Down in Los Altos, California, a green building controversy is brewing. Linda Kincaid, industrial hygienist, has made some serious accusations about high levels of formaldehyde in certified green homes. On September 15, Kincaid, along with Richard Calhoun, held a press conference to discuss her findings. I am particularly interested in Calhoun’s reference to "sick buildings" … Continue Reading
When I have previously speculated as to green building lawsuits, I never imagined that an industrial hygienist would play a significant role. Industrial hygienists are scientists and engineers who study health and safety of people in the workplace and the community. Linda Kincaid is an industrial hygienist in California. She is also a citizen-reporter for … Continue Reading
[Ed. Note: On Monday, I promised breaking news on the green building risk front. The news is still breaking so I am holding off on posting the story for now. Sorry for the delay. We are going live with the story on Friday.] Here’s a green building law pop quiz for you. What is missing … Continue Reading
Tomorrow I will be in Nashville, Tennessee to talk to the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) about green building law. It is great news that the green building industry and the people who are involved in green building projects on a daily basis are so interested in green building … Continue Reading
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) projects have resulted in extremely low bids. These low bids could be the result of improved efficiency in the construction industry; or the low bids could be the result of cut throat competition. Simultaneously, the ARRA includes $250 million to investigate (PDF) and audit ARRA projects. These … Continue Reading
Congratulations to this year’s Top 100 green contractors, as determined by ENR. The Top 100 Green Contractors for 2008 RANK FIRM 2008 1 The Turner Corp., New York, N.Y. 2 Webcor Builders, San Mateo, Calif. 3 Skanska USA Inc., Whitestone, N.Y. 4 Bovis Lend Lease, New York, N.Y. 5 Swinerton Inc., San Francisco, Calif. … Continue Reading
I generally don’t like numbers. But I have never seen such compelling proof that the green building industry is here to stay (ENR – subscription req.): The Top 100 (green contractors) generated $38.69 billion in revenue in 2008 from projects registered with or certified by third-party rating groups under objective environmental or sustainable development standards. … Continue Reading
In light of our discussions regarding green roof fires and insurance, I thought you might like to see an actual green roof fire: Are you convinced? Related Links: LiveRoof: Green Roof Fire Test (YouTube) Green Roof posts (GBLU)… Continue Reading
Something very important popped out at me when I re-read the New York Times article about the green buildings not performing as anticipated. The green building highlighted for poor energy performance is a General Services Administration building: "The building’s cooling system, a major gas guzzler, was one culprit. Another was its design: to get its … Continue Reading
I hope everyone is having a great Labor Day. No new post today. Instead, I would suggest you read or re-read the New York Times article about LEED and energy performance. The article is one of my most important to come out on green building in awhile. As I said on Friday, the most interesting … Continue Reading
I found a YouTube video of a green roof being set on fire that I planned to post today. You know another topic would have to be very important to pre-empt a green roof fire video. Such a topic has revealed itself. On Wednesday, we started talking about the New York Times LEED energy performance … Continue Reading
You may have recently read the New York Times article about the gap between LEED building designs and actual energy performance. If not, I would recommend reading the article. You may have also noticed a reference to "construction lawyers": "Already, some construction lawyers have said that owners might face additional risk of lawsuits if buildings … Continue Reading
