The LEED certification has been the standard of green building certifications over the years, but has it lost it’s luster?
27
Feb
Feb
The Wilson family moved into a new home last summer. Within days, they were feeling ill. Their eyes were burning, they had sore throats, and they were chronically tired.
26
Feb
Feb
Cleaning products and air fresheners can produce formaldehyde. UC Berkeley researchers found that chemicals in pine oils and citrus oils react with ozone in the air, producing formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a strong eye, nose, throat, and lung irritant. Formaldehyde is also an asthma trigger and a carcinogen, according to the EPA.
26
Feb
Feb
12-year-old Max Wallack stole the show at Design Squad’s Trash to Treasure contest with his “Home Dome.” The contest asked kids to repurpose trash into practical inventions.
20
Feb
Feb
Some granite emits enough radon to increase the radon concentration in a kitchen. The radon in Cathy Woods’ kitchen was three times as high as the radon in her bedroom. That lung cancer risk at that level was nearly as high as smoking 10 cigarettes a day.
19
Feb
Feb
Recently, we’ve talked about how to live simply and decrease your carbon footprint living in a tiny house. Even better than buying a tiny house is making your own, and Michael Janzen is blazing a trail with his free tiny pallet house. Not only is his house made out of recycled shipping pallets, it isn’t…
17
Feb
Feb
There is plenty enough to know about all the trash we create and the wastefulness of our ways. But when you meet Colorado architect, Doug Eichelberger, you are happy to find a person who is all about solutions, putting trash to use as a building material. A visit to his Lucky Ranch reveals a very…
16
Feb
Feb
Learn how to avoid the most common mistakes in installing windows and doors.
11
Feb
Feb
While we are on the topic of decreasing our energy footprints in small homes, I’d like to share the simple and small round yurt design, that has been around for ages. The yurt is a type of “Green Weefab Mini-Home” and can be customized into another kind of hand-built “Earth Sheltered House” for those on…
09
Feb
Feb
“Tiny houses” are starting to enter mainstream consciousness, due in large part to new companies dedicated to manufacturing and promoting tiny homes. And for good reason, too: one of the most effective ways to decrease your ecological footprint is to buy a tiny house. For obvious reasons, a tiny house requires little energy to build, and…
04
Feb
Feb
A Silicon Valley real estate agent told her clients, “There is no radon in California. You don’t need to worry about it.” The couple purchased a home in Sunnyvale, CA, which has some of the higher radon levels in Santa Clara County. Another home in Sunnyvale had 29 picoCuries/liter (pCi/L), more than 8 times the EPA action level (4 pCi/L). A home in Los Gatos had 56 pCi/L, which is 14 times the action level.
27
Jan
Jan
A homeowner in Menlo Park, CA recently discovered that his home had 14 picoCuries/liter of radon, three times the EPA action level of 4 picoCuries/liter (pCI/L). He tested his home for radon because he was concerned about his new granite counters. However, his granite was not the source of the radon. He had “geologic” radon coming from the soil beneath his house.
24
Jan
Jan
Cathy Woods’ new granite counters were radioactive. They contained as much uranium as commercial uranium ore. The showroom that sold Cathy her Jupurana Bordeaux granite did not warn her that some granite is radioactive. When I contacted the salesman, posing as a customer, he assured me their granite “is no more radioactive than soil or water”. However, Cathy’s granite emitted gamma radiation at many times background. The radon gas emitted by the stone tripled the radon concentration in her kitchen.
22
Jan
Jan
Are you interested in a hands-on straw bale building experience? As you know, there is no better way to learn than by doing. Red Earth Farms is an 80 acre, off-the-grid intentional community based in northeastern Missouri, composed of individual homesteads. Members strive to live ecologically – this means, of course, that members use natural…
17
Jan
Jan
We want to start the New Year off with an eco-bang, and so we’re launching a new Green Home Contest. Low Impact Living and Joie de Vivre Hotels challenge you to make your home as green as you can! We’re going to reward the greenest home of all with a luxurious 3-night stay at the…
16
Jan
Jan
These days, there are more and more options for those of you who want a small wind turbine out in the yard or on your roof. They range from the standard to the somewhat bizarre, and come in sizes that can power several major appliances all the way up to your whole house and beyond….
15
Jan
Jan
Panasonic is fast becoming a brand name not just for electronics but also for green building products.
Eco-Products 2008 recently held in Tokyo, showcased a series of award-winning green products and services. The E Floor from Panasonic was shortlisted for the awards. The Eco Product Awards is presented by four organizations including the Global Environmental Forum, a non-profit organization under the jurisdiction of Japan's Ministry of Environment.
Sometimes it feels like there is nothing we can do to make a difference. Sometimes we are so confused by all we see and hear that we remain motionless. Now is not the time. A green building writer and consultant tells you what she REALLY thinks!