemical contaminant standards that are used nationwide for calibrating environmental testing equipment, needed to keep out of their building any products that emit VOCs, formaldehyde and other chemicals. One key issue was the casework, which is typically produced from particleboard made with urea-formaldehyde binders. The project's architect, Roger Maynard of Denver's Maynard/David Partnership, contacted Case Systems about using straw-based particleboard instead. Case Systems tested panels of Woodstalk produced by Dow Chemical and found the product met all of their performance requirements, as well as offering superior moisture and mildew resistance. Case Systems liked the product so much that the company shifted its entire product to Woodstalk. Case Systems uses a high-pressure laminate surface on the wheatboard substrate. They primarily use laminate from Wilsonart International, which contains approximately 40 percent recovered material by weight. The edge banding is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), but the company recognizes that there is interest in a non-PVC alternative. More: http://www.casesystems.com Environmental Building News, Nov 2003, p 7, by Alex Wilson. WEIDT GROUP RECEIVES 2003 FIRM AWARD FROM AIA MINNESOTA The Weidt Group, a Minnesota architectural and engineering firm with sustainable-design expertise, has received the 2003 Firm Award from the American Institute of Architects Minnesota. Since its founding in 1977, the company has helped reduce air pollution by more than 209,000 tons each year, while saving building owners and operators more than $20 million annually in energy costs. The work of the 30-member firm has two main components: energy consultation and software development. Company vice president Jay Johnson explains that through a program administered by Xcel Energy called Energy Design Assistance, "We assist [engineers, architects and building owners] with detailed computer models of their building, test 50 to 80 strategies for saving energy, give them information on technologies that will and won't work, and from that they make their decisions." The Weidt Group also offers architectural and engineering firms daylighting analysis and sustainable-design assistance. And since Weidt started writing computer code for Andersen Windows in the 1980s, the firm has also demonstrated leadership in the development of software that "provides the electronic tools to make it easier for designers to make good decisions," says Leo Steidel, a company vice president. On its projects, the firm sees an average energy savings of about 30 percent above building-energy code, though some projects save as much as 70 percent. Architecture Minnesota, Nov-Dec 2003, p 60, by Camille LeFevre. [More: http://www.twgi.com ] HOSPITAL SEES FIT BETWEEN HEALTHY BUILDINGS, HEALTHY PEOPLE Boulder Community Hospital is poised to become the first hospital to receive LEED certification. The new $79 million facility, which will house pediatrics, obstetrics and women's services, looks much like other contemporary hospitals. But features such as waterless urinals are one of many details making this hospital eco-friendly. Other green features include a restored wetlands area, dirt-covered roads and natural light that streams in almost every window. And when a window opens, the air conditioning cuts off. "There is some fit between healthy building, healthy people and healthy workers," said Mike Moran, the hospital's vice president in charge of construction. "It's our responsibility," says Kai Abelkis, the hospital's environmental coordinator. "We birth a lot of children in this hospital that have to live with the consequences of our environmental decisions." The hospital expects to save $95,000 a year on its energy bill, or 30 percent of its projected annual costs. That means the hospital will pay off its investment -- 2 percent additional construction costs -- in 12 years. Rocky Mountain News, 25 Oct 2003, by Rachel Brand. [More: http://www.bch.org/aboutbch/environmentalprograms.cfm (then click on "Foothills Hospital)] NRDC'S ROBERT REDFORD BUILDING GOES FOR PLATINUM On November 13, Robert Redford opened the Southern California office of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in Santa Monica, a new building that bears his name. Mr. Redford has been on the NRDC's board since 1975. The building is expected to be one of the first to receive the U.S. Green Building Council's updated LEED Platinum rating. The 15,000-square-foot, $5.1-million building was conceived as a showcase for the latest in sustainable design. NRDC's leaders were "relentless" about winning the platinum designation, according to Elizabeth Moule of Moule & Polyzoides, the project's architect. NRDC estimates that the building will use about 60 percent to 75 percent less energy than a typical commercial building of the same size. It is a renovation of an existing office block, but it looks entirely new. The flooring is made of easily replenished woods like bamboo and poplar. The roof is partly covered with photovoltaic solar panels that will provide about 20 percent of the building's electricity. Three light wells bring daylight into first-floor offices, and operable windows capture breezes off the ocean. Toilets use water recovered from showers, sinks and rainfall. And there's a choice of two flushes, a half flush of about 0.6 gallons or a full one of 1.2 gallons. The New York Times, 13 Nov 2003, by Christopher Hawthorne. 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