Green Building & Manufacturing Articles
Insurers dropping Chinese drywall policies
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - James and Maria Ivory's dreams of a relaxing retirement on Florida's Gulf Coast were put on hold
when they discovered their new home had been built with Chinese drywall that emits sulfuric fumes and corrodes pipes. It got
worse when they asked their insurer for help - and not only was their claim denied, but they've been told their entire policy won't
be renewed.
Thousands of homeowners nationwide who bought new houses constructed from the defective building materials are finding their
hopes dashed, their lives in limbo. And experts warn that cases like the Ivorys', in which insurers drop policies or send notices of
non-renewal based on the presence of the Chinese drywall, will become rampant as insurance companies process the hundreds
of claims currently in the pipeline.
At least three insurers have already canceled or refused to renew policies after homeowners sought their help replacing the bad
wallboard. Because mortgage companies require homeowners to insure their properties, they are then at risk of foreclosure, yet
no law prevents the cancellations.
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Inventors Offer Ecofriendly Substitutes For Polystyrene
ScienceDaily (Oct. 4, 2009) - Rigid, custom-fit foam pieces like those that keep computer monitors firmly in place inside
cardboard boxes during shipping could be made with eco-friendly starch from potatoes, wheat or corn, instead of from petroleum,
according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) research plant physiologist Gregory M. Glenn. Opting for starch in place of
petroleum-derived polystyrene would lessen America's dependence on petroleum.
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New Plywood Glue Made With Corn
ScienceDaily (Oct. 5, 2009) - After the oil is extracted from corn germ meal, the corn germ is typically fed to poultry and other
livestock animals. But a new, value-added use could be on tap for this "leftover," thanks to studies by an Agricultural Research
Service (ARS) scientist in Peoria, Ill.
The conventional extender for most plywood glues is industrial-grade wheat flour, according to Hojilla-Evangelista. However, she
has sought to expand the list of agricultural extenders in the event glue manufacturers needed a comparable alternative-for
example, because of a spike in wheat-flour prices or drop in supply.
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Over 90% of Americans support solar power development
The vast majority - 92% - of Americans think it's important for the country to develop and use solar power, according to a
study released today, making the alternative energy option potentially one of the most popular things since puppies or ice cream.
The sentiment was echoed almost evenly across political parties, with 89% of Republicans, 94% of Democrats and 93% of
Independents agreeing that solar energy is an important aim.
The 2009 Schott Solar Barometer, conducted by independent polling firm Kelton Research, found that 77% of respondents also
believe the federal government should make solar power development a national priority. Nearly half are considering solar power
options for their home or business, while 70% of those hope to make the switch in the next five years. Only 3% already use the sun
for energy.
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Republicans urge Obama to roll back "Buy American"
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans urged President Barack Obama on Thursday to roll back "Buy American" provisions of
this year's economic stimulus package that they said were delaying public works projects and costing American jobs.
"Clearly these provisions are creating problems for our domestic companies and employees that must be addressed,"
Representative Wally Herger said at a "roundtable" Republicans organized to hear industry concerns about the measure.
Representative Kevin Brady urged the White House to exempt state, county and city governments from the Buy American
requirement "so that we can get those dollars working, create these jobs, get these projects in place and move this economy."
The Republicans said they held their event because Democratic leaders of the House of Representatives Ways and Means
Committee refused to hold a hearing on the issue.
The Buy American provision included in the $787 billion economic stimulus act requires all public works projects funded by the bill
use only U.S.-made goods.
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$1.2 billion starts to flow to utility projects
The glow of streetlights in Cherry Hill will soon shift from soft amber to bright white, a change in the nighttime aesthetic that engineers say will be accompanied by a significant decline in township electricity use.
"About 80 percent of the towns in our coverage area use the old mercury-vapor lights," said Benjamin White, a project manager with PSE&G, New Jersey's largest utility provider with 2.1 million electric customers.
Cherry Hill, where nearly all the streetlights were mercury vapor, already has begun installing 4,280 energy-efficient induction-fluorescent models. The conversion will cut electricity use for lighting by as much as 50 percent, White said.
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A Changing Industry: BIM
Yehudi 'Gaf' Gaffen, CEO, Gafcon, www.gafcon.com, San Diego, Calif., says people have been trying to figure out how to make construction more efficient for decades. But in just the past year the industry is beginning to see progress, employing the use of construction software in many different areas.
"I really feel that in the past year we have started to see (construction become more efficient) and it is really being done through technology--through things like SharePoint and BIM (building information modeling) and other technologies that are out there," says Gaffen. "I truly believe that we are going to see huge advancements in the efficiencies in our industry."
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Billings at U.S. architecture firms exceeds $40 billion annually
Substantial increase in green design practices and use of BIM software; Continued gains in diversity of profession
In the three-year period leading up to the current recession, gross billings at U.S. architecture firms increased nearly $16 billion from 2005 and totaled $44.3 billion in 2008. This equates to 54 percent growth over the three-year period with annual growth of about 16 percent.
These findings are from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Business of Architecture: AIA Survey Report on Firm Characteristics, which is conducted every three years to examine issues related to the business practices of AIA member-owned architecture firms. The study also revealed sizeable gains in the number of firms doing green design projects, as well as using building information modeling (BIM) software.
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Building Green Doesn't Always Cost More, Says Report
NEW YORK-Building sustainably is a growing trend, but there is a prevailing perception that it costs more to go green. Not true, says a study conducted in New York City recently by global construction consultants Davis Langdon and the Urban Green Council.
"I think if you ask the average developer, they would say it [green building] costs more," said Russell Unger, executive director of the Urban Green Council. The results from "The Cost of Green in NYC" study debunked the cost myth with a comparison of the average cost per square-foot for certified green and non-certified construction.
Throughout 2008, data were gathered on 107 projects throughout the five boroughs of New York, 63 of which were either pursuing or had achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, the report said. Surveys were conducted for buildings with and without sustainability goals. Data points included construction costs, design fees, LEED design fees, LEED additional fees, and commissioning fees. The average square-foot construction cost for a high-rise residential building without LEED certification was $436; while the average cost with certification was $440.
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Innovative solar-powered LED lighting provides green revolutionary benefits
As various facilities pursue new goals for reducing energy consumption and carbon footprints, an increasing trend is to install innovative solar-powered light emitting diode (LED) fixtures for various applications. Several leading LED fixture or solid state lighting (SSL) companies include General Electric, Philips Lumileds, Sharp, Cree and Carmanah Technologies, all of which whom offer competitive product portfolios in this area. These companies are developing lighting for airports, railways, parking lots, street lights, and mobile military installations, which in some cases can be solar-powered. On a more fundamental level, the actual materials used in high-brightness LED chips for these applications are typically thin-films of single-crystal gallium nitride on single-crystal sapphire wafers.
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