HOWGREENISOURVALLEY.COM

TOGETHER ON THE LAND: Options for Ecological Living in Community (MULTI-SITE GROUP TOUR)

Valerie Demerski — Sat, 22 May 2010 21:30:00 GMT

9am-5pm Saturday June 12^th, 2010

Franklin County, MA

Pre-Registration Required

$20 per ticket, discounts & scholarships available

FIND OUT MORE & REGISTER ONLINE AT VCLT.ORG

No internet access? Call Megan at 413-624-5128 to register.

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Join us for a tour of ecological living options in Franklin County. We'll visit homes and farms that have tested different models for community living, such as community land trusts, coops, cohousing, and more. Meet other people interested in community building and see new places!

Throughout the Pioneer Valley there are numerous models for how to create communities that balance affordability, ecology and community connections. No one model has all the answers – but they all offer tremendous insights and for some, may be the answer you are looking for today.

This tour focuses on concrete examples of sustainable community living right here in Franklin County. Tour stops will include:

Cooperatively owned homes (Pioneer Coop of Franklin County – Greenfield);
Homes on community land trust land (Valley Community Land Trust – Wendell);
A small cohousing development (Salmon Falls Land Association – Shelburne Falls);
A conserved working farm (Seeds of Solidarity Farm – Orange); and
“In-town” green housing (Zero Energy private residence – Montague)

The goal of this tour is to connect people with organizations and individuals working towards sustainable community living, offer real-world examples of community models, and describe how these models work. We hope you can come!

Co-sponsored by:

Cooperative Development Institute, Coop Power, Equity Trust, Franklin Land Trust,

Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust & Valley Community Land Trust

Media Sponsor: The Valley Advocate

Special Thanks to Collective Copies & Green Fields Market for their in-kind donations

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Direct Tour Registration Link (PayPal): http://www.vclt.org/civicrm/event/register?id=7&reset=1

Tour Registration Link (Pay by Check): http://www.vclt.org/civicrm/event/register?id=8&reset=1

GREEN CLOTHING SUPPLIERS

Valerie Demerski — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:14:00 GMT

Green Clothing Suppliers

Did You Know?

The average American throws out 68 pounds of clothes and textiles each year
1/3 lb. of chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers) is used to grow enough cotton for just a single T-shirt
47% of chemicals used to grow cotton are considered "possible", "likely", "probable", or "known" human carcinogens

Before you head out to the mall, check out the track records of the stores that you like to shop at to find out where and how their clothes are made. If they're responsible manufacturers, they're very likely to have space devoted to their efforts on their web sites. You can ask store staff or management about how the company's clothes were manufactured.

Organizations dedicated to fair working conditions for the garment industry around the world supply information on companies that follow good practices. Here are some organizations working for responsible clothing:

Clothes for a Change: This organization asks clothing retailers and manufacturers to guarantee that they meet independently verified Fair Labor (non-sweatshop) standards.
Clean Clothes Campaign: This organization aims to improve working conditions in the global garment industry, with particular attention paid to sports apparel manufacturers.
Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International: This is an umbrella organization representing certified Fairtrade producers, including those who produce cotton, in Central and South America, Africa, and Asia.
International Fair Trade Association: You can browse the online catalogs of Fairtrade producers around the world at this site, some of which offer clothing and accessory products such as jewelry.

Here are some green clothing companies to get you started:

American Apparel promotes itself as paying the highest wages in the U.S. garment industry as well as selling several sustainable edition lines made from organic cotton.
Ecomall is one of the most extensive directories of sustainable U.S. retailers. In the website, click on "Clothing" to find a list of sustainable clothing choices.
Natural Collection offers an online catalog of eco-friendly products. The company's based in the UK but ships to the US.
The Organic Pages Online offers a list of Organic Trade Association members that manufacture and/or sell textile and apparel products.
Patagonia is a global sports apparel company that offers organic products as well as fleeces made from recycled plastics.
Terra Plana sells shoes made from vegetable-tanned leather. Based in the UK, the company has US representatives; click "Contact Us" on their website for help finding retailers and making purchases.

Excerpted from Green Living for Dummies & Planet Green.

WHAT SHOULD I KNOW BEFORE DESIGNING A GREEN HOME?

Valerie Demerski — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:20:00 GMT

Designing Your Green Home

* Go for a smaller home instead of a large one. Many people have a tendency to build the largest home they can afford, only to find the large home a waste of space and expensive to heat and cool. Consider doing more with less and making the house not so big. Create multipurpose spaces — such as a home office that doubles as a guest room; they’re much better uses of space.

* To save on construction costs, consider building more floors instead of a sprawling one-story home. Going up is usually cheaper than spreading out. A multistory home also reduces the impact on the landscape.

* Make the structure adaptable to other uses, and choose materials and components that can be reused or recycled. Avoid putting anything painted outside; it will have to be repainted every three to five years. Use unfinished, natural materials instead.

* Consider an addition to your existing home instead of building new. Remodeling your home is a form of recycling. Before assuming you need to build something new, consider putting an addition on your home instead. Take the money you save and put it into more important things, like solar panels (figure out whether you should remodel or build new).

