diff --git a/conda_build/__init__.py b/conda_build/__init__.py
index 1a9b54ef8e..bb67128c6d 100644
--- a/conda_build/__init__.py
+++ b/conda_build/__init__.py
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@
 __version__ = get_versions()['version']
 del get_versions
 
+import logging
+
 # Sub commands added by conda-build to the conda command
 sub_commands = [
     'build',
@@ -21,3 +23,13 @@
     'sign',
     'skeleton',
 ]
+
+# Set default logging handler to avoid "No handler found" warnings.
+try:  # Python 2.7+
+    from logging import NullHandler
+except ImportError:
+    class NullHandler(logging.Handler):
+        def emit(self, record):
+            pass
+
+logging.getLogger(__name__).addHandler(NullHandler())
diff --git a/conda_build/build.py b/conda_build/build.py
index 71f6470f65..8dbf329d5b 100644
--- a/conda_build/build.py
+++ b/conda_build/build.py
@@ -55,10 +55,10 @@
 from conda_build.post import (post_process, post_build,
                               fix_permissions, get_build_metadata)
 from conda_build.utils import (rm_rf, _check_call, copy_into, on_win, get_build_folders,
-                               silence_loggers, path_prepended, create_entry_points,
+                               path_prepended, create_entry_points,
                                prepend_bin_path, codec, root_script_dir, print_skip_message,
                                ensure_list, get_lock, ExitStack, get_recipe_abspath, tmp_chdir,
-                               expand_globs)
+                               expand_globs, LoggingContext)
 from conda_build.metadata import build_string_from_metadata
 from conda_build.index import update_index
 from conda_build.create_test import (create_files, create_shell_files,
@@ -75,8 +75,6 @@
 else:
     shell_path = '/bin/bash'
 
-log = logging.getLogger(__file__)
-
 
 def prefix_files(prefix):
     '''
@@ -593,82 +591,78 @@ def create_env(prefix, specs, config, clear_cache=True):
     Create a conda envrionment for the given prefix and specs.
     '''
     if config.debug:
-        logging.getLogger("conda").setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
-        logging.getLogger("binstar").setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
-        logging.getLogger("install").setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
-        logging.getLogger("conda.install").setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
-        logging.getLogger("fetch").setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
-        logging.getLogger("print").setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
-        logging.getLogger("progress").setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
-        logging.getLogger("dotupdate").setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
-        logging.getLogger("stdoutlog").setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
-        logging.getLogger("requests").setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
+        logging.getLogger("conda_build").setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
+        external_logger_context = LoggingContext(logging.DEBUG)
     else:
-        silence_loggers(show_warnings_and_errors=True)
-
-    if os.path.isdir(prefix):
-        rm_rf(prefix)
+        logging.getLogger("conda_build").setLevel(logging.INFO)
+        external_logger_context = LoggingContext(logging.ERROR)
 
-    specs = list(specs)
-    for feature, value in feature_list:
-        if value:
-            specs.append('%s@' % feature)
+    with external_logger_context:
+        log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
-    if specs:  # Don't waste time if there is nothing to do
-        log.debug("Creating environment in %s", prefix)
-        log.debug(str(specs))
+        if os.path.isdir(prefix):
+            rm_rf(prefix)
 
