1 - What does VOC stand for?
2 – What is the Green Seal program?
3 – What does SCS stand for?
4 – What is the Ecologo program?
5 – What is the LEED program?
6 – What are TLVs?
7 - Why should IONS concern me?
8 – What are Greenhouse Gases?
9 – What does FSC mean?
10 – Why is Chain of Custody (COC) important?
11 – What is the Smartwood program?
12 – What is the story behind the Pine Beetle?

VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS

“VOC” stands for Volatile Organic Compound. Organic compound refers to anything that contains carbon – living or not. Volatile is the term used to describe the compounds that evaporate readily at room temperature. This volatility, in itself, isn’t a problem but many VOCs are toxic and in turn cause health and air quality issues when they are released into the atmosphere.
Part of the confusion surrounding VOCs is that they were initially regulated to control smog. Some VOCs (but not all) react with chlorine and nitrous oxides to form smog creating compounds and in turn, governments (particularly in California) banned them. This led to a public perception that all VOCs are bad (not true) and that products that are free of VOCs are safe (also not true). For example, ammonia and acetone have not been labeled as VOCs in the US because they don’t contribute to smog but are actually very toxic. Incredibly, they have also made their way into the “zero-VOC” formulations of major paint companies. Meanwhile, VOCs such as propylene glycol and natural aromatherapy oils are not considered hazardous but have negative connotations to the public because of their VOC label.

Green Seal (YOLO)

Green Seal is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding the environment and transforming the marketplace by promoting the manufacture, purchase, and use of environmentally responsible products and services. Green Seal works with manufacturers, industry sectors, purchasing groups and governments at all levels to "green" the production and purchasing chain. Utilizing a life-cycle approach, Green Seal evaluates a product or service beginning with material extraction, continuing with manufacturing and use, and ending with recycling and disposal. Products only become Green Seal certified after rigorous testing and evaluation, including on-site plant visits. A Green Seal certification says that a product or service has been tested according to science-based procedures, that it works as well or better than others in its class, and that it has been evaluated without bias or conflict of interest. This gives manufacturers the assurance to back up their claims and purchasers confidence that certified products are better for human health and the environment. The Green "Seal of Approval" has come to stand for reliability, fairness, and integrity. For more information check out www.greenseal.org

SCS Indoor Advantage Certification (Safecoat)

Indoor Advantage certification is administered by SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) of Emeryville, CA. In addition to meeting USCBG LEED criteria (USCBG LEED – see Insert 5), the Indoor Advantage Gold program, has the added benefit of being health-driven as it is based on Chronic Reference Exposure Levels set by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, rather than total VOCs (VOC – see Insert 1) and Threshold Limit Values (TLVs – see Insert 6) used by other certification organizations. This recognition assures home owners and building professionals using these SCS Indoor Advantage Gold Safecoat products can help achieve the most stringent indoor air quality objectives in North America.

Ecologo (Broda)

EcoLogoM is North America's most widely recognized and respected multi-attribute environmental certification mark. There are two key features of the EcoLogoM which set it apart from some other environmental labeling systems. Firstly the Program looks at the total impact of the product across its life cycle. Secondly the Program performs third-party audits to verify the claims. The life cycle assessment is a cradle-to-grave approach to examining the impacts associated with a product or service. It looks at the impacts associated with raw material acquisition, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, use and disposal of a product. Life cycle assessment can help establish what primary and secondary impacts exist and then are used as the guide to developing leadership environmental performance criteria.

USCGB LEED

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a coalition of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. The U.S. Green Building Council's core purpose is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building System (LEED) was created by the USGBC to transform the built environment to sustainability by providing the building industry with consistent, credible standards for what constitutes a green building. LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED provides building owners and operators with the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

THRESHOLD LIMIT VALUES

TLV stands for “Threshold Limit Values” and refers to the amount of chemicals in the air that almost all healthy adult workers are predicted to be able to tolerate without adverse affects. TLVs are used to assess workplace exposure by providing a comparison point for testing to assist in product selection. When deciding which product to use, choose a chemical with the higher TLV rating as often as possible as a lower TLV means less is allowed in the workplace air, and the less the air should be inhaled. If a chemical with a low TLV must be used, ensure that adequate control and filtration measures are taken (e.g. use in a chemical fume or with adequate local exhaust).

Bear in mind that TLVs are not safe limits "safe" limits. Even a few "healthy adult workers" will be unable to tolerate concentrations considered safe. TLVs also do not apply to people with certain health problems or allergies, people taking certain medications or drugs, people who work longer than eight hours per day, children or the fetus.