* Work with green professionals. Building or remodeling a green home is much easier when you work with sympathetic professionals. Choose people already familiar with green building practices. From green financing to green contractors, everyone on your team can find ways to protect the environment and save you money at the same time. Check out Green Irene's national network of trained Eco-Consultants.

* Make it easy to recycle. Early on, make provisions for storing recyclables. For example, install recycling bins in the kitchen, with an undersink bucket with a lid for compostable food waste. If you have it, you’ll use it.

* Choose healthy and low-toxic materials. At the beginning of your design, commit to using only healthy materials in your new home.

* Select recycled and sustainably harvested products. In the early parts of design, you probably already have ideas for finishes (for example, you may already know what kind of floor you want in your living room).

* Minimize waste and speed up installation by designing around standard sizes. For example, design your bathroom to fit the tiles you’re planning to install.

* If you’re building out of wood, consider using optimum value engineering techniques. You’ll use up to 55% less wood.

* Design for alternative construction techniques. Don’t just assume you’ll build your new house out of wood. Several alternative construction methods may be better choices.

* Design an energy-efficient building. Making an efficient building is the easiest thing you can do to save energy. Use high levels of insulation, high-performance windows, and tight construction.

* Design buildings to use renewable energy. Consider solar water heating and solar panels, or design the roof for future solar panel installation.

* Let the sun shine in. Daylighting (using natural sunlight to light a room) is an easy way to bring warmth into your home while reducing energy use.

* Use the sun to heat and cool the building. Passive solar heating, daylighting, and natural cooling can be incorporated cost-effectively into most buildings.

* Consider a graywater system. You can save the soapy water that has been used for bathing, dishwashing, or clothes washing and reuse it later for flushing toilets or irrigating the garden.

* Use the rainwater. Clean water falls on your roof every time it rains. Collect this water and use it to flush your toilets or water your lawn.

* Design water-efficient, low-maintenance landscaping. Lawns require a great deal of maintenance, pesticides, and mowing.

* Avoid landscaping impacts with native and natural landscaping.

* Avoid potential health hazards, including radon, mold, and pesticides. The issues of mold and radon are important concerns.

Adopted from ecomii.

HOUSE LOGIC-Go Green!

Valerie Demerski — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 22:16:00 GMT

10 Ways to Help Your Watershed

A clean and well-managed watershed doesn’t just mean clean drinking water. Do your part to keep land and water clean and you could reap financial benefits too. Read
Plant Trees To Save Energy and Grow Value

Plant a tree to add value to your home and have a positive impact on the environment. Read
3 Small Steps to More Sustainable Living

Making little lifestyle changes will do a lot to enhance sustainability for the planet—and make every day Earth Day. Read
Green Cleaning Products for the Kitchen

Going green in the kitchen doesn’t mean going broke as long as you choose the right green cleaning products for your countertops and appliances. Read
Start a Community Garden: Get the Community Involved

Sow a community garden to save money on produce, eat better, and build relationships with neighbors. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

45 TIPS TO GREEN ANY HOME

Valerie Demerski — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:16:00 GMT

Greening the Not-So-New House

There’s a reason so many builders are leaning green these days.

After all, who doesn’t want a home that’s healthier, keeps energy

costs and greenhouse gas emissions in check, and doesn’t squander

water and other natural resources? But you don’thave to build from

scratch to turn your not-so-newhouse into a dwelling that’s eco-friendly and more economical to

run.

Whether you own or rent, the following 45 simple ideas can help you save money (and the

planet) today.

KEY

UPFRONT COST: $ Low or none | $$ Moderate ($50-$500) | $$$ High ($500-plus)

RELATIVE BENEFITS: Modest benefits | Moderate benefits | High benefits

1. Lint hint

Saving energy doesn’t get any easier than this: Lower your energy bill by cleaning your clothes

dryer’s lint trap before every load to improve air circulation, therefore cutting down on energywasting

drying time. $

2. Power to the people

Reduce your carbon footprint (and maybe even your waistline) by using human-powered

appliances and equipment. Think reel mowers, good old-fashioned manual can openers, carpet

sweepers, whisks and wooden spoons instead of electric mixers. $

3. Good day sunshine

On cold sunny days, open window coverings to let the sun warm your home. On hot days, close

window coverings on the south and west sides to keep your home cooler. $

4. Washing day

Save $30 to $40 per year in water heating costs by washing and rinsing clothes in cold water.

You can also save more than 3,400 gallons of water per year, according to Energy Star, by

washing full loads instead of partial loads. $

5. Fridge shui

Refrigerators blasted by the sun’s rays or subjected to heat from an adjacent oven or heating vent

have to work harder to chill your food. If possible, relocate the fridge to a cooler spot, or close

window coverings to keep the sun off. $

6. Rock-a-bye computer

Enabling your computer and monitor’s power management features so they go into sleep mode

when idle can save from $25 to $75 each year in energy costs, according to Energy Star. Also,

turn off computers and peripherals at night. $

7. Wrap it up

In the winter, room air conditioners installed in windows can be a source of cold drafts. Remove

window units during cold months or insulate them with tight-fitting A/C covers, available from

most local home-improvement stores. $

8. Battery recycling

Recycle your old cell phones and used portable rechargeable batteries from cordless power tools,

laptop computers, digital cameras and other devices. Find a drop-off site. $

9. Run the numbers

Use the U.S. EPA’s online emissions calculator to find out how many greenhouse gas emissions

your household is responsible for. Spend 10 minutes entering your data, and you’ll get a rough

estimate of your total CO2 emissions, plus action steps to go on a carbon diet. $

10. Think globally, buy locally

Choosing a product that’s harvested or made locally reduces transportation energy use and helps

sustain your community’s economy. $

11. ix the night lights

Install motion sensors, photocell controls or timers so outdoor lights are only on when needed.