-        with path_prepended(prefix):
-            locks = []
-            try:
-                cc.pkgs_dirs = cc.pkgs_dirs[:1]
-                locked_folders = cc.pkgs_dirs + list(config.bldpkgs_dirs)
-                for folder in locked_folders:
-                    if not os.path.isdir(folder):
-                        os.makedirs(folder)
-                    lock = get_lock(folder, timeout=config.timeout)
-                    if not folder.endswith('pkgs'):
-                        update_index(folder, config=config, lock=lock, could_be_mirror=False)
-                    locks.append(lock)
-
-                with ExitStack() as stack:
-                    for lock in locks:
-                        stack.enter_context(lock)
-                    index = get_build_index(config=config, clear_cache=True)
-
-                    actions = plan.install_actions(prefix, index, specs)
-                    if config.disable_pip:
-                        actions['LINK'] = [spec for spec in actions['LINK'] if not spec.startswith('pip-')]  # noqa
-                        actions['LINK'] = [spec for spec in actions['LINK'] if not spec.startswith('setuptools-')]  # noqa
-                    plan.display_actions(actions, index)
-                    if on_win:
-                        for k, v in os.environ.items():
-                            os.environ[k] = str(v)
-                    plan.execute_actions(actions, index, verbose=config.debug)
-            except (SystemExit, PaddingError, LinkError) as exc:
-                if (("too short in" in str(exc) or
-                        'post-link failed for: openssl' in str(exc) or
-                        isinstance(exc, PaddingError)) and
-                        config.prefix_length > 80):
-                    if config.prefix_length_fallback:
-                        log.warn("Build prefix failed with prefix length %d", config.prefix_length)
-                        log.warn("Error was: ")
-                        log.warn(str(exc))
-                        log.warn("One or more of your package dependencies needs to be rebuilt "
-                                "with a longer prefix length.")
-                        log.warn("Falling back to legacy prefix length of 80 characters.")
-                        log.warn("Your package will not install into prefixes > 80 characters.")
-                        config.prefix_length = 80
-
-                        # Set this here and use to create environ
-                        #   Setting this here is important because we use it below (symlink)
-                        prefix = config.build_prefix
-
-                        create_env(prefix, specs, config=config,
-                                    clear_cache=clear_cache)
-                    else:
-                        raise
-        warn_on_old_conda_build(index=index)
+        specs = list(specs)
+        for feature, value in feature_list:
+            if value:
+                specs.append('%s@' % feature)
+
+        if specs:  # Don't waste time if there is nothing to do
+            log.debug("Creating environment in %s", prefix)
+            log.debug(str(specs))
+
+            with path_prepended(prefix):
+                locks = []
+                try:
+                    cc.pkgs_dirs = cc.pkgs_dirs[:1]
+                    locked_folders = cc.pkgs_dirs + list(config.bldpkgs_dirs)
+                    for folder in locked_folders:
+                        if not os.path.isdir(folder):
+                            os.makedirs(folder)
+                        lock = get_lock(folder, timeout=config.timeout)
+                        if not folder.endswith('pkgs'):
+                            update_index(folder, config=config, lock=lock, could_be_mirror=False)
+                        locks.append(lock)
+
+                    with ExitStack() as stack:
+                        for lock in locks:
+                            stack.enter_context(lock)
+                        index = get_build_index(config=config, clear_cache=True)
+
+                        actions = plan.install_actions(prefix, index, specs)
+                        if config.disable_pip:
+                            actions['LINK'] = [spec for spec in actions['LINK'] if not spec.startswith('pip-')]  # noqa
+                            actions['LINK'] = [spec for spec in actions['LINK'] if not spec.startswith('setuptools-')]  # noqa
+                        plan.display_actions(actions, index)
+                        if on_win:
+                            for k, v in os.environ.items():
+                                os.environ[k] = str(v)
+                        plan.execute_actions(actions, index, verbose=config.debug)
+                except (SystemExit, PaddingError, LinkError) as exc:
+                    if (("too short in" in str(exc) or
+                            'post-link failed for: openssl' in str(exc) or
+                            isinstance(exc, PaddingError)) and
+                            config.prefix_length > 80):
+                        if config.prefix_length_fallback:
+                            log.warn("Build prefix failed with prefix length %d", config.prefix_length)
+                            log.warn("Error was: ")
+                            log.warn(str(exc))
+                            log.warn("One or more of your package dependencies needs to be rebuilt "
+                                    "with a longer prefix length.")
+                            log.warn("Falling back to legacy prefix length of 80 characters.")
+                            log.warn("Your package will not install into prefixes > 80 characters.")
+                            config.prefix_length = 80
+
+                            # Set this here and use to create environ
+                            #   Setting this here is important because we use it below (symlink)
+                            prefix = config.build_prefix
+
+                            create_env(prefix, specs, config=config,
+                                        clear_cache=clear_cache)
+                        else:
+                            raise
+            warn_on_old_conda_build(index=index)
 
