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Bill Walsh | December 09, 2004 | Policies
In a new anthology of essays reacting to the 2004 Presidential election,[1] acclaimed environmental writer Sandra Steingraber[2] foresees the green building movement of tomorrow grown as robust as the organic movement of today - a transformational force in the mainstream marketplace, meaningfully improving the prospects both for local communities a...
Bill Walsh | November 19, 2004 | Policies
Last week, the Healthy Building Network (HBN) attended GreenBuild, the US Green Building Council's (USGBC) annual conference and exhibition in Portland, Oregon. GreenBuild gives over 5000 registered attendees access to 450 exhibitors, and over 100 workshops, seminars and speeches. This year HBN staffer Tom Lent made an award-winning poster pres...
Bill Walsh | November 01, 2004 | Materials
The Swedish National Testing and Research Institute[1] states as its mission "to contribute to growth and competitiveness of industry as well as to safety, conservation of resources and a good environment in society." This might explain the interest generated by the Institute's recent study published in the October issue of the journa...
Bill Walsh | October 15, 2004 | Policies
The Healthy Schools Network, Inc. is a national not-for-profit organization centered on children's environmental health, and dedicated to assuring every child and school employee an environmentally safe and healthy school. The Healthy Building News asked its leaders to discuss the impact of an important new report on how school buildings affect...
Bill Walsh | September 30, 2004 | Materials
Tom Lent | September 16, 2004 | Policies
The Sustainable Products Purchasing Coalition (SPPC)[1] hopes to catalyze the market for sustainable products by getting consistent environmental performance data from manufacturers. They've chosen to do this through an Eco-Profile - a standardized form through which manufacturers can provide Life Cycle data for their product compatible with th...
Niaz Dorry | August 11, 2004 | Materials
To breathe, I have to take way too many medicines today - each with their side effects. I'm an adult. Imagine a child having to wade through all the symptoms and medicines associated with asthma. Many factors contribute to the development and aggravation of asthma. However, I am wondering whether the installation of PVC flooring in my bathroom...
Bill Walsh | July 26, 2004 | Policies
A new book entitled The Philosophy of Sustainable Design has earned widespread praise by green building leaders.[1] Author Jason McLennan,[2] the Director of Elements, the green consulting division of BNIM Architects, and founder of Ecotone Design, discussed his new book with Bill Walsh of HBN. The book can be purchased at www.ecotonedesign.com.[3]...
Bill Walsh | July 14, 2004 | Policies
The phrase sound science evokes the idiom of science, though it is not itself a scientific term. It's a code word. Manufacturers of arsenic wood treating compounds used it with a straight face to argue that there was no sound science to support the proposition that children would be better off without arsenic on their playgrounds.[1] The Vinyl...
Bill Walsh | June 29, 2004 | Materials
A new report by the Grassroots Recycling Network (GRRN)[1], Message In A Bottle: The Myth of PVC Recycling,[2] demonstrates that "PVC recycling does not exist, cannot exist, and is not wanted by the plastics recycling industry," according to GRRN Project Coordinator, Toral Jha. Although the report focuses on bottle and container markets b...