Reduce light pollution and keep the night sky darker by using light fixtures that direct light

downward instead of toward the sky. $

12. Be a dim bulb

If you have incandescent light fixtures where you can’t or don’t want to use compact fluorescent

bulbs, install dimmer switches. Dimming shaves a bit off an incandescent bulb’s energy use and

makes the bulb last longer (Note: Most compact fluorescent bulbs can’t be used with dimmer

switches). $

13. Hung out to dry

Many newer clothes dryers have moisture sensors that shut off the heat when they detect that the

clothes are dry. If your dryer lacks this feature, try not to overdry your clothes. Operating the

dryer for an extra 15 minutes per load can cost as much as $34 per year, according to Energy

Star. $

14. Wipe your paws

Worried about toxins in the home? The Washington Toxics Coalition reports that using entryway

mats can reduce the amount of pesticide residue on carpets by 25% and the amount of dust on

carpets by 33%. And homes where shoes are removed at the door, according to the WTC, have

10 times less dust than homes where shoes are worn. $

15. Paint your home green

The air in our homes can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air. One of the major

culprits? Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that are released from paint, particleboard and

other home-improvement products. Most major paint manufacturers now make low-VOC paints,

and some offer zero-VOC paints. $

16. Compost happens

Food waste that winds up in landfills generates methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 23 times more

potent than carbon dioxide. Take charge of your greenhouse gas emissions by composting food

scraps (except meat) in a backyard composting bin or even a worm bin. A bonus: Your plants

will love the nutrient-laden finished compost. $

17. Prevent energy-wasting air leaks

To stop drafts, install weatherstripping around doors and caulk cracks around windows. Check

the heating and cooling systems’ ducts to make sure all joints are connected and well sealed. Use

a mastic sealant or foil-backed tape to seal ducts. $

18. Keep it in the garage

If your garage is attached to the house, fumes from car exhaust and stored chemicals can enter

living spaces through gaps around doors or cracks in the ceilings and wall. Make sure the door

between the garage and house seals tightly, and caulk or seal any cracks or openings between the

garage and house. $

19. Breathe easy

Carbon monoxide is called the silent killer because it’s colorless and odorless. If you have a fuelburning

appliance inside the home, such as a gas stove, furnace, water heater, fireplace or clothes

dryer, be safe and install a UL-listed carbon monoxide detector on each floor. $

20. One man’s trash is another’s treasure

When you’re through with an item, sell or Freecycle it rather than throwing it away. $—$$

21. The M word

To keep mold at bay, use your bathroom and kitchen ventilation fans. To be effective, fans need

to vent to the outdoors, and Energy Star products are more efficient, quieter and last longer. $—

22. Automate it

Reduce energy bills by as much as $150 a year with a programmable thermostat that adjusts the

temperature when you leave the house or go to sleep. $—$$

23. Audit it

A home energy audit helps you assess how your home uses energy and prioritize actions you can

take to make it more efficient and comfortable. To get started, try Energy Star’s Home Energy

Yardstick. $—$$$

24. Water is the new oil

Consider repurposing water for irrigation. Graywater systems typically recycle wash water from

sinks, tubs, showers and clothes washers. Rainwater harvesting systems direct rainwater from the

roof into barrels or above- or underground tanks. $—$$$

25. Cool-down upgrade

An old refrigerator or freezer in the basement that’s just cooling its heels and a few cases of soda

may be costing you as much as $100 each year. If it’s more than 10 years old, recycle it and

replace it with a new, high-efficiency model. $—$$$

26. Once is not enough

Choosing salvaged, secondhand or antique furnishings, doors, trim, fixtures and other items that

have been around the block a few times is often a smarter use of natural resources than buying

new products. One caveat: Steer clear of single-pane windows, old toilets and used appliances

that waste energy or water compared with their newly manufactured counterparts. $—$$$

27. Be rid of radon

Radon in indoor air is responsible for 21,000 lung cancer deaths in the United States each year,

according to the U.S. EPA. To check for it, DIY tests are available from home improvement

stores or from the National Safety Council for $20 or less. If unsafe levels are detected, the cost

for reducing radon ranges from $800 to $2,500. $—$$$

28. Light at the end of the tunnel

Brighten up dark hallways, bathrooms and other spaces with tubular skylights. They let in

daylight without the excess heat and are relatively easy and affordable to install. $$