     # ensure prefix exists, even if empty, i.e. when specs are empty
     if not isdir(prefix):
@@ -685,7 +679,7 @@ def get_installed_conda_build_version():
     vers_inst = [dist.split('::', 1)[-1].rsplit('-', 2)[1] for dist in root_linked
         if dist.split('::', 1)[-1].rsplit('-', 2)[0] == 'conda-build']
     if not len(vers_inst) == 1:
-        log.warn("Could not detect installed version of conda-build")
+        logging.getLogger(__name__).warn("Could not detect installed version of conda-build")
         return None
     return vers_inst[0]
 
@@ -696,7 +690,8 @@ def get_conda_build_index_versions(index):
     try:
         pkgs = r.get_pkgs(MatchSpec('conda-build'))
     except (NoPackagesFound, NoPackagesFoundError):
-        log.warn("Could not find any versions of conda-build in the channels")
+        logging.getLogger(__name__).warn("Could not find any versions of conda-build "
+                                         "in the channels")
     return [pkg.version for pkg in pkgs]
 
 
@@ -835,6 +830,8 @@ def build(m, config, post=None, need_source_download=True, need_reparse_in_env=F
         print_skip_message(m)
         return []
 
+    log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
     with path_prepended(config.build_prefix):
         env = environ.get_dict(config=config, m=m)
     env["CONDA_BUILD_STATE"] = "BUILD"
@@ -1097,6 +1094,7 @@ def clean_pkg_cache(dist, timeout):
                 for pkg_id in [dist, 'local::' + dist]:
                     assert pkg_id not in package_cache()
             except AssertionError:
+                log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
                 log.debug("Conda caching error: %s package remains in cache after removal", dist)
                 log.debug("Clearing package cache to compensate")
                 cache = package_cache()
@@ -1499,7 +1497,8 @@ def handle_pypi_upload(f, config):
     try:
         subprocess.check_call()
     except:
-        log.warn("wheel upload failed - is twine installed?  Is this package registered?")
+        logging.getLogger(__name__).warn("wheel upload failed - is twine installed?"
+                                         "  Is this package registered?")
 
 
 def print_build_intermediate_warning(config):
diff --git a/conda_build/cli/main_build.py b/conda_build/cli/main_build.py
index 30ef1c70e0..c639575b3e 100644
--- a/conda_build/cli/main_build.py
+++ b/conda_build/cli/main_build.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
                                          get_render_parser, bldpkg_path)
 from conda_build.conda_interface import cc, add_parser_channels, url_path
 import conda_build.source as source
-from conda_build.utils import silence_loggers, print_skip_message
+from conda_build.utils import print_skip_message, LoggingContext
 from conda_build.config import Config
 
 on_win = (sys.platform == 'win32')
@@ -221,12 +221,12 @@ def parse_args(args):
 
 
 def output_action(recipe, config):
-    silence_loggers(show_warnings_and_errors=False)
-    metadata, _, _ = api.render(recipe, config=config)
-    if metadata.skip():
-        print_skip_message(metadata)
-    else:
-        print(bldpkg_path(metadata))
+    with LoggingContext(logging.CRITICAL + 1):
+        metadata, _, _ = api.render(recipe, config=config)
+        if metadata.skip():
+            print_skip_message(metadata)
+        else:
+            print(bldpkg_path(metadata))
 
 
 def source_action(metadata, config):
diff --git a/conda_build/cli/main_render.py b/conda_build/cli/main_render.py
index b35fcb0276..3548ba7f6f 100644
--- a/conda_build/cli/main_render.py
+++ b/conda_build/cli/main_render.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 from conda_build.completers import (RecipeCompleter, PythonVersionCompleter, RVersionsCompleter,
                                     LuaVersionsCompleter, NumPyVersionCompleter)
 from conda_build.config import Config
-from conda_build.utils import silence_loggers
+from conda_build.utils import LoggingContext
 
 on_win = (sys.platform == 'win32')
 
