GreenClips.15 02.01.95 A MALL IN VERMONT Vermont's Act 250, a 25 year-old state law, makes building a shopping mall in Vermont extremely difficult. Developer Damian Zamias is building only the second regional mall in the state. The law, one of the nation's toughest for land-use planning, discourages "scattered development" outside existing urban centers. According to Governor Dean, "We don't want stores spreading from one town to another along the interstate." Act 250 scrutinizes proposals for environmental impact, noise, traffic, impact on wildlife and historic sites, burdens on municipal services, and conformance to town plans and esthetics. -The New York Times, January 22, 1995, p. 26, by Susan Keese. PCSD MEETS IN CHATTANOOGA Vice President Al Gore spoke at the President's Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD) meeting in Chattanooga TN on January 13. The Council addressed the efficacy of command and control policies versus marketplace constraints. The discussion included tax-related incentives (and disincentives), pollution taxes, cost benefits of regulations, tradable permits, and incentive-based policies. For the first time the Council examined a draft of its goals including air, water, and soil standards, and the reduction of "unnecessary consumption". -The EarthTimes, January 15, 1995, p. 21, by C. Gerald Fraser. REPORT CALLS FOR SMARTER GROWTH Bank of America, Greenbelt Alliance, California Resources Agency, and the Low Income Housing Fund released a joint report to the Little Hoover Commission calling for better control of California's urban sprawl. The report, "Beyond Sprawl: New Patterns of Growth to Fit the New California", does not call for limited growth but smarter growth. Unchecked growth increases pollution due to longer commutes and heavier auto use, costs taxpayers and business more to build new infrastructure, and erodes open space and sensitive environmental areas. -AP, January 31, 1995. ECO-HOUSE Convinced of the market in Eugene OR for "green homes", builders James McDonald and Cary Thompson are constructing an Eco-House by framing it with selectively-cut, second-growth Douglas fir. Double-width walls make room for more cellulose insulation, a concrete slab floor lined with heat tubes carries water heated by a rooftop solar water heater, and construction materials are less- or non-toxic. The project has received environmental certification from Ashland OR's Rogue Institute for Ecology and Economy. -The Register-Guard (Eugene OR), January 15, 1995, p. E1, by Paul Neville. CONCRETE LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS Concerned with "incredibly murky" information about the environmental impact of concrete, the Portland Cement Association and other concrete trade groups announced the formation of the Environmental Council of Concrete Organizations. ECCO is sponsoring a life cycle assessment of concrete from raw material extraction through reuse. The $40,000 study should be complete by midyear. According to George B. Barney, vice president of market development for the Association, "All building materials are going to increasingly be judged on environmental impact." -Engineering News Record, January 23, 1995, p. 12. GREEN ARCHITECTURE CASE STUDIES A plethora of green strategies is illustrated in six case studies-A House with a Very Long Porch, Institute of Asian Research, Eco Village Cohousing Cooperative, Locus-Motive House, Nabeshima/Kahle House, and the Real Goods Retail Showroom. The Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia will contain materials with at least 50 percent recycled content, and use a post-and-beam old-growth wood frame salvaged from a demolished building near the site. The building will have no sewer connection. Instead, it will use waterless composting toilets, and a subsurface constructed wetland to recycle gray water. All rainwater will be retained for irrigation or absorbed on site. –Progressive Architecture, January 1995, p. 31, by Michael Crosby. SUSTAINABLE DESIGN PRACTICE Are clients interested in sustainable design and can architectural firms specializing in sustainable design survive? The consensus is that sustainable design is still a thin, slowly emerging market. Some, however, see impressive gains. According to Harry Gordon, of the Washington DC firm Burt Hill Kosar Rittlemann, "... clients are substantially more interested than they were a few years ago, we do get referrals because we're known in the field." -Architectural Record, January 1995, p. 24, by Karen Haas Smith. SIX "ENVIRONMENTAL MYTHS" OpEd piece debunks "environmental myths". 1-The most important thing we can do is recycle. 2-We have to save the earth. 3-Packaging accounts for a growing percentage of our solid waste. 4-There's a garbage crisis. 5-Americans are over-consumers, since the per capita creation of solid waste continues to climb. 6- It's all industry's fault. -The New York Times, January 21, 1995, p. 15, by Robert M. Lilienfeld and William L. Rathje. GREEN DESIGN NEW YORK Last fall the Green Design Committee of the Institute of Business Designers' New York Chapter organized Green Design New York. The event, held for the second year in a row, was a series of workshops, conferences, exhibits and buildings tours held at various Manhattan locations. -Interiors, January 1995, p. 124. PROCEEDINGS AVAILABLE The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Green Building Council co-sponsored a conference last February to discuss both current and future "green" technology. Proceedings from that conference are now available free. Mail or fax Kim Whitter, B320 Building Research Bldg., NIST, Gaithersburg MD 20899. Fax (301) 990-4192." -Northern Virginia Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute, Vol. 5, Number 1, January 1995.