• A recent Gallup Poll shows that Americans perceive the lack of clean drinking water as a greater threat than climate change. Fifty-three percent of Americans worry “a great deal” over the pollution of drinking water, while just 37% place that concern on global warming, according to a Gallup Poll taken March 6-9, 2008. Gallup suggests the numbers might have been higher had the survey been conducted following an Associated Press report on pharmaceuticals in drinking water.

• The Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute has announced that it has been awarded accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a standards developing organization. Many of AHRI's standards outline technical procedures for uniformly measuring the performance of HVACR equipment.

• S.I. Goldman Co., a mechanical contractor and services company, recently marked a major safety milestone, exceeding 1 million man-hours without a lost time injury. The company credits the achievement to a system of extensive safety polices and procedures, including a comprehensive safety manual and regular safety meetings. In addition, S.I. Goldman employs a full-time safety director, sponsors a safety bonus program for its associates and issues reminders and audits.

• The Plumbing Manufacturers Institute has named Ronald S. Calderon (D-Montebello), a member of the California State Senate, its 2007 Legislator of the Year “in recognition of exemplary leadership on plumbing manufacturing issues.” Calderon recently introduced legislation calling for third-party certification that all affected plumbing products meet California's new “lead-free” formulation, thus ensuring a level playing field for manufacturers when the legislation takes effect in two years.

• Expanding local access to green homebuilding expertise, the U.S. Green Building Council has doubled its network of LEED for Homes Providers across the United States. Launched by the nonprofit USGBC in December 2007, LEED for Homes is a national, third-party certification system for green homes. Green homes certified using LEED must complete a rigorous on-site inspection. To date, more than 540 homes have been recognized at LEED certification levels of Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum, and an additional 12,940 have registered under the program and are currently under development.

EMCOR Group has announced that it has been included in Fortune magazine's annual Fortune 500 list for the ninth consecutive year. The company was ranked 407, up from its 2006 ranking of 448 and was also ranked 27th in 10-year annual earnings per share growth rate and 60th in 10-year annual rate of total return to investors.