@@ -127,14 +127,12 @@ def execute(args):
     config = Config()
     set_language_env_vars(args, p, config)
 
-    metadata, _, _ = render_recipe(args.recipe, no_download_source=args.no_source, config=config)
-    if args.output:
-        logging.basicConfig(level=logging.ERROR)
-        silence_loggers(show_warnings_and_errors=False)
-        print(bldpkg_path(metadata))
-    else:
-        logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
-        print(output_yaml(metadata, args.file))
+    with LoggingContext(logging.CRITICAL + 1):
+        metadata, _, _ = render_recipe(args.recipe, no_download_source=args.no_source, config=config)
+        if args.output:
+            print(bldpkg_path(metadata))
+        else:
+            print(output_yaml(metadata, args.file))
 
 
 def main():
diff --git a/conda_build/config.py b/conda_build/config.py
index 8150da9ac6..f743e86339 100644
--- a/conda_build/config.py
+++ b/conda_build/config.py
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@
 
 from .utils import get_build_folders, rm_rf
 
-log = logging.getLogger(__file__)
 on_win = (sys.platform == 'win32')
 DEFAULT_PREFIX_LENGTH = 255
 
@@ -404,7 +403,8 @@ def __enter__(self):
 
     def __exit__(self, e_type, e_value, traceback):
         if not getattr(self, 'dirty') and not getattr(self, 'keep_old_work') and e_type is None:
-            log.info("--keep-old-work flag not specified.  Removing source and build files.\n")
+            logging.getLogger(__name__).info("--keep-old-work flag not specified.  "
+                                             "Removing source and build files.\n")
             self.clean()
 
 
diff --git a/conda_build/environ.py b/conda_build/environ.py
index b68af26eb7..16dcd015d6 100644
--- a/conda_build/environ.py
+++ b/conda_build/environ.py
@@ -19,8 +19,6 @@
 from conda_build.features import feature_list
 from conda_build.utils import prepend_bin_path, ensure_list
 
-log = logging.getLogger(__file__)
-
 
 def get_perl_ver(config):
     return str(config.CONDA_PERL)
@@ -50,6 +48,7 @@ def get_lua_include_dir(config):
 
 def verify_git_repo(git_dir, git_url, config, expected_rev='HEAD'):
     env = os.environ.copy()
+    log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
     if config.verbose:
         stderr = None
     else:
@@ -138,6 +137,7 @@ def get_git_info(repo, config):
     :return:
     """
     d = {}
+    log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
     if config.verbose:
         stderr = None
diff --git a/conda_build/inspect.py b/conda_build/inspect.py
index 78fd6d6970..8ec481fe80 100644
--- a/conda_build/inspect.py
+++ b/conda_build/inspect.py
@@ -23,9 +23,6 @@
 from conda_build.utils import groupby, getter, comma_join, rm_rf
 
 
-log = logging.getLogger(__file__)
-
-
 def which_prefix(path):
     """
     given the path (to a (presumably) conda installed file) return the
@@ -144,6 +141,7 @@ def replace_path(binary, path, prefix):
 
 def test_installable(channel='defaults'):
     success = True
+    log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
     has_py = re.compile(r'py(\d)(\d)')
     for platform in ['osx-64', 'linux-32', 'linux-64', 'win-32', 'win-64']:
         log.info("######## Testing platform %s ########", platform)
@@ -238,8 +236,8 @@ def inspect_linkages(packages, prefix=sys.prefix, untracked=False,
                 if path.startswith(prefix):
                     deps = list(which_package(path))
                     if len(deps) > 1:
-                        log.warn("Warning: %s comes from multiple packages: %s", path,
-                                 comma_join(deps))
+                        logging.getLogger(__name__).warn("Warning: %s comes from multiple "
+                                                         "packages: %s", path, comma_join(deps))
                     if not deps:
                         if exists(path):
                             depmap['untracked'].append((lib, path.split(prefix +
diff --git a/conda_build/jinja_context.py b/conda_build/jinja_context.py
index 3341287796..37c5908f33 100644
--- a/conda_build/jinja_context.py
+++ b/conda_build/jinja_context.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import json
 import logging
 import os
+import re
 import sys
 
 import jinja2
@@ -12,8 +13,6 @@
 from .environ import get_dict as get_environ
 from .metadata import select_lines, ns_cfg
 
