CLIMATE LETTER TO CONGRESS

We think this public letter, signed by 18 prominent climate scientists, coordinated by the Project on Climate Science, gives a succinct and accurate view of the current situation, addressed to our national legislators.

Meanwhile, the "Better Buildings Initiative" announced by the White House on February 3, 2011, is an important climate- and architecture-related package moving forward administratively, even as Congress fiddles. —Editors

To the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate:

POSTCARD FROM PASSIVE HOUSE PORTLAND

Dear ArchitectureWeek,

There were 345 attendees (including me) at the North American Passive House Conference in Portland, Oregon, held from November 4 to 7, 2010. Twenty-six sessions focused on all aspects of the Passive House building energy-efficiency certification system, ranging from detailed conceptual overviews led by Passivhaus cofounder Dr. Wolfgang Feist to technical sessions about specific aspects of certification in our region.

MODERNIZING MODERN

In the United States, there is a huge inventory of unused, underused, and poorly configured buildings, many of them modern-style. These buildings are a valuable resource, and until this resource has been exhausted, the pace and pattern of new building construction seen in the second half of the 20th century is a luxury that is not sustainable.

More Environment

Library : more Green Design and Building

Environment Last Week

Environment Department Archive