29. Plant it again, Sam

Plants like bamboo that can be harvested and grown again within a short time ease demand for

slower-growing trees and nonrenewable resources like petroleum. Check out great bamboo

alternatives for floors, cabinets, built-ins and furniture. $$

30. Be an Energy Star

Sometimes to save a lot, you have to spend a little. Energy Star-qualified appliances may cost a

bit more than standard models, but they incorporate features like high-efficiency compressors

and motors and better insulation. And they use 10% to 50% less energy and water, which means

more money in your pocket year after year. $$

31. A truly green landscape

Waterwise, landscaping doesn’t have to resemble a desert scene, thanks to today’s highefficiency

irrigation products. Drip and bubbler irrigators and smart controllers determine when and how

much to water based on moisture sensors, historic local weather data or a signal from a weather

station. $$

32. Made in the shade

Summer sun striking west- or south-facing windows and walls can make your home unbearably

hot and drive air conditioning costs through the roof. Plant deciduous trees along them and get

relief. $$

33. Blow off some heat

Solar-powered attic fans exhaust hot air and help keep your home comfortable while reducing

cooling costs. An added benefit: No need for electrical wiring, so installation is straightforward.

34. Got WaterSense?

If a family of four replaces their 3.5- gallon-per-flush toilets made before 1994 with a

WaterSense-labeled toilet, they could save $90 a year and as much as $2,000 over the toilet’s

life. $$

35. Deconstruct, don’t demolish

When remodeling, reuse as much as you can of the existing structure, trim, finishes and fixtures.

If you hire a deconstruction outfit, ask if they’re a charitable organization — if so, you may be

eligible for a sizable tax deduction for the value of the salvaged goods. $$—$$$

36. Button up

Save energy and feel more comfortable by beefing up insulation in perimeter walls and ceilings.

Check out eco-friendly options like recycled cotton or cellulose and fiberglass batts with no

added formaldehyde. $—$$$

37. Foiled again

In hot summer climates, attic radiant barriers can help keep homes comfortable and reduce

cooling bills. Made of a reflective foil, radiant barriers block the transfer of radiant heat from a

hot roof into the attic. In the Southeast, radiant barriers can reduce cooling costs by 8% to 12%, according to the

Florida Solar Energy Center. $$—$$$

38. Consider the source

When choosing appliances and equipment, remember that not all energy sources are created

equal. If you’re in the market for a backup generator, natural gas and liquid propane (LP) engines

burn cleaner than gasoline engines, which reduces air pollution and extends the engine’s life.

$$—$$$

39. Double up

To keep heat inside during winter and outside in the summer, choose double-pane windows with

an appropriate low-e coating. For help choosing the right window for your climate, go to

efficientwindows.org. $—$$$

40. Be radiant

Radiant floor heating systems are a boon to indoor air quality because unlike forced-air systems,

they don’t blow dust and other allergens around. Thanks to warm water circulating in flexible

tubing installed under the floor, heat radiates evenly up through the floor, providing quiet, even

warmth while using less energy. $$$

41. Grow a green roof

Also called living roofs or vegetated roofs, green roofs are specially engineered with a

waterproof membrane topped by a lightweight planting medium. Typically planted with native

grasses, wildflowers or other climate-appropriate groundcovers, they slow the flow of

stormwater off the roof, keep surrounding outside air temperatures cooler, insulate the home

from noise, heat and cold, and may even extend the roof’s life. $—$$$

42. Don’t get burned

Wood-burning fireplaces are notorious polluters and energy wasters. Think about retrofitting

yours with an energy-efficient, clean-burning, EPA-certified fireplace insert. The inserts include glass or

metal doors, vents to provide outside air for combustion, and blowers to circulate heated air into

the room. $$$

43. Reroofing?

Cool roof products come in a variety of colors and materials (including ceramic or concrete tiles,

metal and synthetic membranes) and reflect more of the sun’s heat, lowering the roof’s

temperature by up to 100 degrees F. $$$

44. Harvest the sun

In regions with abundant sunshine and high energy costs, solar systems are gaining ground. Solar

electric systems can offset some or all of your home’s electricity use, while solar water-heating

systems can heat water for sinks, showers, laundry, home heating, pools and spas. A variety of

federal, state and local incentives are making renewable-energy systems more affordable. For a

directory of incentives by state, go to dsireusa.org. $$$

45. Salvage style

Spare the precious forests by choosing salvaged wood harvested from dismantled buildings, old

barrels, urban trees that would otherwise have been chipped for mulch or firewood, sinker logs

from lake and river bottoms, and many other sources. $—$$$

By the U.S. Green Building Council

As seen in This Old House magazine

HIGH TECH HAS AN ECOLOGICAL COST, BUT THE INDUSTRY IS GREENING FAST!

Valerie Demerski — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:29:00 GMT

10 Things You Didn't Know About Electronics and the
Environment

The $150 billion consumer electronics industry has been booming, despite a slowdown in the economy overall. But all those cell phones, computers and iPods have a big impact on the planet, in terms of energy use, resources needed and disposal issues.

As organizer (and Inhabitat founder) Jill Fehrenbacher said at the Greener Gadgets Conference in New York City, it's true that many of us who are writing, speaking and learning about — and trying to live by — the principles of sustainability also spend many hours a day surfing the Internet, chatting on our cell phones and so on. That's why Fehrenbacher and others are helping to focus attention on the growing movement to green up our gadgets.