-log = logging.getLogger(__file__)
-
 
 class UndefinedNeverFail(jinja2.Undefined):
     """
@@ -77,6 +76,7 @@ def get_source(self, environment, template):
 def load_setup_py_data(config, setup_file='setup.py', from_recipe_dir=False, recipe_dir=None,
                        permit_undefined_jinja=True):
     _setuptools_data = {}
+    log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
     def setup(**kw):
         _setuptools_data.update(kw)
@@ -152,6 +152,7 @@ def setup(**kw):
 
 def load_setuptools(config, setup_file='setup.py', from_recipe_dir=False, recipe_dir=None,
                     permit_undefined_jinja=True):
+    log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
     log.warn("Deprecation notice: the load_setuptools function has been renamed to "
              "load_setup_py_data.  load_setuptools will be removed in a future release.")
     return load_setup_py_data(config=config, setup_file=setup_file, from_recipe_dir=from_recipe_dir,
@@ -167,8 +168,8 @@ def load_npm():
 
 def load_file_regex(config, load_file, regex_pattern, from_recipe_dir=False,
                     recipe_dir=None, permit_undefined_jinja=True):
-    import re
     match = False
+    log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
     cd_to_work = False
 
diff --git a/conda_build/metadata.py b/conda_build/metadata.py
index b9abdd15a6..1a64fc536b 100644
--- a/conda_build/metadata.py
+++ b/conda_build/metadata.py
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 from __future__ import absolute_import, division, print_function
 
+import glob
 import logging
 import os
+from os.path import isfile, join
 import re
 import sys
-from os.path import isfile, join
 
 from .conda_interface import iteritems, PY3, text_type
 from .conda_interface import memoized, md5_file
@@ -31,7 +32,6 @@
              'files of conda recipes)')
 
 on_win = (sys.platform == 'win32')
-log = logging.getLogger(__file__)
 
 
 def ns_cfg(config):
diff --git a/conda_build/sign.py b/conda_build/sign.py
index 764c3c3649..8e5731d185 100644
--- a/conda_build/sign.py
+++ b/conda_build/sign.py
@@ -21,8 +21,6 @@
     $ conda install -n root pycrypto
 """)
 
-log = logging.getLogger(__file__)
-
 
 def keygen(name, size=2048):
     print("Generating public/private key pair (%d bits)..." % size)
@@ -103,6 +101,7 @@ def verify(path):
     It raises SignatureError when the signature file, or the public key
     does not exist.
     """
+    log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
     sig_path = path + '.sig'
     if not isfile(sig_path):
         log.error("signature does not exist: %s", sig_path)
diff --git a/conda_build/source.py b/conda_build/source.py
index 268b8c4470..1969286514 100644
--- a/conda_build/source.py
+++ b/conda_build/source.py
@@ -33,8 +33,6 @@
 
 git_submod_re = re.compile(r'(?:.+)\.(.+)\.(?:.+)\s(.+)')
 