TLVs are not available for all chemicals. It is estimated there are over 650,000 chemicals in the workplace, with approximately 700 having a TLV. Many have never been studied. Chemicals without TLVs or other exposure limits should NOT be considered safe

NEGATIVE IONS

Many things in nature hold a negative charge, and humans living close to nature are accustomed to being surrounded by a negative charge in the air, or Negative Ions.

Inside today’s modern home and office there are computers, electrical appliances, electric cords, LEDs and synthetic plastic products (which includes most modern wall coverings like latex paint), all of which produce and maintain a positive charge in the air.

Surrounding your interior environments with clay plasters, or paints, that produce Negative Ions will not only help neutralize the electromagnetic effect created by computers, appliances and synthetic plastics, but also will help eliminate static charge on walls and floors. Your walls stay clean. Also, by using clay surface materials you are helping to filter air of pollen and dander. You surround yourself with the charge Humans are accustomed to when living in nature.

Negative ions are believed to produce biochemical reactions that increase levels of the mood chemical serotonin, helping to alleviate depression, relieve stress, and boost our daytime energy. Normal Ion count in fresh country air is 2,000 to 4,000 negative Ions per cubic centimeter (about the size of a sugar cube). At Yosemite Falls, you'll experience over 100,000 negative Ions per cubic centimeter. On the other hand, the level is far below 600 per cubic centimeter in an office with computers.

GREENHOUSE GAS EMMISIONS

Greenhouse gases are present in the atmosphere naturally, released by natural sources like trees, soil, human breath and agriculture. These gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. The Greenhouse Effect is the rise in temperature that the Earth experiences because these gases trap energy from the sun. Without these gases, heat would escape back into space and the Earth’s average temperature would be much, much colder---to cold for humans to inhabit. Because of how they warm our world, these gases are referred to as Greenhouse Gases. In the last 200 years through industrialization and urban sprawl, mankind has been releasing substantially more quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These extra emissions are increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, enhancing the natural greenhouse effect, which is believed to cause global warming.

FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world’s forests. FSC sets high standards that ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable way.

Landowners and companies that sell timber or forest products seek certification as a way to verify to consumers that they have practiced forestry consistent with FSC standards. Independent, certification organizations such as the Rainforest Alliance (see Insert 11 – SmartWood), are accredited by FSC to carry out assessments of forest management to determine if standards have been met. These certifiers also verify that companies claiming to sell FSC certified products have tracked their supply back to FSC certified sources. This chain of custody certification assures that consumers can trust the FSC label.

Trusted environmental organizations including Greenpeace, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, and World Wildlife Fund all support and encourage FSC certification. Consumers wishing to support healthy forests and communities should look and ask for the FSC label when purchasing wood or paper products.

The FSC’s international headquarters are located in Bonn, Germany. FSC has contact person and national offices in more than 40 countries, creating a global FSC network. More information can be found at www.fsc.org

Chain of Custody (CoC)

Operations that use certified materials or that purchase and sell FSC certified products can earn Chain-of-Custody (CoC) certification. CoC certification ensures that a product bearing the FSC label can be verified to contain sufficient quantities of FSC-certified materials.

SMARTWOOD/RAINFOREST ALLIANCE

SmartWood is a program of the Rainforest Alliance, an international conservation organization that works to protect endangered ecosystems and the people and wildlife that live in them by transforming land use practices, business practices, and consumer behaviour. Established in 1989, SmartWood is the oldest, most extensive certification program in the world and has eight regional offices and partners with a network of non-profit conservation organizations. Further information about SmartWood can be found at www.smartwood.org.

The Rainforest Alliance endorses FSC certification of forests as the most effective way to balance the environmental, cultural and economic values of forests. For more information on the Rainforest Alliance see www.rainforest-alliance.org

Pine Beetle

Blue Mountain Pine Floors are salvaged from trees killed by the Mountain Pine Beetle. What is claimed to be a product of global warming, the Pine Beetle infestation has had staggering effects on Lodgepole Pine trees. Now able to survive the warmer winters in the North, the pine beetle travels through the forest when conditions are right and makes his home in the Lodgepole Pine. He works his way into the bark and eventually kills the tree. His calling card is the introduction of a blue stain on the outer sapwood layers of the trees. This natural discoloration creates a beautiful contrasting characteristic of Blue-Grey reminiscent of the Pioneer days and is often called “Beetle Wood,” "Blue Mountain Pine" or “Blue Denim.”

Although the Pine Beetle infestation has had disastrous results on the forests of BC, it has provided an enormous source of what can be considered salvaged wood. Since the trees are virtually dead and will eventually begin to fall down, using Beetle Wood reduces the need to cut living trees of other species, helps protect the forest from fires and assists a new generation of growth through replanting – essentially making the best of a natural disaster.