Speaking in his (somewhat faded) South African accent, Vice President and General Manager John Solomon of Hewlett Packard told the Greener Gadgets audience that environmental issues have become front and center for the whole tech industry. "The IT industry is based on innovation, and it's through innovation that we believe many environmental problems are going to be solved," said Solomon. "HP has made the environment a core of our business, instead of just a checkpoint. As a company you ignore the environment at your peril."

Experts explained that some of the ways industry is leading the way toward sustainability include increasing improvements in energy efficiency; providing ways to charge devices directly with renewable energy; eliminating mercury, cadmium and other toxic materials from products; beefing up recycling efforts; reducing packaging materials; cleaning up manufacturing processes; offsetting greenhouse gases; and so on.

So from the Greener Gadgets Conference, here are facts you didn't know about electronics and the environment:

1. Electronics are responsible for 25% of home energy use, according to Energy Star.

2. The IT industry directly contributes 2% of the U.S.'s overall global warming gases, according to John

Solomon of HP.

3. 95% of computers in the U.S. simply do not have their built-in power management settings turned on or

optimized, according to Allyson Klein, a technology manager at Intel.

4. While a typical laptop uses 30-40 watts of power, the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) XO uses only 2 watts.

5. One Solio solar-powered charger (with included adapter tips) can replace 4 or 5 standard gadget wall

chargers, according to Daniel Porras, a vice president of Solio.

6. Sony's new OLEDs (organic light emitting diodes) use 40% less energy than standard LEDs, according to

Douglas Smith, Sony's corporate director for environment, safety and health.

7. 95% of Americans will soon be able to drive 20 miles or less to drop off any electronics for recycling. The

program, managed by Waste Management, is free for any Sony products, or based on small fees for other

Close brands.

8. 12-15% of Philips' global sales are currently of green products, and the company hopes to make that

30% by 2012, said Gregg Chason, vice president of industry affairs and relations for Philips Consumer

Lifestyle North America.

9. HP leads the industry in EPEAT-registered products, 47, including 10 in the gold category, according to

Solomon. EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) is a program that sets specific criteria

to measure the environmental attributes of electronics.

10. In California, 35% of electronics are recycled, according to Douglas Smith of Sony.

Find this article at: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/greener-electronics-environment-

460201

5 GREAT, GREEN INDOOR CLIMATE CONTROL TIPS

Valerie Demerski — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:23:00 GMT

As average temperatures for our areas fluctuate by substantial

degrees, finding low-impact climate control solutions for our

personal spaces may seem as daunting as scaling Everest, but it's

really quite simple.

Here are 5 easy-to-employ, eco-friendly strategies to help you

keep the temperature at a comfortable level while you cut air conditioning (AC) costs and

pride yourself on protecting the planet...

Keep It Out. Thick or insulated walls, shade trees, deep eaves, and window

awnings are all useful for making sure that conducted heat doesn’t make it

indoors. Most of the sun is going to be hitting your roof, so it is particularly

important to make sure your roof is both heavily insulated and highly reflective.

Install a radiant barrier—an aluminized sheet fastened to the

inside of your rafters—as an additional heat-reflector. Landscaping

that shades your house in the summer is also extremely

advantageous.

Install insulated window shades or shutters on the sunny sides of

your house, to keep both radiated and conducted heat from coming

in your windows. Make it a daily summer habit to close both your

windows and your shades in the morning and open them again at

night as soon as it cools off.

Curtail activities that generate heat inside your house. In hot

areas of the U.S., outdoor kitchens for summer use were once

standard—perhaps that idea’s time has come again. At least use a

microwave instead of an oven. Use a ventilator fan to remove

bathroom heat after showering, and if you must use hot appliances

such as a dishwasher or a hair dryer, try to do so at night.

Move It Through. Many hot climates have weather patterns that can be used to

cool your home. Many coastal areas for example, have a predictable onshore

sea breeze. Funnel that breeze into your house, and it will flush heat out of it

on the other side. Planting a hedge or a row of trees in a strategic place can

help funnel cooling winds into your house.

Dry climates, especially, tend to have distinct temperature drops at night.

Take advantage of this by opening your lowest windows and your highest,

creating a convection "chimney effect" that sucks cool air into the lower part of

your house from the outdoors while heat escapes up and out through the upper

story. This strategy effective cools your entire domicile. Clerestories and

operable skylights are excellent for increasing this effect. Attic vents are also a

basic element of convection cooling.

Spin It 'Round. If your natural ventilation needs a boost, use circulating fans.

Ceiling fans circulate the air of an entire room, and there are fans for jobs of

every size. While they work best with high ceilings, proper placement can

greatly enhance the effectiveness of fans at any height.

Window fans should be placed on the side away from prevailing

winds, and in an upper window, to assist in exhausting hot air from

your house.

Buy fans with Energy Star labels, they are about 20% more efficient

than the average fan.