-log = logging.getLogger(__file__)
-
 
 def download_to_cache(meta, config):
     ''' Download a source to the local cache. '''
@@ -374,7 +372,7 @@ def get_repository_info(recipe_path):
                                              time.ctime(os.path.getmtime(
                                                  join(recipe_path, "meta.yaml"))))
     except CalledProcessError:
-        log.debug("Failed to checkout source in " + recipe_path)
+        logging.getLogger(__name__).debug("Failed to checkout source in " + recipe_path)
         return "{}, last modified {}".format(recipe_path,
                                              time.ctime(os.path.getmtime(
                                                  join(recipe_path, "meta.yaml"))))
diff --git a/conda_build/utils.py b/conda_build/utils.py
index 129f43c60b..390fefee20 100644
--- a/conda_build/utils.py
+++ b/conda_build/utils.py
@@ -41,8 +41,6 @@
     from contextlib2 import ExitStack  # NOQA
 
 
-log = logging.getLogger(__file__)
-
 # elsewhere, kept here for reduced duplication.  NOQA because it is not used in this file.
 from .conda_interface import rm_rf  # NOQA
 
@@ -50,7 +48,6 @@
 
 codec = getpreferredencoding() or 'utf-8'
 on_win = sys.platform == "win32"
-log = logging.getLogger(__file__)
 root_script_dir = os.path.join(root_dir, 'Scripts' if on_win else 'bin')
 
 
@@ -92,7 +89,8 @@ def get_recipe_abspath(recipe):
 
 
 def copy_into(src, dst, timeout=90, symlinks=False, lock=None):
-    "Copy all the files and directories in src to the directory dst"
+    """Copy all the files and directories in src to the directory dst"""
+    log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
     if isdir(src):
         merge_tree(src, dst, symlinks, timeout=timeout, lock=lock)
 
@@ -448,25 +446,6 @@ def get_build_folders(croot):
     return glob(os.path.join(croot, "*" + "[0-9]" * 10 + "*"))
 
 
-def silence_loggers(show_warnings_and_errors=True):
-    if show_warnings_and_errors:
-        log_level = logging.WARN
-    else:
-        log_level = logging.CRITICAL + 1
-    logging.getLogger(os.path.dirname(__file__)).setLevel(log_level)
-    # This squelches a ton of conda output that is not hugely relevant
-    logging.getLogger("conda").setLevel(log_level)
-    logging.getLogger("binstar").setLevel(log_level)
-    logging.getLogger("install").setLevel(log_level + 10)
-    logging.getLogger("conda.install").setLevel(log_level + 10)
-    logging.getLogger("fetch").setLevel(log_level)
-    logging.getLogger("print").setLevel(log_level)
-    logging.getLogger("progress").setLevel(log_level)
-    logging.getLogger("dotupdate").setLevel(log_level)
-    logging.getLogger("stdoutlog").setLevel(log_level)
-    logging.getLogger("requests").setLevel(log_level)
-
-
 def prepend_bin_path(env, prefix, prepend_prefix=False):
     # bin_dirname takes care of bin on *nix, Scripts on win
     env['PATH'] = join(prefix, bin_dirname) + os.pathsep + env['PATH']
@@ -675,3 +654,32 @@ def find_recipe(path):
     elif not results:
         raise IOError("No meta.yaml or conda.yaml files found in %s" % path)
     return results[0]
+
+
+class LoggingContext(object):
+    loggers = ['conda', 'binstar', 'install', 'conda.install', 'fetch', 'print', 'progress',
+               'dotupdate', 'stdoutlog', 'requests']
+
+    def __init__(self, level=logging.WARN, handler=None, close=True):
+        self.level = level
+        self.old_levels = {}
+        self.handler = handler
+        self.close = close
+
+    def __enter__(self):
+        for logger in LoggingContext.loggers:
+            log = logging.getLogger(logger)
+            self.old_levels[logger] = log.level
+            log.setLevel(self.level if ('install' not in logger or
+                                        self.level < logging.INFO) else self.level + 10)
+        if self.handler:
+            self.logger.addHandler(self.handler)
+
+    def __exit__(self, et, ev, tb):
+        for logger, level in self.old_levels.items():
+            logging.getLogger(logger).setLevel(level)
+        if self.handler:
+            self.logger.removeHandler(self.handler)
+        if self.handler and self.close:
+            self.handler.close()
+        # implicit return of None => don't swallow exceptions