Articles tagged “Green Building”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

The First Five Things You Should Do When Greening Your Home By Brian Merchant IN Home & Garden Mar 18 2009 Before we spring for a home wind turbine or break out the solar panels, there are some simple, big energy (and money) saving adjustments we can make to green our homes. + READ MORE

Live in a Green, Sustainable...Hobbit Hole? By Brian Merchant IN Home & Garden Mar 17 2009 I'm talking about a real life hobbit hole built by Simon Dale in Wales. That's right—working with his father and his bare hands, over the course of 4 months, he built his home right into a hillside, a la Bilbo Baggins. + READ MORE

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) By Team Planet Green IN Features Mar 13 2009 Volunteering for the Green Apple Festival? Here are some answers to frequently asked questions. + READ MORE

Don't Be Fooled by Green Mansions By Brian Merchant IN Home & Garden Mar 10 2009 A multimillion dollar green mansion may usher oohs and aahs from the green crazed media, and they might look cool on architecture magazine covers. They make for exciting feature stories that toss 'biggest' and 'greenest' and 'luxury' into the headlines. Just take a look at any one of these 9 "green" mansions, and you'll see what I mean. + READ MORE

Furniture Inspired by Shanty Towns, Sew Your Own Electronic Fashion, and Build an Office out of Cardboard By David DeFranza IN Home & Garden Mar 9 2009 Today on TreeHugger: Furniture inspired by shanty towns, sew your own electronic fashion, and build an office out of cardboard. + READ MORE

Get a Heat Recovery Ventilator if You Seal Your House Up Tight By Lloyd Alter IN Home & Garden Mar 6 2009 Josh raised a very important point in his post What You Need to Know About Caulking and Health: you need adequate ventilation in your home. But if you caulk it and seal it and tighten up its envelope like every green site on the web says, you can run into serious problems. Humidity can build up and cause mould and rot; toxins can build up, including formaldehyde, radon and toxins from cleaners and even air fresheners. + READ MORE

Eco-friendly Casino Tables? By Seth Leitman IN Travel & Outdoors Mar 5 2009 When I met Eric Hansel and learned about his company EGM Green and his product, I realized that the casino industry does green its lighting as much as it can; yet it is not really known for its poker tables being green. EGM Green also has a consulting side to the business which is split into 2 major parts: energy consumption,... + READ MORE

Ex-Gang Members Installing Solar Panels? By Elizabeth Seward IN Work & Connect Mar 4 2009 No one loves the idea of crime. And hardly anyone wants a criminal near their home or family. But what if they're reformed criminals and they're working to install solar panels on your roof? All weapons, drugs, and previous wrong-doings aside, a whole army of criminals are coming together in Los Angeles to do just that. Homeboy Industries helps out former gang-involved individuals to become members of society who can contribute positively. Through education, training, and job placement, Homeboy is an independent nonprofit celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. And you should be supporting them. + READ MORE

Barack Obama Commends Greensburg's Eco-friendly Example By David DeFranza IN Work & Connect Feb 25 2009 The warning sirens that went off in Greensburg on May 4, 2007, signaled what could have been the end of this small Kansas town. Almost two years later, President Barack Obama called Mayor Bob Dixson to Washington, DC, to honor Greensburg's efforts. + READ MORE

Is a Solar-Powered Attic Fan Right for Your Roof? By Josh Peterson IN Home & Garden Feb 24 2009 There is no higher place in your house than the attic. In the summer, your attic can become a sweltering cauldron of painful heat. Air-conditioning a space like that isn't a great option, energywise. You may consider venting it with a solar-powered attic fans. + READ MORE

Steve Thomas to Appear on EcoMan and the Skeptic Radio Show Today! By Josh Peterson IN Home & Garden Feb 19 2009 Steve Thomas, host of Renovation Nation, is scheduled to make a guest appearance on the sixth episode of EcoMan and the Sketpic, a web radio show about sustainable design and green building. The live show airs today—February 19th, 2009—at 3 PM on the Green Talk Network. + READ MORE

Pick the Best Flooring for Air Quality By Sara Novak IN Home & Garden Feb 12 2009 We all know that certain types of flooring are better for the environment. But what about our air quality? What about the air that we ingest inside, where we spend 90 percent of our time? Next time you're picking a floor take into account what the flooring does to the air you breath. Check out these choices that both improve your standing with Mother Earth and clean up the air inside your home. + READ MORE

Making Your Own Sled and Using It Safely By Elizabeth Seward IN Travel & Outdoors Feb 12 2009 Sledding is a great way to get yourself outside during the winter for exercise.Use some of these items instead: A cardboard box with duct tape on the bottom A garbage can lid A used toilet lid Scrap wood Scrap metal (with dulled edges) Scrap plastic (kids' cars with the wheels removed are great!) + READ MORE

Set Your Green Home Energy Priorities By Josh Peterson IN Home & Garden Feb 9 2009 Math has an order of operations that helps people come up with the correct answer. You can use an order of operations to green your home's energy use. In order to do the most good, you will want to focus on the areas where the most energy is being consumed. And once you've established which areas use up the most energy, you can neutralize the most problematic areas first and then tackle the smaller problems later. Not only will this save you money, it will also reduce your carbon footprint. + READ MORE

Ask Steve Thomas Anything (About Your Home) By Josh Peterson IN Home & Garden Feb 6 2009 We've all watched the nail-pounding, green-as-grass, home-fixin? action on Renovation Nation. We've seen walls torn down, carpets ripped asunder, solar panels mounted and energy efficiency increased. And Steve Thomas has been there at the center of it all with a warm smile, a skillful hand and his brain full of green renovation knowledge. Now you can access that knowledge without the aid of a psychic by simply asking Steve. + READ MORE

Students: Encourage Your Schools to Go Solar By Josh Peterson IN Work & Connect Feb 6 2009 Schools are quite large, and, therefore, have an immense carbon footprint. Think of how many kids the air conditioners must cool in the summer and heat in the winter. My high school didn't have air conditioning. They weren't going green, just broke. With a slow economy, our already wounded education system can?t afford to upgrade to green technologies. They often have to make due with inefficient air conditioning and outdated insulation. Don't fret. There is something you can do about this. + READ MORE

Steve Thomas's Five Bubbles of Green Building By Team Planet Green IN Renovation Nation Feb 5 2009 The main reason I came up with this bubble diagram was to answer the question, "what is green building?" Some of what we now call green building has been around for a long time and some of the other aspects... + READ MORE

Green Glossary: EPBT By Mickey Z. IN Tech & Transport Feb 4 2009 Energy payback time (EPBT) refers to the "time required for any energy producing system or device to produce as much energy as was required in its manufacture." For a large wind turbine, for example, the EPBT is roughly three to eight months. + READ MORE

Green Glossary: Transition Town By Mickey Z. IN Work & Connect Jan 28 2009 Sami Grover of TreeHugger.com calls transition towns a "community-based response to peak oil and climate change." + READ MORE

To Block... or Not to Block Crawlspace Vents during the Winter? By Eric Leech IN Home & Garden Jan 28 2009 Should you block your crawlspace vents? This is a very common question. Especially in areas that have both a reasonably hot summer and fairly frigid winter. There is not much question that in general these vents are a needed and necessary part of a well maintained home. These vents are placed within the crawlspace to allow the moisture that builds up underneath to have an escape route. + READ MORE