Attic fans exhaust air from the very hottest and highest part of the house,

providing substantial heat relief through convection. Your roof is a great place

for a solar fan, powered by photovoltaic cells. Because they run fastest when

the sun is hottest, these fans are ideal for this application. If you live in a

climate with many cloudy hot days, however, you should provide grid-powered

back-up.

A whole house fan is a workable substitute for air conditioning in most

climates. Sometimes existing central heating and cooling ducts can be used

along with a whole house fan. These fans need to be appropriately sized,

require dedicated wiring, and, usually call for an enlarged venting system in the

attic. Unlike other fans, they are therefore typically professionally installed. The

Department of Energy’s Consumer Guide has a great overview of whole house

ventilation.

Wet It Down. In low-humidity climates it is much easier to solve the heat

problem: just get wet. Evaporation is cooling, which is the principle of

perspiration. Evaporative coolers, also known as swamp coolers, use this

principle too. They are simple machines that cost about half as much to install

as air conditioning, use a quarter of the electricity, and do not require ozonedepleting

refrigerants. However, they need monthly (though easy) maintenance

during peak use, and they only work well in dry climates.

Swamp coolers have a small motor that pumps water from the bottom of the

cooler to the top, where it falls down the sides of absorbent pads. Another

motor runs a fan pulling outdoor air through the pads, cooling it 15 to 40

degrees F, and then into your home. Unlike air conditioning systems, coolers

provide a constant flow of fresh outdoor air.

They can be installed on roofs or on the ground floor (which makes

maintenance easier). There are whole-house and room-sized coolers available.

Newer, more efficient two-stage or indirect evaporative coolers incorporate a

secondary heat exchanger to reduce the humidity released into the house. Read

more about evaporative coolers at ToolBase Services to learn more about

evaporative coolers.

Use the Night. Where night temperatures drop substantially, nocturnal radiative

cooling is particularly effective. Opening your windows at night, as mentioned

above, is one component. The other requires some thermal mass in the

building, such as a concrete slab floor, plaster walls, or passive solar water

walls. These serve as heat sinks during the day, keeping the house cool. At

night they release their heat as cool air passes over them.

Green Living Ideas - 5 Great, Green Indoor Climate Control Tips

http://greenlivingideas.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=688&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=454 Page 2 of 4

HOW DO I PURCHASE ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOOD?

Valerie Demerski — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:09:00 GMT

Environmentally and Socially Responsible Food Purchasing

Food purchasing doesn't have to be irresponsible. Today, there are options that allow you to promote social and environmental sustainability through food purchasing. You can promote local, organic, and fair trade products that help the planet be greener and more socially responsible. The following tips on sustainable food for events are adapted from BlueGreen Meetings:

• Purchase condiments, beverages, and other food items in bulk instead of individually packaged.
• Ensure food and beverage packaging is recyclable, and that it will be recycled.
• Ask your supplier to buy local produce that is in season, to avoid costly transportation of goods.
• Require all coffee to be fair trade, shade grown, and organic.
• Request organic produce, and free-range, growth hormone-free eggs and meats.
• Offer vegetarian meal selections: vegetables consume less land base and energy to produce.
• If your event is for more than 20 people, ask attendees to ‘sign-up’ for meals instead of assuming that
everyone will want to partake. This will reduce food waste – and your costs.
• Allow attendees to pre-select their meal sizes beforehand. Some people may not want all of the
courses; others may want smaller portions. Pre-selection will cut down dramatically on food wastage.
• Arrange to have leftover food donated to a local food bank or soup kitchen.
• Compost unusable leftover food portions or ship them to a local farm as pig feed.
• Use reusable cutlery, dishware and linens.
• Choose centerpieces and decorations that can be reused, such as living plants, or silk flowers.

Localharvest.org and eatwellguide.org are two websites that offer comprehensive directories of local food resources in your area. Use these guidelines when choosing a catering service for an event, or preparing meals on your own.

Mr Green's (from Sierra Club) 10 Food Commandments

1. Use Less Meat More Creatively. Americans consume 185 pounds of beef, pork, and poultry per capita each year. It would be better for our health and the environment to knock back fewer bacon burgers, steaks, and chicken wings.

2. Buy Organic. Organic farmers and ranchers are not allowed to use chemical poisons on their crops and livestock and, in general, are better stewards of the land. Yes, you will end up paying more for your meals because it usually costs more to produce food organically. But if you follow the rest of the advice on this list, you should be able to reduce your costs enough to make up the difference.

3. Support Local Farmers. Small farmers need all the help they can get, thanks to decades of failed agricultural policies. If you're close to one of the country's 3,700 farmers' markets, make it part of your shopping routine: its suppliers don't have to ship their products halfway across the continent or the world. If you can't make it to the market, consider community-supported agriculture, which provides subscribers with regular deliveries of delectables from area producers. LocalHarvest has a searchable online database of CSA farms at www.localharvest.org/csa.

4. Cut Back On Processed, Packaged Foods. Food packaging accounts for 20 million tons of waste annually. In addition, processed foods contain less nutrients than fresh foods, and tend to contain more artificial chemicals.

