Wood should be considered a primary material in environmentally friendly building, according to a study by the U.S. Forest Service.
Science Supporting the Economic and Environmental Benefits of Using Wood and Wood Products in Green Building Construction argues that using wood as a building product yields fewer greenhouse gases than using other common materials.
The Forest Service report also advocates greater use of life cycle analysis in building codes and standards to further benefit the environment.
In other green building news, Indie Energy and the U.S. Green Building Council, the creator of the LEED green building program, have announced they are to connect two of their software products.
The partnership brings together Indie Energy Network, an open platform for the development of third-party energy apps and live building data resource, and LEED Online, the software platform that manages the LEED green building certification process.
The bodies hope that by connecting the products, the LEED certification process will become more efficient.
In August, the U.S. District Court in New York City dismissed a lawsuit charging USGBC with false advertising over its LEED certification.
USGBC had been accused of awarding buildings the highest LEED ratings regardless of how much energy or water they use.
Picture credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture
