The American Institute of Architects has released a study of three of the most broadly used green building rating systems in the U.S.– the Green Building Initiative's Green Globes, the International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment’s SBTool 07, and the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED NC 2.2. The report does not rank the three systems but suggests areas for improvement for each system. States News Service, May 8
USGBC Announces Release of New LEED-EB:O&M (April 24, 2008)
According to the USGBC,
the LEED
for Existing Buildings: Operations &
Maintenance (LEED EB: OM) rating system
has passed member ballot and
registration is now available. Among
the many upgrades to LEED EB provided by
LEED EB: OM
are more credits for energy efficiency.
The LEED EB: OM rating system helps
building owners and operators measure
operations, improvements, and
maintenance on a consistent scale, with
the goal of maximizing operational
efficiency while minimizing
environmental impacts. LEED EB
addresses whole-building cleaning and
maintenance issues (including chemical
use), recycling programs, exterior
maintenance programs, and systems
upgrades. It can be applied both to
existing buildings seeking LEED
certification for the first time and to
projects previously certified under LEED
for New Construction (LEED NC) or LEED
for Core & Shell (LEED CS).
The LEED EB: OM reference guide and submittal templates are currently under development, and are expected to be available in May. According to the USGBC, if you choose to register for O&M today, you will have access to the LEED Online Project Summary only. Phase out of LEED EB version 2.0 and mandatory registration under O&M will go into effect once all supporting rating-system materials are finalized by the USGBC. Meanwhile, all projects registered under LEED EB version 2.0 that wish to upgrade to O&M will “need to save any uploaded template data before requesting the switch.”
USGBC offers free registration for all previously certified LEED NC and LEED CS projects.
National
Lighting Bureau Weighs in on Mercury in
Compact Fluorescent (CFL) Lighting
(April 23, 2008)
Silver Spring, MD - "There's so much
misinformation about mercury in compact
fluorescent (CFL) lighting, American
consumers are being discouraged from
using them. The overall effect is
counterproductive for the nation as a
whole. In fact, use of CFLs will result
in far less mercury in the environment
rather than more." So says John P.
Bachner, communications director of the
National Lighting Bureau. Established in
1976, the National Lighting Bureau is an
independent lighting information source
sponsored by industry, professional
societies, trade associations,
utilities, and agencies of the federal
government.
According to Bachner, "Consumers'
biggest concern is the impact of the
mercury vapor that can be released into
household air when a CFL is broken.
However, even in a small room, the
impact on air quality is well below
danger levels established by [the
Occupational Health and Safety
Administration]. In fact, the amount of
mercury in a typical CFL is not enough
to coat the head of a pin; the average
swordfish contains 20 times as much
mercury. Besides, when a CFL is broken,
most of its mercury adheres to the glass
and does not disperse into the air.
Reasonable caution is all that's needed
to deal with the situation. There's no
reason to fear serious, long-term health
effects or to call for an emergency-
response unit, as some people have
done."
The Environmental Protection Agency's
guidance on cleaning up a broken CFL is
available at the National Lighting
Bureau website (www.nlb.org), as is a
well- received white paper - "Recycling
Household CFLs" - developed by the
National Electrical Manufacturers
Association (NEMA).
Bachner pointed out that CFLs actually
reduce the amount of mercury that enters
our atmosphere, because they use so much
less electricity than ordinary
incandescent bulbs. Most of the nation's
electricity is generated by coal-fired
power plants; coal combustion releases
mercury and other chemicals into the
atmosphere. The amount of mercury and
other chemicals now being released to
the nation's air to power household
incandescent lighting could be reduced
by 75% or more "simply by switching to
CFLs," Bachner said. He continued, "The
health and environmental risks posed by
replacing incandescent bulbs with CFLs
is far, far less than the health and
environmental risks posed by not
replacing incandescent bulbs with CFLs."
Although the amount of mercury in the
typical CFL can be characterized as
tiny, "we still need to be concerned
about the proper disposal and recycling
of CFLs," Bachner said, noting that
America's lighting- product
manufacturers are taking a lead role in
addressing the issue. He said they are
continuing to work on an
energy-efficient replacement for mercury
and, in the interim, those manufacturers
that are members of the National
Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)
have agreed to strictly limit the
mercury content of their CFL products.
He noted that CFL recycling technology
already is being used, and that the only
real CFL-recycling challenge now is
making disposal easier for consumers.
The National Lighting Bureau is one of
several organizations now working to
develop CFL collection centers in every
U.S. community. IKEA stores have already
agreed to participate, and the U.S.
Postal Service is starting an
experimental program. "We expect that
steadily more retailers will want to
lend a hand, because CFL recycling
connects them to a worthwhile, 'green'
cause while also building consumer
traffic," Bachner said. He added that
"time is on our side, given that the
average CFL installed today will not
need to be recycled for seven to ten
years, CFLs can last that long." He
commented that, during the same 7-to-10-
year period, consumers might have to
replace an incandescent bulb as many as
five times or more. "So more reliance on
CFLs would also result in fewer
manufacturing resources being used,
including electricity, and less burden
on the nation's waste stream," he said.
More information about the National
Lighting Bureau is available at its
website (www.nlb.org) or by contacting
the National Lighting Bureau
Communications Office (8811 Colesville
Road, Suite G106, Silver Spring, MD
20910; tel. 301/587-9572; fax
301/589-2017; e-mail info@nlb.org).
Copyright 2008 - National Lighting
Bureau