5. Seek Green Variety. Anybody who claims vegetables are boring should visit a Mediterranean country. On Crete, where people have the longest life expectancy in the world, they eat twenty-six kinds of wild plants. Yet we're stuck with 3.5 million tons a year of iceberg lettuce. It takes thirty-six calories of fossil-fuel energy to grow and ship one calorie of iceberg lettuce.

6. Be Picky With Fish. Fish is still a healthy choice, despite the news that the world's fisheries are being strained and that some seafood may contain dangerous levels of mercury or dioxin. The trick is to try tasty but less popular alternatives that eat lower on the food chain, like sardines, or sustainably farmed varieties like catfish. Consult the Monterey Bay Aquarium's seafood guide at www.seafoodwatch.org and the Sierra Club's "Mercury Survival Guide" at www.sierraclub.org/mercury.

7. Shop In Style. Paper or plastic? How many billions of times must the country's weary grocery clerks repeat this tiresome question? Next time you hear it, say "neither" and use your reusable bag. And for all the fuss about bags, remember it takes a lot more oil to drive to your grocery store than to make the bags you are given. So, if possible, leave the car in the garage and make human-powered shopping trips part of your fitness program.

8. Make Your Own. Healthy and tasty meals, from cereals to sautes to soups, can easily be made from scratch. Individually packaged instant oatmeal, for example, costs about three to four dollars per pound, while plain old oatmeal, sold in bulk, sells for a fourth as much, leaving you plenty of resources to experiment with oatmeal cuisine.

9. Grown Your Own. Lawns surrounding 85 million U.S. residences take up at least 25 million acres. Digging up just a fraction of this real estate to grow chard, lettuce, peas, and tomatoes would be a marvelous development. You'd save money of food, and some of the millions of gallons of oil used to ship it from farm to market.

10. Recycle and Compost. Recycling is so old hat by now that it may seem unnecessary to harp about it. Yet only about half of our aluminum cans are recycled, resulting in a big waste of energy and metal. Recycling is just as important with food scraps. Composting could drastically reduce the almost five hundred pounds per household per year of organic matter haunted to dumps, and creat fertile soil for your vegetable garden.

For more information, click here. To check if your food has pesticides, click here.

CHOOSING GREEN PRODUCTS FOR GREEN CONSTRUCTION

Valerie Demerski — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:23:00 GMT

As a green Realtor, I'm often asked about material choices for building and remodeling. Here is some great info on that subject:

What kind of products should I choose for a new building or home?

Building and construction activities worldwide consume 3 billion tons of raw materials each year or 40 percent of total global use. Using green building materials and products promotes conservation of dwindling nonrenewable resources internationally. In addition, integrating green building materials into building projects can help reduce the environmental impacts associated with the extraction, transport, processing, fabrication, installation, reuse, recycling, and disposal of these building industry source materials.

What is a green building product or material?

Green building materials are composed of renewable, rather than nonrenewable resources. Green materials are environmentally responsible because impacts are considered over the life of the product. Depending upon project-specific goals, an assessment of green materials may involve an evaluation of one or more of the criteria listed below.

Overall material/product selection criteria:

Resource Efficiency can be accomplished by utilizing materials that meet the following criteria:

Recycled Content: Products with identifiable recycled content, including postindustrial content with a preference for postconsumer content.
Natural, plentiful or renewable: Materials harvested from sustainably managed sources and preferably have an independent certification (e.g., certified wood) and are certified by an independent third party.
Resource efficient manufacturing process: Products manufactured with resource-efficient processes including reducing energy consumption, minimizing waste (recycled, recyclable and or source reduced product packaging), and reducing greenhouse gases.
Locally available: Building materials, components, and systems found locally or regionally saving energy and resources in transportation to the project site.
Salvaged, refurbished, or remanufactured: Includes saving a material from disposal and renovating, repairing, restoring, or generally improving the appearance, performance, quality, functionality, or value of a product.
Reusable or recyclable: Select materials that can be easily dismantled and reused or recycled at the end of their useful life.
Recycled or recyclable product packaging: Products enclosed in recycled content or recyclable packaging.
Durable: Materials that are longer lasting or are comparable to conventional products with long life expectancies.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is enhanced by utilizing materials that meet the following criteria:

Low or non-toxic: Materials that emit few or no carcinogens, reproductive toxicants, or irritants as demonstrated by the manufacturer through appropriate testing.
Minimal chemical emissions: Products that have minimal emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Products that also maximize resource and energy efficiency while reducing chemical emissions.
Low-VOC assembly: Materials installed with minimal VOC-producing compounds, or no-VOC mechanical attachment methods and minimal hazards.
Moisture resistant: Products and systems that resist moisture or inhibit the growth of biological contaminants in buildings.
Healthfully maintained: Materials, components, and systems that require only simple, non-toxic, or low-VOC methods of cleaning.
Systems or equipment: Products that promote healthy IAQ by identifying indoor air pollutants or enhancing the air quality.

Energy Efficiency can be maximized by utilizing materials and systems that meet the following criteria:

Materials, components, and systems that help reduce energy consumption in buildings and facilities.

Water Conservation can be obtained by utilizing materials and systems that meet the following criteria:

Products and systems that help reduce water consumption in buildings and conserve water in landscaped areas.

