Renewables and Energy Efficiency Incentives: The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which passed the House of Representatives and was signed by President Bush on Oct. 3, throws a life preserver to the financial industry, but also includes incentives for renewable energy production and homeowner tax credits for using energy-efficient products. Read about it here.
Water Conservation: Kohler has recently launched www.savewateramerica.com, a Web site dedicated to offering water-saving ideas and information on its water-efficient products, including direct links to its WaterSense-qualified toilets. Homeowners and builders also can calculate a home’s water usage based on number of occupants, number and type of water-using fixtures, and other details. www.savewateramerica.com also offers links to state and municipal rebate programs for installing water-efficient fixtures. In other water-conservation news, the Alliance for Water Efficiency has launched a comprehensive Web-based Water Efficiency Resource Library, with funding and support from the EPA. The library provides a one-stop shop for water-efficient product and program information, and covers a wide variety of topics, including residential plumbing and appliances, toilet testing, landscape and irrigation, water loss control, codes and standards, and more. Research reports, published documents, and case studies are available as well.
New Lead-Safe Requirements for Remodelers: The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) is offering a Webinar for remodeling professionals about the EPA’s new lead-safe practices rule for contractors, “Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting Program,” issued in March 2008. NARI’s Webinar, Learn About Lead: New EPA Rules and You, reviews the new rules and offers guidance on best practices and how remodelers can implement them, as well as how to use the new rules as a sales tool. The Webinar is available for viewing for $79 to NARI members and $99 for non-members. Click here for details. The EPA’s new rule can be downloaded here; more information on lead-safe practices from the EPA is available here.
Green Book Club: The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Island Press have launched GreenWorks, a book club that will offer a monthly selection of featured books on green building (at discounted prices for USGBC members). The book club also will offer a forum for pros to connect with each other and share their thoughts on books, ideas, and authors as well as exchanging green building information. A panel of green building experts will select the featured books for each month, which will be available for purchase at www.islandpress.org/usgbc. Topics will cover residential, commercial, and neighborhood green building and development.
