Green Building Law Update

Environmental Law and Sustainability for Business

Tag Archives: Stuart Kaplow

Renewable Energy Claim is Deceptive

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Energy, Solar Panel, wind turbine
This past week and there have been many other times this law firm was consulted about a marketing claim by a building owner with rooftop solar panels that advertises they “use” renewable energy, but the owner sells Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for the renewable energy it generates, so the Federal Trade Commission says it shouldn’t … Continue Reading

Back to the Future with “Navigable Waters of the United States”

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, Federal
Last week the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of the Army finalized a rule adding an applicability date to the 2015 Rule (that never went into effect) defining “waters of the United States.” But, the 2015 Rule will now not be applicable until two years following publication of the applicability date rule in the Federal Register … Continue Reading

Saint Paul Green With Envy

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in City, Green Building, Green Globes
When the Saint Paul City Council votes this Wednesday on Ordinance 17-60 it should amend the legislation to not delete, from the existing law, Green Globes as one of the approved green building standards. The work product of an advisory committee of experts, Ord 17-60 Sustainable Building Regulation Ordinance, alters and amends the 2009 Resolution … Continue Reading

Fireworks Cause Air Pollution But

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, Federal
In a very good example of striking the right balance between environmental protection and celebratory festivities, despite that fireworks degrade air quality with particulate matter, in the United States we have decided that the pyrotechnic show must go on. Fireworks have a storied history in the United States best articulated in a July 3, 1776 … Continue Reading

Migratory Bird Treaty Act Reform is for the Birds

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Federal
A week after this blog post, the Office of the Solicitor issued a memorandum the subject line of which was, “The Migratory Bird Treaty Act Does Not Prohibit Incidental Take.” The very first page of the Memorandum ends with the sentence, “Interpreting the MBTA to apply to incidental or accidental actions hangs the sword of … Continue Reading

Blockchain has come to Real Estate

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Legal Developments
Earlier this fall an apartment in Kiev became the first real estate purchased using blockchain, portending a new era in the sale of land and improvements. It is suggested blockchain may do for the $217 trillion real estate market what the Internet did for communication. Blockchain will address high transaction costs, long time delays, and … Continue Reading

Green Building Data Risk as an Opportunity

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Green Building, LEED
Green buildings generate large quantities of data. In an age when many have opinions about Edward Snowden’s disclosures, foreign state sponsored hacking, and Uber’s massive customer data hack, most people have not considered matters of data protection from their real estate, green building or otherwise. The topic is too broad to comprehensively address in a … Continue Reading

Arbitration is Why There is So Little Litigation in Green Building

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Construction, Green Building
It is surprising to many in the environmental industrial complex that there has been relatively little litigation arising out of green building. There have been only a very modest number of cases commenced in courts across the country involving construction of green buildings. The reason for the dearth of court cases is not that there … Continue Reading

LEED Commercial Interiors can Save the Planet

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Green Building, LEED
By Katie Stanford and Stuart Kaplow LEED Commercial Interiors projects present the best single opportunity for greening buildings. The proof is in the numbers. There are more than 5.6 million existing commercial buildings in the United States today. And despite the wildly successful U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (the ubiquitous acronym for Leadership in Energy … Continue Reading

Green Globes to be Approved in Maryland

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Green Building, Green Globes, LEED, State
Last week the Maryland Green Building Council voted unanimously to recommend that Green Globes, at the two Green Globes level, be approved by the Maryland Secretaries of Budget and Management and General Services as a “high performance building” as defined in Maryland law. The vote is being widely heralded as a significant step forward in … Continue Reading

Eat, Pray, Greenbuild?

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Green Building, LEED
I am often asked, “how can I expand my green building business?” My answer is simple and the same response I have offered for years, attend the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. This year Greenbuild is in Boston from November 8 – 10. I do not claim any particular business marketing prowess. Nor can I … Continue Reading

FTC Settles Charges Over Deceptive Zero VOC Claims

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, Federal, Green Building
Paint Can Label from Exhibit B in FTC Complaint
Four paint companies have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they deceptively promoted products as containing zero volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or as emission free, including during and immediately after application. Some promotions also made explicit safety claims. Specifically, the first FTC complaint alleges, In connection with the advertising, promotion, offering for sale, … Continue Reading

Mold can be Arrested in the Marketplace

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, Green Building
Extensive mold contamination on ceiling and wall
Concern about exposure to indoor mold has been increasing as the public becomes sensitive to issues of building occupant health and wellbeing. Mold problems in buildings have in large measure been exacerbated by changes in building codes and construction practices that began in the 1970s. In the quest to be more energy efficient, buildings are … Continue Reading
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