Affordability can be considered when building product life-cycle costs are comparable to conventional materials or as a whole, are within a project-defined percentage of the overall budget.

Three Basic Steps for Product Selection

Product selection can begin after the establishment of project-specific environmental goals. The environmental assessment process for building products involves three basic steps.

1. Research. This step involves gathering all technical information to be evaluated, including manufacturers' information such as Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) test data, product warranties, source material characteristics, recycled content data, environmental statements, and durability information. In addition, this step may involve researching other environmental issues, building codes, government regulations, building industry articles, model green building product specifications, and other sources of product data. Research helps identify the full range of the project’s building material options.

2. Evaluation. This step involves confirmation of the technical information, as well as filling in information gaps. For example, the evaluator may request product certifications from manufacturers to help sort out possible exaggerated environmental product claims. Evaluation and assessment is relatively simple when comparing similar types of building materials using the environmental criteria. For example, a recycled content assessment between various manufacturers of medium density fiberboard is a relatively straightforward "apples to apples" comparison. However, the evaluation process is more complex when comparing different products with the same function. Then it may become necessary to process both descriptive and quantitative forms of data.

A life cycle assessment (LCA) is an evaluation of the relative "greenness" of building materials and products. LCA addresses the impacts of a product through all of its life stages. Although rather simple in principle, this approach has been difficult and expensive in actual practice (although that appears to be changing).

One tool that uses the LCA methodology is BEES (Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability) software. It allows users to balance the environmental and economic performance of building products. The software was developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Building and Fire Research Laboratory and can be downloaded free on their Web site.

3. Selection. This step often involves the use of an evaluation matrix for scoring the project-specific environmental criteria. The total score of each product evaluation will indicate the product with the highest environmental attributes. Individual criteria included in the rating system can be weighted to accommodate project-specific goals and objectives.

Source: Smart Homeowner. California Integrated Waste Management Board.

BOTTLED VS TAP?

Valerie Demerski — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:42:00 GMT

Which is better for me?

An excellent breakdown of the issue by a writer from Positively Green Magazine:

(Positively Green) Chances are that by now you know just how harmful bottled water is to the planet, and yet some people still find it difficult to give up those portable, easily purchased, calorie-free thirst-quenchers. Is it really so much better for the environment to drink filtered tap water than bottled water? And is it safe?

The answer to both of those questions is-you guessed it-a resounding yes. The impact of bottled water on the environment is monumental, wracking up environmental harm from the moment the plastic bottle is made and filled to the moment the used bottle is tossed in the trash. The process of making plastic water bottles sold in the United States alone uses approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil, according to the Earth Policy Institute-that's enough to run 100,000 cars for an entire year. And that doesn't even take into account the inordinate amount of oil needed to transport water bottles all over the world-a bottle of Fiji water enjoyed in New York City, for example, would have traveled nearly 8,000 miles from Fiji to New York.

Adding insult to injury, most water bottles are consumed by people outside of the home, where finding a recycling bin can prove a daunting task. Nearly 80 percent of water bottles are not recycled, resulting in 38 billion water bottles clogging landfills each year where they take 700 years to even begin to decompose.

Still, bottled water is the fastest growing segment of the beverage industry, with Americans drinking an average of 167 bottles of water each year, totaling $16 billion in sales. Ironically, while the United States is the world's single biggest consumer of bottled water, it has reliable tap water available nearly nationwide-that's something that can't be said of Brazil, China, and Mexico, which round out the top four bottled water consuming countries in the world. Bottled water retailers are well aware of the quality of our nation's tap water-in fact, at least 24 percent of the bottled water we drink is actually filtered tap water. Pepsi's Aquafina and Coke's Dasani, the top bottled water brands in the country, are two of the brands that bottle filtered municipal water.

So why are we paying for someone else to bottle our water when we could simply filter our own water at home? Bottled water must just taste better, right? It would appear not. Good Morning America conducted a blind taste test of water using its studio audience as guinea pigs and guess which water source was the clear winner? New York City tap water. Yes, that's right: Tap water beat out Poland Spring and Evian.

Okay, so tap water tastes the same as bottled water and is far less harmful to the environment-but is it safe? It turns out federal standards are similar for both bottled water and municipal water, which is continually tested for contaminants. And for children, tap water is more than safe-it's beneficial: Unlike bottled water, most tap water contains teeth-strengthening fluoride. To learn about the purity of your local tap water, you can read the EPA's water-quality reports on the agency's website. If you're still concerned about trace levels of contaminants, investing in a good filter for your tap water is a great, inexpensive alternative to bottled water. Storing reusable bottles filled with filtered tap water in the fridge makes it easy to grab a bottle of cold, pure water when you're on the go.

Here's the icing on the cake: Once you give up your bottled water habit, you'll find you have some welcome extra cash floating around your wallet. If each American drinks 167 bottles on average per year, and the average cost of water is $1 per bottle, that's $167 extra dollars you'll have to put toward a relaxing day at the spa, new winter coat, or your favorite charity! Looking for donation inspiration? Check out Water Partners International, a nonprofit committed to providing safe drinking water and sanitation to people in developing countries.

Extracted from Care2