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Chinese drywall - Is it a problem in your home?

Due to heavy media coverage of a recent press release from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and a federal court decision this past week, there is a surge of concern about potentially harmful drywall -- also known as gypsum board, gypsum wallboard, and the trade name, Sheetrock™.

2nd Public Review of ASHRAE Guideline 10P, Interactions Affecting the Achievement of Acceptable Indoor Environments

Proposed Guideline 10 looks at four of the primary goals of an acceptable indoor environment—good air quality, thermal comfort, good lighting, and good acoustics—and examines the various interactions that can occur when trying to achieve the larger goal of an acceptable indoor environment.

Weschler on human skin interactions with indoor air

Watch Charles Weschler describe the importance of human skin in the polluting the spaces we occupy in his recent lecture, now available on YouTube.

Publication - Recognition, Evaluation and Control of Indoor Mold

Recognition, Evaluation, and Control of Indoor Mold provides the most current and comprehensive discussion on the basic practice of identifying mold damage, the evaluation of the samples that are collected, and the process of remediation.

Publication - WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Dampness and Mould

WHO published its first guidelines on indoor air quality, addressing dampness and mould. They are the result of a rigorous, two-year review of the currently available science by 36 leading experts worldwide, coordinated by the WHO Regional Office for Europe.

Final Report on Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality in New Homes

Researchers have completed a multi-season study of ventilation and indoor air quality in 108 new homes in California. ARB and the California Energy Commission sponsored the study, which was conducted by a team led by Indoor Environmental Engineering.

U.S. National Academy of Science will study Climate Change and Public Health

The National Academy of Science through its Institute of medicine will conduct a consensus study on the Effect of Climate Change on Indoor Air Quality and Public Health.

ASHRAE IAQ Guide Summary is Available

You can download the Indoor Air Quality Guide Summary Guidance for Free

New Building Ecology web site

This is the new BuildingEcology.com web site

IAQ Scientific Findings Resource Bank Web Site

This Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Scientific Findings Resource Bank (IAQ-SFRB) is being developed by the Indoor Environment Department of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with funding support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided through an interagency agreement. The IAQ-SFRB serves as a resource for public health professionals, building professionals, and others who seek scientific information about the effects of IAQ on people's health or work performance.

Southern California Air Quality Management District Adopts Rule to Substantially Reduce VOC Emissions From Paint Thinners and Consumer Products

The Agency's rule will significantly reduce VOC emissions from paints used indoors. This is the first rule in the U.S. intended to reduce smog-forming ingredients in consumer paint thinner, and will have substantial benefits for IAQ.

EPA response to the GAO Mold report posted

The audio portion of the February 18th CIAQ meeting discussion on implementing the GAO Mold Report's recommendations has been posted to the CIAQ website.

IAQ Scientific Findings Resource Bank Web Site

This Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Scientific Findings Resource Bank (IAQ-SFRB) is being developed by the Indoor Environment Department of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with funding support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided through an interagency agreement. The IAQ-SFRB serves as a resource for public health professionals, building professionals, and others who seek scientific information about the effects of IAQ on people's health or work performance.

Federal Research Agenda for Net-Zero Energy, High-Performance Green Buildings - includes goals on Water and Occupant Health and Productivity

The Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a research agenda report prepared by the National Science and Technology Council's Building Technology Research and Development Subcommittee in October 2008. The goals of this research agenda is "Develop the knowledge and associated energy efficiency technologies and practices needed to promote occupant health, comfort and productivity.

Yvo De Boer, Executive Secretary Of The UNFCCC, Arrives In A Solar-Powered Vehicle In Poznan

POZNAN, Poland (AP) -- The first solar-powered car to travel around the world has ended its journey, pulling up at a U.N. climate talks with the message that clean technologies are already available to stop global warming.

The Best Laid Schemes....

SOM has established a joint project with Renssalear Polytechnic called the Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE) where students and Skidmore personnel collaborate on the development of advanced designs for more sustainable built environments. An admiral venture, but the November 14 New York Times article on CASE highlights a project that would create structures above a highway and clean the air with plants, a further extension of the attractive, even seductive myth that plants can effectively clean significant volumes of polluted air in reasonably useful time frames. The project would acquire ..."the air rights for an interstate highway in Washington, D.C. Might it be possible, if the highway is decked over, to construct “eco-chimneys” in which plant materials would help purify the exhaust air coming up from the tunnel-like underpass?" the Times article reports.

New Mailing List Called BLDG-RATE

Announcing a new mailing list called BLDG-RATE created to enable people to exchange questions and answers relating to building performance rating systems. The onebuilding.org web site hosts the new BLDG-RATE mailing list which joins the existing BLDG-SIM, TRACE-users, eQUEST-users, and HAP-users mailing lists. The BLDG-SIM list has been helping users of building energy simulation software since 1999 and has over 1300 participants.

Meeting the 2030 Challenge Through Building Codes

Architecture 2030 has developed an interim system based on ‘code equivalents’, which are the additional reductions needed beyond the requirements of a particular code, standard or rating system to meet or exceed the initial 50% target of the 2030 Challenge. The paper also provides suggestions for ordinances that can be used to aid governments in amending their existing building code to incorporate these code equivalents.

Health Education Research: The pit and the pendulum: the impact on teen smokers of including a designated smoking area in school tobacco control policy

Thirty per cent of school districts in British Columbia do not ban smoking outright on school grounds, and in several instances, smoking is permitted in smoking pits, regardless of school district policy. While there is evidence to suggest that enforcing a tobacco-free environment for students does reduce adolescent smoking rates, the concomitant safety and discipline problems it creates for school staff and administration are demanding and complex, and may override concerns regarding student smoking. This study uses a qualitative approach to explore the meanings that students place on tobacco control policy and the impact that these meanings have on their own smoking behaviours. We found that students were surprised and concerned that smoking was permitted on school property and that it negatively impacted their own tobacco prevention/control/cessation attempts.

New Initiative Launched to Drive Energy Efficiency

The American Public Power Association (APPA) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) announced today a joint initiative designed “to help American households and businesses take advantage of all cost-effective opportunities to improve the efficiency of electricity use.”