POSITION Rebuilding America Team Releases 2010 in Review The Energy Future Coalition's Rebuilding America Team released a document in January outlining the significant events of the previous year in regards to energy efficiency technologies and legislation in the United States.  To view the document, click here.                   RECOGNITION GANA Participates in Award Event for U.S. Senator On Wednesday, January 19, Angelo Brisimitzakis, president and CEO of Compass Minerals, and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) will honor Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), a recipient of the NAM Award for Manufacturing Legislative Excellence. The event will take place at Compass Minerals, located at 9900 West 109th Street, Suite 100, in Overland Park, Kansas. Sen. Roberts plays a key role in shaping national policies that impact manufacturers. This event is in no way considered a campaign-related activity. The presentation of manufacturing's highest legislative honor is simply our way of thanking Sen. Roberts for all he has done in the 111th Congress.                   POSITION GANA Effort in ASHRAE Appeal Successful An ASHRAE appeals panel has reversed a decision by ASHRAE’s Standing Standard Project Committee 90.1 to reduce the amount of glass permissible in the envelope of commercial buildings using the prescriptive path by a full 25% -- from a maximum window-to-wall ratio of 40% to a maximum of 30%. It also reversed the proposed inclusion of more restrictive U-factors and SHGC values and the addition of a new minimum for VT/SHGC (of 1.1) in ASHRAE 90.1’s prescriptive path.  READ MORE                   POSITION GANA Urges OSHA to Change Proposed Fall Protection Rules GANA sent the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) a letter this week urging the organization to remove the use of suction cups on windows as a safe stabilization mechanism in conjunction with rope descent systems from a series of proposed regulations published by OSHA earlier in the year. At the recent GANA Fall Conference in Kansas City, members voted to oppose this proposed regulation.  READ THE LETTER                   POSITION GANA Submits Comments Urging CPSC Flexibility in Testing GANA submitted comments this week to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission urging for more flexibility in testing programs for the glass and glazing industry. The comments are in response to a series of proposed requirements offered by CPSC that would pre-empt all "non-conforming existing reasonable testing programs" of industries such as the glass and glazing industry.  READ THE LETTER                   POSITION GANA Lobbies Congress for Building STAR The Glass Association of North America (GANA) announced that it was one of more than 100 associations that signed onto a letter urging members of the US House and Senate to co-sponsor Building STAR legislation that is currently being drafted in Washington.  The letter spells out the benefits of such legislation.  READ THE SENATE LETTER  ::  READ THE HOUSE LETTER                   POSITION GANA Submits Comments to CARB The Glass Association of North America (GANA) announced that its Flat Glass Manufacturing Division's Climate Change Committee submitted comments to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in response to its May 17th public meeting to discuss allowance allocation and the next steps for the Cap-and-Trade program. The comments call for several modifications to the approach CARB is taking to Cap-and-Trade.  READ MORE ->                   VIDEO HPBCCC Briefing on Energy Star (sponsored by Guardian Industries Corp.) This video from GANA Executive Vice President Bill Yanek in Washington DC recaps the three days of lobbying members of Congress on energy legislation and the long history of the glass industry in producing energy efficient products.  He also discusses Building Star and future efforts from GANA: Advocacy.  WATCH VIDEO ->                   VIDEO GANA Capitol Hill Visits Day Three This video from GANA Executive Vice President Bill Yanek in Washington DC recaps the three days of lobbying members of Congress on energy legislation and the long history of the glass industry in producing energy efficient products.  He also discusses Building Star and future efforts from GANA: Advocacy.  WATCH VIDEO ->                   VIDEO GANA Capitol Hill Visits Day One This video from GANA Executive Vice President Bill Yanek in Washington DC recaps the first day of lobbying members of Congress on energy legislation and the long history of the glass industry in producing energy efficient products.  He also discusses Building Star and future efforts from GANA: Advocacy.  WATCH VIDEO ->                   POSITION GANA Support Letter of Energy Information Administration This letter was sent to the Congress, specifically to key members of the House Appropriations Committee, supporting the adequate funding of the Energy Information Administration.  GANA was one of several organizations that signed on to support this effort.  READ MORE ->                   VIDEO Introduction to GANA: Advocacy This video from GANA Executive Vice President Bill Yanek discusses GANA: Advocacy and the numerous efforts that will come from an enhanced advocacy stance from GANA.  It also discusses the upcoming Washington DC visits to Capitol Hill to discuss energy legislation and the glass industry's long history of creating energy efficient products and technologies.  WATCH VIDEO ->                   POSITION GANA: Advocacy and the Future of the Glass Industry Recently, I visited with a doctor (fortunately on an association matter, not my health!). His observations on association advocacy struck a chord. It seems that medical specialties are grappling with what the new healthcare landscape means for them. Beyond the expected challenges of plugging medical specialties into a one-size fits all health system, cardiologists are concerned that their voice at the state and federal levels is not being heard. Sound familiar?  READ MORE ->                   POSITION GANA Building Star White Paper This White Paper addresses the concerns of the glass and glazing industry regarding the proposed Building Star Energy Efficiency Rebate Act of 2010. While the industry strongly supports the energy efficiency and jobs objectives of the Act, this paper is intended to provide improved tax rebate criteria with supporting rationale.  READ MORE ->                   POSITION GANA Clean Energy Letter to Congress GANA Member Companies are committed to developing advanced technologies and manufacturing capabilities that will result in energy efficiency gains and reduced carbon emissions.  We have a long history of developing and manufacturing energy efficient products in the United States.  READ MORE ->                   VIDEO The Glass Industry This video from the Glass Association of North America Educational Foundation interview several industry personalities to discuss why the glass industry is a great career choice.  This video premiered at the BEC Conference in Las Vegas in March 2010.  WATCH VIDEO ->