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Bill Walsh | April 27, 2006 | Policies
In the March 24 issue [1] of Healthy Building News we discussed wood product certification standards [2] with Daniel Hall of the advocacy group Forest Ethics, which is not a member of any certifying organization. Representatives of the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA) [3] -- provider of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) [4]...
Bill Walsh | April 11, 2006 | Materials
The New York Times [1] reported on April 7, 2006 that Science magazine has published pioneering new research by Dr. Joe Thornton, who also happens to be HBN's science advisor. The new study "for the first time demonstrated the step-by-step progression of how evolution created a new piece of molecular machinery by reusing and modifying exis...
Bill Walsh | March 24, 2006 | Policies
Bill Walsh | March 09, 2006 | Policies
Everyday we see more evidence that people who care about how materials impact human health reject PVC plastic. [1] The latest news was delivered with last Sunday's New York Times Magazine in the form of an article bearing the headline "How to Build a Low-PVC, Reduced-Plastic, Polar-Bear-Sensitive House." [2] This time it wasn't Fi...
Bill Walsh | February 24, 2006 | Materials
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Hospital drew blood from the umbilical cords of 300 newborns and reported this month that ninety-nine percent of the babies were born with trace levels of perfluorooctanoic acid, usually called PFOA or C-8. [1] This industrial chemical was, until very recently, a critical component in the manufacture of certain fabric a...
Bill Walsh | January 05, 2006 | Policies
December, 2005 witnessed two important transitions that will have far reaching impacts on the green building world in 2006 and beyond. We begin 2006 by acknowledging two scientists who have made important contributions to the green building movement. In Memoriam: Rick Maas, Ph.D. According to news reports, Nigel Howard -- alive and well, thankfully...
Bill Walsh | December 21, 2005 | Policies
PVC phase-outs by leading U.S. corporate brands are now a familiar landmark on the road to corporate sustainability. On December 7, 2005, The Wall Street Journal reported that "Microsoft Corp. is curbing its use of a popular plastic known as PVC amid growing health and environmental concerns ... the latest company to distance itself from polyv...
Bill Walsh | November 17, 2005 | Policies
Last week, the Healthy Building Network (HBN) attended Greenbuild, the US Green Building Council's (USGBC) annual conference and exhibition in Atlanta, Georgia. HBN Founder Bill Walsh spoke on a panel entitled "Ethics and Green Building," and our annual Healthy Building Leadership Awards reception honored six long-time environmental j...
Bill Walsh | November 03, 2005 | Policies
Like New Orleans, Greenbuild is a one-of-a-kind experience. The crowds are teeming, the culture is inviting, the optimism is infectious, and the good times roll with a confidence bordering on indifference to the surrounding forces that could swamp it all. The USGBC's ambitious initiative to host a series of Greenbuild mini-charettes in order to...
Bill Walsh | October 10, 2005 | Policies
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has asked architect Andres Duany of the Congress for the New Urbanism to organize a design forum to plan the rebuilding of the Mississippi Gulf Coast communities. Elected and other key public officials and stakeholders are being invited to participate in this process to be held October 11-18 in Biloxi's Isle o...